# She's going to flunk her GCC AGAIN...help!



## mooselips (Dec 4, 2011)

Hi everyone,
Long time no see.! Bridget is now 2 years old, and will be 3 in November.
A beautiful, smart, funny girl she is, we love her to pieces.

Our problem:

We moved to Port Charlotte Florida a year ago, and Bridget just did her GCC test in Ohio, and wasn't quite ready, so I continued to work with her, and just signed up for another GCC class, and we are in week 3.

Bridget gets SOOO overly excited to meet people, there is NO controlling her, and it seems like we are doomed to fail again.

ALL the other parts of the test she can perform like a pro, until we come to walk up to a stranger and their dog...then it's all downhill.

I have tried:
A nose collar,
A pinch collar
A slip collar...
GOOD rewards...LIKE STEAK, and CHICKEN.....

Tonight we took a stroll around the neighborhood, and I approached 3 people that were outside their home, and she pulled me...(ingnored the treat in front of her nose) and proceeded to yank me, and I do beleive I seriously pulled a BUTT muscle. YOUCH,

ANY ANY help, suggestions would be appreciated.

Itr doesn't help that we are older...(60's)
and it's just us two, with rarely any company.

But she has taken classes since she has been 12 weeks old.
Just had this year off with the move...............


----------



## mooselips (Dec 4, 2011)

and here's a pic of our little darling:


----------



## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

Ok. We passed this one in March, my kid said it was impossible. Here's how we did it. First, we only worked on the one specific behavior of Casper sitting by my side as a person approached, and then going to visit when I said "Go Visit." I started with the highest value treat I could find, I think it was cheese puff balls. They were high value because he's never had them before. The first week, I let him continuously gnaw on the cheese balls as the person approached. This is called High Rate of Reinforcement. Then after another week, we were able to progress to one treat at a time, but those threats came continuously. Once we were there, I could go one second between treats, the. Two seconds. After that, we went with a variable schedule, say 3, 5, 4, 7, 3, 5, etc. Slowly we built up to the amount of time we needed. At the test, we lucked out since the evaluator did not stare as Casper or make kissy face. And he passed. 

For the walk by another dog, Casper was always good at that one. In fact,when people got to pick which dog to walk up to, Casper was often picked. 

Also, the collar type should not matter, according to the instructor. As she said, "use your treats, not your leash." She was right. I had Casper on a halti/gentle leader, but it wasn't until I got serious about training vs control that I got anywhere. 

Meanwhile, we are still working around generally being more relaxed around people.


----------



## Martin (Feb 21, 2011)

If your dog is ignoring treats in favor of meeting someone, maybe you could give her attention rather than food as a reward.

If you are strong enough to hold her and have some cooperate people to help you, you could slowly approach the other person. The minute she pulls or jumps, freeze. It may be easier if the other person turned around as well so she sees she won't get attention. Once she's calm, slowly walk towards the person again. Chances are she'll start pulling a few seconds later, but by freezing every time she does so, she'll learn that she won't get attention until she's calm.

Once she gets there, the other person can greet her. Once she has that down, ask her to sit and only let the other person greet her while she's sitting. The minute she reacts, the other person needs to turn away and ignore her. Then have her sit for longer periods of time before she gets her attention/reward. Eventually make that reward random.

You could also practiced a controlled sit by telling her to sit and having someone else slowly approach her. Every time she gets up, the other person needs to stop moving and pointedly ignore her. Depending on her reaction, they might need to turn away or even walk away. As soon as she's sitting again, the other person can start approaching her again. Once the other person has gotten to her, he/she should show her affection as a reward. Here, too, you can eventually have her sit for longer periods of time before she gets this reward and then eventually make it random.


----------



## mooselips (Dec 4, 2011)

Well, I'd have a difficult time holding her for sure. She's 63 pounds, and I'm not quite THAT strong.

I don't want to inhibit her friendliness, it's such a hard thing to corral.

She did much better in class last Wednesday, she may just pass the class, but while on outings, she's a "spunky, can't wait, I love everyone", greeter.

Even STEAK did not deter her while on a walk.
But she does have to sit before being petted, that's always been our rule.

She just can't control herself....


----------



## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

I think you could try desensitizing her too. Take her to a park or little league games, places where the are a lot of people who are not interested her and just walk through, not stopping to greet people. The idea is for her to learn that just because there are people around doesn't mean she will get attention and to just keep moving on. That will help her learn she isn't going to greet everyone she sees. 

Then you can set up practice sessions and keep her attention on you with treats or toys or whatever it takes, while people walk by and keep going. Don't move to the next step until she will sit calmly for that. Baby steps.


----------



## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

This part of the test is the hardest part for any golden. My Hunter failed the first time at age 7. So we set things up a bit different. We worked on "sit" and "stay". Once he was really solid on both, I started to approach people again in class. As soon as he acted excited and he started crossing over in front of me, I stopped and made him sit. Once he was calm, I would say "stay". Through this whole process, I would completely ignore that there was another person/dog up ahead. Once he was sitting and staying I would then great the other person verbally. Usually we were so far away, that we couldn't shake hands. As he progressed in paying attention to me with sit and stay, I could get close enough to shake hands with the other person. But every time, I always paid attention to him first, got him to sit and stay before greeting the other person. Once I was done greeting the person, I would look down at him and repeat sit and stay commands. Tell him he's a good boy, and begin to walk again with a "heel" command, while looking at him. Make sure to not get too close to the person or other dog. This is so hard for super greeters.

Goldens just think the world revolves around their excessive greeting disorder!


----------



## MercyMom (Dec 19, 2011)

UGH! I hear you! It stinks when your dog has a challenging problem. Mercy has problems with ignoring the down command. I taught my last dog not to jump up by stepping on the leash. Using the sit stay command and telling the dog to watch you is what usually works. Good luck!


----------



## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

mooselips said:


> I don't want to inhibit her friendliness, it's such a hard thing to corral. )


I decided to reframe the friendliness as uncertainty. While Casper is friendly and loves to be petted, I think the root of the excessive greeting disorder is that he's actually a bit unsure of the other person and so he's overly nice. But overly nice in doggie language can be over the top for people. This theory explains why he has the most trouble with people that stare at him while they approach and if they make kissy face. Looks friendly to us, but weird to him! He ignores most people, particularly if they ignore him. Long story short, I wonder if what looks like friendly is really stress. 

A data point from this weekend which also has me thinking. I took Casper to a golden retriever picnic. He was trying to drag me to the picnic, held in someone's backyard. I said hi to the hostess and that my dog was going nuts. She said, take off his collar, let him go, and then apologize to the crowd. While I was mumbling she took off his collar. He skidded through the kitchen to the backyard. Where he acted completely appropriately to all the people and dogs. No jumping, no wiggling, nothing. So there is something going on with the leash, too.


----------



## mooselips (Dec 4, 2011)

Yes, I agree. If we go to the dog park, she's unexcited and acts like a well behaved dog. Everyone RAVES about how well mannered and calm she is...then out for a walk, yikes!

And now in the GCC, she knows the other dogs after 3 weeks and all is calm and she listens and pays attention well...UNTIL they bring in the strange person and dog for the test! Then, that may be our downfall.

But, she's only two, so there's alot of time here.....


----------



## mooselips (Dec 4, 2011)

Okay.....tonights the test......

She seems to have come a long way, so maybe, just maybe, we'll get this done.

We have been visiting the Halloween store, Home Depot,
Petsmart,
Petco...you name it, if she's allowed, we've been there.

Cross your fingers!


----------



## inge (Sep 20, 2009)

Good luck! You two will do fine!


----------



## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

Good luck! Also when you get there, explain to the tester what your problem has been in the past with your dog. They all appreciate you wanting to pass. So remember everyone in that room doing the test was where you are at now. So ask for help and let them know what has and has not worked in the past. If you are unclear about how they are doing the test, ask lots of questions. Don't be too nervous, it travels right down the leash. Remember to bring a clean brush. Your dog will have fun and you will too! Let us know how it goes.


----------



## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

She looks so pretty with her sun hat, she doesn't have to be a good citizen 
But good luck at the test.


----------



## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

Good luck with the test!


----------



## MaureenM (Sep 20, 2011)

Good luck to you both! That was the hardest part of our test too, still is sometimes .


----------



## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

Good luck. Try to relax and visualize the two of you being successful. She looks like a wonderful dog no matter what.


----------



## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

Fingers crossed! I find wearing them out seems to help!


----------



## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Best of luck to you, she's going to do great!

Love the pic of her with the hat, she's beautiful.


----------



## 2tired (Oct 19, 2011)

Good luck to both of you!


----------



## mooselips (Dec 4, 2011)

She passed!!!!!!!!
YaHoo!!!!!!!


----------



## mooselips (Dec 4, 2011)




----------



## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

Congratulations!!


----------



## MaureenM (Sep 20, 2011)

Congratulations!!! Very happy for you!!!!!


----------



## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

Wonderful . . . congratulations! She looks so serious with her certificate.


----------



## Martin (Feb 21, 2011)

Congratulations


----------



## inge (Sep 20, 2009)

Huge congratulations !


----------



## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Woo hoo!
Congratulations to you and your beautiful girl!


----------



## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Congratulations


----------



## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

Congratulations! So what was your secret?


----------



## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

Congratulations!!!

And we need details!


----------



## meadows (Aug 13, 2013)

quilter said:


> I decided to reframe the friendliness as uncertainty. While Casper is friendly and loves to be petted, I think the root of the excessive greeting disorder is that he's actually a bit unsure of the other person and so he's overly nice. But overly nice in doggie language can be over the top for people. This theory explains why he has the most trouble with people that stare at him while they approach and if they make kissy face. Looks friendly to us, but weird to him! He ignores most people, particularly if they ignore him. Long story short, I wonder if what looks like friendly is really stress.
> 
> A data point from this weekend which also has me thinking. I took Casper to a golden retriever picnic. He was trying to drag me to the picnic, held in someone's backyard. I said hi to the hostess and that my dog was going nuts. She said, take off his collar, let him go, and then apologize to the crowd. While I was mumbling she took off his collar. He skidded through the kitchen to the backyard. Where he acted completely appropriately to all the people and dogs. No jumping, no wiggling, nothing. So there is something going on with the leash, too.



Hello! Marvin is the SAME with the leash. When off-leash there is no jumping on people, just good greetings. There is something about being held back that seems to amp up the anxiousness and energy.


----------



## goodog (May 6, 2013)

Im with the park--lots of people. however--an idea--we thought our girl Casey had incurable excessive people syndrome. Then--we tried a front clip harness ---its like power steering. Im on crutches and could walk her --no problem. But--use it as a training tool. Now we are back on flat buckle collar and she is awesome. She isnt jumping on guests who come to the door. She understands the new rules. Amazing.
Doesn't hurt them. Reorients their chest-so that following you is the only option. 
We use EZ Walk but this is a review. See Spot Shine: Front-Clip Harnesses: Updated Reviews


----------



## mooselips (Dec 4, 2011)

Bridget has moved on, she's now in beginner agility.
Not for any purpose, other than keeping Bridget busy, she seems to REALLY enjoy the classes...hmmm or maybe the treats....lol

She's a fast learner. So that is good.
EXTREMELY food oriented....

But overly excitable.....

and I don't think it's quite fair that the instructor also carries treats.
Bridget KNOWS everyone carries treats and think perhaps theirs may be better than our STEAK.

And to me, I really don't think an Instructor should be carrying treats.

I'm at the point now, where I reward Bridget AFTER she completes the task, not during.
Because she become SOOO excited about the treat, she's uncontrollable.

Meanwhile...I have the Instructor telling me to reward her every 3 to 4 seconds during the training.

Our Miss Bridget is going to be a fat cow .....soon....

I do know for a fact that Bridget would not pass the Good Canine Number 2....
She only passed this b/c they were somewhat lax on the rules.........


And Bridget USE to jump on everyone, ( the word "OFF" was not in her vocabulary) until I bought a can of "Stop It" I used it ONCE, very briefly, in fact, and it completely cured the jumping problem.


----------



## AlanK (Jun 28, 2008)

As she matures and gets a bit older she will only get better!

Congrats to you and young Bridget.


----------



## laurajoss (Dec 14, 2014)

Penny at 6 just passed this test three weeks ago. During the walk up and greet with a person and another dog, I would tell her to leave it before we got there, if she was watching the other person and dog. I then would get her to sit and once she did, I would pet her neck or head lightly with my left hand, while I was shaking hands,etc with the other person with my right. It worked and she was getting her reward for staying calm.
i have a problem when out in public with Penny knowing she is going to get attention from someone she pulls me to them, about 5 feet away. I don't know how to stop this and to make her stay calmer when people want to pet her. She doesn't jump but pulls me to get to them.


----------



## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

Ah yes the famous excessive greeting disorder Goldens are afflicted with. Some never get over it. So it's a work in progress. I have a friend with an agility dog that will be running around a ring, suddenly see someone she wants to meet, and off she goes out of the ring to meet this new person. The good and the bad... Keep working on it!


----------

