Hi first time posting so I'll try to be thorough yet concise. I have rescued a mongrel 6 months ago (Connie) I think she has some lurcher and collie in her but I'm not sure. She lived with a couple for 4 years until they had a baby and I think she might have became jealous. She was in the shelter for 5 months. She is 5 or 6 years old.
Basically at home when it's just me and my partner, she is an angel, she is sociable, playful yet calm and does her own thing. She is ok on the lead too responding to quick corrections quite well. She gets an hour to 90 minutes of walks daily.
The problems are however that she goes crazy when visitors come in. She'll jump up, run around in circles, occasionally barks and does not listen to my commands until she gets a cuddle off the visitor. It's like she has to be the centre of attention.
Also if she hears people speaking outside she will bark, it's like the slightest noise outside she will bark. When I look outside there is usually nothing there. At least the barking only lasts seconds but it is a nuisance.
She also has a thing about running children and footballs. If she sees a football getting kicked she becomes fixated on this, heckles raised and barking. She visibly gets excited and I don't know how she became like this as it was a behaviour she had when she came to us (I noticed it on my first walk with her). Likewise if a child is running near us, she will want to join in and play with the child. She is never off the lead.
We've tried short quick corrections, getting her calm before the distraction and with visitors we have tried the no touch, no talk, no eye contact method as well as a firm "no" or "ah ah".
I get so frustrated sometimes and don't know what else to do. I know there are no quick fixes but can anyone give me any help here as my 75 year old auntie will be at my mum's for Christmas and I need Connie to be on her best behaviour. Any advice will be much appreciated.

[Piti Longstalking]

My first suggestion is to get a crate. From what you described your dog needs more work than what can be realized before your auntie arrives. In the mean time, answer yourself this question...what would you like the dog to do instead? Begin teaching that in your home and slowly add distractions, and control them in intensity and distance as your dog becomes more proficient.

You mentioned using corrections...those are inappropriate if you haven't taught the dog what to do, you're likely only exacerbating the problem.

You'll also likely find the quickest gains if you hire the services of a certified dog trainer.

I have some ideas for you to try. First off, my son, who was walking past and read your post over my shoulder said to tell you that dogs have an "off switch" on their bellies. He said this, because whenever our dog gets over excited and starts running around the way you've described, my boys just put her on her back and start rubbing her belly. It puts her into a completely different zone-- just like a tranquilizer, it's so cool!

But I have another idea, too. When someone comes to the door, put your dog into a sit/stay BEFORE you open it. Her reward for sitting calmly is that the door opens and the visitor comes inside. If she breaks her stay when the visitor enters, have the visitor turn his/her back on the dog and ignore her, while you put her back in position. The dog's reward for sitting calmly is attention from the visitor. You will need to enlist a helper before your Auntie arrives, to help you train the dog. In the initial training exercises, be sure to reward your dog with a treat/praise immediately when she sits calmly, in addition to having your helper turn around to greet the dog, so the dog knows that is what you want her to do. As you lead your guests into a sitting area to visit, teach your dog to follow and lay down at your feet while you visit. Use treats and praise for this exercise as well. You will have to work very hard, with daily practice, but it may be possible to effect these changes in time for your Auntie's visit.

My dog also has a similar problem with scooters and people running suddenly in her direction as your dog has with footballs. When I see these triggers, I have her "wait" and even sit. I get her to focus her attention on me, instead of the thing she fears, by touching her with my fingertips and snapping my fingers in her face while saying, "Cht- hey, look at me." When she is calm and no longer fixated on the other thing, we move on. I will do the same thing when we see a cat too, since she has a very high prey drive and wants to chase the cat. I seems to be effective so far.

I've also recently seen someone use the clicker training technique for these situations: When they see the trigger that upsets the dog, they put the dog into a sit and start clicking and treating the whole time until the trigger (say a bicycle, or another dog) has passed. This distracts the dog, but also conditions the dog to know that good things happen when these things are around, that there is no need to fear. I haven't actually tried this yet myself-- not entirely sure of how to put it all together to do it right.

Another method I saw for stopping the barking is to use a whistle. "Charge up" the whistle first by blowing and treating, blowing and treating, so the dog knows that when she hears the whistle, she gets a treat. When she starts barking outside, just blow the whistle. She should stop barking and come to you immediately. When she does, be sure to give her a treat and praise. Pretty soon she will be trained to stop barking immediately and come to you whenever you blow the whistle.

That's all I've got right now. You may be able to take one or a combination of these techniques, and adapt them to work for you, perhaps in a slightly different way. You may have to be creative, but this should give you somewhere to start. Good luck!

try to lock him up for a week let's see if that will work

Originally Posted by Piti Longstalking

You mentioned using corrections...those are inappropriate if you haven't taught the dog what to do, you're likely only exacerbating the problem.

I disagree. If a dog performs an unwanted behavior, such as growling or even getting overexcited, it is not inappropriate to make a quick noise or give a quick touch to snap them out of this mode.

Cesar Millan knows.

I can't helpwith the ball thing but I know what worked for us when our dogs used to bark like crazy and go generally bonkers when someone knocked the door or came to the house.
WHen someone comes the first thing is to just tell them to wait a minute or so while you sort out the dog. This way there is no panic on your behalf.
We would then call the dog and get it to sit or heel. Initially we would put them on their leads sothey couldn't go anywhere. You can then start making them obey your commands. The mere fact you don't open the door immediately is a great release factor. Lots less stress. Be calm and do things slowly. If it takes 5 mins to control the dogs then the caller will just have to wait.
This really did work very quickly and the dog quickly loses the initial excitement at the first knock of the door.
Hope this helps a little.