very large puppy barks at people

[Anonymous]

My 5 mo puppy barks excitedly at people with his ears down because he wants to greet them when we are on walks. people thought it was cute when he was 10 lb not so much now that he is 50 lbs. How do I get him to stop?

[Anonymous]

Cesar Malon has a few episodes that would help you. His advice is to tire of the dog out by exercising dog heavily. Then the dog does not have the energy to bother other dogs or people. He also stresses making sure the dog knows who is in charge. You establish that by not allowing the dog to eat until you tell him it is OK to eat, the dog cannot run out of the door ahead of you, you need to make him sit and stay when you open the door and then you walk out with the dog behind you, etc

I followed these steps when I got my dog as a puppy, and I feel like I have the best, well behaved dog around. He’s three years old now and my sweet companion.

[Anonymous]

Immediate "tssssh!" to the dog" or use a can of pennies or other unpleasant sound so that he knows immediately there is an association between barking and correction. Do not have the dog in front of you when strangers approach. Also consider a soft muzzle or leader collar.

[Anonymous]

My dog used to get excited when other dogs passed us, jumping and going up on his back legs.

We would get him to sit and we'd face him, blocking his view of the people and pet passing. Then tell him he was a good boy and walk on. Eventually he stopped doing it because whatever smells he was finding in the shrubs were more interesting than other folks on the street

[Anonymous]

Our golden retriever was like this. We used it as a training opportunity, getting her to sit quietly and wait for a treat until the person had walked by. If the puppy is very distracted, you may want to include a “watch me” command where you hold the treat in front of your face so that the dog is watching you instead of whatever is distracting him.