Friends' unruly dog

ShannersLA

DH & I are friends with a couple that we've always enjoyed spending time with. We've always rotated houses to hang out at and used to really enjoy going to their house.  That was, until they adopted a dog and did not put the time or effort into training her. They already had a large dog and even though this dog was never properly trained, she is too lazy, out of shape and old to bother to jump on you when you come in the door. This new dog, jumps all over you (she's a very tall mixed breed and weighs approx 70 lbs), tries to lay on your lap when you sit down, and will jump up on the counters and take your food. She is still young but our friends refuse to believe that there is something out of sorts with this behavior.  Not only do they not find it offensive, but think it's quite "normal" for a 1 yr old dog to act this way. DH and I have a dog of our own, so we are animal lovers, but this has made us not want to go to their house anymore. They always shout really loud at the dog the whole time while we're there too and between the headache of that, the dog all over us and chaos, we're just at our limit. Looking for advice on how to approach the subject if we're invited over? We can only have them to our house so much before they'll want to switch and be the hosts and going out to dinner can get costly which is why we started hanging out at home. 

Caz1221

That's a tough situation since it sounds like your friends aren't particularly interested in training the dog, and offering unsolicited advice on training could put them off.  How do you react when the dog jumps on you, lays on your lap, etc.?  I have found ignoring the dog, turning your back to them when they jump, getting up immediately if the dog tries to lay on you while you're sitting, and similar actions are effective and can get the point across (to the dog and its owners) that you aren't comfortable with the behavior without having to give the dog commands or ask your friends to do something about it.  For the food stealing, I just wouldn't leave my plate unattended anywhere the dog could reach.  Ultimately, you have to decide if this is a big enough deal for you to broach the subject with them and/or refuse to go to their house.

chrisnjay05212010

I have a similar situation. Ive found that if i treat the dog the way i treat my own, she actually (the dog) listens when i give her commands.  Not only does the dog realize i mean business so does my friend.