Hi all, i'm a new visitor so please be gentle with me. My 1 year old male staff (Harley) absolutely loves other dogs and people which is great except i would really love to be able to control him when people come round or when we're out and about. i'll try and explain what happens both at home and outside. At home we are trying to train him to not jump up when either me or my partner comes in from work, he's left on his own for a max of 4 hours a day but when either one of us comes in he goes loopy, we've almost managed to cut out the jumping up but can't seem to stop him racing around doing circles etc, because some of our friends aren't doggy lovers i'd just love for him to be able to sit quietly (hard for a staff i know) when friends pet him etc. Outside it's almost the same sonario, he's not too bad on the lead now and even though he's not completely ajacent  to me, when the lead goes tight he will slow down (i spent ages getting him to stop pulling). The only problem is if i see someone i know when out on walks and i stop to say hi he goes mental and jumps up and basically goes scatty but he's absolutely fine walking past people or dogs when on a lead. I find we can't take him to all the places we go because of this, he's a big staffy and very strong so really want to get this under control. Hope you can give me some tips and ideas.

Many thanks

Tamara

Just another opinion ,I know other posters will tell you how to stop the jumping up etc but we decided from the start that we wouldnt. We love the welcome from her when we come in either together or seperately and when my Husband is on nights she waits to hear his car in the drive then sits at the top of the stairs looking for him to come through the front door. As he comes in she gives him a growling telling off then launches herself down the stairs to greet him. Giorgia is left on her own for less time than yours so I dont think the separation factor is an issue, I just think Staffs love their families so much that they just have to show there appreciation when we come home. People who visit know what she is like and accept it thankfully. We take her everywhere and some days she pulls and some days she doesnt but we dont make a fuss if she is having an off day. She doesnt jump up on people whilst we are out unless they make a fuss of her first. If they look like they are going to fuss her then we warn them first.

Thanks for your reply! Harley does the same he knows what time we approximately come in and will just sit by the door, it's amazing how they know. I just want to be able to control his circling and running about like a lunatic particulary because we are going to a family gathering in a couple of months and there's going to be kids, dogs and elderly there so would really love to control it (he's knocked me off my feet a couple of times at home) so i really don't want this to happen to anyone there. If i can't stop him from lunging at people i'm going to have to leave him at home which breaks my heart. Any suggestions?

I'm sorry Tamara that I wasnt particularly helpful, just wanted to let you know that I appreciate what you are experiencing. I have very little family here in the UK most of my Family are in Italy and so we only do Sunday lunch about once every two months with my Sister . We leave Giorgia at home because there are normally about 11 people including a very frail 85 year old, and two other very unpredictable dogs all in a very small house and that is not a good idea with Giorgia. Anyway one of the dogs attacked Giorgia a few weeks ago and it left her with very nasty cuts on her face and ears and so I am not risking that as Giorgia did not retaliate. Both of these dogs cause problems for my Sister whenever she is out. They growl at children and nip people and run amok, yet we're supposed to have the 'trouble' breed, I ask you!!
I am told reliably ( on this forum) that ignoring the behaviour when you come home is the way to approach this, not giving eye contact or anything that might make him think you are paying him attention. Once he has calmed, then quietly telling him how good he is without getting him too excited, perhaps also giving him a treat then. If you look at previous posts on the behaviour section by putting in Staff as a keyword then I think you will find far more expert advice than I can give you. Hope this is ok

no not at all, gosh i hope giorgia was ok, i think you might be right about getting harley to stay at home, although i've just done a quick search and there's lots of good advice, i'm sorry i should've searched before it's just that i'm a new user so haven't found my way round yet. Harley is so loving and loves just about everyone, once when we were out on a walk he spotted a cat for the first time, the cat didn't run away and it allowed harley to scramble over, obviously i was extremely careful as i wasn't sure what harley wanted to do, so when we reached the cat i got hold of his collar so i had a tight grip and he just sat there sniffed around abit and then he gave this cat a massive big lick accross his face. i nearly cried, it was so beautiful. Staffys are the best and i wouldn't have another breed.

Giorgia's fine and it hasnt put her off other dogs in fact she loves them all. She runs away from cats though, funny isnt it. Yes to everything you have said, despite their unfounded reputation I believe them to be the most wonderful dogs and there are no other ones for us either

my dog jumps up at people all the time. I think it is because she is eight months old but she is really big and people don't realise that and just assume she is being aggressive.  No matter how many times I try to stop her jumping up I don't think she ever will.  I have just accepted it and started moving food out of her way or telling people not to be worried if she jumps up.  Annoying i know but they're not perfect are they?

Mine also jump up at people who come to visit - she will also insist on sitting on their knee when they sit down!

I am afraid that if people dont like it they dont have to visit :-) but I can see your problem.

It is a good idea to ignore him untill he calms down.

Good luck

Jo

You could train him so that he knows before he can get any fuss he has to sit. If you already have a solid sit this shouldn't be too hard. Whenever he goes to jump up say 'sit' and when he does it then stroke him fuss him however you would normally say hello. If he doesn't sit you ignore him and walk away. He'll soon get the idea that if he sits nicely he'll get fuss and treats if he goes daft he gets ignored. It gets funny tho if, like my dog, your walking down the street and every person you walk past he sits for them coz he wants fuss LOL :D

When outside and talking to people make sure your dog can't reach them to jump up and ignore this behaviour until he calms down and then pay him attention if he starts to get over excited get the friend to step away out of reach he will soon learn he won't get attention if he is over excited.

Inside i tend to tell visitors to NOT sit down (not very welcoming i know but it would bring then down to their level making the guests an irresistable target) and to ignore the dogs they soon get fed up within minutes and walk off THEN the visitor can pay the dog attention and it works a treat.

double post...

sorry to offer no advise other than love me, love my staff.  We use a crate so that if we have visitors who really don't like any dogs then she goes in her crate with a treat to keep her happy.  Otherwise, every other visitor we have, knows what Poppy is like and will make a total fuss of her which she adores.  The only thing i can recommend is getting down to her level.  Normally at this point Poppy will sit and will allow herself to be fussed.