# How do I teach my puppy to stop greeting others so friendly



## 4TheLoveOfSheps (Sep 9, 2015)

I feel like I'm getting to my wits end with my puppy. Please don't respond negatively, but what my puppy does is so annoying and it's as if words cannot describe it. I truly feel like I need to hire Cesar Millan "The Dog Whisperer" because my puppy is out of control. Whenever it's just me and him walking everything is cool, and he walks fairly well. Every now and then he begins pulling, but it is immediately corrected and he's back to walking good. But if he even sees another person in the DISTANCE and I repeat DISTANCE. No matter how far they may seem, it is all over!!!! He pulls and chokes himself. He does not care. It has even gotten to the point where my girlfriend thinks of giving him away because he is getting strong for her and when he sees someone he just relentlessly pulls. Also, when they approach he's way too happy. Jumps, scratches them, pees etc. Even people themselves get mad at this behavior... I have tried everything. I've looked at YouTube videos/The Dog Whisperer, and I feel like a complete failure with this dog. I love dogs so much, but he's making me feel like I'm a bad owner and should never own a dog again. Please help.. Btw he's 4 months.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Ok ...not sure why you'd think we'd come down on you for this, but it's not uncommon, your dog is a bit out of control, you just have to rein him in a bit.

Dog Whisper and Youtube are fine for training your dog ... "if" you "know" what you are looking "at" and if you know what you are "looking for!" 

I could go on ...but I'm out of the "Novelette" business for awhile. 

So I'll just link this thread with more links and answers for "you and your dog." Check them out and you'll be a much better position to ask questions. Welcome aboard. 

And I'll add you might want to seriously consider "Crate Training" to get him used to doggy boot camp, that's your call.

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/7400865-post6.html


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

The good news is that at 4 months old, there's just no way that you've already tried "everything", at least not long enough to make any methods work. I wonder too how much time you've spent teaching proper leash manners. And I don't mean correcting him for pulling, but actually showing him what you expect.

One thing that can work well, but takes time, patience, and some willing victims…..um, friends, family members or neighbors to help, is penalty yards. The more excited he gets, the further away he gets. He only gets to approach, or have people approach him, if he's calm. And as long as he's on leash he can't jump and scratch them, so make sure he's leashed for greetings, and not close enough for that kind of behavior. 

To start with, you and your girlfriend can use each other, and then branch out to other people. I think of it as a game of red light/green light. You have him on leash with her far enough away that your puppy will pay attention to you and sit. Lure him with a treat if necessary, and continue to reward him in place. She slowly walks towards you, and the second he breaks the sit, she stops. Put him in a sit again. If he's too excited, have her back away until he will sit. Try again. He remains calmly in a sit, green light - she comes towards you. He breaks, red light - she stops or moves backwards. Switch handlers. 

Does he have a release word? If not, teach one. You want him to remain in his sit until you release him to get up. This is something you can also work on in a less distracting situation, without other people around. If you're walking towards someone (and again, start with you and your gf), and he pulls, back away until he's forced to walk towards you, then briskly start walking forwards again. Good leash behavior, green light - you continue walking. Pulling, red light - you back away from whatever he's excited about. 

We did this exercise in puppy class where all the pups were tethered to hooks on the walls around the room. All the people walked around the room, approaching each pup and giving a treat, but only if the dog remained sitting calmly. If the dog broke, we backed away until it sat again. They figured it out pretty quickly what they needed to do to be able to greet the people and get a treat.


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