I have a whippet puppy of 7 months old, and for all the world he is a lovely dog! However, he has one problem that may seem a bit miserable on my part but is actually quite serious. He is far too keen on people. He gets very very excited to see anyone, whether he sees them from the garden, or on walks. He is good off the lead but when he sees someone coming (in the fields for instance) he will shoot off and all his training means nothing. He will then jump up and helicopter his tail and so on, but this gets him into trouble in that he has been hit twice by people who don't like dogs, especially ones with dirty scratchy claws trying to jump up! He has also frightened a child by doing this. If he is on the lead he will strain towards people, again tail wagging, jumping up at the end of the lead, needing to be pulled back. Being told NO doesn't seem to help in that it happens whenever he sees a person and he is oblivious to anything else. I need to be really careful on walks especially if he is off the leash so that he is on should a person come along.

Can anyone advise on what I can do to try and train him out of this habit. He is very well socialised and he has always walked with me about towns and busy streets. He will sometimes strain in these situations, but after being pulled back on the lead lots, he will stop. This hasn't affected how he is when it's not as busy though. Any ideas?

What I have found helped me regain control of mine, especially on the lead, is to practice the 'sit'. A dog simply cannot pull towards people when it is sitting down! Then, of course, you can give lots of praise because it is sitting as you wanted - the fact that it is not pulling towards people is a bonus, but in the dog's mind the connection between seeing people and pulling is broken.

Of course at 7 months he is just becoming a teenager,so a lot of his obedience will go to pot, but it will come back later.

Good luck!
:)

He sounds a happy bouncy affectionate puppy who needs to learn to greet people appropriately. ONce he learns to greet people on all 4s hell get much more positive attention from people who like dogs. The Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey is a great book with clear pictures showing how to teach puppies manners so get it if you can.

Start by ensuring he greets you with all 4 paws on the ground - if you bend down to his level he can get close to your face without jumping up, and yu can gently hold his collar to keep him down. Praise him for keeping his feet to himself and if he jumps up say " OFF" firmly stop praising/stroking/titbits till his feet are on the floor again - I find if I hold my flat hand out at dog eye level they cant see to jump up at me. If someone comes to the door put him on a lead to answer it and get him to sit when people come in - sit= attention. You could get lots of freinds/family/tradesmen to visit and practice this once he can greet you calmly.

On walks I would keep him on a long lead so he cant rush into trouble or ignore you, and develop ways of getting his attention maybe use a toy or titbit to show you are the most fun person on the planet, then teach him to wait for an invitation to greet people/dogs - you could recall him and greet people together or just use a sit if hes besdie you. If he is a rescue dog it can take time to find out what floats his boat and get his attentiion focused on you so you can guide him. We used to sit beside footpaths practicing this with our dog who used to bounce over everyone he met and now he can say hello with manners. Have you thought about training classes with him? These will give you support and give him new people to meet. :) Keep at it and it will come right for you both.