Too Excited

[lilmissy]

Can anyone tell me how to calm my 3 month old pup down Thanksgiving is coming and He gts really excited when we have guests. I don't want him to jumping all over the guests who already don't like rotties. So can you please help.

[Bodo]

Having a 6mo. old pup I know where you are coming from. That being said, they are pups. Maybe they should be crated during the visit and only let out to "visit" on a leash. Especially if the guests don't like "Rotty's". Might save a "see I told you so" remark!

[moondog]

A puppy is a work in progress. At 3 months old, you want him to be happy to meet new people, and trying to "fix" his exuberance by a deadline (Thanksgiving) will likely have you pushing him too hard, too fast.

If you are having guests who don't like dogs, respect that and crate him while they are there. If other guests that are present do like dogs and would like to meet him, bring him out in the yard or in another room so they can interact with him.

In the meantime, you can get him out and about to places like Home Depot, Petsmart, the park...bring a pocket full of treats and work with him on sitting for petting. You can give others a treat to reward him with when he sits for greetings - most people are very willing to help you out with this type of practice, and now is the time to start. Just remember that puppies have boundless energy and it would be unfair to expect him to be "perfect" at this age.

Is he in a puppy class?

[rottcrazed]

Ditto - if a puppy has not started to listen to commands, and at 3 months, not too much serious training will have taken hold yet, you need to respect your guests and protect your puppy by crating him. Period.

I never allow my puppies under the age of 8 months free reign of the house with guests who are not 'dog-people'. First off, keep in mind, people start to freak out, they scream, puppy gets more excited and starts puppy-biting. Some people still correct with a knee to the chest of dogs who jump up - BIG NO-NO.

Just keep the puppy content with treats, a bone or kong in his crate and exercise him before they get there.

Everyone will be happier for it!

Kristi

[Cherry Heart]

Even at almost 2 years old Arwen is SUPER excited to meet guests. We put her in a down (this is after 3 OB classes) and we must release usually just as the door shuts or she will break and we dont want to set her up to fail.

When we had my grandma and great grandpa over, I crated her because I knew she could knock them over just by leaning on them to hard, no jumping up required. When they asked about her (I dont see them often) I got her out on a 2ft leash, and walked her in to meet them. For the holidays, I would maybe keep the pup out as the first couple people arrive (if they are dog friendly) and as more people come I would crate (puppies need naps anyways). If anyone asks, I would keep the pup leashed. If you have an X-pen maybe you could set it up at the end of the room, in an area with less traffic and let her get use to them from far away and settle down before brining her into the group. Thank goodness for pens and crates.

[Lola B Marie]

Our first thanksgiving with lola was quite the day. She was about 7 months and had a case of the zoomies like I had never seen before. People were jumping up on the couches to get out of her way. She was like a little race horse. I ended up putting her crate in the laundry room with the door open and putting a baby gate across the laundry room door way. She was fine in there and any one who wanted to pet her could reach over the gate or step in to sit on the floor with her. I only let one person in at a time. When we sat down to dinner, I let her out and fed her as well. She wandered around the table and finally just went under the table and fell asleep on my foot. She stayed there until people started getting up. Then it was out to do her business and back to the laundry room. Having a plan before the event is a huge help.

[lilmissy]

The people coming are dog friendly and I want him to be out for a little so he can get socialized more. He knows all the basito play play and playc commands and obeys them when said and he doesn't bite anymore but he just wants to play all day when someone comes over.

[Cherry Heart]

For Arwen, I would HAVE to crate during dinner. Her big head is exactly table height and though she is usually pretty good with us, I would be unsure of relying on her training to keep her head off guests plates. I would also not trust all of my family to not give her things like cooked turkey bones that could harm her. After all, to them she's "Just a dog" and not everyone is aware of the hazard of cooked bones.

[nickname925]

Make him sit when people pet him so he will go up the your guests and just sit and wait for them to pet I have the same probably with my dog so I i'm going to try to make him sit for people to pay attention to him

[DaveS]

Try taking the puppy on a very long walk to make him tired before the guests arrive. I have found with our pup that running around in the back yard playing with my son and going on a long structured walk with me are not the same. The long walks make him very calm when we return. He usually sleeps for a 1 1/2 or 2 hours when we get back. He is your pups age.