still not behaving when I have guests coming over.........

[Marion]

Abby is almost 9 month old and still is behaving like a mad dog when people are coming over.
I have never seen such excitment in my life.
I have tried every trick and training tool I have heard and written about. I just end up putting her in a crate after a while.
I will have someone come over one day to just practice behaving I guess.
And she is going to her first puppy training class next month.
How are you doing with your to excited puppy?

[Susan, Zeke. Lily & Jasper]

This sounds exactly like our house, double doodles and all! My two seem to behave the worst when my daughter and grandsons come to visit. They adore each other and take much longer to calm down than with other visitors. I did not teach the toy trick but sometimes they do this on their own, trying so hard to be good. I guess little boys are just too much for still puppies to deal with. Hopefully with age this too will pass.

[Nicole Wayne]

I have used two methods successfully. You won't know which one, if either, works until you try it.

1. My previous dog (standard poodle) would get all excited and attack people (joyfully!) when they would come over. She'd just lose her mind with excitement. We trained her to "go get a toy" anytime someone would come over. That way whenever someone would come in, she would first run and get her toy before greeting them. And then, once she had her toy, she would greet people but not lick or jump up on them. She seemed to think that getting a toy and bringing it to the new person was enough interaction. The guest was then free to pet her and she calmed right down.

2. Mazie Doodle, now 21 months old, goes nuts when someone comes over. In most cases, we have to put her in her crate to calm her down enough to interact with whoever is visiting. We wait until she is calm and then let her out of the crate. She knows if she stays calm, she won't have to go back in her crate, so she is somewhat motivated to calm down. We don't leave her in the crate for long, just enough time for her to settle down and think for a minute. It reminds her that she doesn't get to play with any guest until she is calm. When she is out, interacting with a guest, I will still put her back in her crate if she gets riled up, starts jumping or gets "licky." It works. BTW, Mazie likes her crate. She has no problem going in it either because we tell her to or if she just feels like it. It's not a form of punishment for her. It's her home base.

Hope this is helpful. Peace.