People are getting on my nerves!!!

Argh... i feel a rant coming on i apologise in advance!

We have been trying to get Pebbles used to meeting lots of people as part of her socialisation and she is a very friendly puppy. A bit too friendly in fact as she gets overly excited when she sees people and starts to pull like crazy on the lead in order to go to them to get fussed over. And most people oblige her.
This is good in one way for human friendly relations but it's awful for lead training and teaching her not to jump.

Today for the first time i took her to a quiet little high street to get her used to the shops , the traffic, the sights and sounds,...etc
Of course she was quite excited as there were quite a few people in close proximity. She pulled and pulled, making herself choke even though she has a soft harness! I was trying to get her to sit and give her treat and praise for letting people pass by us without jumping and pulling. But people kept stopping and walking to her to pet her while she was being excited and jumpy even when I was telling them 'I am trying to train her'.  

What is wrong with people!? Don't they have ears!!! So there is me trying to teach her to behave and there are people rewarding her jumping behaviour by coming up to her and stroking her. >=P 
Some man even said 'oh she 'll be all right just put a halter collar on her!'

When she will be big and out of control I am sure they won't be coming over to pet her but then it will be too late.
Sorry I am so annoyed as i feel all my efforts are in vain and I want her to learn how to walk nicely while she is small as i will have trouble controling a big dog later on as I am only 5 foot and light weight.

Rant over  

It's OK, rant all you want!!

That's a bit rude of people to ignore you when you said your training  

Frustrating! Not sure what to suggest!
Vent away though Xx

Yeah, it can be very frustrating when things like that happen!

I have calmed down now  

I'm thinking of getting one of these yellow strip to put on the lead that says 'do not distract'  

aww kim does the same thing, its hard to control kim when she sees humans lol, i have tryed like yourself to stop it, its hard ,

Definitely can be annoying, especially when you are trying to train, but sometimes their cuteness is too hard to avoid!

you could get the red for danger harness to keep people away  

Seriously though all of these people generally have the best of intentions and are most probably dog lovers , not dog owners and mean no harm but do get annoying at times. The way you have to look at it is that these situations will always happen when you go to built up areas , busy places etc so you have to teach her to cope . The best way forward is to expose her to groups of people that you know that will obey the rules and a good strong "watch me" then start dipping your toe in the water of the uncontrolled environment and watch her lap up the attention

It comes naturally to most people to want to pet and cuddle cute puppies. For some it just isn't practical to have a dog and this is as close as they can get. Try not to be too hard on them. It must be annoying for you but it's not as bad as people cringeing away from " vicious" staffies.

reuben wrote:It comes naturally to most people to want to pet and cuddle cute puppies. For some it just isn't practical to have a dog and this is as close as they can get. Try not to be too hard on them.   It must be annoying for you but it's not as bad as people cringeing away from " vicious" staffies.

Totally agree with Reuben, enjoy it while it lasts because once they get older, people will be giving you horrible looks, crossing the road and trying to avoid your 'vicious' staffy. I get it all the time with Zeus, it used to irritate me before but now I just get on with it.

I agree with the above. It must be frustrating but it's worse when you take your fully grown staff for a walk and have people cross the road and suggest you keep them in a lead in a field where everyone else has theirs off for a run. Misunderstood x

Was having a bad day when i wrote this post. Although it can be annoying at times at least it gets her to be happy around strangers.

And yes i guess you're all right in saying it won't last even if all people won''t think she is a vicious staffy most won't want to pet her when she is an adult.