OK follow up on how to calm my dog when guests come over.......?

Question

she has had obedience training. she knows what place means, sit stay down, no come, etc. but she totally doesn't hear me when I tell her those commands when someone is over. she doesn't have to be on a leash because we have invisible fence and we do not crate her anymore. ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS??????

Answer 1

I have found that the best way is to distract the dog from the company. I buy little toys and keep them placed away and when company comes over I give it to the dog which keeps them interested in the toy and not the company. Also training them often is really good, have some one come into the house and ignore the dog once the dog settles down immediately give them a treat. Have the company go outside and repeat.

If all else fails I have found that a water bottle works great! When the door bell rings my dogs run to the dog. I get in front of them with the water bottle and they scatter. Once the company comes in they tend to jump and get very excited but I spray them with the water bottler (which by the way only has water in it) and they scatter. I hope this helps.

Answer 2

It's been mentioned already but I'd like to reinforce that you need to get her trained on a leash. The invisible fence provides protection for one creature -- the dog. It provides absolutely no protection to people coming to visit you or for foolish people walking by who see a dog and think it's ok to walk over and pet the dog.

Before you're expecting guests again, you should start practicing with someone ringing your doorbell. Your dog should be inside the house and be on a leash with a choke collar high on her neck, right below her ears. Get her to sit near the door and relax. Have the partner ring the doorbell (from outside). When your dog starts to show excitement, correct her with a quick yank and release on her collar, followed by a firm (not loud/frantic) "no" or other word she knows as stop.

Continue doing this until she stops responding to the doorbell with excitement. Move on to having someone walk into the house. Do the same exercise as with the doorbell. Don't let her get excited. As soon as she shows excitement, correct her.

Also, pay attention to how you respond to guests coming in. Do you or someone in the house get excited and say things in a high pitched voice (guess who's here? Look Daisy! Someone's at the door!..). If you do that, stop doing that. She's taking her cue from you.

Also, does she jump up and get excited when you come home? If so, you need to stop that from happening.

I'd recommend you watch some of the Dog Whisperer episodes on National Geographic Channel. If you don't get that channel,you can rent the DVDs.

Answer 3

Shivering and sleepiness sounds like a fever. Perhaps he has some sort of infection, since his eye is red and a little swollen. Despite your low funds, you need to get to the vet or the bills could be a lot higher to save him. Better not wait. Get plenty of fluids into him in the mean time. But, without a vet visit he may get very sick. After he recovers, then you will need to socialize him. He needs to be neutered if he is not. Take him on walks. If you near someone else, then make him sit until they pass. Do not let him get up, but keep the leash tight so he remains sitting, even keeping your hand on his butt if necessary. If he stays sitting, then when they are passed, give him a treat and tell him, "Good dog". Practice this a lot so he gets the idea that he may not bark or run after anyone while with you. Keep treats in your pocket. Practice walking and making him sit every 6 to 10 feet. Good dog, and a treat here and there. In the house, if you are expecting company, keep him on a leash. MAKE him sit using the leash as the control. He may not get near the person. If he growls, give a very quick tug on the leash and say sharply: "No, sit". You should watch Caesar Milan or the program called, "It's Me or the Dog". Both discuss this problem in at least one of their segments. They are very good with this and have turned many dogs around. With the proper training, you should be able to help your dog become more social and have acceptable behavior around your friends. Be sure to NEUTER him if he is not already neutered. You can call the emergency vet right now and ask what you could do for this, but you can expect them to tell you to bring him in. Fur tangling and knotting: Get a "puppy cut". This cut makes the dog look very cute, there is no long fur to deal with, except for the face and tail. This sort of dog should never be bathed if there are already tangles or mats in the fur because the water will shrink the tangles and make them much harder to get out. A professional groomer should be consulted for a badly matted dog, although it can be pretty expensive to get the mats out. That is why the puppy cut is preferred. Ask the groomer for tips on how to deal with the mats. They have tips if you talk with a good groomer. Pet supply stores often have grooming salons in their stores. If you bathe the dog, use a good quality coat conditioner and possibly a "grooming spray" when combing. If you can't afford taking to the vet too much, you might check into how much a cheap pair of dog trimmers cost (the electric type). Look up how this is done and decide if you think you could do this.

Answer 4

You should get a leash for practice times and to help her to learn when company is over. If you learned Loose Leash Walking in your obedience class..if she doesnt practice she wont remember. I learned calculus, put a problem in front of me and I'll be up the creek for a while. I dont practice so I dont remember. Sometime in her life I would venture to guess that she will have to leave the house, a leash on hand will be helpful. I am sure she is just excited to see them, but she does have to learn to stay calm...(Some outside adventures to a pet supply shop will help with this too.) First start to change the meaning of the doorbell or a door knock. Pavlovs dogs learned really quick that a bell produces meat powder. I would guess that you and your family dont use the door bell when entering into your own house. So the doorbell is only used by people visiting and your girl knows this. Have your family start using the doorbell before entering and then have her sit nicely for petting. Once she does good at this step, you will need to borrow friends that will be willing to help you work with this. Have them come in and do the same thing with her. If she jumps or gets crazy have them ignore her. As soon as her feet touch the floor again they can give her attention and a treat. Pushing her down, even looking at her can be attention. She wont get it at first, but as you continue to practice with her, the better she will get. A leash comes in handy so you are able to hold her off of them when doing these exercises for those who dont want the dog to actually touch them. Dogs are really bad at generalizing and actually need to be taught that behaviors are universal. You might really enjoy a refresher course and it sounds like it might do your girl some good too...try to find a reward based training course outside of your home.
Petsmart does have Intermediate courses for dogs that still know the basics. The classes are pretty cheap and they are guaranteed. I know that in our classes, jumping and problem behaviors are dealt with in our beginner course.

Answer 5

Weimaraners are very active dogs, I have two of them.
If she has been to traing classes and knows all of these things then you have a control problem. If you can not control her when she is excited you need to have her on alead where you can control her. Just when people come over to the house. After everyone gets in a sits down let her off lead..
The lead is only so you have control of her and can get her to listen to your commands. Has nothing to do with being outside.
As for crateing her if you do not want her to all over people remove her from the situation and the problem is solved.
The real problem you are having is tha tthe dog is not listening to you. It shows she does what she wants when she wants. You need to take control ofthe situation. By getting her on a lead you will have control and you can force her to listen or follow your command.
Weims can be hard headed and tend to not take direction very well when they get excited. Mine get really wound up when I have people in the house. They also will jump up to greet people and prance around and bark. It sounds like a kennel at my home sometimes.
Good luck.

Answer 6

It sounds as if she doesn't see you as the pack leader. If she did, she WOULD listen when you give her a command. Since she doesn't, she feels like she's in charge. Especially when people come into HER house.

Have you ever watched The Dog Whisperer? If not, I highly recommend it. He's dealt with a few dogs with the same problem yours has.

http://www.dogchannel.com/experts/cesar/default.aspx?WT.srch=1

Answer 7

When people are over put a pintch collar on her and snap it with No everytime she goes crazy she will get the hint fast. If its a puppy you have to correct it every time with No and get a small collar chocker

Answer 8

when they come over let her say her-how do's to them & then put her in a down stay. If she doesn't settle down, put her outside.

Answer 9

As Rex Carr once told me,,,,,,, "maybe she doesn't know those commands perfectlly quite good enough"

Answer 10

try using crate for correction (punishment/time out )