Every day I read posts on facebook chastising people for letting their friendly dog run up to other dogs. The facebook posts make it clear that it's unacceptable and you are in the wrong if your dog runs up to someone else's on lead dog.  Shouting "my dog's friendly" only seems to antagonise people!  However, if you do have one of these dogs, what are you meant to do?

While I don't disagree with this sentiment, it is extremely frustrating and anxiety inducing when you have a dog who doesn't like being rushed up to, intensely sniffed, jumped on, bowled over and all the other things "too friendly" dogs do and you see a "too friendly" dog rush towards you.  In fact, if this happens to my dog Bertie, it not only ruins our walk but it shatters his confidence and sets our training back by months. 

However, I very rarely see anyone offering advice about what to actually do if you do have a dog who just can't help but rush up to every dog he sees, whether he's welcome or not.  Posts telling people not to let their dog do this would be so much more helpful if they told people what they should do instead.  I can almost hear dog people rolling their eyes and saying "recall train them... duh!".  Unfortunately if it was that simple them no one would be having this problem.

How does a too friendly dog behave?
When I think of dogs that get labelled too friendly, rude or a bully they are usually dogs who will run up to almost any other dog.  They sometimes will lie down and watch the other dog, then rush up suddenly or they will just take off as soon as they seen another dogs and run towards them.  Dog's who behaviour is a problem will often go up very close to the other dog and usually totally ignore or do not recognise body language given by the other dog that says stay away.  Sometimes they will try and sniff the other dog, try and engage the dog in play or barge, jump onto or put their head over the other dog. 

Often people tell me their too friendly dog is over confident, but this rarely seems to be the case.  When I meet truly confident dogs, they are capable of greeting other dogs without making a pest of themselves, play without going over the top and don't approach dogs that give them signals that say stay away.

Sometimes our too friendly dogs will get a warm welcome from the other dog but then their play will become too boisterous for the other dog or will involve very over excited play.  Almost always they will ignore and/or evade their owners attempt to get them to come back.  On lead, our "too friendly" dogs will often drag their owner towards other dogs and sometimes be up on their hind legs by the time they get to the other dog.

Do your find yourself calling out "it's ok, he's friendly" or "he just wants to play" in an attempt to reassure the other dog owner? 

Before we can talk about what you can do to help your dog we need to think about why your dog behaves like this in the first place.

Why are some dogs too friendly?
It is helpful to think of too friendly dogs as being like the class clown.  If you think back to those kids in school who would joke around and be disruptive in class, the ones who would play pranks on others and generally be really silly.  Those kids weren't the ones who were deep down confident, they were using their silly behaviour in order to cope when they felt inadequate, insecure, confused or were socially anxious.  Sometimes these were kids who had other big emotional issues to deal with in their lives.

So when our dogs are being over friendly and silly, it's often because they are dealing with feelings of anxiety about social situations with other dogs.  They lack skills in how to understand and communicate with other dogs and compensate with over the top silly behaviour.  Sometimes our too friendly dogs have other, not always obvious, anxieties about the environment, wearing a collar, harness or lead, being close to their owner or other people.  

How to change the behaviour of a too friendly dog?
The first difficult thing to understand is that too friendly dogs, often need as much space from other dogs as unfriendly ones do while we work on changing their behaviour.  There is no point trying to train your friendly dog in the local park while he is distracted by a constant stream of other dogs passing by. 

Here are my top 6 tips to having a dog who behaves appropriately around other dogs.

Number 1 - Teach your dog that you are fun to be around.   
Find out what things your dog really loves and use those things to reward your dog for coming back to you.  Start in your house, after all if your dog won't come to you for a reward in the house, he's not going to come when he's in the park.  Once you've nailed it in the house, move outdoors.  Use a long line to keep your dog safe.

Find ways to play together, be it fetch with ball, tug or any game you invent both you and your dog enjoy.

Find out what foods your dog enjoys the most and give them to your dog generously whenever they pay you attention.  

Don't expect to go to the park, let your dog off lead and then switch off.  You need to keep your dog engaged and having fun with you.

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Number 2 - Prevent your dog practising unwanted behaviour
Use a long line when you are in parks around other dogs, so you can prevent your dog from rushing up to other dogs.  It's also a great idea to walk in quieter places so you don't have to deal with other dogs all of the time.

Number 3 - Encourage sniffing
Sniffing is a normal dog behaviour.  It helps dogs learn about the environment, learn about other dogs who have passed by and it helps relax our dogs.  Often too friendly dogs don't do enough of this.  Encourage this in your dog by walking him places where there is likely to be interesting sniffing.   Along the edges of the footpaths, along fencing, pavements and lampposts seem particularly interesting for canine noses.  Keep your dog on lead if necessary and if he is too excited to sniff, try scattering a few very small treats for him to sniff out and find.  Walk as slow as necessary to allow your dog to sniff as much as he likes.

Number 4 - Find helpful friends
Sometimes you will meet adult dogs who don't mind boisterous youngsters but who won't get involved in silly behaviour.  I call these "good example" dogs.  When you meet these lovely dogs ask the owner if you can walk with them for a little while, even just for a few yards.  Watch how the other dog will often find lots of interesting things to sniff as he ignores your dog until your dog is able to be calm.  

Allowing your dog to be in the company of "good example" dogs will give your dog a chance to learn about normal, acceptable doggy behaviour.  Even if you can't walk with these dogs, allowing your dog to watch them from a safe distance, where there is enough space that your dog is able to be calm, will be beneficial to your dog.  I call this "look and learn". 

Number 5 - Train your dog in a way that builds his confidence
If you can, join a fun, reward based training class where the focus is on building your dogs confidence rather than just traditional obedience.  Some trainers put on fun agility classes that are great for building confidence.

If you can't do this try putting up small and easily achieved obstacles in your garden.  Make sure you reward your dog for any attempts at interacting with the obstacles.   Have a look through our facebook pictures for ideas.

You can also use obstacles in the park such as logs, tree stumps and even benches.  If your dogs is having fun with you, they are not off pestering other dogs.
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Number 6 - Teach your dog how to enjoy walking on a lead
So often, walking on a lead is frustrating for both our too friendly dogs and their humans.  This is often the reason people let their dogs off lead even when they know they might struggle to get them back. 

Use a harness (perfect fit of ruffwear front harnesses are great) and not a too short lead (I recommend a halti training lead). As well as using positive reinforcement methods to teach your dog how to walk on a lead, make sure that being on a lead signals to your dog that you are going to have fun together.  Rather than walking where there are lots of off lead dogs, go on an adventure together.  Explore down new streets, hidden lanes and abandoned places.  Walk slowly and stop to let your dog sniff as much as need be.  Be inventive with where you walk.  Recently I walked round the grounds of abandoned hospital with my dog Velma.  Within minutes she forgot she was on lead and was excitedly following me as we explored together.

Finally, remember to be kind to yourself.  We all have days with our dog where we feel frustrated or embarrassed.  If you have a not so great walk with your too friendly dog, be gentle on yourself, go home and tomorrow is another day.

Jill O'Sullivan
Busy Bee Dog Training Glasgow

If I was only allowed to give one piece of advice to new dog and puppy owner's it would be that they shouldn't force their puppy's mouth open and remove objects.

So often I am called in to help once a dog is either acting aggressively when they have stolen items or when the dog has started to swallow inedible items.  In lots of these cases this stems from when the dog was a puppy and would pick up and investigate objects and the owner would worry and then open the puppy's mouth and remove the object.  Sometimes this takes quite a struggle and I have even heard of it taking more than one person to hold the puppy while another forces the puppy's mouth open.  There are other, better ways to deal with puppies picking up things they shouldn't.

Why do our dog's pick up things they shouldn't?

When your dog picks up an object more often than not, they are just investigating it.  Sometimes they are working out if it is edible or not and when they discover it's not they will likely put it down.  Obviously sometimes they might take that investigation further and give it a chew.

Why is it such an issue to take things from my dog's mouth?

If your dog is investigating, maybe even chewing, an object and you try and take it away, you immediately teach your dog that humans will ignore normal, polite doggy rules.  In the dog world, possession is ten 10th of the law!  For some dogs this will have little or no impact, however for some they will see this intrusion as unacceptable and next time you go to take something they might give you a hard stare and freeze.  If you again ignore this doggy body language that says go away, your dog might feel he has no option but to escalate his behaviour to maybe a growl or snap and if they doesn't work maybe even a bite.

Other dogs might start to think that if they have something that you are so desperate to take, you'll go against everything they understand about possessions, then that thing must be very valuable indeed.  In their desperation to keep the item they might swallow it whole as soon as they see you coming.  This can lead to lots of inedible things become really quite edible!

Other dogs might learn that it's safer to hide when they find something they would like to investigate and chew and you'll only find the evidence later.

Finally some dogs might let you open their mouth and remove the item and there will be no obvious harm.  However, those dogs might learn that people are not that trustworthy and this may effect how they interact with you over all or perhaps they will lack confidence in investigating and trying new things.  

So what should you do instead?

Please note if your dog already has a problem with swallowing inedible objects or is showing signs of growling or aggression, seek the help of a reward based trainer or behaviourist and do not try and tackle this problem alone.

1. Teach your dog to swap.  Practise this with a toy at first.  Give your dog the toy then ask him to swap it for a tasty treat (or multiple tasty treats) then immediately give him the toy back.  

2. Try not to panic.  Puppies often just want to investigate an object and will often spit it out again.  So if she picks up a pebble try and wait until she spit it out, then just move your puppy away from it.  Do your best not to draw attention to the pebble and potentially add value to it. 

If you are out on a walk and your puppy seems to be picking up every single thing they encounter, consider whether they are maybe finding the environment a bit too stimulating and may need a rest, calm down or be taken to a place where they can watch the world go by.

3.  If your dog or puppy won't swap the item in their mouth for a treat, try throwing several treats on the floor.  As your dog picks up the individual treats, put your foot over the dropped item.  If you are at home most dogs can't resist a handful of breakfast cereal dropped on the floor.

If your dog prefers toys to food, then pick up a toy and make it seems like the most exciting toy in the world.  Eventually your dog will want to play with you rather than the object in their mouth.

4. Teach your dog a reliable and solid leave it.  If you don't know how, book a 121 lesson and I can teach you.

5.  Ensure your dogs has lots of opportunities to investigate and try new and appropriate things.  Let your dog try different foods, give them new and interesting toys, try different chews, kongs and food puzzles.  If your dog loves tearing paper then save up cardboard boxes and scatter treats inside and let they rip the box apart.  Play with your dog frequently.  Take them new and interesting places.  Allow them to sniff as much as they need to.

6.  Interact with your dog with toys and build lots of value into your dog playing with they things you would like them too.

7.  Learn to be tidier or keep your puppy in an area of the house you can keep dog-proofed.

8.  Grit your teeth and don't show your dog or puppy you are annoyed.  As frustrating as it is to have another sock ruined, tell your puppy you are pleased they brought you your sock and excitedly run to the fridge for a treat to swap it for.  Believe me, it is so much cheaper to buy new socks than it is to pay a vet to do risky surgery to remove them from your dog's stomach.

If these things don't work for you, then get help.  It's much easier to prevent this turning into a problem than it is to modify your dog's behaviour once they are showing behavioural issues.