Dog goes crazy/excited when she sees me...

doubtfir3

I have a dog whom we rescued about 8 months ago. She was definitely poorly treated by her previous owners and was only at pup at that stage perhaps 2-3 months old.

She is quite submissive, and wants nothing more than to be "around you" - if I kneel down in the garden to do something she immediately comes and sits on the backs of my legs, if I bend down or kneel she comes over and stands beside me pushing herself into me.. seemingly just wanting to be around me.

When others are around she can, to a degree take them or leave them and will make a fuss if she's in her run but calms quite quickly, but if I'm anywhere to be seen she literally loses the plot with whining, yelping and very high pitched barking.

I spend as much time with her as I can, and play with her a good bit also (she loves playing fetch - hasn't quite grasped the "bring it back" bit yet :P) and am just wondering if there is anything I can do to calm her a bit and not make her go as wild when she sees me.

We were minding my girlfriend's mother's dog for the past month or so and she calmed a lot, but still if she's out in the back garden and not in her run she will literally launch herself at the back door and bark like mad when she sees me get out of the car because she's so excited to see me.

Any thoughts?

I know the obvious is to get another dog who will act as company for her, but I'm also wondering if there is a way of reducing her "need" for me / attachment to me?

(And yes, I do LOVE that she's crazy about me.. I'm delighted, but would also like to be able to go into the back garden or get out of the car without her going wild.)

Thanks

Sigma Force

Don't think getting another dog is the answer really, well it wouldn't do any harm esp. if they get on really well. However you will have 2 dogs then jumping up crazy to see you. This all sounds pretty normal actually esp. as she's probably not had the best start in life and is kind of going through a puppy phase still.

Try some clicker training with her it will teach her some basic obedience so you can stop the jumping (never pet her if she jumps up on you that's rewarding her although it's hard not to). Clicker training is a great way to bond with a dog without the dog going over the top jumping on you looking for cuddles.

It might take her some more time to settle in but she will.

Dublin141

My dog is exactly the same - similar story, she wasn't treated very well by her previous owners. She is quite needy now and seems to need physical contact at all times. She follows me a lot and acts like she hasn't seen me in days if I've been in the other room for a minute. She's always leaning against me, sitting beside me, under me, etc. She's constantly getting stepped on, that's the biggest problem!

She reminds me of a puppy or kitten that has been taken from its mother too young and forms a needy kind of attachment to the person taking care of them.

We are going to bring her to obedience training, hoping to calm her down a little and socialize her a bit more. I thought it would take time for her to trust that she was going to be well cared for but maybe she needs a little bit more. I've also considered another dog. Somebody told me that having an older, calmer dog might be a good influence on her and maybe she would be less dependent on us and learn how to act like a dog basically.

Shammy

i dont think the dog is submissive at all , from what you say , "sitting on your knees" "barking at the door until you come " "not giving the ball back to you" are all the signs that the dog does not see you as the pack leader.

People think that when a dog spins around or jumps u on you when you come out to them , that they are delighted to see you , in fact they are annoyed with you .

I could be way off the mark here but its just my view from what you wrote.

doubtfir3

Guineapigrescue wrote: »

Try some clicker training with her it will teach her some basic obedience so you can stop the jumping (never pet her if she jumps up on you that's rewarding her although it's hard not to). Clicker training is a great way to bond with a dog without the dog going over the top jumping on you looking for cuddles.

We have had her for about 7 months now, and I have done a lot of work with her, in terms of getting her to sit, come, "get the ball" and of course to sit as her food is put in her bowl or water is refreshed as well as sitting when her lead is attached or removed.

I also have her calmed (mostly) with the jumping up when I come into the room or go into the back garden etc and she knows that she must "relax" (i.e. sit near me) before she gets attention or a rub.

All in all I'm quite happy so far with her training, but the specific "woof woof come over here I'm excited to see you" bit is still somewhat of a problem.

Dublin141 wrote: »

I've also considered another dog. Somebody told me that having an older, calmer dog might be a good influence on her and maybe she would be less dependent on us and learn how to act like a dog basically.

The dog we were minding is almost 10 and is an older quieter dog which has calmed her significantly so this is why I had sought people's opinions on this aspect. She certainly was calmer and seemed pleased with the company and to have someone to "talk to" and to play with. He showed her how to act a bit and kept her calm, but of course he also taught her how to dig.. :P:rolleyes:

I guess some more homework on it wouldn't go astray and we may go down this route.

Shammy wrote: »

i dont think the dog is submissive at all , from what you say , "sitting on your knees" "barking at the door until you come " "not giving the ball back to you" are all the signs that the dog does not see you as the pack leader.

No, she is definitely submissive. Her actions are not dominating, and when she is bold or told to stop she immediately goes to ground.

All of her actions are quiet when she is around you, and she is as Dublin141 said simply quite needy, and seems to feel a constant closeness with a person who is good/nice to her.

The whole thing is that she sits because of closeness, and barks out of excitement (and perhaps loneliness) rather than dominance, and I put the not giving the ball back down to not fully understanding the whole "fetch" concept just yet. She does it some of the time, but loves to fetch and brings the ball back to you just doesn't always drop it... we'll get there!

Shammy wrote: »

People think that when a dog spins around or jumps u on you when you come out to them , that they are delighted to see you , in fact they are annoyed with you.

I'd be interested to read some more about this if you have some sources.. everything I have read indicates loneliness/ a bond with me/ a need for me. being delighted and excited to see me.

To be honest, I'm surprised that it would convey annoyance - has anyone else got input on this?

Thanks all for you help, it is appreciated.

bnagrrl

I'm not sure about the annoyance thing but I have heard that over excitement in a dog can be down to not getting enough exercise.

OP have you tried ignoring your dog while she is being over-excited and only giving her attention when she has calmed down?
Ignoring your dog will be really tough but if you do not encourage the 'negative' behaviour she will soon stop doing it.

joyce2009

when she acts like a loon how do you react?? the best way and might sound mean is to compleatly ignore her, dont talk , touch or look her in the eye. if you do you are feeding into the excitment.she eventually learn that she gets attention from you when she is settled,,have you tried training classes, they can give you some good tips as shes only young yet she'll pick it up fast from you since she is so bonded to you....best of luck with the rascal:D

Shammy

It came from a dog behaviourist ,who has been treating dogs for about 30 years.

As what joyce said , no talk no touch no look , from what i've learnt its all about respect , if the dog is climbing all over you without your say so its lack of respect.

doubtfir3

I have been ignoring her and just gone on with my business in the back garden or worked away into the house or driven away etc, but have just been a little worried about the neighbours in terms of her continuing to bark for 5 mins, 10 mins, 25 mins when I'm out and about.

We have just moved house also so I know that some of it is quite likely to be down to settling in, as well as probable loneliness.

We had planned to bring her to training classes once we settle into the house and I know she will respond very well to it as she is so eager to please and will work some more on reinforcing the fact that she only gets attention or a rub when she calms.

Thanks all again.

Bluefrog

Had a similar issue with my elder dog and I think Joyce's advice is spot on. It is easy to feel you should compensate for a bad start in life with extra attention and affection but allowing your dog to become totally fixated on you, dictate the way you carry out activities and you feeding back into that cycle with more attention, can have very negative results long term in terms of promoting separation anxiety etc.

With such a young dog, this shouldn't take long to address at all. When I adopted that strategy with Holly I could see the difference within a matter of days.