How can i make my Staff more chilled out?

[Marne]

My lovely Staff is 2 years old, she's very friendly (maybe too friendly), great with the kid's and spends a lot of time asleep.

The problem is when people come to the house or i take her for a walk.

She jumps up at people, try's to lick them and sometimes mouths like a puppy (she doesn't bite). I end up having to shut her out when people come over as she gets to excited and over friendly (jumps on peoples laps and licks them). If a child comes into the house she stays down (just sniffs them and them walks away), so she knows how to behave with children but goes hyper when adults come over.

Whilst out she pulls on the lead but if fine of off the lead, she's great with other dog's but again she jumps up at adults.

I would like to be able to take her out places and for her to be able to walk past people without getting excited and i would like for her to sit still when people come over (without licking or jumping up).

I have tried holding on to her, making her sit and rewarding to good behaviour. I have tried removing her from the room when she gets over excited and i have tried shouting at her (which i know won't work and if anything it makes it worse).

Any advice please?

My GSD boy is very similar. I've found that NOT shuting him away works best for me, which when I come to think about it makes sense... if he's not allowed contact with visitors he's never going to learn and will get all the more over-excited when he does meet them.

Can you recruit a couple of dog-loving pals to help you? Ask them to visit and/or when they next do so, to help you, letting your dog in to meet them and helping him to act acceptably with a firm SIT command, giving him a treat only when he does so and turning their backs pointedly (with a firm NO as necessary) when he doesn't calm down and jumps up at them?

It takes time and patience and I confess that still my young GSD is a nosey beggar, wanting attention, but after a few moments will now calm down and lay quietly. In my case it's partly because I'm miles from friends and family in the main so have few visitors but the busier your household the faster you should get results.

Disclaimer: This does NOT stop my nosey GSD from investigating the bags/toolboxes of any workmen! I swear GSDs are the nosiest dogs ever, my last was an inquisitive soul too!

vallhala that is my GSD to a T - he is 10 monbths old and the nosiest dog i have ever met. He doesnt jump up but he wants to see who is there and greet them. He noses in tool boxes and removes items of interest - usually metal tools, yes he picks up metal, good if you drop your keys, not so good when he drops a spanner on your foot!

OP - I would suggest that ALL people who come into your home ignore your dogs behaviour in the Cesar Milan way, no touching, no talking, no eye contact - basically pretend that he is not there. The more people fuss the dog when they enter the house the more excited the dog will get, the more it will jump and the cycle continues.

The RSPCA, Dogs Trust, British Veterinary Association and numerous other welfare bodies recently issued a joint statement condemning Cesar Millan's methods.

Please read Jean Donaldson's The Culture Clash if you want to deal with your dog in a positive, reward based manner.

Joint Statement

Valhalla's method is good, btw

Oops, sorry - I meant Sweet Val

Well blow me away - the press statement criticising Cesar has been pulled, apparently. He does have an uncanny knack of getting all criticism of him removed

bella - I have watched Cesar Millan for a while and I havent seen him do anything to hurt a dog. I know that some people dont like his methods but he seems to get results with problem dogs. dont see how his no touch/touch could hurt a dog.

He is coming to UK in March.

sorry for thread hijack

Try watching this for starters:

Cesar asphyxiates dog

Anti CM fb page

Sorry, Marne

Sorry, not much help but when I saw the title I didn't realise this was a pets question. I was about to suggest stress magnets or liberal placement of greenery around the office.

Bumping this for you anyway - hope you get your dog sorted out!!

Oh wonderful things are Tiggers... LOL

Your Staffy sounds lovely, a very typical character. And not really badly behaved. You should meet mine It won't be easy but have you tried the Victoria Stillwell method? She uses treats and a firm "talk to the hand" sign and "wait". She puts a sign on the door so any visitors know to wait until the dog is sorted. You can google for her website and youtube vid of the two old english sheepdogs with this behaviour.

For jumping up at people in the in the park you have a two pronged approach. One, teach a solid recall from all distractions, two, teach to sit instead of jumping. It is all about making pleasing you more rewarding than anything else, with treats or games. If you can, invest in clicker training classes. Staffies are bright and pick it up quickly, but are strong willed so you need to keep at it.

To have a calm Staffy you need to be supernaturally calm yourself, not easy in a busy family,so don't stress yourself about it. Mine is 4 and only now sits for visitors (whilst wiggling all over) They still don't get away without a licking though!