My Golden Retriever

Question
Hi Cathy,
I have a 2 year old Golden who has one habit I don't know how to break.  When ever she greets someone who is being friendly she does the puppy teething hello by opening her mouth and gently grabbing the wrist of whoever is greeting her.  The problem is that sometimes she can have a not so gentle grasp and has broken skin on some of these tissue paper thin people. Don't get me wrong, I am not wanting her to do this AT ALL.  Do you have any solutions you can suggest?
Thanks,
Lori

Answer
Hi Lori,

The first thing I would try would be to have her on a leash with a training collar to give you some control of her.  Then you'll need the help of a friend - someone she would likely have this behavior with.    

I would suggest that the friend, when you approach each other, tell your dog to sit.  Only once she is in the sit position should she be given attention by the greeter.  If she starts to be mouthy, you'll need to let her know that it is not acceptable by giving her a "little" tug with her training collar.  You may need to do this over and over until she gets the idea.   When she starts to respond favorably, definitely give her a treat.    You'll need to be firm, but of course not harsh when she starts to do this.  You'll have to be consistent.  I know some people she greets might think she's just being friendly and it is ok, but she will need to get a consistent message that it is a NO NO.  

Putting her in a sit position before the actual greeting will possibly settle her down a little as it seems her behavior is probably done in excitement.  

Once you have some success with the leash, you'll need to do the same thing without the leash.   

Another technique would be to have the greeter completly ignore her and walk away when she becomes mouthy which is definitely not what she wants.   

If the above doesn't work and I will ask some fellow trainers for different approaches.