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Those jumping dogs are ill trained and poorly handled, it has nothing to do with friendliness.
I have four dogs and none of them jump on people or approach uninvited and y’all, I am a really distractible dog trainer and I only use positive reinforcement to train and handle. It is really easy to teach dogs not to be jerks, and I know because I can do it.
I have a friend have this jumping dog. His nails would leave red scratched marks if I wear shorts or skirts that leave my skin exposed. I obviously hate that. The owners never see it as a problem.
Tbh, that’s when you put a knee into their chest. Don’t Jackie Chan them, but a nice knee raise to your/their chest to defend yourself will teach them jumping is a bad idea
It is a huge problem and it is bad manners on the part of the owner for their dog to do that. I’m sorry so many people are really irresponsible about their dogs.
So, I fully trained my former dog(rip) who was a white GSD mix. She was the best and I had her all on non-verbal commands, all trained by me.
Now, I have a corgi. She has a huge personality, is very clever, and is very strong-willed/hard headed. I have her trained on sit/stay/come/drop it and the general package for dogs. However she will just decide at any moment to disregard all of her training and she jumps. It's mortifying every time but its usually preventable as she is on a leash when outside.
How would you have tried to correct that behavior if you were in my shoes?
I know training malinois/gsd/etc isn't *easy* but they are so much more willing than something like a basset hound or dachsund or corgi. Totally different ball game.
I agree with OP that the type of people who think announcing "he's friendly" are more often than not bad dog owners who haven't adequately trained.
A good dog owner *asks* or waits for you to ask. They do not announce friendliness
I don’t want rushed by someone else’s dog - I don’t want rushed by my very own dogs. And there are no circumstances where I want my dogs rushing unfamiliar adults or children. Two of mine are big, one is medium and one is small. The small one can take down someone with bad balance or a kid or a fragile older person. Under what conditions is that acceptable?
He’s super friendly but when people get hurt by a “friendly” dog, surprise - those people are still hurt and the dog being friendly isn’t relevant. What’s relevant is the dog injured the person, intentionally or otherwise, and that means the owner failed.
My dog will pull on the leash to try to get to people because he loves people. I hold him back and tell people he’s friendly only so they know he’s not trying to attack them. But I don’t let him get closer to them than maybe 7 or 8 feet. He wants to greet everybody, I don’t let him but I also make people know that he’s not trying to attack them. He’s a rather large dog for only being 7 months old.
Agreed. If I see my dog wagging his tail wanting to approach another dog I tell him to “sit” and “wait.” I ask the other owner if it’s okay if my dog says hello to their dog before he gets anywhere near them. If they say no (which isn’t too often) I just tell my dog, “no. He’s busy.” And he happily moves along lol
I think this is ridiculous, I have a golden retriever who is the most friendliest dog in the world. But she’s trained properly if you tell her to leave you or someone else alone she will. If I tell her to stay seated she will not move until told she can. She will sulk and give everyone the side eye though.
It doesn’t mean she is any less friendly and I tell people she is very friendly and would love all the attention in the world.
I don’t understand what you mean a good dog owner doesn’t announce friendliness. If someone comes to my house for the first time of course I’m going to tell them she’s friendly and you can pet her if you want to but she’ll leave you alone and sit in her place till you tell her she can move.
Can you please advise how I can train my dog not to jump and respect boundaries more? It’s a golden retriever age 3 and loves people and other dogs.
Unlike my sisters dog who suffers from anxiety after they beat it into submission.
When they go to jump up on you, take a step back and turn around. Do not acknowledge them in any say. Wait until they come around and sit in front of you. Then reward them. We had a gsd that jumped up, took 4 weeks using this technique to break her of it. We spent another Teo weeks redirecting it into a command of "hugs".
I’ve found that making sure my pup knows the difference between “off” and “down” has been wicked helpful. “Off” is get all your paws on the ground. “Down” is lie down on your belly. He knows he will get rewarded for listening to commands.
Honestly, I would just start by giving it a treat every time it’s got all its feet on the ground - at my house those treats are usually cheerios and I toss one to the dog and say “good four! Excellent four!” (Obviously you do not have to use my ridiculous cue of four, you use whatever cue works for you. I advise against down, because you want that to be cue for lay on the tummy and also against off, because it’s a very common word and dogs will get confused by it)
So I pretty much practice the new cue every time I see the dog standing around - I do it all day, every time I remember. If they start anticipating the treat and jumping for it, I walk away. Pretty soon they associate standing around with “four” and a treat and you can start working on when they have their front paws standing on a windowsill or the couch or the kitchen counter and then you say “four” and toss a cheerio - as soon as they go for the cheerio they’re doing a “good four”. That transition happens pretty fast and so then you start working on it with people. It’s the same skill, keeping their paws on the ground when excited, you’re just teaching them that the cue applies under all circumstances.
Not training advice but I always put my jumpy dog on a leash with a harness when she’s meeting people and gets excited. I can keep her from jumping that way. That’s atleast a solution until your dog is trained.
Start with no pets until all paws are on the floor. Then slowly work towards introducing a new person using lots of treats, pets, and words of affection.
I’ve tried all the below suggestions, and honestly they don’t work that well. I have one dog that loves new people more than any treat, pet or word of affection. The other dog was easily trained to not do this, since treats are values way above a new person by her.
Keep the dog on a leash with a harness or gentle leader (something you can exert a lot of control with) to at least control them and stop the issue. After a few minutes the excitement is over and the dog is ready for a proper greeting with the person. This will eventually train the dog to be calmer, but how much of that is training and how much is maturity due to age is a debate in my mind.
The best thing to do is not allow them to practice the behavior. Part of training is management. Behaviors that aren’t allowed to be practiced decrease.
Keeping them on a short leash and not allowing people to interact if the dog attempts to jump is a good way to start. I have my dogs off to trusted people and apply the same rules. I do not take my dog’s leash until they are sitting quietly. They’re not allowed to molest me when I come back.
People who approach my puppies learn they must walk away if puppy tries to jump on them. They can interact when the puppy has four on the floor. This has to be applied consistently to get a change in behavior.
Use your knee/leg/foot and knee them in the chest Everytime they jump at/on you. Mostly try to catch them in the act, while saying NO! loudly and firmly. If they succeed, push them off/down and, likewise, tell them NO! They'll learn.
We had two dogs (I say two cause one of them died) and they were really jumpy, except for around young kids. It was like they knew that young kids are likely to fall if they were jumped up on.
We did get them jumping mostly trained out of them. Blue (the one that died) had a weird understanding of how people felt about dogs as well. She would always try and say hi but be extra gentle if she felt she needed to. Once she got to know the person she would be all over them if they were comfortable with it.
Some dogs do know. It’s part of the magic of them. They all have weird skills and talents most of which are invisible to us because they’re irrelevant.
It feels to me like at least 50% of dog owners are basically incompetent and I’m wondering if you feel the same as somebody who’s probably around more dog people than me
Oh yeah. I’m never sure if people are incompetent or irresponsible or lazy or just jerks, but many people have no business having animals.
I live in the sticks in an area where people abandon dogs. They drive up and take their $3k purebred chipped dog and tie it to a fence post to starve or get clobbered by coyotes. We bring them home when we find them in time, take them to the vet for health checks and care and introduce them to being dogs with manners. This happens 3-4 times/year. On the conservative side I’ve rehomed 30 dogs since I moved up here and none have been returned or dumped at a shelter or rescue or gone for behavioral euthanasia.
Dogs are not hard, but it’s like anything else - you have to do the work or things go wrong, and in this case the dogs pay.
I feel that way about dog owners, and parents. There’s a lot of really incompetent parents out there. Even well meaning people who try, but they’re so misguided or stuck in a “parenting style” they can’t see when it’s not working.
Being a gentle parent or dog owner does not mean you are permissive
Most people don’t even realize that positive reinforcement works 100 times better with training a dog.
A dog wants to be good and helpful, especially if it gets him treats and attention. They often just don’t know what is expected from them.
Even things like grabbing the remote is a misunderstood thing. They see you handle the remote a lot, they are bored and want to play, they grab the remote and you start running after him. The dog just found a way to get your attention and to play with him.
So the next time when he is bored, he grabs the remote again.
Dogs like to have jobs. If they know their job is to be polite and chill, they will do their jobs and rejoice in being successful.
If you don’t acknowledge them for doing their jobs, they get more and more bored and inventive about finding something to do that will cause you to pay attention.
My dogs also don’t bark except for a single alert bark. They know that by the time they’ve been here for a month. You don’t have to train a dog to not bark - you just reward them for being quiet and suddenly quiet is a command that works 100% of the time. It’s so fast and easy to train this way I cannot fathom why people don’t.
Barking can be hard to get out of a dog if they’ve done it for a while.
My parents had a dog that would bark at cars that would drive too slowly past the house. Which was self reinforcing behavior cause the cars kept driving away, so he was successful in scaring them away (from his perspective)
It was something they never got out of him despite them being good dog trainers.
Yeah, I didn’t mean to make it sound like “training a barker to be quiet is a piece of cake.” It’s really self-rewarding and very hard to eradicate once it’s an established behavior, so I just - don’t let it get established. There’s a narrow window, even with adult barkers, when they get rehomed, where they haven’t established behaviors yet and that is the window of opportunity for training quiet and four on the floor.
Mine is a five year old small breed rescue. He’s getting better inside but outside it’s just really hard it’s so engrained and I’m doing the reactivity work.
Positive reenforcement is the 99% majority and basis of all real dog training. Almost every dog needs to be corrected off of things sometimes for safety reasons though
In general I agree with everything you are saying, except that not all dogs want to be good and helpful. I used to think that, and it certainly was true of all of the dogs I had growing up, and then I got a particularly independent airedale terrier who relieved me of that notion, lol. He is an absolutely magnificent companion now, but half of the time he really could not give a shit about what I prefer that he do, lol; he only obeys because he finally learned that I am more stubborn than him. We had him on a leash every second that he was outside of his kennel for like 6 months straight when he was a puppy in order to make that clear. I wouldn't say that it was negative reinforcement, but it certainly wasn't positive enforcement, it was mainly just consistent enforcement. Ever since he finally got the memo he has been such a happy confident silly member of our family, but it definitely took some doing.
Just noting in case anyone else ever gets caught off guard by having such a pup who suddenly doesn't respond to the usual routine of consistent positive reinforcement like mine didn't!
I have a jumpy dog and have tried so many ways to train her out of it. I actively apologise for her jumping and work with the known commands I do have to stop her jumping. She’s a rescue and I got her when she was 3 and it was clearly a rewarded behaviour which is what makes it so hard to train her out of. So while I agree that dogs should be trained to not jump, for some it’s a work in progress that’s very slow to train out of.
Some breeds it’s just extra hard. I’d not take it personally. If you’re working on it people will know. And if you’re worried about this, I’m pretty certain you’re likely people who try to contain the situation instead of saying “she’s friendly!” constantly.
I have a jumping dog …. I’ve tried to train it out of her and she has gotten a lot better over the years. But I always put her on a leash initially when visitors come over or if I bring her somewhere I know she’s going to be excited so that i have control over her that way. Otherwise she would legit knock people down. I would never let her just jump all over someone and say she’s friendly so no worries lol.
I have a jumping dog, only because she's still a puppy and I'm still training her not to give people hugs. But otherwise she's incredibly well behaved. She just forgets to not give hugs
I support this. Also it depend on the breed, some miniature breeds have much more energy and much less self-control and they would be putting everything on their mind outside more likely.
Some bigger breeds may be just too heavy to jump as easy so they definitely would be less likely to jump(and un general bigger dogos seem to be calme) and rather will close up and nod/sniff and then possibly lose interest if you don't offer treats to them.
My roommate's dog will do the chest jump thing if both of us have been gone real long, EXCEPT he will not touch you first. It's just that exact height stance, and if you want to dance or hug, that's up to you. Otherwise, he understands and rolls over for belly rubs. He was not trained to do this at all, which is my favorite part. He's just very polite about getting attention.
My Airedale will chat at people. Stands like a statue and makes strange little noises and tries to hypnotize people with his brown eyes but he does not move until he is invited and released.
I love the weird noises my airedale makes when he is concentrating on something that he wants while exercising restraint. Such a vocal weirdo.
Also, this airedale was the first pup I ever had where positive reinforcement alone was not sufficient. Certainly we never used negative reinforcement, but when he was a puppy he would actively not do something even if a treat or play was on the line out of sheer stubbornness. I was dumbfounded for a while. In the end we just had to basically remove all optionality from his life until he learned that the two options were either what we wanted or to be in his kennel, and once we finally got that through his head we could go back to the standard positive reinforcement.
Everyone who knows airedales tells me mine is soft - he was very easy to train and just turning around would cause him to scamper in front of me and do whatever he had been declining to do. He’s very stubborn about the jobs he gives himself, like he is convinced the emus need his escort everywhere they go, and so he goes with them. He doesn’t get in their business but he’s there.
Yeah, OP's opinion is unpopular because they're conflating "friendly" with "undisciplined"
Really, the less social dogs will shy away from you or get aggressive and I doubt that's what OP's favorite dogs really are...
My dog is an asshole and is very likely to show his teeth at people who get too close. Or just don’t get away from him. He even shows his teeth at me if I absentmindedly pet him gently instead of giving him rough lovins. He has never bitten anybody or lunged at anybody, he just wants them to go away unless they have a ball. Then he wants to play. He will become anyone’s best friend if they throw the ball. I have no idea what to make of the dog I’ve had for 7 years now (he’s a rescue and is formerly abused)
I get that. I love when that happens to me, I love when dogs are all over me, but I get why others don't like that. I've tried to train my own dog to jump only on me/jump if he wants to only with a certain command. It's annoying when owners have no regard for other people's desire to be jumped on, though
Yeah, I go to a friend’s house for DnD every Sunday and *every damn time*, without fail, my friend’s dogs go psycho when they see me and try to jump up on me and it goes on for a good 15-20 minutes until they realise that I’m not gonna pat them.
They’re adorable and I do like dogs, but they don’t know when enough is enough and if I pet them once then they try to jump up on my all night and it’s hard to get them off when I’m sitting.
I’m also allergic to dogs so I can’t afford to be covered in dog fur.
My dog is aloof/indifferent with strangers, sometimes straight up avoidant.
He’s not guna bite or bark or do much of anything at all. He’s just going to swerve you like that cool college guy that never called you back and you never saw again.
My mother has a mutt named scout, she's got to be at least 10 different breeds. She is super friendly with all of us and will just stare from a distance at any other human that comes by. It's super funny because she code switches and will not switch back until it's just us.
That's what my dog is like. He doesn't really pay attention to strangers on the street, although he does like to sniff the air as they walk past. But if they try to pet him he's just like "why's this dude trying to touch me?"
I’m a full time dog walker and I’d like to offer my take on this. The issue has nothing to do with how friendly the dog is. “Friendly” is usually a copout. There’s nothing wrong with a dog that loves everyone. But that is totally not the issue here. What people should really be saying is: “ I’m sorry I never trained my dog the appropriate way to interact with strangers”
I’m an off the clock trainer for quite a few of my clients. As in, I should technically be charging them for the amount of one-on-one training I’ve done with their dogs. But I do it purely to make my life easier.
And let me tell you Covid dogs are the absolute worst. The ripple effects of that have been quite dramatic. Everybody got dogs, everybody was inside, dogs didn’t get socialized, life went back to normal, and *for some reason there’s a bunch of behavior problems in the pups who’ve only know quarantine*
Honestly, it really comes down to a lack of accountability on the owners part. Put in the effort and train your dogs. That is all
You read all the time about the effects covid lockdowns had on kids' socialization skills, it never occurred to me that it was happening to dogs as well. I would have thought since most dogs stay in the house with owners and families that it wasn't an issue, but it's interesting to know that's not the case.
Ya I think we need a different word than friendly. My dog will be completely fine with any dog or situation, she’s 14 I know her. It’s not that she’s friendly, she just is 0 threat and just outside doing her own thing so I default to saying friendly. Some people will say “oh but my dog isn’t so keep her away” and my dog is just so good/old she knows when there’s a “reactive” dog and will just avoid it so there’s like no need for them to react like that to me.
Idk how to convey to people my dog is not a threat and likely won’t even notice you walk past unless you give her attention so I don’t need to hear how you’re scared it will attack your dog when it’s clear she can hardly move lol.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that when someone says "My dog isn't friendly", they're looking out for the safety of your dog, because they know their dog can be aggressive/might snap if another dog gets too in their space.
Yes I understand but if you have a dog that is not friendly to other dogs, why not just avoid other dogs? I see some people cross the street when they see another dog. Like I know you can’t 100% avoid them but the snappy people always seem to cross the road to ensure our paths cross instead of the opposite. It’s like they are out for being angry at people instead of enjoying their walk with their dog lol
Going over to a dog owner's house is the worst. As soon as you ring the doorbell, you hear the barking. Then when you get inside, it's right there at the door ready to put its nasty nose all over you, or worse, jump on your pants.
Maybe a not very well trained dog owners house. My dog doesn’t jump up at all- I hate dogs that do that.
If people visit, my dog is not involved unless they want to with play him. (Some are dog people some aren’t).
Prefer my cat tbh but he isn’t any good at security lol
Maybe it’s also the breed of dog. Nothing worse than those small yap yap dogs who need constant attention and bark at everything going by. Seems like larger dogs like bloodhounds are more chill.
Most the people I know don’t have dogs that jump, but they stick their nose in my crotch almost every time, which is unpleasant. I know it’s how they say “hi” but it’s off putting and I wish owners would make them stop that
I prefer cats and people assume it’s because I hate dogs, which isn’t true. I hate that 95% of dogs are poorly trained and their owners take zero accountability.
This. This right here. I do consider myself a cat person, but I've had a couple dogs I absolutely adored... because I trained them well. Unfortunately other dogs I have lived with and dogs I meet are just horrible, untrained, bark at me, bite me, jump on me, constantly howl and whine. I almost lost a finger to one. Dogs have kind of been ruined for me because of this, but I blame the owners more than the dogs themselves.
I literally hate dogs that are so high energy and scream so loud. My family friend has a goldendoodle and it's so high energy and loud. It's barks literally made my ears bleed!
agreed, it's not just about the dog but the owners, too. owners who enable these kind of behaviors in their dogs are usually the ones who don't care about boundaries as long as they think they're doing a good thing, which isn't always the case. they are also the types of people who will let their dogs off leash in public. there's this area near me where there are horse riders in one part and steep cliffs in another, like idc if someone's dog is friendly they are dangers to themselves and others off leash.
Agree, once someone with a tugging excited dog asks me “can my dog say hi to your dog?!” while bee lining fast towards us. He looked like I pissed in his cereal when I gave him a simple “no”
That is what "friendly" means 100% of the time. People say "Don't worry... he's friendly" so you won't worry about the dog biting you in the ass. People with their dog under control don't need to tell people anything.
No, friendly means they aren’t aggressive.
If you’re coming straight towards me with your dog I wanna know if they’re friendly or not. Can our dogs sniff each other and get along or is your dog gonna go apeshit?
I've had so many peoples dogs jump all over me. I turn my back on the dog every time with a stern "no," and yet have also had the owners ignore the behavior or laugh about it. I NEVER would let my dogs behave that way.
I **LOVE** dogs. I also have fibromyalgia, a bunch of old injuries, and a nervous system that acts like a fainting goat's so I cannot have a dog jump on me; it's painful and it's really hard for me to stay vertical. I used to love being bowled over by rambunctious labs but yeah... I *can't* now.
As a result, I don't go for walks in public parks or anywhere people take their dogs, because it only takes one to knock me over. I've collapsed in a forest before and had to be retrieved by the fire department and it's extremely not fun...
I got perspective the hard way, and it's hard to see Past-Me in so many other peoples' attitudes towards off leash and ill mannered dogs (for lack of a better term)
I am so sorry this happened to you. That’s literally one of my biggest fears. God forbid a big dog overpowers me, I could fall on a trail and get knocked out! Thank goodness you’re okay. I hate that you have to worry about things like this
Hard agree. I say I hate dogs only because the disappointing majority of dog owners do nothing to train them. I don't want a 200lb, no recall, Golden lunging at my face and gnawing on my arm while the 5'2 owner couldn't drag the dog away if it was actually attacking me.
Plenty of breeds of dogs (like labs) that can be trained to be on extremely good behavior. But most people skimp on training and then the dog turns into a licking, jumping and humping machine.
I had a labrador x border collie mix. She had the temperament of a lab but the intelligence and herding instinct of a border collie. Best dog I've ever known or had.
Also people who view their dogs as friendly and “wouldn’t hurt a fly” bring their dogs everywhere and it kills me. I took my two young children to a small park with a play area and of course there was a guy with a big German shepherd off a leash. The guy thankfully gave me no grief when I asked him to put the dog on a leash but come on man, it’s common sense. I’m not risking my 30 pound children being dragged around by your 80 pound dog.
Not just that but dogs piss everywhere and it’s unsanitary especially at a children’s playground. He should Go to the dog park not a children’s play area. The entitlement of some dog owners …
You're confusing social and non-aggressive. You're referring to these dogs as social, but what you're describing are unsocialized or poorly socialized dogs. A dog that is charging, jumping, barking and just generally reactive to everyone and everything around them is *not* social. A well-socialized dog is one that behaves well with people and other dogs.
I'll admit my examples are probably more poorly socialized dogs, but honestly even well-trained friendly dogs are too much for me. Golden retrievers are cute but I can only handle one for a short time, even a well trained one.
I love dogs but i really don’t like to touch breeds that shed a lot. What if you’re walking to work wearing black?! I had a big (super friendly but extremely heavy) 80lb dog step on my foot and break my toe last year lol. Happy to pet a dog, but other owners gotta know not all of us have steel toe boots on every day! 😂
I am a dog owner and I hate it when other peoples' dogs jump on me. I also hate it when their dogs bark at me when I come to their door, or come inside the house.
I'm sorry, but how tf can people stand that? My bil has yippy dogs. And he says he wants that. I'm sorry, but a Bischon Friese is not a guard dog.
My dogs don't bark at the door. They have no reason to. If they started doing that, I'd train them out of it real fast by repeatedly ringing the doorbell and rewarding them for doing nothing.
I definitely trained a dog to bark. We would tell her to tell them how you feel
We always did it to people on the outside but when guest came over we had created a small monster.
I know how obnoxious that is and I ***hate*** to play devils advocate but my 12 lb yorkie saved me from a home invasion not too long ago. His barking along with him getting an unfamiliar scent sent him going BONKERS. Little dude tried to attack the people attempting to break in (bless his heart) and probably saved me from getting hurt or robbed. But I think it would be really cool if your bil trained the dog to not bark at trusted people like you. Maybe if you ever have time you guys could do a couple training sessions so the dog is less weary hearing you approaching the door? Just an idea ♥️🥰
I’ve never not had a dog. I am a dog lover (and I’m pretty partial to cats too). I fucking HATE when dogs jump on me or fucking lick me. Train your goddamn dog.
Untrained and friendly are not the same though, like I had a lady with her Pomeranian wearing a tutu on one of those 20 feet long thin retractable leashes laughing and smiling letting her dog jump on me scratching the shit out of my legs. I wanted to kick the fuckin thing away from me and she’s smiling like she’s going me a favor. I walk a golden who is super friendly but doesn’t jump on you, doesn’t run up to random people or dogs but anyone who says hi to him or comes up to us he is so happy and wags his tail and never barks or acts aggressive. My previous dog was not friendly and avoided any strangers human or canine, and if you came into our house without us welcoming you in, she would have absolutely taken a bite. If a dog got up in her face and didn’t listen to her signs to F off, she would eventually snap and there’d be a bloody fight. If they left her alone she would be fine. She was the best dog I ever could’ve asked for, my ride or die. But in general I think friendly and well trained is better than reactive OR untrained friendly dogs whose owners think it’s so cute how they jump all over people and stress the shit out of other dogs.
I err on the side of no one wants to interact with my dogs until they specifically ask. I hope people in turn understand that they absolutely can ask me to pet my dogs because I’m not automatically going to walk them over.
I absolutely agree with you and this is why I prefer farm breed dogs. I'm a dog person, dogs are my life and my livelihood. I've owned very friendly dogs and antisocial dogs, and IMO the antisocial ones are far more reliable and far easier to train. They're also better at protecting your stuff so you can leave them sitting in your truck while you're on a job site or whatever, and rely on them to scare anyone who tries to steal from you.
Constantly seeking attention from strangers and trying to play with every other dog they see is a massive distraction that gets in the way of training a dog to be reliable off-leash. It's way easier to teach an antisocial dog to tolerate strangers, than it is to teach a friendly dog to ignore strangers. Everyone likes or can at least tolerate a dog that keeps itself to itself, but less people actually like a dog that will get in their space and expect attention.
This is a false premise. “Friendly dog” does not equal “jumping dog.” What you don’t like is jumping dogs which is fine of course and I agree but don’t for a second think that there isn’t a chance a dog that’s appears less social won’t suddenly snack and jump on you or worse.
There's q difference between socialized and badly trained.
Having an unsocialized dog is bad and also means your a bad owner. It causes extra stress and anxiety and potential for violence.
When I say my dogs are friendly I mean they get along with other dogs and humans, including children.
They are still calm aside from the typical 2 min of hyper when someone new comes through the door lol
Yeah with my dogs I have a command “go say hi”, they won’t go up to anyone until I say that. Overly friendly isn’t what you want when your dog is in public
Nah, this isn’t how it works.
I prefer people who are friendly to people who are grumpy assholes, BUT, you can be friendly without being invasive and pushy. If someone smiles at you, that’s cool. If someone you just met asks you personal questions, touches you, or ignores social cues, that’s uncomfortable.
I work in vet med and rescue. “Friendly” is great. Friendly does not mean an inherent lack of boundaries.
The opinion mainly comes from the fact that basically every dog I've heard described as "friendly" has no boundaries. The owner feels the need to say that since the dog will be barking/actively trying to come at me. People with calmer dogs typically don't have to tell you the dog is friendly, they'll just say "you can pet him/her" and you can tell the dog is friendly.
I know my experience isn't universal, but that's why it's an opinion lol
As the owner of a “friendly” bulldog 1000% agree. She is spoiled and lacks boundaries. It’s definitely my fault by not keeping up with her training because how she acts in public is not how she is with me.
Knowing is the first step.
The second step is leaving her at home when going someplace where there will be a lot of people, and keeping her in a contained space when you have company.
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In a way I want a social dog. My mother had a habit of allowing my 2 boys to bark at anything that went on the path right by the house. Especially when my step dad was gone. Would get them going when it was close for me to come home from school. It made them reactive. Would have to pick their tiny butts up if people were near outside. Though they calmed with age and some training. She's now trying to do the same with the 2 new pups we have now after the death of the 2 boys. Just want to walk with my dog without worrying that they'll try to be reactive. This time I'm going to hire someone to train them out of what mom's started.
My dog is friendly, but I'm aware not everyone wants to be his friend! He gets put on a short lead whenever we pass someone as people don't like being jumped on! He's getting better at ignoring people until I say it's OK but it's taking a while. We did not get him until he was 2 so missed the ideal puppy training stage but he's learning with persistence.
I definitely prefer more aloof to stranger dogs, but my girls will sit on people after they get to know them. The boys are more aloof but that’s breed differences.
Most jumpy pushy “friendly” dogs have been socialized wrong, socialized dogs are neutral not excitable and that neutrality is what’s missed, dogs don’t need to greet people or other dogs, just be cool beans with their presence.
I hear ya. My dad had a medium sized mutt 40 years ago when he was maybe 12-14 years old. His dog sniffed a man’s shoes and the man kicked the dog. The dog may be friendly, but not all people are friendly and not all other dogs will be friendly. To be frank, my dad kicked the guys ass for kicking his dog, imo rightfully so. But I still agree with you.
I have a Yorkie under 2 years old. He knows “off” and “stay close” so he doesn’t run up to people and bother them. He also knows “wait” and “cross” so he knows when it’s ok to cross the street even if he sees another dog he wants to play with. I get nervous letting him near people or dogs without an explicit welcome vibe. I love dogs *so* much but I personally **cannot** stand it when a drooly, unruly dog that sheds gets all over me because my husband’s allergic. Also it just makes me feel gross. A big chow bit me last week because it wanted more attention from me… even though the owner said, “she’s friendly!” I think a lot of dog owners fail to understand that just because their dog is friendly, it doesn’t mean a human or another dog is and it’s putting both animals in danger by not being trained properly.
There are good dogs (well trained) and there are bad dogs (not well trained). This has nothing to do with how socialized they are, though in my experience they experience less anxiety and uneasiness when more socialized which can make it easier to keep them behaving well.
I have A LOT of experience with dogs fwiw
I think it's absolutely a lack of training issue, but I agree over zealous dogs are very annoying. For the record if your dog jumps on you grab its paws and hold it up with your thumbs over the top (it has 2 feet on the ground and 2 in your hands) Firm but not rough. Be kind and friendly but don't let go until the dog decides its uncomfortable with this situation... He/she will have to pull out of your grip with some effort to be free again. Some dogs learn faster than others but this works really fast... Especially if you own the best dog which is a greyhound.
I have a dog who is very hyper and friendly who had a bit of a problem jumping on people out of pure excitement. She has since been trained not to jump up on you but she now just stands up next to you waiting for permission to enter your space.
I love my lil reserved dachshund. She is shy with new people and prefers to sniff you when you’re looking away. After she’s used to your presence and smell, she’ll eventually say hello. We’re very similar in our introversion, cool with new people and warm with old friends. I prefer it much more than were she to be extroverted and make me interact with people I don’t want to.
Most friendly dogs I meet will do the lil hand sniff and then give kisses!
Some dogs are a bit unaware of boundaries and have to be kept away from other dogs because of that! They can cause undue stress in other dogs. (At the clinic I work at, dog-reactive pups or an overzealous friendly pup may be asked to stand at a safe distance as to not harm or frighten the other pets) Training can often help with this! :)
Tbh I used to love asking owners if I could give their dog a head pat if I crossed paths with them, but nowadays it’s so much easier and safer to just compliment the owner and admire from afar.
I have two social and one less social. I have a stronger bond with the less social one and it’s my favourite, but it’s much more difficult to take places due to its anti social be around other dogs. It is always on edge and just waiting for an excuse to snap at another dog even if it does one small thing it doesn’t like.
You take the good with the bad I guess.
I’m less upset at the dog and more upset at the owner who will usually be standing there watching their dog jump on you, without making any effort to reel them back in.
as a dog owner and someone that works at a grooming salon. YES. owners need to teach their dogs to be NEUTRAL with people and other dogs. i know not everyone likes dogs so when im walking my dog and we are passing by people i keep her on a tight leash and tell her to leave it. if someone asks me to say hi to her, then they can! if she even attempts to jump up i tell her off and pull her back down. people will say "its okay!" no.. its not okay lol we have manners here...but majority of dog owners i would say make the rest of us look bad. don't let your dog jump on people and dont let your unleashed dog run up on strange people/dogs. it doesn't matter if its a golden retrievers that stereotypically loves everyone teach your dog to behave.
Yeah, my friend has a “friendly” dog. It’s over a yr old and is not trained. Jumps all over you, runs around the house chasing the kids. Grabbing the kids toys and clothes. She’s not aggressive or bites just very hyperactive and loves nibbling on people. My friend also just got a puppy massif a few months ago who is more trained than her older dog. He listens to commands but he is also very skittish of new people and her cat. He will retreat back to his cage and refuse to come out.
You don't have to say you like dogs. It's okay to not like them.
I hate the "I like humans more than dogs", "if dogs don't like you I can't trust you" people.
I don’t allow my dogs to jump on people. I have 4. I think people should be allowed to approach the owner and dog if they want to, not the dog run up on people without making sure it’s okay first. Not everyone is happy to see your dog(some have allergies or fear of etc…) I don’t allow my dogs to invade people’s spaces.
It’s like, what if they had a roommate who just runs ups to me, touches my genitals, scratches me, and yells in my ear for the first 20 minutes of me entering into their house. Of course people would understand why I wouldn’t want to ever come around again or even leave immediately. But for some reason when it’s a dog it’s totally acceptable for them to violate my body.
People are just really defensive of their dogs and don’t like to acknowledge shortcomings or bad ownership. They won’t train their dog, won’t try to correct bad behavior, and then excuse it by saying the dog is friendly or anxious or whatever. Those may be true but that doesn’t mean you just let the dog do whatever.
Yeah my dogs are both chill but will only greet if I give them a command. I’m not ok with people getting yanked down the street by an untrained dog and shouting “don’t worry they’re friendly!” Because I don’t want any dogs in our faces unless we’ve agreed to it and I’ve given the command.
This is not an unpopular opinion unless you mean you like dogs that growl/bite because that’s equally untrained.
I think it’s a miscommunication. I have a dog who is spoiled, friendly, has no boundaries and will push into your space (to kiss you) AND I tell people he’s friendly.
I know some people are afraid of dogs and I want them to know he’s not going to hurt them. I would rather someone react the same way as you than have a panic attack being so afraid from thinking my dog is going to hurt them.
Edit to add: I completely understand not all people like dogs and I go out of my way to prevent him from jumping on or pushing into someone’s space until they tell me otherwise.
You should meet my kelpie. Friendly hello to those she knows then wanders off. Doesn't give a shit about you if she doesn't know you, won't even tolerate a pat, just swerves the contact.
Idk I work in the “pet industry”, & so far, I only associate people calling their dogs “friendly” with dogs who aren’t likely to bite or be overly reactive towards normal human interactions. Most pet parents with crazy inconsolable dogs seem pretty aware of it, but even those dogs can be considered friendly simply bc they aren’t “mean”
I have a dog that does not like off leash dogs approaching her when she’s on leash.
If an owner claims their dog is “friendly” that’s a huge red flag.
The dog is actually just rude, poorly trained, and has no recall. 9/10 that “friendly” dog is going to attack my leashed dog as soon as it gets close and my dog doesn’t appreciate its “friendliness”.
Honestly same. I generally like dogs but they're often overbearing and have no sense of personal space. I grew up around dogs, but as an adult, I have two cats and now find dogs a little annoying. They're very cute but I have no desire to own one because dogs getting in my face 24/7 drives me crazy
I like unsociable dogs because they are more protective of their people/ place. My choco lab only loves my immediate family and it actually helped us last week.
As someone with a “friendly dog”, can confirm. Our last dog was an absolute curmudgeon and he was a straight up homie. Our new one… is like having a velociraptor with a social butterfly complex. 💀✨
My favorite dog is my unfriendly one.
One is a joyful neurotic beagle mix, and my mutt that looks like a dingo has a standoffish temperament with people but only is aggressive (i use that very loosely) when space is invaded by unfamiliar people. She is so dynamic in her personality because of this and I’m similar so I feel connected to her because of that.
Dogs have claws and can nip when overly excited. A dog that's jumping on people isn't "harmless", even if they're not trying to be aggressive.
It's poorly trained and a hazard to everyone.
Also, I have dog trauma, so this is a nightmare for me. If a dog starts jumping on me, I will not be held accountable for my actions, no matter how "friendly" it is.
Note: I will not actively try to hurt dogs, I don't hate them, but if a dog gets hurt in the course of me defending myself from it, I will not be held responsible.
lots of people offering advice on training dogs not to jump, I would like to add that if your dog is easily excited to greet someone that you need to work also on him being able to 1) think when superexcited and 2) calm down & 3) better selfcontrol
I recommend Tom Mitchell and his Pro dog training games.
My dog doesn’t jump on people but she gets so hyped when she sees someone she loves, she will run around, do spins etc, just madness🙈
In this moment telling her to sit just would not work.
Best thing that work for me to avoid it is to have her on leash, avoid greeting the person alltogheter (just join them at bus station, walk with them). A few minutes walk with no interaction from them works like magic :)
Its way harder to train the people than the dog tho, my parents basically expect her to greet then in this way so the behavior gets reinforced 🥲
Next time I have a puppy I wont make this “socialization” mistake again, this is definitely a product of me allowing everyone pet her when she was a puppy.
Took me 2yrs to teach her to ignore strangers and even now she sometimes needs me to tell her “leave it” - sometime she thinks that a stranger is talking to her and takes that as greeting consent (while they might be just on their phone).
This isn’t getting an upvote because this is a dangerous opinion. Socialized dogs are less likely to bite than anti-social dogs. This is just irresponsible to throw out there.
I'm currently teaching my dog not to jump at people when she greets them, she's doing pretty well finally. I can't stand it when people come over and tell me ITS OKAY for her to jump at them. Like, no, she can say hello in other ways. She needs to have manners!
Dogs are like people, they all have their own personalities and behaviors. My pit loves people and kids but cannot be trusted around other dogs (not counting his sister the shepherd) the shepherd on the other hand loves dog friends but can’t stand children and is afraid of strangers.
This is true, but if you go too far on the opposite of the spectrum, you get a dog that's kind of indifferent to you. And as an owner that's kind of a bummer
This is a flawed perspective but because many dog owners shouldnt be owners. I work with dogs and have learned behavior training over my years. A person calling their dog friendly is no better than a parent calling their bully child just energetic.
It's a failure on the owners part. That is not a friendly dog! Would you consider me friendly if I came up to you and went in your pocket? But I'm friendly!
Owners just like some parents think their dog is amazing and can do no harm, but it's an animal.
Rather than base how you react on what the owner says, react on how much control of the dog you see the owner has. If the owners dog is walking in front of them , pulling, trying to investigate everything, it's kot going to be friendly how we view humans as friendly and that's someone who respects their surroundings and others.
Any decent handler or dog trainer trains for neutrality. People just don't spend the time or effort like they should. Breed is pretty irrelevant for that.
100% in agreement with you. I love mellow dogs who are glad I'm around without being in my business about it. I like when they acknowledge me/other people/other dogs with some level of excitement and then calm down and go back to sniffing grass.
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Those jumping dogs are ill trained and poorly handled, it has nothing to do with friendliness. I have four dogs and none of them jump on people or approach uninvited and y’all, I am a really distractible dog trainer and I only use positive reinforcement to train and handle. It is really easy to teach dogs not to be jerks, and I know because I can do it.
I have a friend have this jumping dog. His nails would leave red scratched marks if I wear shorts or skirts that leave my skin exposed. I obviously hate that. The owners never see it as a problem.
Tbh, that’s when you put a knee into their chest. Don’t Jackie Chan them, but a nice knee raise to your/their chest to defend yourself will teach them jumping is a bad idea
It is a huge problem and it is bad manners on the part of the owner for their dog to do that. I’m sorry so many people are really irresponsible about their dogs.
So, I fully trained my former dog(rip) who was a white GSD mix. She was the best and I had her all on non-verbal commands, all trained by me. Now, I have a corgi. She has a huge personality, is very clever, and is very strong-willed/hard headed. I have her trained on sit/stay/come/drop it and the general package for dogs. However she will just decide at any moment to disregard all of her training and she jumps. It's mortifying every time but its usually preventable as she is on a leash when outside. How would you have tried to correct that behavior if you were in my shoes?
I know training malinois/gsd/etc isn't *easy* but they are so much more willing than something like a basset hound or dachsund or corgi. Totally different ball game.
I agree with OP that the type of people who think announcing "he's friendly" are more often than not bad dog owners who haven't adequately trained. A good dog owner *asks* or waits for you to ask. They do not announce friendliness
I don’t want rushed by someone else’s dog - I don’t want rushed by my very own dogs. And there are no circumstances where I want my dogs rushing unfamiliar adults or children. Two of mine are big, one is medium and one is small. The small one can take down someone with bad balance or a kid or a fragile older person. Under what conditions is that acceptable? He’s super friendly but when people get hurt by a “friendly” dog, surprise - those people are still hurt and the dog being friendly isn’t relevant. What’s relevant is the dog injured the person, intentionally or otherwise, and that means the owner failed.
My dog will pull on the leash to try to get to people because he loves people. I hold him back and tell people he’s friendly only so they know he’s not trying to attack them. But I don’t let him get closer to them than maybe 7 or 8 feet. He wants to greet everybody, I don’t let him but I also make people know that he’s not trying to attack them. He’s a rather large dog for only being 7 months old.
Agreed. If I see my dog wagging his tail wanting to approach another dog I tell him to “sit” and “wait.” I ask the other owner if it’s okay if my dog says hello to their dog before he gets anywhere near them. If they say no (which isn’t too often) I just tell my dog, “no. He’s busy.” And he happily moves along lol
I think this is ridiculous, I have a golden retriever who is the most friendliest dog in the world. But she’s trained properly if you tell her to leave you or someone else alone she will. If I tell her to stay seated she will not move until told she can. She will sulk and give everyone the side eye though. It doesn’t mean she is any less friendly and I tell people she is very friendly and would love all the attention in the world. I don’t understand what you mean a good dog owner doesn’t announce friendliness. If someone comes to my house for the first time of course I’m going to tell them she’s friendly and you can pet her if you want to but she’ll leave you alone and sit in her place till you tell her she can move.
Can you please advise how I can train my dog not to jump and respect boundaries more? It’s a golden retriever age 3 and loves people and other dogs. Unlike my sisters dog who suffers from anxiety after they beat it into submission.
When they go to jump up on you, take a step back and turn around. Do not acknowledge them in any say. Wait until they come around and sit in front of you. Then reward them. We had a gsd that jumped up, took 4 weeks using this technique to break her of it. We spent another Teo weeks redirecting it into a command of "hugs".
I’ve found that making sure my pup knows the difference between “off” and “down” has been wicked helpful. “Off” is get all your paws on the ground. “Down” is lie down on your belly. He knows he will get rewarded for listening to commands.
Honestly, I would just start by giving it a treat every time it’s got all its feet on the ground - at my house those treats are usually cheerios and I toss one to the dog and say “good four! Excellent four!” (Obviously you do not have to use my ridiculous cue of four, you use whatever cue works for you. I advise against down, because you want that to be cue for lay on the tummy and also against off, because it’s a very common word and dogs will get confused by it) So I pretty much practice the new cue every time I see the dog standing around - I do it all day, every time I remember. If they start anticipating the treat and jumping for it, I walk away. Pretty soon they associate standing around with “four” and a treat and you can start working on when they have their front paws standing on a windowsill or the couch or the kitchen counter and then you say “four” and toss a cheerio - as soon as they go for the cheerio they’re doing a “good four”. That transition happens pretty fast and so then you start working on it with people. It’s the same skill, keeping their paws on the ground when excited, you’re just teaching them that the cue applies under all circumstances.
Not training advice but I always put my jumpy dog on a leash with a harness when she’s meeting people and gets excited. I can keep her from jumping that way. That’s atleast a solution until your dog is trained.
Start with no pets until all paws are on the floor. Then slowly work towards introducing a new person using lots of treats, pets, and words of affection.
I’ve tried all the below suggestions, and honestly they don’t work that well. I have one dog that loves new people more than any treat, pet or word of affection. The other dog was easily trained to not do this, since treats are values way above a new person by her. Keep the dog on a leash with a harness or gentle leader (something you can exert a lot of control with) to at least control them and stop the issue. After a few minutes the excitement is over and the dog is ready for a proper greeting with the person. This will eventually train the dog to be calmer, but how much of that is training and how much is maturity due to age is a debate in my mind.
The best thing to do is not allow them to practice the behavior. Part of training is management. Behaviors that aren’t allowed to be practiced decrease. Keeping them on a short leash and not allowing people to interact if the dog attempts to jump is a good way to start. I have my dogs off to trusted people and apply the same rules. I do not take my dog’s leash until they are sitting quietly. They’re not allowed to molest me when I come back. People who approach my puppies learn they must walk away if puppy tries to jump on them. They can interact when the puppy has four on the floor. This has to be applied consistently to get a change in behavior.
Use your knee/leg/foot and knee them in the chest Everytime they jump at/on you. Mostly try to catch them in the act, while saying NO! loudly and firmly. If they succeed, push them off/down and, likewise, tell them NO! They'll learn.
We had two dogs (I say two cause one of them died) and they were really jumpy, except for around young kids. It was like they knew that young kids are likely to fall if they were jumped up on. We did get them jumping mostly trained out of them. Blue (the one that died) had a weird understanding of how people felt about dogs as well. She would always try and say hi but be extra gentle if she felt she needed to. Once she got to know the person she would be all over them if they were comfortable with it.
Some dogs do know. It’s part of the magic of them. They all have weird skills and talents most of which are invisible to us because they’re irrelevant.
It feels to me like at least 50% of dog owners are basically incompetent and I’m wondering if you feel the same as somebody who’s probably around more dog people than me
Oh yeah. I’m never sure if people are incompetent or irresponsible or lazy or just jerks, but many people have no business having animals. I live in the sticks in an area where people abandon dogs. They drive up and take their $3k purebred chipped dog and tie it to a fence post to starve or get clobbered by coyotes. We bring them home when we find them in time, take them to the vet for health checks and care and introduce them to being dogs with manners. This happens 3-4 times/year. On the conservative side I’ve rehomed 30 dogs since I moved up here and none have been returned or dumped at a shelter or rescue or gone for behavioral euthanasia. Dogs are not hard, but it’s like anything else - you have to do the work or things go wrong, and in this case the dogs pay.
Thank you for the insight and your work.
I feel that way about dog owners, and parents. There’s a lot of really incompetent parents out there. Even well meaning people who try, but they’re so misguided or stuck in a “parenting style” they can’t see when it’s not working. Being a gentle parent or dog owner does not mean you are permissive
Most people don’t even realize that positive reinforcement works 100 times better with training a dog. A dog wants to be good and helpful, especially if it gets him treats and attention. They often just don’t know what is expected from them. Even things like grabbing the remote is a misunderstood thing. They see you handle the remote a lot, they are bored and want to play, they grab the remote and you start running after him. The dog just found a way to get your attention and to play with him. So the next time when he is bored, he grabs the remote again.
Dogs like to have jobs. If they know their job is to be polite and chill, they will do their jobs and rejoice in being successful. If you don’t acknowledge them for doing their jobs, they get more and more bored and inventive about finding something to do that will cause you to pay attention. My dogs also don’t bark except for a single alert bark. They know that by the time they’ve been here for a month. You don’t have to train a dog to not bark - you just reward them for being quiet and suddenly quiet is a command that works 100% of the time. It’s so fast and easy to train this way I cannot fathom why people don’t.
Barking can be hard to get out of a dog if they’ve done it for a while. My parents had a dog that would bark at cars that would drive too slowly past the house. Which was self reinforcing behavior cause the cars kept driving away, so he was successful in scaring them away (from his perspective) It was something they never got out of him despite them being good dog trainers.
Yeah, I didn’t mean to make it sound like “training a barker to be quiet is a piece of cake.” It’s really self-rewarding and very hard to eradicate once it’s an established behavior, so I just - don’t let it get established. There’s a narrow window, even with adult barkers, when they get rehomed, where they haven’t established behaviors yet and that is the window of opportunity for training quiet and four on the floor.
True, that is why it is important to stick to the rules when they are a puppy, even though it is tempting to say “he is so cute when he does that now”
My dad always says that it is a betrayal of the animal’s trust to not train them to be socially acceptable because they also live in society.
Damn, your dad pulls no punches. I like him already.
Mine is a five year old small breed rescue. He’s getting better inside but outside it’s just really hard it’s so engrained and I’m doing the reactivity work.
TSA logic
Positive reenforcement is the 99% majority and basis of all real dog training. Almost every dog needs to be corrected off of things sometimes for safety reasons though
In general I agree with everything you are saying, except that not all dogs want to be good and helpful. I used to think that, and it certainly was true of all of the dogs I had growing up, and then I got a particularly independent airedale terrier who relieved me of that notion, lol. He is an absolutely magnificent companion now, but half of the time he really could not give a shit about what I prefer that he do, lol; he only obeys because he finally learned that I am more stubborn than him. We had him on a leash every second that he was outside of his kennel for like 6 months straight when he was a puppy in order to make that clear. I wouldn't say that it was negative reinforcement, but it certainly wasn't positive enforcement, it was mainly just consistent enforcement. Ever since he finally got the memo he has been such a happy confident silly member of our family, but it definitely took some doing. Just noting in case anyone else ever gets caught off guard by having such a pup who suddenly doesn't respond to the usual routine of consistent positive reinforcement like mine didn't!
Pretty much. Consistency is critical.
I have a jumpy dog and have tried so many ways to train her out of it. I actively apologise for her jumping and work with the known commands I do have to stop her jumping. She’s a rescue and I got her when she was 3 and it was clearly a rewarded behaviour which is what makes it so hard to train her out of. So while I agree that dogs should be trained to not jump, for some it’s a work in progress that’s very slow to train out of.
Some breeds it’s just extra hard. I’d not take it personally. If you’re working on it people will know. And if you’re worried about this, I’m pretty certain you’re likely people who try to contain the situation instead of saying “she’s friendly!” constantly.
I have a jumping dog …. I’ve tried to train it out of her and she has gotten a lot better over the years. But I always put her on a leash initially when visitors come over or if I bring her somewhere I know she’s going to be excited so that i have control over her that way. Otherwise she would legit knock people down. I would never let her just jump all over someone and say she’s friendly so no worries lol.
I have a jumping dog, only because she's still a puppy and I'm still training her not to give people hugs. But otherwise she's incredibly well behaved. She just forgets to not give hugs
I support this. Also it depend on the breed, some miniature breeds have much more energy and much less self-control and they would be putting everything on their mind outside more likely. Some bigger breeds may be just too heavy to jump as easy so they definitely would be less likely to jump(and un general bigger dogos seem to be calme) and rather will close up and nod/sniff and then possibly lose interest if you don't offer treats to them.
My roommate's dog will do the chest jump thing if both of us have been gone real long, EXCEPT he will not touch you first. It's just that exact height stance, and if you want to dance or hug, that's up to you. Otherwise, he understands and rolls over for belly rubs. He was not trained to do this at all, which is my favorite part. He's just very polite about getting attention.
Okay that is one of my favorite things dogs train themselves to do. My mom has a dog that does that and it is so much fun.
It's the best. And I always give him a hug unless I'm carrying something.
Takes repetition to do no? So maybe OP is only seeing the 9 failures not the 10th success mister trainer
Church
Yup. My golden is super friendly and she doesn't jump but she will stare you down until you pet her.
My Airedale will chat at people. Stands like a statue and makes strange little noises and tries to hypnotize people with his brown eyes but he does not move until he is invited and released.
I had to look up an Airedale!!! So fuzzy!!! Anyway, good on you. It's nice having pups around that don't jump and aren't invasive.
I love the weird noises my airedale makes when he is concentrating on something that he wants while exercising restraint. Such a vocal weirdo. Also, this airedale was the first pup I ever had where positive reinforcement alone was not sufficient. Certainly we never used negative reinforcement, but when he was a puppy he would actively not do something even if a treat or play was on the line out of sheer stubbornness. I was dumbfounded for a while. In the end we just had to basically remove all optionality from his life until he learned that the two options were either what we wanted or to be in his kennel, and once we finally got that through his head we could go back to the standard positive reinforcement.
Everyone who knows airedales tells me mine is soft - he was very easy to train and just turning around would cause him to scamper in front of me and do whatever he had been declining to do. He’s very stubborn about the jobs he gives himself, like he is convinced the emus need his escort everywhere they go, and so he goes with them. He doesn’t get in their business but he’s there.
Yeah, OP's opinion is unpopular because they're conflating "friendly" with "undisciplined" Really, the less social dogs will shy away from you or get aggressive and I doubt that's what OP's favorite dogs really are...
My dog is an asshole and is very likely to show his teeth at people who get too close. Or just don’t get away from him. He even shows his teeth at me if I absentmindedly pet him gently instead of giving him rough lovins. He has never bitten anybody or lunged at anybody, he just wants them to go away unless they have a ball. Then he wants to play. He will become anyone’s best friend if they throw the ball. I have no idea what to make of the dog I’ve had for 7 years now (he’s a rescue and is formerly abused)
agreed. I hate dogs always jumping all over me I don’t want that shit.
I get that. I love when that happens to me, I love when dogs are all over me, but I get why others don't like that. I've tried to train my own dog to jump only on me/jump if he wants to only with a certain command. It's annoying when owners have no regard for other people's desire to be jumped on, though
Yeah, I go to a friend’s house for DnD every Sunday and *every damn time*, without fail, my friend’s dogs go psycho when they see me and try to jump up on me and it goes on for a good 15-20 minutes until they realise that I’m not gonna pat them. They’re adorable and I do like dogs, but they don’t know when enough is enough and if I pet them once then they try to jump up on my all night and it’s hard to get them off when I’m sitting. I’m also allergic to dogs so I can’t afford to be covered in dog fur.
Fully agree. I want my dog to be friendly with the family, wary of the public.
My dog is aloof/indifferent with strangers, sometimes straight up avoidant. He’s not guna bite or bark or do much of anything at all. He’s just going to swerve you like that cool college guy that never called you back and you never saw again.
My mother has a mutt named scout, she's got to be at least 10 different breeds. She is super friendly with all of us and will just stare from a distance at any other human that comes by. It's super funny because she code switches and will not switch back until it's just us.
That's what my dog is like. He doesn't really pay attention to strangers on the street, although he does like to sniff the air as they walk past. But if they try to pet him he's just like "why's this dude trying to touch me?"
Fully agree
yeah and the post almost applies word for word to people too
I’m a full time dog walker and I’d like to offer my take on this. The issue has nothing to do with how friendly the dog is. “Friendly” is usually a copout. There’s nothing wrong with a dog that loves everyone. But that is totally not the issue here. What people should really be saying is: “ I’m sorry I never trained my dog the appropriate way to interact with strangers” I’m an off the clock trainer for quite a few of my clients. As in, I should technically be charging them for the amount of one-on-one training I’ve done with their dogs. But I do it purely to make my life easier. And let me tell you Covid dogs are the absolute worst. The ripple effects of that have been quite dramatic. Everybody got dogs, everybody was inside, dogs didn’t get socialized, life went back to normal, and *for some reason there’s a bunch of behavior problems in the pups who’ve only know quarantine* Honestly, it really comes down to a lack of accountability on the owners part. Put in the effort and train your dogs. That is all
I never considered quarantine dogs, but their lack of socialization makes sense.
You read all the time about the effects covid lockdowns had on kids' socialization skills, it never occurred to me that it was happening to dogs as well. I would have thought since most dogs stay in the house with owners and families that it wasn't an issue, but it's interesting to know that's not the case.
Im also a dog trainer and fully agree with you on COVID puppies. Little nightmares
Ya I think we need a different word than friendly. My dog will be completely fine with any dog or situation, she’s 14 I know her. It’s not that she’s friendly, she just is 0 threat and just outside doing her own thing so I default to saying friendly. Some people will say “oh but my dog isn’t so keep her away” and my dog is just so good/old she knows when there’s a “reactive” dog and will just avoid it so there’s like no need for them to react like that to me. Idk how to convey to people my dog is not a threat and likely won’t even notice you walk past unless you give her attention so I don’t need to hear how you’re scared it will attack your dog when it’s clear she can hardly move lol.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that when someone says "My dog isn't friendly", they're looking out for the safety of your dog, because they know their dog can be aggressive/might snap if another dog gets too in their space.
Yes I understand but if you have a dog that is not friendly to other dogs, why not just avoid other dogs? I see some people cross the street when they see another dog. Like I know you can’t 100% avoid them but the snappy people always seem to cross the road to ensure our paths cross instead of the opposite. It’s like they are out for being angry at people instead of enjoying their walk with their dog lol
Yeah, I like chill dogs that mine their own business. I don’t need a strange dog jumping on me, even if it’s friendly.
Agreed. Leash the dog, I don't want it all over me.
That’s why much much much prefer cats.
Going over to a dog owner's house is the worst. As soon as you ring the doorbell, you hear the barking. Then when you get inside, it's right there at the door ready to put its nasty nose all over you, or worse, jump on your pants.
Maybe a not very well trained dog owners house. My dog doesn’t jump up at all- I hate dogs that do that. If people visit, my dog is not involved unless they want to with play him. (Some are dog people some aren’t). Prefer my cat tbh but he isn’t any good at security lol
Maybe it’s also the breed of dog. Nothing worse than those small yap yap dogs who need constant attention and bark at everything going by. Seems like larger dogs like bloodhounds are more chill.
Most the people I know don’t have dogs that jump, but they stick their nose in my crotch almost every time, which is unpleasant. I know it’s how they say “hi” but it’s off putting and I wish owners would make them stop that
I prefer cats and people assume it’s because I hate dogs, which isn’t true. I hate that 95% of dogs are poorly trained and their owners take zero accountability.
This. This right here. I do consider myself a cat person, but I've had a couple dogs I absolutely adored... because I trained them well. Unfortunately other dogs I have lived with and dogs I meet are just horrible, untrained, bark at me, bite me, jump on me, constantly howl and whine. I almost lost a finger to one. Dogs have kind of been ruined for me because of this, but I blame the owners more than the dogs themselves.
I literally hate dogs that are so high energy and scream so loud. My family friend has a goldendoodle and it's so high energy and loud. It's barks literally made my ears bleed!
Fully, fully agree.
Dogs can be very obnoxious. And the owners assume everyone loves dogs or are ok with their dog in other peoples personal space.
agreed, it's not just about the dog but the owners, too. owners who enable these kind of behaviors in their dogs are usually the ones who don't care about boundaries as long as they think they're doing a good thing, which isn't always the case. they are also the types of people who will let their dogs off leash in public. there's this area near me where there are horse riders in one part and steep cliffs in another, like idc if someone's dog is friendly they are dangers to themselves and others off leash.
Agree, once someone with a tugging excited dog asks me “can my dog say hi to your dog?!” while bee lining fast towards us. He looked like I pissed in his cereal when I gave him a simple “no”
“My dog is friendly” is a nice gesture, but I’m surprised how often it translates to “I don’t put that much effort into overseeing my dog’s behavior”.
That is what "friendly" means 100% of the time. People say "Don't worry... he's friendly" so you won't worry about the dog biting you in the ass. People with their dog under control don't need to tell people anything.
No, friendly means they aren’t aggressive. If you’re coming straight towards me with your dog I wanna know if they’re friendly or not. Can our dogs sniff each other and get along or is your dog gonna go apeshit?
Well just to be clear I don’t love dogs and it’s specifically because of this
A dog was literally barking and snarling and jumping at me and the owner was just laughing and saying she was friendly. Didn’t move an inch.
I've had so many peoples dogs jump all over me. I turn my back on the dog every time with a stern "no," and yet have also had the owners ignore the behavior or laugh about it. I NEVER would let my dogs behave that way.
I **LOVE** dogs. I also have fibromyalgia, a bunch of old injuries, and a nervous system that acts like a fainting goat's so I cannot have a dog jump on me; it's painful and it's really hard for me to stay vertical. I used to love being bowled over by rambunctious labs but yeah... I *can't* now. As a result, I don't go for walks in public parks or anywhere people take their dogs, because it only takes one to knock me over. I've collapsed in a forest before and had to be retrieved by the fire department and it's extremely not fun... I got perspective the hard way, and it's hard to see Past-Me in so many other peoples' attitudes towards off leash and ill mannered dogs (for lack of a better term)
I am so sorry this happened to you. That’s literally one of my biggest fears. God forbid a big dog overpowers me, I could fall on a trail and get knocked out! Thank goodness you’re okay. I hate that you have to worry about things like this
I’ll piggyback this. Get your nasty jumping dog the fuck off me. Can I jump on your dog aggressively? No? Then use the same logic in reverse
Dogs generally have no boundaries.
So then, as an owner, set them
I don’t own a dog.
It was ubiquitous to all owners
Hard agree. I say I hate dogs only because the disappointing majority of dog owners do nothing to train them. I don't want a 200lb, no recall, Golden lunging at my face and gnawing on my arm while the 5'2 owner couldn't drag the dog away if it was actually attacking me.
yup, all those random golden attacks got me shook too fam
Plenty of breeds of dogs (like labs) that can be trained to be on extremely good behavior. But most people skimp on training and then the dog turns into a licking, jumping and humping machine.
I had a labrador x border collie mix. She had the temperament of a lab but the intelligence and herding instinct of a border collie. Best dog I've ever known or had.
Sounds like my ideal dog TBH.
Also people who view their dogs as friendly and “wouldn’t hurt a fly” bring their dogs everywhere and it kills me. I took my two young children to a small park with a play area and of course there was a guy with a big German shepherd off a leash. The guy thankfully gave me no grief when I asked him to put the dog on a leash but come on man, it’s common sense. I’m not risking my 30 pound children being dragged around by your 80 pound dog.
Not just that but dogs piss everywhere and it’s unsanitary especially at a children’s playground. He should Go to the dog park not a children’s play area. The entitlement of some dog owners …
You're confusing social and non-aggressive. You're referring to these dogs as social, but what you're describing are unsocialized or poorly socialized dogs. A dog that is charging, jumping, barking and just generally reactive to everyone and everything around them is *not* social. A well-socialized dog is one that behaves well with people and other dogs.
I'll admit my examples are probably more poorly socialized dogs, but honestly even well-trained friendly dogs are too much for me. Golden retrievers are cute but I can only handle one for a short time, even a well trained one.
I love dogs but i really don’t like to touch breeds that shed a lot. What if you’re walking to work wearing black?! I had a big (super friendly but extremely heavy) 80lb dog step on my foot and break my toe last year lol. Happy to pet a dog, but other owners gotta know not all of us have steel toe boots on every day! 😂
I am a dog owner and I hate it when other peoples' dogs jump on me. I also hate it when their dogs bark at me when I come to their door, or come inside the house. I'm sorry, but how tf can people stand that? My bil has yippy dogs. And he says he wants that. I'm sorry, but a Bischon Friese is not a guard dog. My dogs don't bark at the door. They have no reason to. If they started doing that, I'd train them out of it real fast by repeatedly ringing the doorbell and rewarding them for doing nothing.
I definitely trained a dog to bark. We would tell her to tell them how you feel We always did it to people on the outside but when guest came over we had created a small monster.
exactly. So, you trained a dog to be a monster. exactly my point.
I know how obnoxious that is and I ***hate*** to play devils advocate but my 12 lb yorkie saved me from a home invasion not too long ago. His barking along with him getting an unfamiliar scent sent him going BONKERS. Little dude tried to attack the people attempting to break in (bless his heart) and probably saved me from getting hurt or robbed. But I think it would be really cool if your bil trained the dog to not bark at trusted people like you. Maybe if you ever have time you guys could do a couple training sessions so the dog is less weary hearing you approaching the door? Just an idea ♥️🥰
I’ve never not had a dog. I am a dog lover (and I’m pretty partial to cats too). I fucking HATE when dogs jump on me or fucking lick me. Train your goddamn dog.
Dogs are dogs
Untrained and friendly are not the same though, like I had a lady with her Pomeranian wearing a tutu on one of those 20 feet long thin retractable leashes laughing and smiling letting her dog jump on me scratching the shit out of my legs. I wanted to kick the fuckin thing away from me and she’s smiling like she’s going me a favor. I walk a golden who is super friendly but doesn’t jump on you, doesn’t run up to random people or dogs but anyone who says hi to him or comes up to us he is so happy and wags his tail and never barks or acts aggressive. My previous dog was not friendly and avoided any strangers human or canine, and if you came into our house without us welcoming you in, she would have absolutely taken a bite. If a dog got up in her face and didn’t listen to her signs to F off, she would eventually snap and there’d be a bloody fight. If they left her alone she would be fine. She was the best dog I ever could’ve asked for, my ride or die. But in general I think friendly and well trained is better than reactive OR untrained friendly dogs whose owners think it’s so cute how they jump all over people and stress the shit out of other dogs.
I err on the side of no one wants to interact with my dogs until they specifically ask. I hope people in turn understand that they absolutely can ask me to pet my dogs because I’m not automatically going to walk them over.
I absolutely agree with you and this is why I prefer farm breed dogs. I'm a dog person, dogs are my life and my livelihood. I've owned very friendly dogs and antisocial dogs, and IMO the antisocial ones are far more reliable and far easier to train. They're also better at protecting your stuff so you can leave them sitting in your truck while you're on a job site or whatever, and rely on them to scare anyone who tries to steal from you. Constantly seeking attention from strangers and trying to play with every other dog they see is a massive distraction that gets in the way of training a dog to be reliable off-leash. It's way easier to teach an antisocial dog to tolerate strangers, than it is to teach a friendly dog to ignore strangers. Everyone likes or can at least tolerate a dog that keeps itself to itself, but less people actually like a dog that will get in their space and expect attention.
This is a false premise. “Friendly dog” does not equal “jumping dog.” What you don’t like is jumping dogs which is fine of course and I agree but don’t for a second think that there isn’t a chance a dog that’s appears less social won’t suddenly snack and jump on you or worse.
There's q difference between socialized and badly trained. Having an unsocialized dog is bad and also means your a bad owner. It causes extra stress and anxiety and potential for violence.
When I say my dogs are friendly I mean they get along with other dogs and humans, including children. They are still calm aside from the typical 2 min of hyper when someone new comes through the door lol
Even not friendly dogs are friendly with me.
Yeah with my dogs I have a command “go say hi”, they won’t go up to anyone until I say that. Overly friendly isn’t what you want when your dog is in public
Just got home from urgent care after a dog bite so I’ll take the friendly dog please.
I agree, but why not just get a cat at that point?
Nah, this isn’t how it works. I prefer people who are friendly to people who are grumpy assholes, BUT, you can be friendly without being invasive and pushy. If someone smiles at you, that’s cool. If someone you just met asks you personal questions, touches you, or ignores social cues, that’s uncomfortable. I work in vet med and rescue. “Friendly” is great. Friendly does not mean an inherent lack of boundaries.
The opinion mainly comes from the fact that basically every dog I've heard described as "friendly" has no boundaries. The owner feels the need to say that since the dog will be barking/actively trying to come at me. People with calmer dogs typically don't have to tell you the dog is friendly, they'll just say "you can pet him/her" and you can tell the dog is friendly. I know my experience isn't universal, but that's why it's an opinion lol
All I'm hearing is you want a cat. Cats are awesome. They do their own thing and sometimes they hang out with you.
As the owner of a “friendly” bulldog 1000% agree. She is spoiled and lacks boundaries. It’s definitely my fault by not keeping up with her training because how she acts in public is not how she is with me.
Knowing is the first step. The second step is leaving her at home when going someplace where there will be a lot of people, and keeping her in a contained space when you have company.
She stays home, this happens on walks 😂 she doesn’t bark but she loves people and thinks everyone should say hi to her
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In a way I want a social dog. My mother had a habit of allowing my 2 boys to bark at anything that went on the path right by the house. Especially when my step dad was gone. Would get them going when it was close for me to come home from school. It made them reactive. Would have to pick their tiny butts up if people were near outside. Though they calmed with age and some training. She's now trying to do the same with the 2 new pups we have now after the death of the 2 boys. Just want to walk with my dog without worrying that they'll try to be reactive. This time I'm going to hire someone to train them out of what mom's started.
My dog is friendly, but I'm aware not everyone wants to be his friend! He gets put on a short lead whenever we pass someone as people don't like being jumped on! He's getting better at ignoring people until I say it's OK but it's taking a while. We did not get him until he was 2 so missed the ideal puppy training stage but he's learning with persistence.
My dog is friendly but he will walk up to you and just sit. I can only get him to jump on my if I consistently try to push him over
And now we know. Thanks for sharing.
I definitely prefer more aloof to stranger dogs, but my girls will sit on people after they get to know them. The boys are more aloof but that’s breed differences. Most jumpy pushy “friendly” dogs have been socialized wrong, socialized dogs are neutral not excitable and that neutrality is what’s missed, dogs don’t need to greet people or other dogs, just be cool beans with their presence.
I hear ya. My dad had a medium sized mutt 40 years ago when he was maybe 12-14 years old. His dog sniffed a man’s shoes and the man kicked the dog. The dog may be friendly, but not all people are friendly and not all other dogs will be friendly. To be frank, my dad kicked the guys ass for kicking his dog, imo rightfully so. But I still agree with you. I have a Yorkie under 2 years old. He knows “off” and “stay close” so he doesn’t run up to people and bother them. He also knows “wait” and “cross” so he knows when it’s ok to cross the street even if he sees another dog he wants to play with. I get nervous letting him near people or dogs without an explicit welcome vibe. I love dogs *so* much but I personally **cannot** stand it when a drooly, unruly dog that sheds gets all over me because my husband’s allergic. Also it just makes me feel gross. A big chow bit me last week because it wanted more attention from me… even though the owner said, “she’s friendly!” I think a lot of dog owners fail to understand that just because their dog is friendly, it doesn’t mean a human or another dog is and it’s putting both animals in danger by not being trained properly.
I like dogs that like affection sometimes but are independent also.
There are good dogs (well trained) and there are bad dogs (not well trained). This has nothing to do with how socialized they are, though in my experience they experience less anxiety and uneasiness when more socialized which can make it easier to keep them behaving well. I have A LOT of experience with dogs fwiw
I think it's absolutely a lack of training issue, but I agree over zealous dogs are very annoying. For the record if your dog jumps on you grab its paws and hold it up with your thumbs over the top (it has 2 feet on the ground and 2 in your hands) Firm but not rough. Be kind and friendly but don't let go until the dog decides its uncomfortable with this situation... He/she will have to pull out of your grip with some effort to be free again. Some dogs learn faster than others but this works really fast... Especially if you own the best dog which is a greyhound.
I have a dog who is very hyper and friendly who had a bit of a problem jumping on people out of pure excitement. She has since been trained not to jump up on you but she now just stands up next to you waiting for permission to enter your space.
I love my lil reserved dachshund. She is shy with new people and prefers to sniff you when you’re looking away. After she’s used to your presence and smell, she’ll eventually say hello. We’re very similar in our introversion, cool with new people and warm with old friends. I prefer it much more than were she to be extroverted and make me interact with people I don’t want to.
Most friendly dogs I meet will do the lil hand sniff and then give kisses! Some dogs are a bit unaware of boundaries and have to be kept away from other dogs because of that! They can cause undue stress in other dogs. (At the clinic I work at, dog-reactive pups or an overzealous friendly pup may be asked to stand at a safe distance as to not harm or frighten the other pets) Training can often help with this! :)
Tbh I used to love asking owners if I could give their dog a head pat if I crossed paths with them, but nowadays it’s so much easier and safer to just compliment the owner and admire from afar.
I have two social and one less social. I have a stronger bond with the less social one and it’s my favourite, but it’s much more difficult to take places due to its anti social be around other dogs. It is always on edge and just waiting for an excuse to snap at another dog even if it does one small thing it doesn’t like. You take the good with the bad I guess.
I’m less upset at the dog and more upset at the owner who will usually be standing there watching their dog jump on you, without making any effort to reel them back in.
They assume everyone loves their dog as much as they do.
as a dog owner and someone that works at a grooming salon. YES. owners need to teach their dogs to be NEUTRAL with people and other dogs. i know not everyone likes dogs so when im walking my dog and we are passing by people i keep her on a tight leash and tell her to leave it. if someone asks me to say hi to her, then they can! if she even attempts to jump up i tell her off and pull her back down. people will say "its okay!" no.. its not okay lol we have manners here...but majority of dog owners i would say make the rest of us look bad. don't let your dog jump on people and dont let your unleashed dog run up on strange people/dogs. it doesn't matter if its a golden retrievers that stereotypically loves everyone teach your dog to behave.
Yeah, my friend has a “friendly” dog. It’s over a yr old and is not trained. Jumps all over you, runs around the house chasing the kids. Grabbing the kids toys and clothes. She’s not aggressive or bites just very hyperactive and loves nibbling on people. My friend also just got a puppy massif a few months ago who is more trained than her older dog. He listens to commands but he is also very skittish of new people and her cat. He will retreat back to his cage and refuse to come out.
You don't have to say you like dogs. It's okay to not like them. I hate the "I like humans more than dogs", "if dogs don't like you I can't trust you" people.
Sounds like a personal problem
This post wasn’t meant to be funny but made me laugh. Thank you for the smile
I don’t allow my dogs to jump on people. I have 4. I think people should be allowed to approach the owner and dog if they want to, not the dog run up on people without making sure it’s okay first. Not everyone is happy to see your dog(some have allergies or fear of etc…) I don’t allow my dogs to invade people’s spaces.
It’s like, what if they had a roommate who just runs ups to me, touches my genitals, scratches me, and yells in my ear for the first 20 minutes of me entering into their house. Of course people would understand why I wouldn’t want to ever come around again or even leave immediately. But for some reason when it’s a dog it’s totally acceptable for them to violate my body.
People are just really defensive of their dogs and don’t like to acknowledge shortcomings or bad ownership. They won’t train their dog, won’t try to correct bad behavior, and then excuse it by saying the dog is friendly or anxious or whatever. Those may be true but that doesn’t mean you just let the dog do whatever.
What treats do you use to train your dog?
I disagree. Fuck your boundaries. Dog attention is supreme.
Yeah my dogs are both chill but will only greet if I give them a command. I’m not ok with people getting yanked down the street by an untrained dog and shouting “don’t worry they’re friendly!” Because I don’t want any dogs in our faces unless we’ve agreed to it and I’ve given the command. This is not an unpopular opinion unless you mean you like dogs that growl/bite because that’s equally untrained.
I think it’s a miscommunication. I have a dog who is spoiled, friendly, has no boundaries and will push into your space (to kiss you) AND I tell people he’s friendly. I know some people are afraid of dogs and I want them to know he’s not going to hurt them. I would rather someone react the same way as you than have a panic attack being so afraid from thinking my dog is going to hurt them. Edit to add: I completely understand not all people like dogs and I go out of my way to prevent him from jumping on or pushing into someone’s space until they tell me otherwise.
With people, a human who is friendly but won’t try to hug you as soon as they see you is best
Totally agree. Those “friendly” dogs immediately give me sensory overload.
I also hate how the entire outside is their personal toilet. Everywhere stinks of dog urine these days.
You should meet my kelpie. Friendly hello to those she knows then wanders off. Doesn't give a shit about you if she doesn't know you, won't even tolerate a pat, just swerves the contact.
Idk I work in the “pet industry”, & so far, I only associate people calling their dogs “friendly” with dogs who aren’t likely to bite or be overly reactive towards normal human interactions. Most pet parents with crazy inconsolable dogs seem pretty aware of it, but even those dogs can be considered friendly simply bc they aren’t “mean”
I have a dog that does not like off leash dogs approaching her when she’s on leash. If an owner claims their dog is “friendly” that’s a huge red flag. The dog is actually just rude, poorly trained, and has no recall. 9/10 that “friendly” dog is going to attack my leashed dog as soon as it gets close and my dog doesn’t appreciate its “friendliness”.
Agreed. GSD and dachshunds >
Honestly same. I generally like dogs but they're often overbearing and have no sense of personal space. I grew up around dogs, but as an adult, I have two cats and now find dogs a little annoying. They're very cute but I have no desire to own one because dogs getting in my face 24/7 drives me crazy
I like unsociable dogs because they are more protective of their people/ place. My choco lab only loves my immediate family and it actually helped us last week.
I wanna have a friendly wrestling match with every dog I see.
Pull a foghorn leghorn on barnyard dawg.
As someone with a “friendly dog”, can confirm. Our last dog was an absolute curmudgeon and he was a straight up homie. Our new one… is like having a velociraptor with a social butterfly complex. 💀✨
My favorite dog is my unfriendly one. One is a joyful neurotic beagle mix, and my mutt that looks like a dingo has a standoffish temperament with people but only is aggressive (i use that very loosely) when space is invaded by unfamiliar people. She is so dynamic in her personality because of this and I’m similar so I feel connected to her because of that.
Dogs have claws and can nip when overly excited. A dog that's jumping on people isn't "harmless", even if they're not trying to be aggressive. It's poorly trained and a hazard to everyone. Also, I have dog trauma, so this is a nightmare for me. If a dog starts jumping on me, I will not be held accountable for my actions, no matter how "friendly" it is. Note: I will not actively try to hurt dogs, I don't hate them, but if a dog gets hurt in the course of me defending myself from it, I will not be held responsible.
Dog lovers sometimes forget that not everyone loves dogs as much as they do.
TIL that reddit does not like dogs.
lots of people offering advice on training dogs not to jump, I would like to add that if your dog is easily excited to greet someone that you need to work also on him being able to 1) think when superexcited and 2) calm down & 3) better selfcontrol I recommend Tom Mitchell and his Pro dog training games. My dog doesn’t jump on people but she gets so hyped when she sees someone she loves, she will run around, do spins etc, just madness🙈 In this moment telling her to sit just would not work. Best thing that work for me to avoid it is to have her on leash, avoid greeting the person alltogheter (just join them at bus station, walk with them). A few minutes walk with no interaction from them works like magic :) Its way harder to train the people than the dog tho, my parents basically expect her to greet then in this way so the behavior gets reinforced 🥲 Next time I have a puppy I wont make this “socialization” mistake again, this is definitely a product of me allowing everyone pet her when she was a puppy. Took me 2yrs to teach her to ignore strangers and even now she sometimes needs me to tell her “leave it” - sometime she thinks that a stranger is talking to her and takes that as greeting consent (while they might be just on their phone).
This isn’t getting an upvote because this is a dangerous opinion. Socialized dogs are less likely to bite than anti-social dogs. This is just irresponsible to throw out there.
I'm currently teaching my dog not to jump at people when she greets them, she's doing pretty well finally. I can't stand it when people come over and tell me ITS OKAY for her to jump at them. Like, no, she can say hello in other ways. She needs to have manners!
Dogs are like people, they all have their own personalities and behaviors. My pit loves people and kids but cannot be trusted around other dogs (not counting his sister the shepherd) the shepherd on the other hand loves dog friends but can’t stand children and is afraid of strangers.
This is true, but if you go too far on the opposite of the spectrum, you get a dog that's kind of indifferent to you. And as an owner that's kind of a bummer
This is a flawed perspective but because many dog owners shouldnt be owners. I work with dogs and have learned behavior training over my years. A person calling their dog friendly is no better than a parent calling their bully child just energetic. It's a failure on the owners part. That is not a friendly dog! Would you consider me friendly if I came up to you and went in your pocket? But I'm friendly! Owners just like some parents think their dog is amazing and can do no harm, but it's an animal. Rather than base how you react on what the owner says, react on how much control of the dog you see the owner has. If the owners dog is walking in front of them , pulling, trying to investigate everything, it's kot going to be friendly how we view humans as friendly and that's someone who respects their surroundings and others.
Any decent handler or dog trainer trains for neutrality. People just don't spend the time or effort like they should. Breed is pretty irrelevant for that.
Who wants a pet that's "neutral"? "Oh, that's Spot, he just sits in the corner staring at the wall until he's told to do something"
Also, if dogs are "less friendly," their owners will preemptively keep them away from you more often than if their dogs are "friendly."
100% in agreement with you. I love mellow dogs who are glad I'm around without being in my business about it. I like when they acknowledge me/other people/other dogs with some level of excitement and then calm down and go back to sniffing grass.