# Being on leash while guests come over



## golden_732 (Aug 26, 2013)

Cooper still is learning how to greet guests when they come over and is usually on leash when people are over as he gets extremely excited. 

However, this is what I've noticed happens and was wondering what you all had to say about it as I'm not exactly sure how to send the correct message to Cooper. 

When people come over, I put Cooper on a leash. If he gets over stimulated, he goes in either his crate or the mudroom with a baby gate. Once he calms down I will let him on leash again. However, Cooper will "act" calm (on leash) until he thinks I am distracted and then put all his effort in going full speed for the guest until he is at the end of his lead. His front will face me while he his lead is is tight, back to the guest while he is trying to shimmy backwards attempting to get me to release more of his leash. He looking like he's almost sitting but his front paws are planted into the carpet to keep him from coming to me. I keep treats with me and treat him for staying at my side. I use a 6ft lead and it's not totally extended. It's at slack when he is sitting next to me on the couch. 

I don't know how to keep him from doing that. Any tips or suggestions?



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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

I use a shorter leash to keep them by my side. My youngest dog is a nibbles. So all sleeves, bottom edges of coats, etc. go instantly in her mouth. If she's really wound, I use a pinch collar. I get a lot more response and then she's not constantly pulling like she would in a flat collar. Have you tried a pinch? When he gets to the visitor, does he jump on them or just bug them to be petted? Isn't it amazing how much they want to be with people?


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## golden_732 (Aug 26, 2013)

I'm a but unsure about how a prong collar would go about conveying the message to him that he has to be polite. It would restrict him from pulling but eventually I would like to behave on a flat buckle collar. I'm afraid that the prong collar will become a crutch and he will "forget" his manners if he wasn't wearing a prong collar. He is also a nibbler...mostly goes for sleeves though! How have others taught their dogs to politely greet guests?


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

Prong collars are not to be for pulling on the dog all the time. They are actually easier on a dog's neck than a flat collar. You do want to fit the prong collar well. It needs to be high up on the neck. When the dog lunges toward someone to greet them, you pull straight up, not back towards you. You pop and immediately release. It's a quick correction and a NO. To let them know that hey, you are wrong. If you use a flat collar they get desensitized to the collar and want to pull all the time. When your don't understands good behavior, then you can go back to the flat collar.


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## Shellbug (Nov 14, 2013)

There is a YouTube video somebody put on here a while back and it's teaching this very thing. You put the dog behind an gate and the guest ignores the dog until he is totally calm. Then he can be pet and treated. You do this over and over by having friends come over to help you train. I did it but without the gate. Now Thor will sit and wait to be pet. It was like night and day ! 


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

Take the time to teach Cooper how to greet people appropriately, that is - to sit to greet. Start by enlisting the help of family members. Have him on leash and in a sit, as far away from the door the person is going to use to enter the room as possible. Distance will make it easier to maintain some self control. Have the person slowly approach, praise and reward Cooper for holding the sit. If he breaks the sit, have the person stop moving forward and turn away from him. Wait until he sits again, you may need to cue it a couple of times at first, praise/reward the sit and the person continues their approach. The goal is for Cooper to learn that 'sitting' brings the person closer, getting up, turns them away. Once the person is close enough to interact with him, they are only to talk, pet or offer a treat IF he is holding the sit. If he breaks the sit, have the person back up a step or two, out of reach, and turn away from him and wait until he sits again. If he is prone to jumping up during greetings, stand on the leash about half way, he needs enough room to be able to 'sit', but not enough slack that he can successfully jump up and make contact. The goal is to teach him how to do what you want him to do, and in the end receive the reward of attention from the person. Practice in the house, then take it out in the back yard and then out onto the sidewalk. 
When he is doing well with family, practice with friends and then move on to strangers who may want to greet him on your daily walks. With total strangers insist that they cannot greet Cooper unless/until he is holding the sit. 
While you are working through the process of teaching him how to greet calmly and politely and you have guests, put him in another room until they are seated and settled. Then bring him out on leash, if he will lay calmly with you, praise and reward him for that, after a short while, give him a break from the situation by placing him in another room with a Kong or a chew bone. The goal is to remove him from the situation before he gets overexcited, bursts and the seams, and launches himself at your guests.
Cooper's behavior is basically a result of lack of self control, not 'wrong' or worthy of correction, but something he hasn't had the opportunity to learn. Dogs are not born with it, we have to teach them, and it takes some time. Teaching and rewarding skills like 'Polite greetings' 'Leave it', Take it, Wait, Stay and 'Go to your mat/place/bed' (and remain there until released) all work to build and maintain self control in a dog.


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## golden_732 (Aug 26, 2013)

Shellbug said:


> There is a YouTube video somebody put on here a while back and it's teaching this very thing. You put the dog behind an gate and the guest ignores the dog until he is totally calm. Then he can be pet and treated. You do this over and over by having friends come over to help you train. I did it but without the gate. Now Thor will sit and wait to be pet. It was like night and day !
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Is this the youtube video with the GSD? His training videos are really helpful! I went along with what he said and I put Cooper in the mudroom with a baby gate until he is calm…which works. But when he is allowed to come out, he gets really excited again. Looks like I will be bribing people with wine to come over and help me train my dog.


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## golden_732 (Aug 26, 2013)

Charliethree said:


> Take the time to teach Cooper how to greet people appropriately, that is - to sit to greet. Start by enlisting the help of family members. Have him on leash and in a sit, as far away from the door the person is going to use to enter the room as possible. Distance will make it easier to maintain some self control. Have the person slowly approach, praise and reward Cooper for holding the sit. If he breaks the sit, have the person stop moving forward and turn away from him. Wait until he sits again, you may need to cue it a couple of times at first, praise/reward the sit and the person continues their approach. The goal is for Cooper to learn that 'sitting' brings the person closer, getting up, turns them away. Once the person is close enough to interact with him, they are only to talk, pet or offer a treat IF he is holding the sit. If he breaks the sit, have the person back up a step or two, out of reach, and turn away from him and wait until he sits again. If he is prone to jumping up during greetings, stand on the leash about half way, he needs enough room to be able to 'sit', but not enough slack that he can successfully jump up and make contact. The goal is to teach him how to do what you want him to do, and in the end receive the reward of attention from the person. Practice in the house, then take it out in the back yard and then out onto the sidewalk.
> When he is doing well with family, practice with friends and then move on to strangers who may want to greet him on your daily walks. With total strangers insist that they cannot greet Cooper unless/until he is holding the sit.
> While you are working through the process of teaching him how to greet calmly and politely and you have guests, put him in another room until they are seated and settled. Then bring him out on leash, if he will lay calmly with you, praise and reward him for that, after a short while, give him a break from the situation by placing him in another room with a Kong or a chew bone. The goal is to remove him from the situation before he gets overexcited, bursts and the seams, and launches himself at your guests.
> Cooper's behavior is basically a result of lack of self control, not 'wrong' or worthy of correction, but something he hasn't had the opportunity to learn. Dogs are not born with it, we have to teach them, and it takes some time. Teaching and rewarding skills like 'Polite greetings' 'Leave it', Take it, Wait, Stay and 'Go to your mat/place/bed' (and remain there until released) all work to build and maintain self control in a dog.


Thank you so much for such a detailed response! I was a bit stumped on how to teach self control in this case. Do you have any suggestions as far as self-control "games" go? Like little things that we can do daily to build self control.


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