ruby my nearly 14-wk old cavalier & i have been allowed out for walks for a week & a half now since jabs. she loves them! we're getting on well with them & the socialisation too, been to lots of places including the local pub for a swift half at lunchtime today - well as gwen bailey advised it i just had to didn't i?!? :D

thing is - she loves greeting people, which is lovely at home but on walks she gets really excited, strains on her lead & squeaks at all passers-by at the mo. i'd like some advice on how to nip this in the bud - thing is i think, she's not come across many people who walk past and who DON'T want to say hi to her, she's a pretty little thing!

at home we do make visitors wait until she's sat down (& unless she's REALLY hyper, until she's completely calm too) before we let visitors greet her - but with passers-by they're petting her/giving her attention way before they think to look at or talk to me and also it can take quite a while for her to calm down. do you think i should just get more assertive and explain to them that they really need to ignore her if she's not 'behaving', so if they want to pet her they just have to wait? does anyone have any other useful advice?

Hi,

My pup is almost 11 months now and a Stafford she adores people and as a younger pup did the same as yours, to be honest I took very little notice and even encouraged he to be friendly but also encouraged her to sit too, somewhere in all of this at about 8/9 months she stopped getting so excited by strangers she still greets them when I stop to chat but she knows to sit and now after the inital stroke flops down with her head on my foot for as long as I stand there. It's good socialization when she's not the centre of attention. I assume a switch flicked in her head and she realised that there were other people in the world but also that they were not "her" people.

She's fine now, and a joy to take anywhere.

Hope it helps Karen

Hi, Buster [staff] is a year old [yesterday!] and he has only just started to calm down when greeting strangers, and he has become very good at not pulling the lead to get to people who basically don't want to say hello. He does the same as Karen's staff when I stand and chat, goes into the down position at my feet and looks very cute! At your pup's early stage of life, I would encourage all the socialisation you can and when walking by people who DON'T want to say hello, distract her with a treat or your voice and praise her if she pays attention to you and not the passer by. This will take time and I think Karen is right, something starts to click in as they start to mature, and if you have put all the basics in place you will reap the rewards. Nicki

Oh sorry forgot to say, she also doesn't seem as interested in strangers off the lead now either (apart from kids) they really seem to attract her attention. I'd say carry on how you are going. As she gets older the good groundwork you are putting in now will reap the rewards. Oh I took Sal on the bus/train as well and honest it's really good socialization. People passing by and sometimes stopping and stroking a pup but most of all you can keep her attention on you, because your sitting with her.

Karen

oooh yes - bus trip should be planned i think! i took her to our local pub yesterday and she loved it - but was centre of everyone's attention as soon as we went through the door!

am not going to discourage it - will just try & encourage her into good manners & keep socialising - to be honest i love having hte excuse to plan all these outings with her!

am sure that the more out and about we get the sooner she will realise that not everyone stops to say hi - even if it does take another 6 months before that switch flicks :)!

thanks guys

Happy birthday Buster.

Thanks!! Buster isn't as interested in strangers but we still have a battle where other dogs are concerned, I let him off this morning to have a little play, he played with that particular dog, owner called it and off that dog went, so he spotted another one in the middle of the park - he bombed off ... I called him once, no response, so turned my back and kept on walking. It took about 30 seconds for him to come dashing over ... so still some work needs doing on that! Sorry to steal the thread! Nicki

Hi there,
i have a 16 week old cavalier pup....she was exactly the same when she first went out '''walkies'' she was nearly 13 weeks old when she first went out......she has been out for walk's for 3 weeks now and she doesn't seem to do it as much.........it will wear off...when she realises that not everyone wants to say hello....
take care

You could always take extra dog cookies out with you and hand them to prospective troublemakers (said with a grin - as the troublemakers are the ones who adore your dog and say 'oh it's okay if fifi jumps up on me - it's so cute') and ask them to not stroke the dog until she sits and receives the cookie. Then she will hopefully learn to greet strangers sitting.

Wendy