Over Friendly dogs
What’s an over friendly dog.
It usually means they are very enthusiastic when meeting either a person or dog. They will be over there with friends and not with you. Even jumping up or all over other people and/or dogs. And you can’t stop them!
To help we need to be a better place to be - so we need to look at the relationship we have with our dog.
Often when we welcome a new dog into the house, we allow them to have too much freedom as we want them to feel loved and safe. But this does give a false sense of importance to our new dog. If we restrict their access to areas and allow them to settle in first, then they work out how to please you, where to feel safe and what is allowed.
By offering some boundaries we help our dogs feel safe. They turn to us for fun and reward and you become a team.
Here are some ideas to do that:
If we work on the idea of finding 5 things that your dog loves most, ideally you should be number 1 but 4 other things that will get them to want to be with you. Maybe a couple of toys and some yummy treats- do remember to think of them as a payment for a job well done.
It is important that the toys are yours and you should have them with you when out and about. Then when out on your walk, stop every now and then and get your dog to play with you. Then send them off to sniff and then call them back to you for a play or a treat. Make sure you are the centre of their world and they will listen to you.
Now, when they are first let off, give them permission to play and then call them back to you for a better time. Eventually if you keep practicing, your dog will want to keep checking in with you and as soon as you call them, they will return to your side. By the way it takes time and lots of repetitions to teach but is so rewarding and you actually give your dog more freedom in the end.
Finally don’t forget to teach your dog to settle in lots of different places. Again try and remember to tell them and you will find them resting more and then relaxing and eventually sleeping. Funny that we need to teach our dogs to rest but it’s important.
Practice makes perfect and then keep it up. Our dogs will always want to be where the other dogs are unless you offer them something better. It’s up to us to remember to do this. And maybe if you are struggling to get your dog back, you should keep your dog on a long line on their walk so you can reinforce your commands. Every time you let them ignore you, you go straight back to the beginning.
Join the teenage tearaways group on Saturday mornings and get some help.
If your dog is older than 19months then please ask for help through our socialisation packages Make a start in helping them fulfil their potential as your best companion.
