Very excited greetings

[Valerie]

When anyone comes over or when I come home Eka is super excited and overly friendly and jumping all over me or whoever it is. What is the best way to work on this? Should I be ignoring her when I come in? It's a little difficult because she is jumping all over me at the time, but I can. I have stopped talking to her excitedly when I come in and come in more calmly and not do the high pitched "Oh hello Eka, you are so excited, yes you are... yes you are..."

Anything else I should be doing?

[Lee Charles Kelley]

One of the most helpful things (for me, at least) is in knowing where a dog's excitement is coming from. Is it just pure joy to see you again? Or is there something else fueling the behavior?

If you back trace a dog's emotional evolution from wolves who, as group predators, have to sublimate their urge to bite into social behaviors in order to maintain group harmony, and carry that through to the way dogs whose urge to bite wasn't sublimated usually didn't survive long enough to pass on their genes to the next generation, while those who came up with highly social ways of sublimating that urge did survive, you come to the conclusion (hopefully) that nearly everything a dog does, even her greeting behaviors when we come home, is a sublimation of the urge to bite.

That's my long-winded way of saying that when you come home, have a toy or tennis ball handy, show it to her, and redirect all her energy into biting the toy. If you do this every time you come home, pretty soon she'll greet you at the door with a toy in her mouth. (At least I think she will; it seems to work well with most dogs.)

I hope this helps,

LCK

[Valerie]

Thanks Lee! I will try that. I'll have to put a toy right by the door and maybe one or two outside with a sign telling folks to bring the toy to Eka when they come in.

I think it's joy at seeing me and other people. I hope so at any rate! At the dog park she used to greet all the humans first and then the dogs. And I'm told that when I'm gone she doesn't do anything but sleep and wait for me. In fact if I've left her some food or a rawhide to chew on, it won't be touched until I come home. I hope that's not separation anxiety, but I do prefer it to the destruction some folks' dogs do when they are gone.

I will try the toy at the door. I like that idea.


Thanks,
Valerie

[Angelique]

Valerie, Low-key comings and goings are helpful as well. Avoid the urge to communicate with her, eyes, voice, touch. There's no point in getting her riled up if you can't channel her energy just yet.

[Alec]

My dog is hyper-friendly whenever we meet new people outside or inside. She gets excited when I come home as well; I think most dogs do, but this cools down after just a minute or two. I do think its best not to increase the energy with a lot of high pitch talking or other encouragement as others have mentioned. As for meeting others I have tried a number of different approaches including what Lee posted. Somewhere, Neil wrote that it is best to have the meeting occur outside so whenever possible that is what I do and I have a tug toy and/or ball ready to change her focus and burn off some energy from the greeting. Once inside the house, I will have her lay down for treats from both myself and the visitor, push for treats, and find a particularly attractive toy to chew on (a fresh sock from the drawer is always a winner for us). Ultimately, all of these only work to moderate the behavior at this point (she isn't constantly jumping up trying to lick them). I mentioned this problem (along with a couple other things) to Kevin who said that, in my dog’s case, she was all about stimulation, and not about overcoming resistance. We have been working with her tied up to a post with a flirt pole while trying to ultimately get her to hold the toy in her mouth calmly while the energy in the situation increases. This is taking some time but her play with tug has become more intense and she seems to be able to express more energy to me. I think this is basically what the pushing exercise is for; however, in my case I needed to supplement that exercise. I say all this because if the general techniques are not enough, you may want to contact one of these guys for a more personalized approach. Good luck.

[Valerie]

Interesting. I wonder if Eka needs a flirt pole. Ok what is a flirt pole?

Eka does seem to be a little calmer and does take the toy for a little bit and will take it again if I offer it sometimes. I can see we may need new toys rotated through. Still jumps on my husband quite a bit when he comes in.

Thanks for the advice about getting one-on-one help for extra credit techniques. I've been thinking about scheduling a call.

[neilsattin]

Hi Alec,

It seems that your comment here:

in my dog’s case, she was all about stimulation, and not about overcoming resistance. We have been working with her tied up to a post with a flirt pole while trying to ultimately get her to hold the toy in her mouth calmly while the energy in the situation increases. This is taking some time but her play with tug has become more intense and she seems to be able to express more energy to me. I think this is basically what the pushing exercise is for; however, in my case I needed to supplement that exercise.

Has sparked a question or two in another thread. Could you elaborate more on what "she was all about stimulation, and not about overcoming resistance" means? My take, at the time, was that you meant that your dog hadn't learned yet to overcome resistance, and that's why you were doing your work with the flirt pole - but maybe I misinterpreted? Would love to hear a little bit more about where this insight has led you, and how your work is going...