How to stop my puppy going overboard when greeting other dogs? - Page 1

Please help

My now 8 month puppy goes crazy when she meets other dogs.  She licks at their mouth and jumps all over them and most dogs hate her, even my own hate her,  including her mother. I realize she just want a 4 legged friend but she is like that obnoxious person that everyone wants to avoid.

She is not aggressive but often other dog owners fear that she is.
                        
I have never owned one like this.

My Mal did this as a young puppy (3-6 months old) There's a group of us at the local Kennel Club that would take our dogs for runs together 3 times a week so they could all socialize. My Mal was the Holy Terror. LOL

I knew it from the first time I took her along, she would just get up in the face of another dog and bark bark bark then go to the next dog ..didn't matter if it was a Dobe, St, GSD, little or big dog she did it to all them to the point of pissing them off then moved on to the next. (I think this is what she wanted to do to begin with)

The problem with my Mal is she was always faster (and she knew it) than all the rest so she could and would get in their face and bark like mad. I had to remedy this after the first few times or I wasn't allowed to participate. The people back then didn't care too much for me anyhows so I needed to fix my dog to continue with these outings.

I fixed this by pretty much being a snob to the people and dogs. When we would meet at the location my first training session with her was to keep her on the leash the entire time. We did this 3 times while the other dogs woud come to her face while on the leash. She didn't like it one bit. The next week I still kept her on a leash but stayed far away from all the other dogs running around. When one would come over to her I'd switch directions and walk faster the opposite way. Later I'd walk over to the other dogs and when they turned to come closer to us, I changed direstions and walked fast the opposite way. I did this for the 2nd week. (3 meets a week)

The 3rd week, I'd have her on her leash with a quick repeat of the first 2 weeks .. then let her off the leash. It's like she was putty in my hands. LOL I love her.

Now she is a total snob to ALL dogs while running, she just flys past them and not a peep or double take. She just runs around now and could careless about another dog. I think it's funny too, because now all the other dogs want in her face and not a one can catch her.  LMAO

We have a new group of people that joined this past time for the first time 2 weeks ago.. and they have 6 Dobermans ... the first time they showed up all 6 Dobermans just stood there and watched Grandeur dart around paying no attention to anyone or anything. Of all the dogs there Grandeur had their undivided attention. I think it's interesting sometimes how dogs think. Those Dobermans were affraid to move on their first day !!! 

Good Luck.

8 months is old enough for stronger obedience and it will certainly give you the control you need. She needs to learn that when you say sit and stay, you mean sit and stay, whether she wants to go play or not. As ShadyLady said, it's only a matter of time before she bites off way more than she can chew, and wild, obnoxious, young GSDs are not good ambassadors for the breed. Get that girl back into school!

I would say that's not out of the norm for a young dog,  and probably a learned behavior at home.
She more than likely will grow out of it.
She should already be obedience trained at this age.
You should not allow her to get that close to other dogs unless you know the owner and they know you.
Dog's can come unglued in a flash and they will fight.
I think you just need to have some control and give her time to mature at a distance from strange dogs.
With your own dogs let them be themselves, one of them will sooner or later put her in her place or at least establish some understanding between them.
Licking at the mouth is a puppy submissive behavior, my guess is mom has snapped at her already.


Moons.

Very true Moons her mother always tells her off but she keeps on doing it and I never ever let her that close to strange dogs I would prefer that she is aloof to them as BabyEagles dog is.

Her come & sit is very good as she knows that she will be rewarded (treat) still needs lots more work on the stays though.
BabyEagle she sounds just like your Mal (only wants to piss them off).

I tried taking her to work with me, 1 of the vets own an ancient 16 years old toothless ( yeah a vets dog, I know) Border Collie and a 7 month old Ridgeback the other vet owns a Bernese Mountain dog. The border is too old to be bothered by such a little shit and just snapps at her and falls over from the effort (poor old girl), the Ridgback is afraid of her but the Bernese thought that it was Christmas and Jorga was his new toy he wouldn't leave her alone until she sat in the corner near the door an sulked. I think that the work experience for her is good and I would like to continue taking her to work but I worry that the Bernese might hurt her as he is soo much bigger and I can't supervise them all the time (after all they do pay me to work when I am there ).

Thanks for your replies they are very helpful. MORE OB WORK & a nothing in life is free attitude from me. I do know all of these things but this pup just ties me in knots    I will have to work her harder. She is out of a bitch that a schutzhund trainer asked if I would mate to his stud dog for a working litter, haven't done it yet but if this the type of puppy this bitch is going to give me it may be an option at some time.

I would like to mention one thing which has not been brought up yet.

There are a few pups which, as they mature, don't quite know how to deal with their conflicting emotions of dominance and submission. These are the pups which do "rude greetings".  There is a difference between a true submissive greeting and the super pushy, will-not-stop-no-matter-what pup that continues tto pester adults until they become angry.  I've seen this lead to fights, which is what the younger dog is aiming for, except they just arent mature enough to really understand it all.

Not saying your pup is like that, but I have seen it enough times to mention it. The dogs that "won't take no for an awnser" are kinda like people that won't take no for an answer...  something not quite right there.

Hopefully as she matures,she will become more appropriate. Good luck.

I think that is a very good responce NoCurs and not one I had thought about but one thing I do know about this puppy is that she is Not looking for a fight she is just trying too hard to make a 4 legged friend and at this stage she hasn't discovered that she is going the wrong way about it.

The puppy in my avitar is the one in question laying quietly with her Grandmother but that was only after her persistance wore them both out, it was taken about 3 months ago.

I have no idea what methods of training clubs arround the world use but here in ( Oz not all ) but many now will not allow a dog to wear a check chain on the traing ground ----- only soft and gentle methods are used  -- flat collar, Halti or harness only --- they are no better than useless as far as training goes especially for a large breed and are only useful as a puppy socializing tool. A friend who owns a GSD rung me not long ago frantic that she was not getting anywhere training her puppy so I queried her about method of training at her club and hers was one that does not allow check chains (she lives too far from a GSD training club to attend ). My advice was to go out and purchase a check chain - I told her how to buy the correct size -- measure the dogs neck and add 2 inches, then I met her at a park and told her how to use it --  met her the following week for refresher and now the dog is far better. She has stopped attending her old club and is doing far better alone.

its not the dog but the how you as the owner aproachs other dogs...if you are calm and relaxed and not over think when your dog meets other dogs