Can a dog be TOO friendly? *sigh*

[ChristyMarie]

My dog is insane. He loves people and wants to play all the time. He's a 10 month old lab and oh boy. His current obsession is playing with (read: chasing, attacking and running into) cars. I came home yesterday to him attacking the snow plow. THE PLOW!!! About 10 minutes ago my snow guy rang my door bell because Sam was out there trying to play with him and he couldn't work. Luckily he likes dogs and he'll play with him a bit but then he's gotta get it done, ya know? Last weekend he dive-bombed my car. Ran right into it trying to play. The dog came out of nowhere.

Issues:
1. Sam has a doggie door, he loves it and it solved our housebreaking issues.
2. I cannot always hear (ok, I rarely hear anyone) if someone is outside so I don't always know if he's being a problem.
3. He stays in our yard/driveway so he doesn't run into the street to play with anyone/anything.
4. I keep him locked up if I know someone is coming but with deliveries and our snow guy I have no idea when they'll be here. Luckily my mailman likes labs too.

Ideas?

[betsyj]

3. He stays in our yard/driveway so he doesn't run into the street to play with anyone/anything.

For now. These kinds of posts leave me scratching my head. Your dog is playing with cars. This is absolutely a life threatening obssession.

About 10 minutes ago my snow guy rang my door bell because Sam was out there trying to play with him and he couldn't work. Luckily he likes dogs

Secondly, most people who claim they love your exuberant dog are probably only being polite. I love dogs, and rarely enjoy the neighbors untrained out of control lab. In fact, I mostly don't like him when he body slams me, jumps on me, and grabs at me all in the name of loving people. Meanwhile the neighbor is standing there saying how happy he is that his dog is so friendly.

I would block the dog door (never been a fan anyways) and fence my yard. If you can not fence your yard then your dog must be on leash when out in the yard. It is up to you to keep him from bodyslamming (!!!!!) cars.

And, by your own admission you really have no idea if he actually stays in your yard. If you don't know he is bothering people, then you don't know where he is.

Owning a dog means more then installing a doggy door and not bothering to check to see if he is pestering people or in danger of being hit by a car. Are you walking him every day? Young labs need a ton of exercise.

[greenmagick]

Am I reading this right? You let a puppy have free access to an unfenced yard??? That is a recipe for disaster if so!!! And he chases cars!!!

And yes, a dog can definitely be too friendly, read untrained and rude. What kind of training have you done with him, specifically on how to greet people? How much exercise is he getting....not just roaming on his own but actually doing something with you like a walk or fetch?

[lonegirl]

[ChristyMarie]

Wow, jugdemental much?

He has an electric fence which he was trained to use and does very well with. He will not leave the yard. FYI, we cannot install a fence.

When did I ever say he body slams or jumps on anyone? He'll run around someone and try to get them to play. Which is what he was doing this morning. Actually when I answered the door he was laying in the snow about 10 feet from my snow guy wagging his tail.

And cars aren't going very fast in my driveway so I fail to see how this is a life threatening situation. Both my car and the plow were stopped when he came up to them.

Jeesh. Sorry I decided to share this.

[Pepper44]

Where my family has lived in the country it's normal for dogs to be out like yours. If he stays in your yard with an electric fence I don't see what the problem would be, and an electric fence *is* a type of fence.

Maybe the previous posters didn't get that it was just cars in your driveway and not down the road?

We have a black lab mix (who came from a farm where she was not fenced, lol) and she has been extremely playful like that. It's taken her a long time to mature. She's almost 2 now and we still have to crate her when we have guests over sometimes because she cannot stop loving people. She knows not to jump, but she licks and nudges and tries to shove toys in your hand.

I think it's normal puppy behavior that will be outgrown by 2-3 years old. However you do have to work on basic training in the mean time.

[Ola_]

I'm sorry that some of the answers upset you, but unfortunately I have to agree. Everything is fine until the one time it's not - he runs faster, jumps unpredictably, or the person driving just happened to sneeze and didn't see the dog. How about moving the fence so that the driveway is out of it's bounds? That would prevent much of the problem it seems.

Also I'd do away with the doggie door and let him out on request so you can keep an eye on him. You could teach him something like potty bells or another way to indicate he needs to go out. I'm not sure what housetraining challenges you had but it might be a good idea to work through those rather than just leave the door open. It would take some time/effort to do though.

About the excitement/enthusiasm, have you done any training classes? The "teenager" phase you're in now can certainly be a challenge but by this point he can really learn a lot. I'd be working on some exercises to teach him self-control, esp. around greeting people as greenmagick suggested. Training classes are super for doing this because you can set-up situations and you know everyone involved will cooperate.

[greenmagick]

Thats why I asked if I was reading it right...you just said he ran around and chased cars. However, as I worked for a company that installed, serivced, and trained for electric fences, I would train him ASAP to leave cars alone, even in the driveway...for many dogs this can become an obsession and he will break the fence if it gets strong enough. Electric fences IMO shouldnt be used unless the dog is under supervision.....anything could happen including a loose dog attacking your dog on your propery.

There is a case in FL right now about a highly trained show dog. He was tied to a tree in the front yard...an elderly couple walked by and the dog (being friendly) approached. The story gets sketchy at this point, but from what is pieced together apparantley the older woman got scared and tripped over the curb,,,the man started hitting the dog. The dog is now deemed dangerous because he caused an injury...he may be put to sleep. He never touched the couple, but was responsible in the courts eye for an injury.

As far as the too friendly...again, you dont know when you will have a delivery driver, a new mailman, etc that doesnt like or is scared of dogs....your dog, even being totally friendly, could ellicit them to react and hurt your dog. If your dog trips someone or knocks then over, they are not going to care that it was in a friendly manner.

When the dog is older and more sedate, and fully trained he may be a sedate dog that lays on the front porch. A 10 month old lab pup is just too inquisitive, hyper, and goofy IMO to be left alone with just an electric fence...especially if you arent even home to help if something does happen. My dogs go in my front yard...it is fenced. However, they are never just left out....too many things can happen. I am either out with them or in the front room listening for them.

[SophieAnn]

to Pepper44

Reading your posts I was picturing typical suburbs with a lab running loose in the front yard/driveway... possibly running into the street to bother the City Plow service guy.... It did not occur to me that you were in the country.

Sounds like normal puppy behaviour, which will improve with maturity but obedience training may improve it as well. Maturity makes the biggest difference I find (I have an uber-friendly dog who loves everyone too) and labs tend to stay playful puppies until they are 5 or 7 years old....

[ChristyMarie]

We are not in the country, we live in a gated community though with just over an acre yard. The plow guy was my private plow guy for my driveway and walkways. He's known Sam since we brought him home. He'll throw his ball for him and such but sometimes he gets to be too much to get the work done. However, even the street plows are private so it isn't like we have the huge city plows here.

Sam's fence stops about 12 feet in from our property line so there isn't really much danger of anyone accidentally coming into contact with him. One neighbor who lets his dog play with him has to let his dog fully into our yard before Sam will play, he won't go outside of the line to meet him.

He really is well trained - he's just friendly. Bringing a toy, running in circles, that kind of thing - not jumping or biting or knocking anyone down. And he comes inside when I call him in.

All the dogs here have invisible fences since no real ones are allowed so they are all trained and know to stay in their yard. And even if they get out there really isn't anywhere for them to go as there is a large fence around the entire neighborhood.

I don't know what kind of advice I was looking for but immediately suggesting I was negligent was just wrong. No, I cannot always hear - it is a big house and a big yard but he's only out if we're home. Heck, I can't always hear him IN the house so no, I'm not always sure exactly where he is. I don't always know where my DH or my son are either but that's another matter. Yesterday my husband was home but in the basement when Sam went outside so he didn't hear the snow guy. Likewise, this morning I was getting my son breakfast when he arrived but I heard him as soon as he rang the bell.

[betsyj]

Well you didn't give very much info and never mentioned an IF. Most labs I know that the owners call too "friendly" are obnoxious leaping and jumping and mouthing pests. Glad yours is the exception.

[greenmagick]

You have to realize with the original info basically all we had was a young puppy with free access, chasing cars, and being too friendly...cant you see how that sounds and why we reacted the way we did? I have known too many dogs that got hit by cars or hurt in similar situations.

Regardless, the dog still needs to be trained on how to greet people. Practice with friends, neighbors, whoever you can. Put the dog on a leash in the beginning for control and make sure all your helpers know the rules. If the pup is pushy, exciteable, etc he gets no attention....when he calmly sits he gets a treat and all kinds of loving....if he starts to get too excited again, all attention stops.

He also needs to learn about cars and not chase or play with them, even if it is just in your driveway.

[Ola_]

One of the exercises we used for this is to approach interesting person/dog (on leash), ask my dog to sit, make eye contact with me, and then be allowed to greet the person/dog for a short period of time. Short time is key to prevent her from getting too excited, then I would say "let's go" or whatever your "walk nicely" cue is and continue on. It takes a lot of repetition but the dogs do seem to pick up the pattern and eventually are like "ok, I sit, look, then I get to greet the person, yay!, and then we move on".

Do you go on a lot of walks off your property? Especially for a dog his age it's important to get the socialization. And I'm wondering if part of this is not having enough outside stimulation and exposure to other people?

I'm glad that the invisible fence is working well for you, but I would recommend keeping a close eye on the situation. A lot of times as dogs mature (from about now till age 2 or so) they will push boundaries and test things that they didn't before.

[COgirl19]

You just described a typical lab! They just love people and are over friendly to a fault. Our lab is almost two, 120lbs + and just as insane. DH actually has to take him on walks because I can't hold him back when he HAS to say hello (tackle, jump on, lick, lean on, play with) every single person, dog, cat, squirrel on the street. So no suggestions, but he's just a lab.

[greenmagick]

Originally Posted by COgirl19

. So no suggestions, but he's just a lab.

Well, labs are exuberant, yes...but what you are describing is a dog who is not trained (or at least not properly). A dog, regardless of breed or size, should be able to be walked by anyone, should not be rude and pushy around people, etc. My dogs both love people, their whole bodies go into full wags when people come over...however, it is my job to condition them to proper greetings. No jumping, no being really pushy....(its still a work in progress with the puppy) they are required to sit and then they get attention. I am not talking military like sit in perfect form or anything...its pretty simple, they just dont get attention til they sit or are calm. They prety quiclky learn that being calm causes what they want...otherwiswe you are teaching them that to get attention and pets, being kind of crazy works and thats how they should ask for it.

He also really needs to learn manners with people and dogs....not all dogs like a over friendly rude dog saying "hi". It can cause a fight....doesnt matter if your dog is being friendly, but your dog by being rude in canine terms can illicit a correction from the other dog.

I dont mean to sound picky, but when you work with dogs its really hard when you see great dogs that are untrained and eventually end up causing problems. Friendly dogs are wonderful...of course! I love a squirmy lab coming up for pets....however, not everyone does. A dog needs to be polite and learn to wait for his owner to tell him its ok to greet other people or dogs.
Also, I used to have a dog aggressive dog. SHe wasnt out of control, but would react if a strange dog invaded her space. It was hard taking her on walks because of people who would let their dogs loose, or on leash let them pull them over..."oh, its ok, hes friendly!"...well, no its no ok, its rude and my dog will react.

[Momily]

I worry about the cars -- what if someone who doesn't know him, and isn't as careful as the snowplow guy mistakes your address and pulls in to the driveway, or uses your driveway to turn around? It seems like a high potential for disaster.

Could you move the invisible fence so he's held back from the driveway or is it a circular drive he'd have to cross to get to the yard? Do you not have a backyard you could IF him in?

[betsyj]

DH actually has to take him on walks because I can't hold him back when he HAS to say hello (tackle, jump on, lick, lean on, play with) every single person, dog, cat, squirrel on the street

I get very annoyed with people who excuse this kind of behavior because he is "just a lab." Nope-what he really is is an untrained nuisance. Like greenmagick I have a dog who is not fond of other dogs and nothing makes me angrier then to run into the above kind of dog whose owner is calling "he just wants to say hi." ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Besides, I don't believe the dog is just saying hi. He is being incredibly rude and pushy in dog language because he can, not out of any particular desire to be nice or say hi.

[SquishyKitty]

I also have a dog who doesn't like other dogs. If an unmannered, out of control dog came up to her and invaded her space, she would likely snap.

The dog needs exercise, every day. Lots. Like, at least 40 minutes of hard exercise. Plus more short ones throughout the day. If not, he is going to turn the energy into being obnoxious towards everybody.

We get up at a glorious 5 am to walk our dogs. It's miserable, and we hate it. We still do it. On the weekends, they get another 3-4 mile walk. Exercise is so important, especially for young dogs.

Is he neutered? That will also help calm him down in the long run.

I recommend walking him 3-4x more than what ou do now, and starting him on a training class. Canine Good Citizen classes are awesome and teach the dog lots of manners that are important to being around people and other dogs.

[SquishyKitty]

Also, give him things outside to keep him occupied. Fill kongs or other toys with peanut butter and snacks for him to work out, get him some toys out in the yard. We got our rottweiler a huge ball that is filled with water, she plays with it for hours. We also don't put the dogs out in the yard for very long when we're home.

[ChristyMarie]

Originally Posted by SquishyKitty

I also have a dog who doesn't like other dogs. If an unmannered, out of control dog came up to her and invaded her space, she would likely snap.

When did I say he didn't like other dogs?

He actually has one neighborhood dog who comes into our yard for a quick playdate every time he's out for a walk. The owner recently told me Sam is the only big dog his dog (who's maybe 25 pounds) will play with because he's so gentle. Sam will let anyone - (and anything! we have lots of wildlife here) into our yard. Guard dog he is not.

I'm sorry that many of you seem to think "friendly" is a code for "mean, aggressive, biting" dog.

And all of his favorite toys immediately are taken outside. I have to round them up every few days so he has stuff to play with inside.