A dog trainer on Skye..she's brilliant, so pleased she's come into our lives!

[Linz13]

Personally, I couldn't crate my two now.  Murphy will only go up onto the furniture when i say he can.  Maddi, well it's her furniture and I sit on it when she says I can    No, she's harder work to keep her off. 

Go with your gut, Marks idea about a mat sounds great - and I might try that myself with Maddi xx

[speedyjaney]

We have ok for dogs furniture and not ok for dogs furniture and they have all got it....we used to keep them off the sofas but after losing Jessie we wished we had had more cuddles with her so we relaxed the rule for saffi on some sofa's and only when the fleecy blanket was out...she got it immediately....and has never jumped up where she isnt allowed.

Took pupster Jazz a little linger to grasp the concept but she too at 11 months is now solid at knowing what she can and cant jump onto!

They are both kept off the furniture at friends tho and respond to OFF which was taught early on....we did it with a house line and only took a few days/visits!

[Helen]

So, if I continue to allow Chloe free access to my furniture, how do I deal with her going mental when she goes to someone else's house? Its soooo hard, cos everyone says its ok, they don't mind her doing it, and the fact she calms down very quickly and FINALLY responds to the off command means we eventually get a happy situation! Do you think I should use a house line when we go visiting, until she can respond to the off command immediately???

THis is where you utilize your "sit", "down", "stay" training.  Marks idea of a mat is excellent too. Have her sit (or down) long enough to soak up the smells, sounds and sights of the house. When she is released she should be able to explore without acting like a loony. If she does--back to the stay  Houseline would be fine

You'll have to start out in homes of doggy folks as the first 5 or so minutes of your visit will be spent dog training 

Does she go 'mental' in your house?  If so that would be the first place to stop the behaviour using house line and Michelle's suggestions above.  TBH I wouldn't take a dog visiting if they behaved like that - you need to have your friends on board too and get them to stop over exciting Chloe 

[jann]

   I agree with Helen, I wouldn't take a dog that behaved like that into somebody else's

house without being on a lead, friends or not !

Are they making a fuss of her and therefore encouraging this behaviour? 

I would keep her on the lead,  and 'train' your friends to ignore her until she settles down.

[Sarah1985]

I agree with spanielcrazy about using you sit stay practice, I also like Top Barks idea of a mat.

If i were you  Id rope a few of your friends into letting you use their  house for a practice. Take Chloe up to the door in heel (leaded). If she starts pulling or getttin excited stop and do a few watch and touch hand exercises or sits till she regains control then start moving again. If you cant get her excitment levels down go back to the car and try again there.

Once at the door continue along the same lines. If the excitment gets too much walk her back out again and try again. Once inside do whatever it is you normally do on vists but with Chloe at you side. Ask your friend not to interact with her on this occasion as it will prob send her over the edge. Once you think shes settled drop the lead and use her mat to give her somewhere to settle. If she gets excited pick the lead up and walk her out the room to calm down before bringing her back in.

THen off to the next persons house.....

Once shes reliably behaving calmly in this situation up the anti and let you friends fuss her. If it gets to much for her take it back a step.

I know its a boring exercise but it'll make everything so much easier to vist people who are particularly house proud.

Is there a trigger that sets her off. I know my two go mental if I knock at the door (as people knock at our house) however if its a door bell they remain calm. So Im attempting to get them to think of a knock as a que to come to me and sit. In the hope that when I next knock at someones door their responce will be to behave.  If there is a trigger like that thats setting her off you can work on this seperately. So Im ringing all my friends without door bells to get to them to come to the door as I dont want to undo my knocking training.

[Karma]

Agree with what others have said.
Honey is allowed on our furniture... but will get off when asked, and she doesn't just launch at us, but will wait for an invite if we are sat there. 
She can be excitable when we visit other houses - not out of control, she just likes to get her bearings... but if we visit somewhere where that's not appropriate, we keep her on the lead (which we did for a suprise party last year... she was in completely unfamiliar surroundings, lots of people and by the time we were eating, she was lying on her bed quite happily without having explored the house!).  So the combination of a lead and a mat would be a workable one... 

We use a hand target for a lot of things... it can be useful to just redirect your dog's focus on you, and we've used it at the foundation for retrieve and heelwork.  It's a useful tool to have... and might help with your over-excitement when visiting issue - if you get a solid hand target, when you go somewhere where she goes "mental" you can keep her on the lead (to prevent the racing around) and just do some hand touches to redirect her focus on to you...
I find a few hand-touches can help unblock the old spaniel deaf ears, and will calm Honey down if she's had a slightly stressful interaction with another dog... 

[SkyeSue]

Thanks for all your helpful comments everyone. Well, the situation at home is....in the living room, we have just one huge fireside chair that she goes on whenever she wants, and one sofa that she also goes on when she wants. The back of the sofa is where she sits to look out the window. We also have a table and chairs which she never goes on. There's no furniture in the kitchen, she doesn't go in the spare bedroom but, as you know she sleeps in my room, either on top of, or under the duvet! Yes, Helen, she does go mental at home, if we have visitors (but thats not very often  ). Most of the time, she's as laid back and relaxed as you could ever want a dog to be in the house. When we  do have visitors, I have everyone stand in the kitchen for a few moments and chat, and completely ingnore Chloe, until she has settled down. Then she is allowed to be fussed as long as all four paws are on the floor. Then we move into the living room, and as, mostly, we tend to sit around the table, Chloe is pretty much excluded. If she approaches anyone for attention and jumps up, I ask that they ignore her until she sits nicely, then she can get clapped. I also get friends to tell her firmly "off", and if it doesn't work, I tell her "off" and try to get her to come to me and lie down calmly at my feet. The business with her going mental at other people's houses, is on a par with how she behaves with ANY situation that is different/unfamiliar. It's just excitement beyond the pail. I only visit two friends regularly with her, and I must confess that one of them really DOES wind her up and encourage her behaviour. I took her to my parents in March, (they live 600 miles away, and it was her first visit) and she went mental, but calmed down in 15 minutes and was an angel from then onwards, though WAS allowed on the furniture. When I took her to my bros house a couple of weeks ago, (again, they live quite a distance away, and it was her first visit) it was the same....madness for 10 minutes...she was completely ignored, then was fine. Again, she WAS allowed on the furniture.
I have written down all your suggestions, and will definitely be taking a houseline on future visits and a mat...that's a great idea Mark, especially as she's doing really well at targetting. Sorrry for yet another long post  

[SkyeSue]

I really, really like this woman, and am so pleased she has come to Skye! We had our second session today. She came to my house and was here for over 3 hours! During that time, we spent ages talking about training and did about half an hour hands on in the house, and half hour down the croft. Chloe was like putty in her hands. We mostly did "lead hand handling" which is getting Chloe to keep contact with my hand whilst we walk up and down, and do circles, figures of eight etc...on both sides. I'd been practicing this since our last session, so Chloe was quite good in the house but outside, obviously, was a bit more challenging. If I can get her to walk touching my hand for 4 metres without feeding by next week, we will start on weave poles. She's even going to sell me weave poles for a pound each to put up in the garden. She's amazed at Chloe's love of a squeaky ball, and says I have a very powerful tool there (which I knew anyway!) but the thing I like most about her is that I feel we can "work" together. Its not just about her telling me what to do, we can sit and discuss ideas and work out what's best for Chloe. And having her in our lives is stimulating me and making me much more determined to put in the necessary work. And for three hours of her time today, she charges me a fiver!!!! I did say she was maybe underselling herself, but she says she enjoys training so much, that she almost feels she should be paying her clients to allow her to do what she loves! And by December, she'll hopefully have a Briad puppy for Chloe to sort out  I sooooo chuffed 

[lindseyp]

I'm so pleased for you Sue & for Chloe too 

Not just for the training part of things but sounds like you could have a new frienship there too - & a friend who has the same likes as you do - DOGS     

[SkyeSue]

I'm so pleased for you Sue & for Chloe too 

Not just for the training part of things but sounds like you could have a new frienship there too - & a friend who has the same likes as you do - DOGS     

Oh Lindsey, you would not believe this woman, she's an out and out eccentric (no wonder we get on so well  ) I swear to doG she must be at least late 60s if not in her 70s, and she arrived today with one side of her face black and blue, with cuts under her eyes. Turns out she fell over whilst RUNNING! She'd been at the clinic to get a hearing aid fixed before she came to me, and was joking with the doctors about her husband beating her up! Last time I met her, I asked her what her second name was and she told me...Shove...then laughed and said she'd fallen for him before she realised how embarrassing it would be to have a name like that 

[lindseyp]

 

not what I was imagining at all but she sounds brill - I love her too & have never met her    

[Joules]

not what I was imagining at all but she sounds brill - I love her too & have never met her    

Me too - lucky you having someone like this nearby.  I would love a mate like her 

Better an eccentric than a dull old woman (that's what I think anyway  ) 

[Top Barks]

sounds fab Sue!

[Mudmagnets]

He he sounds like fun times ahead for all concerned.

Glad you have found a new friend who is as doggy-minded as you are...think it helps when folks are on the same wavelength