My pup is too friendly with other people and dogs

This may not seem like much of a problem, but it is a bit of a nuisance.
My golden retriever pup is now 6 months old and when we are out she goes out of her way to "meet and greet" all the people and dogs she comes across (strangers or not - makes no difference). She seeks out the people first and then greets their dogs. Fortunately she doesn't jump up, but sits or lies down wiggling all over and adoringly looking up at them expectantly. She is nearly always rewarded by people petting her for doing this which reinforces her behaviour. Folks who know her have even started calling to her from a distance and because she is so friendly they think it is great and so does she. Short of keeping her on her lead it is very difficult to stop her. When I do stop her folks think I am a spoilsport. "Aww she's only a puppy" they say. I now go places where she is not known, which helps a bit, but not a lot. Am I just being a misery? and what can you do with a dog who is too friendly ? Now I've written this down it does seem like a stupid problem!!!!!

I have the same problem and Louie is 16 months - he loves other dogs and HAS to say hello - luckily he's learnt to say hello politely but it is a nuisance as he will only recall after he's said hello - which can be too late sometimes.. I think I'm going to don the long line again and work on it..

Which is something you could do - work on her recall more - get her to the best recall ever! So she will recall from anything and everything! It's probably better to start now rather than later like I..

HTH

Dogs are naturally social creatures and as a 6 month old puppy everything is new and interesting to them.

I clearly remember our Baruska was interested in everything, even butterflies would get her excited and running after them

She is nearly 8 now and when our walk comes to point where we can go right (No people) or go left (Usually a few people) she always chooses the left track

My main concern is that she might go off with someone, dog theft is a problem in this country

There is no such thing as a dog that is "too friendly" but there is such a thing as an owner who has "too little control".

Thats it then SB - problem solved - sorry I asked

http://flyingdogpress.com/content/view/42/97/

Hiya! Long time no chat!!!
First I think it's easier if pups head to people first
not dogs so that's a blessing.
I think pups/ dogs have what we call a 'point of no return' and it's vital at this stage that you know where yours is!!! DO NOT shout your pup once they hit that critical distance where you know they are fixated and will head to the person. There is no point you are damaging your recall if you even think about trying it. Only shout when you know they will come back. When you get to them ask the people to stop the contact then show pup a tasty treat and walk away ( not far) calling them, ensuring the people don't even make eye contact if pup returns. When pup comes to you lay the praise on big style, give pup the treat and run off away from the people, silly squeaky voice etc.
Never get to pup/people and tell
Pup off OR put pup on the lead unless pup has decided to go
home with them.
At all times when out remember YOU have to be
more interesting than anything else.

Can think of lots of recall things you can do but I
Know you are a fab owner and won't
need them

This seems to be a Retriever thing There are loads in our park who insist on meeting and greeting.
I have noticed though that it is generally owners who just walk. I think with retrievers the clue is in the name. I would take a toy out and play with the dog more - and also work on recall with an exciting game as a reward.

Tango would be after everyone and everything given half a chance. With the FCR we puppywalked it was a massive issue and he almost failed as a result. It was from the moment he came to us. We nailed it but it took a year. When he went into training we flagged it as a problem but hw regressed, he was also an escapologist. He got out of the kennel block one day and had 4 trainers spendn45 minutes trying to catch him. they ignored everything I had said to do. Mind you I was shown how to
Improve his recall with the aid of a flexi
lead and flat collar.... I refused.

In other words.. Yep probably a retriever thing and we were really aware of it ( thanks to the dog
mentioned above) when Cosmo came home and focused on it. He lives for his ball.. Except when he spots a squirrel or rabbit!

Thanks SLB - I think I will get my long line out again. I put this thread up because I saw your discussion with Leanne about less contact making a dog more attentive

Of course, you are right Losos everything is new and interesting to a 6 month old pup. She is a very friendly pup and I wouldn't really want her to be any other way

Thank you Smokeybear for the link - I have saved it and will read it more thorougly when I have a bit more time One of my flatcoat bitches was very much like Cream. The thing with Bonnie is that I don't think she is actually being rude with dogs or people - her behaviour and body language with other dogs seems very polite and tells me that she knows exactly what to do and how to approach and initiate contact. She is very submissive and if a dog or a person ignores her and doesn't encourage contact she does not pester them, she just sits down and leaves them alone. I'm being anthromorphic, but it seems as if she is thinking "OK if you are not interested in me it's your loss". She is a very soft dog and I think she may be using her submissive behaviour to manipulate a situation to her advantage.
I will get her sorted, but she is a very soft and gentle dog - probably the softest I have had, so I don't want to make her lose confidence. I for my part am probably a bit too permissive. Does that make sense ?

Hello Ramble - nice to hear from you again. I know exactly what you mean about the point of no return. What I am actually doing is telling her to wait. She stops-waits-moves forward-waits again - right up until meeting. So there is a degree of control, but not always enough. One of the biggest handicaps is that many people say Ahh and encourage her to them. People who know her actually call to her from across the field or park and then I have no chance.

I am sure you are right Claire, I think it is a retriever thing. The walk becomes a social event and there is a degree of complacency - certainly on my part. I think I am going to have to shape up, but I think getting other "doggy" people to ignore her will be quite difficult - its quite appealing to many people when a friendly pup obviously likes to make contact. As I said to Smokeybear, I will get her sorted. If this is the biggest problem I have with her as she grows up I will count myself lucky

Thank you all for your replies and help.