Out on walks sometimes if we see other dogs and I have not had time to issue the "Leave" or "Wait" command my 2 1/2 year old Golden Retriever will often ignore the dog and rush up to the owner to greet them. He goes in sideways and "talks" and mouths their hands, treating them like a long lost friend even if we have never met them before!  If I have not got him to stop he will sometimes even rush over to people without dogs to greet them. I call out to them that he is friendly and to ignore him and keep their hands up....which unfortunately most people dont so he goes through his routine and they tell me what a lovely dog he is etc.......If they do as asked he will just leave them alone.

Problem is you never know when he will do this as on most walks he is great and then he suddenly goes into this mode.
Any suggestions?

Our Goldie was exactly the same, (now nearly 10) always more interested in meeting people than other dogs. I think it's in their nature. We regularly walk our dogs with a large group of friends that have between them 3 Newfoundlands, a Spinone, 9 rescue Lucher/Greyhounds a Parsons and a Westie, luckily it's a VERY LARGE park. When we would meet up we asked all of the friends in advance to ignore Tessa and turn their backs on her and not to fuss her, I know this sounds a bit mean as she was just pleased to see them but slowly over a period of time she stopped doing it quite so much. She is still a people dog but also getting older has calmed her down (a bit).

My dog does this when he see's someone he knows.
I have said to them to turn their backs on him and cross their arms and ignore him.
Once he has calmed down they can say hello.
It is slowly starting to work.

Its a shame that OP aren't heeding your advice, for all they know your dog could be aggressive towards humans(not the case i know) but its always something which i am aware of and will do as the owner says as many dogs are constantly being trained.

It's funny really cos sometimes some of the worse people to meet are other dog people,some will bend over and fuss straight away, which to me tells my dogs that they can charge boisterously up to anybody and get fussed, which is OK with doggy people but I'm always mindful that I don't want my dog to bound up to anybody and everybody just incase they either meet some one that is scared of dogs or somebody reads all of the signals wrongly and thinks that a slobbering waggy tailed thing is dangerous, (some humans are a bit dense), not sure I've put that right but does it make sense to you? I'm always teaching my dogs that they have to wait for the two legged thing to ask to be greeted.

HI lyndob
I have a GR that is the same as yours,she is 2 at xmas and when she sees someone coming her way she also runs off to greet them.
she is not interested in their dog only the people.It is very annoying when she does this....she just does not want to hear us calling her.
We have had many Goldens over the years and never had problem like this before.....it can also be a danger as you know that another dog may well be aggresive and we are to far away to do anything.
We have tried everything....keeping her on a long training lead,food,clicker but to no avail. We have recently got a whislel and at last she is responding to it with treats for coming back. Maybe you have tried this already but if not give it a go and see if it works for you.
Good luck.

i have a similar problem except my boy ignores the people and runs to see their dogs. he is a ridgeback, and nothing i can do will stop him! i now keep him on a lead in busy areas as he only wants to play, but i appreciate that not everyone wants a 45kg dog charging full speed up to see their dog!
he is very food orientated normally but when it comes to other dogs NOTHING is more exciting. his recall normally is excellent, but awful around other dogs :(

Suz i do personally have the same problem and like you the weight and size of a dog is enough to put off some dogs and owners.
All my boy does when he gets to the dog is sniff and give signals that he wants to play.

If i see another dog coming our way i tend to call him back to be put on the lead. I seem to notice the dogs before he does which is helpful. If he does see it before he is recalled then generally it falls on deaf ears. He greets the other dog and then he is happy to be recalled back..
He is no danger to other dogs but.... you never know how another dog may react to your dog in this situation and also with so many people see out of control dogs as different things i can't afford for anyone to misread him running at their dog.

yeah i know, its frustrating!i know that he wont do any harm to other dog, he sees everything as a potential playmate, but i realise how it may look, and also, my mum owns 2 dogs, one of which doesnt like other dogs being right up in his face, and i know if he was out, and a pup like mine ran up he would bark at it (wouldnt attack) but would give it heck of a fright. so i know what its like to be on the other side as well, when walking him i dread other dogs running up to him if hes on lead.
im lucky because where i stay is very quiet and generally i can wlak through fields and woodland without meeting anyone, but i also walk him at work where it is busier and i have to be aware of whats around me at all times and like you i generally call him back if i see another dog approaching. he has many canine friends at work so he still gets socialised with them on a daily basis, so he doesnt miss out too much!

My lab/collie cross is like this. He loves people and their toys. He will run and join in a game between owners and dogs (even people we don't know) on the park, and then he would ignore all calls by me. very irritating when you want to get on to somewhere else! Nowadays if i see someone playing with their dog i just put him on the lead, then if it is someone i know i might decide to let him off again for a game, or not, but i choose!
The worst problem though is with humans playing a game with other humans, eg children playing ball. He has had great fun with loads of children who like dogs, and so has learnt to run over and join in - this is a nightmare for me, as i am constantly worried that the child will not like dogs and be scared.
Again, i have tried to improve his recall in these types of situations, and he is hugely improved, but still not completely trustworthy.
My only solution is to be very vigilant and always put him on the lead if i see people playing or even hear children playing (kids make quite a bit of noise when they are playing an exciting game, if you keep your ears open, you can hear them from quite a long way off, so no surprises round corners).
The trouble is everytime your dog gets to  practice the bad behaviour (he runs towards someone, you call him back, he ignores you, the other person makes a big fuss of him), and gets a reward for doing it, it is reinforced. IMO the only way to break the habit is to avoid that happening.

he will sometimes even rush over to people without dogs to greet them. I call out to them that he is friendly and to ignore him and keep their hands up....which unfortunately most people dont so he goes through his routine and they tell me what a lovely dog he is etc

I'm not sure when this became unacceptable behaviour.Dogs have always copme up to people to be fussed, and most people like it especially if for some reason they can't have a dog.

Really if a person comes into your space to fuss your dog they sold ask for permission before fussing him, but if the dog invades their space they have every right to make a fuss of the dog.  I'd fuss him and tell you what a lovely dog he is too. Sorry.

End of the day  friendly dog who is getting all these good wholesome dog to people experiences is going to be a safe dog to be round people, but when they are very restricted and always called away from people and owners tensing off when they see people because they are tense over worrying in their dog will be too friendly the dog can interpret this as saying people are something to avoid and be frightened of.  It is a shame we have to do this simply because the media have persuaded so many peope to freak out when they see a dog. I'd reward the sucsesses and the times the dog stays focused on you and ideally some time on lead keeping the dogs attention on you and onto something possitive rather then on leaving the person and use the 'failures' as possitives for socialisation opportunities and when the fussing is over do a recall and lots of praise, to gradually decrease the times this happens, but there might be some people the pup has got to know who will always be regarded as friends to say hello to. One way to deal with this is to get a sit wait then release the dog to say Hi by saying go see so and so or heep him on a lead when these people are around.  

Out on walks sometimes if we see other dogs and I have not had time to issue the "Leave" or "Wait" command my 2 1/2 year old Golden Retriever will often ignore the dog and rush up to the owner to greet them. He goes in sideways and "talks" and mouths their hands, treating them like a long lost friend even if we have never met them before!  If I have not got him to stop he will sometimes even rush over to people without dogs to greet them. I call out to them that he is friendly and to ignore him and keep their hands up....which unfortunately most people dont so he goes through his routine and they tell me what a lovely dog he is etc.......If they do as asked he will just leave them alone

You could be describing my 18 month old Golden, he mouths and is very interested in people even though he has three other Goldens to play with. The only thing he doesn't do is 'talk'. I have tried since day one to stop him but it is like being King Canute trying to stop the tide coming in.

Hy lyndob,

my current youngster, now 10 months, adores people and recall is already an issue with the kevin stage in full swing >sigh<.  The result is that if off lead in the park or beach he careers off to say 'Hi' to everyone - he's been very well socialised and spent most of the summer on a holiday park so lots of friendly folks of different shapes, ages and sizes and no shortage of ice cream treats has ensured that saying hi to everyone is very rewarding :-D

He's now a fair size so not everyone appreciates his determination and exuberance and I'm trying to curtail his exploits by walking him around places on lead and attempting to calm his OTT behaviour until invited (note, attempting!)

In doing so he's encouraged his older sister to follow suit - she's 4 yrs now and really ought to know better!

So no real practical advice here as I'm going through a steep learning curve myself but I must say I enjoy this type of over-friendliness much more than the usual stand-offish attitude of my breed as it's easier to work with (I think ) when folks want to come and meet them :)

regards, Teri

Aaargh!  Doggy people are DEFINITELY worse than non-doggy!  I would actually prefer it if people ignored my dog if she goes up to them - IME it's worse when they're puppies because everyone loves puppies.... I've said to people "Please ignore her if she jumps up"  and they go  "Oh it's OK! I don't mind! Come on then!"  patting their knees as she scrambles up.... even worse is if they can see you trying to recall the dog/pup and they still insist on chatting away to it, making a fuss. I've even had people give her treats when they can clearly see me calling her.... I had to change where I walked once because there was a chap who used to ride his mobility scooter round the field - he'd pop up out of nowhere, puppy would charge over to him, he'd give her a treat and LIFT HER ON FOR A RIDE!!!! How can I compete with that sort of entertainment?!

This seems to be a common problem with Goldens partly because they are naturally friendly and partly because of other peoples perception of them - ie they are friendly loveable dogs - so people are more likel;y to want to say hello to them.

Our Golden is very similar, she likes to say hello to people on a walk.  She is now 3 1/2 and we have got this pretty much under control.  I started by keeping her on a very short lead when I saw someone coming towards us and put myself between us and the person.  If someone was likely to want to say hello (you can usually tell who they are) I made her sit before they got to us and if they then wanted to say hello they could while she was sitting. 

We have now reached the point where she knows if the person doesn't make eye contact they are not interested so she ignores them, or if she is on a short lead she does not go and say hello unless I let out her lead a bit and if she is allowed to say hello she sits in front of them and lets them say hello (usually vibrating with excitement) :).

She also seems to have got the message when she is off lead in that she will run up to people and will sit in front of them waiting to be acknowledged.

> Aaargh! Doggy people are DEFINITELY worse than non-doggy!

Very true LOL.  I can't count how many times I've b@##sed up someone ele's training attempts over the years so I guess it's pay back time :-D

> How can I compete with that sort of entertainment?!

  not a hope!  My pup would love that sort of excitement too LOL - buy your own scooter/quadbike or else methinks you've had it ;)

> I walked once because there was a chap who used to ride his mobility scooter round the field - he'd pop up out of nowhere, puppy would charge over to him, he'd give her a treat and LIFT HER ON FOR A RIDE!!!! How can I compete with that sort of entertainment?!

LOL, :-p we have a few around our way like that lol.
My boy is very much a people dog, doesn't really bother with the dogs, just wants fuss. He has got much better as he has got older, he use to be a nightmare when he was younger!

My E.S pup is also a people person! We have a long way to go before he realises when enough is enough! Unfortunately he tends to spot people from a distance, on or off the lead! Plus, he is still tempted by hand bags and scarves so this adorable setter pup who loves people and fuss is finding my offer of a distraction treat a bit hard! So now we have learnt on one of our walks to stay on the lead for one bit as that's where all the dogs and owners tend to walk before branching off on various paths. Otherwise I would only have walked the same 5 yards about 10 ten times having always to retrieve him! I tend to walk quite fast if there is other people in the hopes that he won't have time to notice them (or thinks that they have ignored him!) but i'm still quite jolly about it with the emphasis on enthusiasm for where we are going.

Mind you non-doggy humans are one wave short of a shipwreck too. When Tessi tumbles was about 3, we were walking through our usual park when a 'jogger woman' was spied running towards us, Tessa did the usual and lollopped towards her for cuddles, the woman screamed 'call it off call it off'. My beloved said 'get a grip Mrs, it's a Retriever and it'd carrying a teddy'!. I think the womans perception of what an aggressive dog looks like was a bit squew whiff, trouble is it's that sort of thing that can cause problems for dog owners and especially to husband who got a mouthful from wife for saying what he did:)

By the sound of it I have more control over Pep. than I thought compared to some! Once he has said hello I can call him away, mostly.
I agree that as dog owners we are so under pressure from the media to "control" our dogs and non-doggy people are taught to be afraid of all dogs giving a lethal combination of us fearing meeting them and them meeting us....and round it goes. I know my dog is friendly and I agree that in some ways he should be encouraged to like people yet on the other hand I dont want him to like everybody or sometimes I think he would go off with anybody or take rides on Mobility Scooters!!? Had to giggle at that one...... Also I dont want to upset people who dont really want to be bowled over, chewed or slobbered on.
I will just keep working on it and take on board suggestions and the fact that I am not alone!

I like the "one wave short of a shipwreck" too. Not heard that one before.

Thanks everyone who has posted comments.