My dog goes loco with my dad

Why on earth does my 10 month old dog go absolutely crazy when my dad is around????
Dad has never wound him up or played with him, and ignores the dog when they first meet but Loki goes absolutely beside himself crazy whenever my dad is about.
Today I was upstairs in my own house with my mum, and I heard a crazy racket downstairs. I'd left Dad and Loki in the garden where Loki had pretty much ignored him. As soon as they went in the house Loki started charging round - to the point at which he was running along the back of the sofa! He was jumping up and wagging and and doing all kinds of attention seeking kind of behavior.
I had to put him behind the kitchen stairgate in the end.
When he calmed down I let him back in and although he fussed my dad he wasn't too bad.
He only ever does this with my dad and my male neighbour.
What on earth is going on and how do I stop it???

Unfortunatly my dad is 'old school' dog training - their local puppy trainer years ago was Barbara Woodhouse herself, so he has a tendency to do dominance theory stuff like holding the dog down to calm him, which I don't like - I think Loki is excited rather than scared of my dad. Mum and Dad have a dog of their own who he always fusses first before he pays any attention to my dog (fair enough) so I originally thought it might be jealousy or something, but their dog wasn;t in my house today.
Argghh

So basically you're saying that Loki only does this strange excitable behaviour when your dad or male neighbour come into your house? It doesn't happen anywhere else or with anyone else?

If this is the case, then you have to look at the relationship between your dog, your dad & your house & what's gone on before, for Loki to have made these associations that cause his excitable behaviour.

The things I would be looking for are:

• Your dad ignores Loki when he comes to your house ~ what about if your dad tried greeting Loki quietly & calmly, just a quick fuss, maybe get Loki to do something, just sit or down, for a treat? If it is attention-seeking behaviour from Loki, then maybe this would be enough for him.
  
• Could it be the smell of your dad's dog? If it doesn't happen in the garden though, it seems unlikely.
  
• Has your dad ever done anything that could have worried Loki or caused him to be a bit anxious in your dad's presence? You say your dad uses the dominance theory stuff. Has he ever tried any of his methods on Loki? Would your dad tell you if he had? Has your dad ever come into your house when you aren't there & treated Loki differently in some way? If you think it could be any of these reasons, then maybe you need to ask your dad to do a bit of bonding with Loki. Try to build pleasant & positive associations for Loki with your dad's arrival, e.g. toys, petting, treats, whatever Loki enjoys.
  
• Do you often walk Loki with your dad & his dog? Is it possible that Loki associates your dad's arrival with the thrill of a walk? Does your dad usually bring his dog to your house so Loki associates your dad's arrival with his playmate coming round?

Watch your dad & Loki carefully next time your dad comes to your house & see if you can spot what sets Loki off.

You need to try to look at things from Loki's viewpoint & be careful not to be too anthropomorphic & attributing it to things like jealousy. Principle of parsimony ~ look at the more obvious things first & try to find ways to test these out, before going on to the more complex & human-type reasons.

Oops double posted

Good post from Wilbar

I'd add that my immediate thought is that Loki is having a stress reaction to your dad (and has generalised this to other males).

Stress in dogs shows up as:

Fight
Flight
Freeze

or

Fiddle about
(which means, the dog can do anything from being a bit silly to going totally OTT and bonkers).

People often do not recognise this last one, as it's not obvious it is stress - many think the dog is being naughty or not obeying a command, when in fact it's just very stressed.

Does this fit, do you think?

Wys
x

Thanks both. Lots to think about.

He definitelycould be stresed I suppose. Its possible he's trying to get on my dads good side as a result of my dad's previous attempts to 'calm' him by holding his collar and holding him still when he's been over excited.

Dad has never been on a walk with us or even really played with Loki, he's just stroked him a bit.
It initally started happening when I was at my parent's house and dad came home from work. He would walk in, say hello, give Loki a little stroke and then their own dog (Ben) would come up for a fuss and dad would give Ben a good fuss. Loki would then circle round them and get more and more crazy until he was leaping up an down with all four feet off the floor and zoom around the room.
Yesterday was the first time in ages that my dad had ever been to my house.

He isn't like this with all men but I noticed that my dad and my neighbour both have similar builds and both have large, rough hands (my dad is a builder and my neighbour works with his hands a lot) and I wondered if it was something to do with that.

I'll keep an eye out for signs of stress or whatever sets him off and maybe try treating him when dad comes in.

Thanks again.

Yes that's how I was taught about fear/stress reactions too ~ the 4 Fs.

I like the "fiddle about" one & agree it's often overlooked, especially as it can show itself in lots of different ways. It is quite prevalent with cats too & often shows up as a quick groom or scratch or stretch, or a very careful & precise "sit" in a doorway, with tail curled round & paws tucked under. It's just a sign that the cat is unsure of what to do next, so it just waits to see what sort of greeting it will get.

Often with dogs, the "fiddle about" bit shows itself as conflict behaviours, e.g. the dog wants to greet someone, but is unsure of its reception, or is maybe a bit worried. Or opposing body language at each end

Can you get a bloke or two in ( ) and have them ignore the dog? He sounds a bit unsure of men, and if they don`t react to him he should relax with them.