PSA Control your dogs

[disneyseniors]

Goldens - OMG. I've never had a dog that wanted to be hugged so much. He's absolutely adorable, but also very smart and a real handful. He has absolutely no instinct to protect anything. That's good because he rarely barks and we can trust him not to hurt anyone, but it would be nice to have another set of eyes on the front door. He's finally taken to potty training (took 8 solid months - each of my previous labs got it in minutes). He's in a crate when we can't watch him full time because he has eaten socks and underwear, plus absolutely anything he can access - which is pretty much anything. My last lab would not go near a crate which was fine - he also never got into anything.

Had it to do over I would get another lab. They are so much easier to train and want to please a lot more than a golden, but we're figuring it out.

I agree! I love labs. They are so kind and loving, and ours was easy to train. He was huge but never barked at people. Except for one time when he a took a dislike to a couple of our guests. We had a resort with cabins. He never did anything to them but barked and watched them. They were the only people who stole anything from our cabins in all our years of running the resort. Somehow he just knew that they were not to be trusted. Labs are incredibly smart and faithful. He was "my" dog and watched out for me. One day I went swimming off our beach into deeper water and he came running and jumped into the water and gently took hold of my arm in his mouth and pulled me to shore! I found out that I needed to put him in his pen when I went swimming. I really miss that sweet dog.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I love dogs, but I don’t love dog behavior like this. I wouldn’t want to be around that dog, either.

Is this their first dog, by chance? I hope they don’t have to learn the hard way that that type of behavior is a liability for them. If the dog hurts someone by jumping up and knocking them down, they (and the dog) could be in trouble if there’s an injury.

Good luck trying to get them to change, though. They probably won’t. It’s people like this that make it hard for people who do teach their dogs how to behave.

My dogs are pretty mellow but if I have people over, they go outside. In extremes of weather they’ll come in and go in the sunroom with the door closed so as not to bother anyone. Often visitors tell me I can let the dogs in. Dogs say hi then they go lay down. Last week we had friends over to eat and a movie and during the movie the little one layed between them on the sofa and they patted him, saying let him stay, otherwise I would’ve put him away or put the gate up.

This doesn’t happen by chance, it takes a lot of direction and consistency to get them to understand the rules. But once they do, and they’re enforced all the time, they generally behave. On my 7th German Shepherd now and I also have a Cairn Terrier, who’s a great dog. I’ve known a lot of retrievers who are friendly but food mongers. One friend had a big Black Lab behaved like the one in the OP. When our kids were little they had us over once for a birthday or something. We were having cupcakes when the dog jumped up, grabbed one of the cupcakes, and practically swallowed it whole! The mom was running around the house chasing after the dog, lol.

Someone upthread mentioned it, too, but daily and hard exercise is really necessary for some of these dogs who were bred to work. They don’t know what to do with themselves when they’re just cooped up all day, and their energy comes out as chaos. With more directed energy, like a run, or playing ball, or playing with other dogs, life can be so much better. A tired dog is a happy dog.

 

[John VN]

Some actions when a Dog Jumps upon entering a house

1. Block the Jump:
   As the dog attempts to jump, bring your knee up forcefully to the dog's chest.
   
   
2. Deny Attention:
   Turn your back to the dog and cross your arms to show you will not engage with the behavior.
   
   
3. Do Not Make Eye Contact:
   Avoid looking at the dog, as this can reinforce the jumping behavior.
   
   
4. Wait for Calmness:
   Stay still and ignore the dog until they have settled down and are no longer jumping