dog just too friendly!

Question
Hi, I have a 19 month old female staffodshire bull terrier which we have had since she was 7 weeks old. She is quite well behaved with us (does as she's told) but when anyone comes to the house or speaks to her in the street, its as though she is possessed. She won't stop jumping up people (non stop) and trying to reach their face to lick them. She won't listen to us when we tell her to stop. What can we do?

Answer
Hi, Heather,

I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble with your doggie.

Just so you know, overfriendliness is usually a symptom of anxiety. And excessive licking is usually indicative of a dog's normal oral impulses having been repressed as a puppy. Puppies like to mouth their owners' hands and nip in play. Oftentimes an owner will think this shows the potential for the dog to grow up to be a biter, so they'll try to nip these behaviors in the bud, so to speak.

Would you say your dog was overly oral as a puppy? And did you

a) allow her to use her teeth whenever and however she wanted to?
b) gently redirect her oral impulses into appropriate behaviors?
c) scold, punish, or correct her for nipping and mouthing, etc.?

Also, 7 weeks is a bit too young to take a puppy away from her mother and littermates. They learn a lot of bite inhibition and impulse control from their mother and brothers and sisters.

This doesn't mean you did anything wrong, just that from my perspective these could be some of the things that factor in as causes of her overfriendliness now.

The first thing I'd do is play "Trick-or-Treat" with her. It's a game designed to stimulate the "eye stalk" aspect of the dog's prey drive, where they hold perfectly still while stalking a prey animal. Think of a pointer pointing or a setter setting. It's the emotional foundation of the stay exercise. It's also a great way to teach impulse control because it stimulates part of a dog's natural, instinctive form of impulse control.

Here's a description of the exercise: http://www.tiny.cc/TrickorTreat

I'd also play tug-of-war with her on a regular basis. Let her win (she's a pit bull, so it'll be tough NOT to!), and praise her enthusiastically for winning. That'll take some of the energy out of her repressed oral impulses and redirect it into a tug rag.

Here's another link: http://www.tiny.cc/tug

Finally, I'd also take some treats on your walks with her. When she gets excited about meeting somebody, give them a treat, and have them ask your dog to sit. When she sits calmly, she gets the treat. That'll help take some of the excess energy out of her greeting behaviors.

All of these things will help her control her impulses, and will you give you more control over her behavior when she gets too wound up.

I hope this helps!

LCK