[retrieverlover]

My dogs are SO well behaved most of the time but when someone new comes to the door, they go crazy! They jump and spin and are crazy and it's a bit embarrassing. Any tips on how to teach them to be the wonderful, fun dogs that they are even when they're excited?

[SeeSpotRun]

I don't think that there is a whole lot that you could do. It's normal for them to express their happiness that way.

[chelsea00133]

No, it is not normal. The normal dog "greeting" is smelling eachother, not jumping around and acting crazy. Try telling your guests to COMPLETLY ignoor the dogs. No tuch, no talk, no eye contact. Act like they arn't even there. Let them smell the new people, and ONLY give affection when they are completly calm. Even if they are standing next to you givng you the "sad eyes" it is not a calm behavior. In the dog world, that would be very rude, and naturaly balanced dogs wouldnt do that. Once they lay down somewhere, are completly relaxed, THEN give affection. But if they start to get excited while recieving affection, stop and go back to ignooring them. Soon they will learn that they are ONLY going to get affection when they are CALM, not excited.

[PitBullLvr]

No, it is not normal. The normal dog "greeting" is smelling eachother, not jumping around and acting crazy. Try telling your guests to COMPLETLY ignoor the dogs. No tuch, no talk, no eye contact. Act like they arn't even there. Let them smell the new people, and ONLY give affection when they are completly calm. Even if they are standing next to you givng you the "sad eyes" it is not a calm behavior. In the dog world, that would be very rude, and naturaly balanced dogs wouldnt do that. Once they lay down somewhere, are completly relaxed, THEN give affection. But if they start to get excited while recieving affection, stop and go back to ignooring them. Soon they will learn that they are ONLY going to get affection when they are CALM, not excited.

I definately agree with this. Although, it's very hard to do. LOL I'm not very good at it. I do try though.

[luvdanes04]

Our Lab is really hyper like that. The ignoring thing works really well if your guests are willing to obide by it.

My mom tends to drive me crazy when she comes over and will not listen to me when I tell her not to pet Abby when she is acting like a nut.

[mcgomery]

My mother's dog is like this also. So I am supposed to ignore her when she is jumping and acting crazy... so what do I do let her keep jumping and scratching my legs or do we scold her and tell her no?

[BestBuddies]

Originally Posted by mcgomery

My mother's dog is like this also. So I am supposed to ignore her when she is jumping and acting crazy... so what do I do let her keep jumping and scratching my legs or do we scold her and tell her no?

In a case like this, I would calmly, without saying anything to the dog, take her by the collar and take her to a time out place (could be her bed) give a firm but calm "stay" and walk away. If she breaks the stay or gets hyper again when you release her from the stay, repeat until she gets it. It will take time and patience on your part but if you stick with it she'll get the idea. If you let up just once, you'll be back to starting over. The key here is to remain calm and consistant while showing her that that behaviour is not allowed. Good luck and be calm.