Ok, so I know how to get a dog to not be afraid of people, but how do I teach Charlie to not be excited every time he sees someone!? The adopt-a-thon is this upcoming weekend, and he is STILL jumping up on new people he meets. He only does it to new people; people he's already met, and who I've corrected him for jumping up on, he doesn't do it to. He gets so excited when he sees someone new that he does the whole body wiggle (since he has a docked tail) and tries his hardest to go over to them. It's really embarassing, but on top of that, I'm afraid that will hurt his chances of being adopted if he's so excited he can't contain himself and starts jumping up on everyone that comes over to him. I'm afraid that if I correct him every time he wants to go to someone, he might start thinking that people=correction, and rather than being so friendly, he might start becoming aggressive towards people. I don't want that. If I tell him to sit, I have to correct him two or three times (if he's wearing a normal collar and leash), or up the stim on the e-collar and correct him before he actually sits, because he's so focused on that person. Then, he'll sit there and wiggle back and forth still watching them (and gulps down the treats he gets for sitting), and if they approach, he waits until the last minute, until he can no longer hold it in anymore, and jumps up all over them, licking and biting at their chin or hands (he does these annoying little "love bites" because he's so excited he can't just lick). Of course, he gets corrected for that, but I've been trying to work on him with this ever since I got him, and I just seem to be getting nowhere.

I'm so frustrated right now that I think it's best to put it out there for y'all to ponder over. Many times someone else can look at something and tell you right off what you may be doing wrong, when you can't see it if you think about it all day.

What to do?!

Hi there. Just out of curiosity, it sounds like the dog is currently under your care, but up for adoption. Did I get that right? Are you a foster care person (bless you!!) or have you had this dog for awhile?

Beth

Yes, he is a foster. He is up for adoption through New Concepts Canine Rescue out of Canton, North Carolina. They do not have a shelter, so all of their animals are in foster care, and the only real exposure they get is on http://www.petfinder.com and whenever the foster 'parents' take them out in public.

I've had him for just over a month now.


I'm really surprised no one has given me any suggestions!

And here's another problem...

I've observed this for going on two weeks with Charlie and Gypsy. I have looked online and can't find a thing about it.

Here's what I'm talking about:

I've noticed Gypsy doing it more often than Charlie, but both have been observed doing it. Licking each other's butt. I'm not talking about just a sniff and then maybe one lick or two. I'm talking Charlie will be standing there and Gypsy will just be licking, licking, licking, licking, licking his rear! It doesn't happen at any certain time; whether before or after they go to the bathroom. She will start doing it in the middle of a play session, or just walk over to him and start doing it. Frankly, I find it disgusting (probably because when Gypsy licks, whether it be herself or Charlie, the noise she makes just sounds gross), and I don't understand why it's happening. If I knew why, I would know how to treat it. Gypsy is the dominant dog in the house, and Charlie has no parasites; he was at the vet last week and his fecal was neg.

Anyone have any idea what's going on?

Hi. Just a question since you obviously know more than me about rescue. Wouldn't it be a good thing for a dog to act happy and excited to see people when you are trying to place them. I would think the people would think the dog really liked them and be more likely to adopt. I know jumping up is bad but might not be all bad in this situation.

Yes, being happy to see people is a good thing.

BUT

Jumping all over them when you weigh 45 pounds and have sharp toenails, and licking and nipping at their hands and faces is NOT a good thing.

He loves people, especially children, but if I were a mother who was thinking of a dog to adopt, I would not adopt the one that jumped all over my child, knocking him to the ground in the process, no matter how friendly he was.

I don't want him comatose when he meets new people, but I would like to teach him that just because a person is there, it does not mean that he should try to drag me (or whoever has his leash) over to them. It does not mean that just because he's excited to see them, that he has permission to jump up on them, or slobber all over them, or start nipping at them. For the jumping up, I'm trying to teach him to sit rather than jump, but my main problem is teaching him not to act like an idiot when he sees someone else.

You'll need to control the dog until the visitors are there long enough that the dog is no longer so excited. You can use a leash and collar to keep the dog from jumping up. Tell all visitors to ingnore the dog until he has calmed down. Once the initial excitement has worn off, you can have the dog sit and the visitor can greet him, perhaps giving him a treat. (which will likely keep him on the floor)

You will get much better advice from those that have experience. This is what I do as my GSD is an unbelievable bundle of excitement when people visit.

I got your message, I'll call tomorow. Asfar as the "butt" thing. It could have something to do with the anal glands.have your vet empty them and see if that helps.

I rarely have people visit. I know how to deal with it when visitors come over. But how do I deal with it while we're out on a walk or whatever, and someone is interested in him? Since he's a foster, I WANT people to be interested in him, and I WANT them to be able to approach him.

They came and picked him up lastnight, and the adopt-a-thon is Sunday. Hopefully he won't re-learn any of his bad habits while they've got him. I did a write-up on everything that I've been working on with him, so that if someone is interested, the rescue people will know what to tell them. I would be there, but I am leaving tomorrow to go out of town, and so that's why they are taking him.