# Help! Vizsla never settles when guests are over



## Mcunnin4 (Jan 15, 2013)

Hi all,

So this has been an ongoing thing since he was a puppy but is getting worse as he's getting older. He's a little over a year and this is our first v so I am not sure if this is how it ALWAYS is or if it can be corrected because I know they are a hyper breed in general. 

We exercise him 24/7 in the backyard on weekends and during the week I only mention weekends because that's when guests are over.... he's constantly inside outside inside outside wanting to see what's going on wanting to run and play. Even if he's been outside all day he will not settle down or relax or lay down until night time or it's dark out or until everyone is gone except us. I always assumed it was his breed but it's too much sometimes when guests are over he wants to mouth them and play with his toys with them jump on the couches with them (he does respond to off the couch but he still jumps up to test his boundaries) and he will run and play and lean on my guests legs stand on their feet claw at their arms when playing with a toy the list goes on...he just never settles until it's just me and my boyfriend alone at night.

My first thought was to teach him the "settle" or "easy" command and I've slowly been working with him but that's all it is is a command and once he assumes the trick is over aka I go sit down or go back to what I was doing, he goes back to his hyper self.

I am fully aware of what this breed was bred for and their stamina, job, and activity level is but it's literally all the time. I am starting to assume on top of being a vizsla he also ADHD. 

Help!


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## Watson (Sep 17, 2012)

My only suggestion would be to crate him while guests are over for the first little bit. If he starts acting up once he's out of his crate, put him back in for a few more minutes and try again. If possible, I would also take him for a nice off leash play somewhere other than the backyard to tire him out before guests come over. 

Ours doesn't "settle" when we have people over, or when we go over to other people's houses either. However, he does use his manners. He's just VERY nosy and always wants to check out what's going on. I think Watson came with manners though, because there are certain things he's just very polite about, especially when indoors. I don't really have anything to compare him to, since he's also our first V.


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

My two go absolutely crazy when people come over but they will calm down after a few minutes. Even when they are calm they will try to jump up on the couch to see if anyone will let them crawl onto a lap. What I've done is teach them "place". There is a dog bed next to the couch and that is their place - they have to go and lay there until I let them up. It's in the same room as the company so they can be included in the action but they have to stay on the bed. I will make them stay there for a few minutes and when they are calm they can get up. If they start becoming pushy again they have to go back to their place. You might want to try and teach place, it's worked well for my two.


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## tknafox2 (Apr 2, 2013)

Maybe I'm just lucky, my dog is literally one of a kind ( a Singleton), but he is very good at entertaining himself. However, when guests come, there are always wild moments. 
What I have been doing, and so far it has worked well for me, I use a baby gate and corden off a portion of the house and separate the dogs from the folks. I usually give them something special to chew on so it is not like punishment, or exile, it is more like a purposeful place to be while other stuff is happening. Once the dogs are settled, or done chewing, or boarded, the may come out with the guests, or maybe the guests will be gone?
When it is family, the dogs get to interact, but they see family all the time, and they seem to settle down easier once they have made the rounds of hello's... I still use the separation method and it seems to work.
I recently had to practice this alot, as my hubby just went through a knee replacement, and we have had many nurses, physical therapists, etc. in and out regularly over the past several weeks. The dogs are quite used to the gate being brought up.


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## Mcunnin4 (Jan 15, 2013)

Crating I have tried before and it does help cause he does settle down in his crate but once I let him out (for a reward for being good in his crate) he goes back to being the same. But I might have to do this to get some peace and quiet time!

I previously taught him "place" command havent used it in quite some time as he thinks once I go back to doing my normal routinely things that he can get up and the "trick" is over. Any tips on making him stay there until I say so? Just extend the period of time between treating before it sticks and bring him back to the spot if he gets up type thing? Hes pretty much immune to my commands when guests are there though because the guests have a higher value "treat" to him instead of an actual treat. 

tknafox2 you are lucky! I wish I had a mix of both worlds


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

_* previously taught him "place" command havent used it in quite some time as he thinks once I go back to doing my normal routinely things that he can get up and the "trick" is over. Any tips on making him stay there until I say so?*_

To get him to know the trick is not over until you say it is takes time. Any time he moves from place on his own, put him back without saying a word. Slowly begin to add to the time he is there. You could start with 1 minute and keep building up the time as he gets it. You need to be sure and use a release command.


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## maplevizsla (Oct 26, 2012)

1) Have your guests ignore him for a few minutes as they enter your house and get settled - they can turn their back to him, don't make eye contact. If they don't make a fuss to rile him up then he will have no reason to be riled up
2) Have your guests give him a treat and ask to sit nicely.
3) Make his "place" more rewarding than the guests and the guests attention. Go to the pet supply store and load up on Kongs (stuffed with yummy treats he never gets) or smoked bones, pizzles etc. - things he wouldn't get on a regular basis and use it only for when guests are over that way the reward is extra special.
4)If your V is still rowdy, keep a bowl of treats handy and ask guests to get him to sit, down, stay. 

If the positive methods are not working, you may have to get your 'enforcement' voice tone out and re-enforce "place" with a tough love attitude. 
Success won't come overnight, but keep at it!


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## lilyloo (Jun 20, 2012)

We used to have the same issue with Ruby. Guests would come over and she would be SO excited. Run around like a fool, jump on the couch (she's not allowed on the furniture) jump on THEM, pee everywhere if they pet her, etc. It was a mess. We were so stressed about it that we avoided having guests over.

We now use the place command. Ruby has several areas that she knows are "places". She can choose between our stair landing, her dog bed (which gets moved from room to room depending on where we are in the house) or an accent chair in our living room. It took a lot of work for us to teach her that she cannot move from her place until we say "break".

It helps in the beginning stages to have them on a short lead. Put him in his place, tie the lead somewhere so that he is physically unable to move from his place. Like TR said, you need to start out with leaving them in their place for just a few minutes and slowly extend it. Our girl will "place" so long now that she eventually lays down and falls asleep. If she does break her place, or if we see that she's thinking about moving from it, we say "place!" and she will get back in her place or stop from trying to leave the place. 

We're at the point now that when she hears the doorbell ring or a car door close, she automatically chooses a place. We don't even have to tell her anymore. Our guests are instructed to ignore her for a couple minutes, then they can go over to her in her place and say hello. After that we say "break", she leaves her place and all is well.

It's the best thing we have EVER taught her and has seriously changed our lives! I know that sounds dramatic, but if you're as stressed about your V's crazy behavior around guests as we were, you know exactly what I'm talking about.


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## Mcunnin4 (Jan 15, 2013)

@lilyloo it sounds like Bentley and Ruby would get along GREAT! Thats exactly how Bentley is, he doesnt pee anymore really because we make sure to make him go to the bathroom before guests arrive otherwise he definitely will pee out of excitement. I have guests who love my V but then when they start to play with him he gets so excited and rambunctious that they immediately are turned off by his behavior and get scratched stepped on etc. Its embarrassing.

I will re-enforce the place command. Did you use any repercussions if Ruby did not stay in her place? Just a firm voice? It sounds like this will be a life saver if I can get him to focus on me and not the guests.

How long would you say it took to get Ruby to go to her place without telling her? I know it can vary from dog to dog but just curious as its going to take some work 

Bentley knows his release command as well. I am excited to help him learn this!


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## lilyloo (Jun 20, 2012)

Mcunnin,

We enforce the place command (and all of her commands) with an ecollar. We keep it on a low setting. Every time we give ruby a command she gets a stimulation from the collar at the exact time the command is given. The collar helps a ton when she's distracted.

I will say that we were taught this method by a professional trainer and it was a gradual introductory process with the collar. She wore the collar constantly for a couple months, but now we don't need to use it as often. The training was from a company called Sit Means Sit. 

Anyway, it took her a couple weeks to consistently stay her in place until she was released. It took another few weeks of us having guests over frequently until she got into her place by herself. I wasn't ever expecting her to place without being given the command, but V's are smart little boogers and it was a pleasant surprise to us when she started doing that.


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