That must be very frustrating.
Mmm 8 months old sounds like the adolescent ''I'm testing my boundaries'' phase in most dogs ...
I would suggest you be firmer with strangers who let her walk all over them. The problem is despite your ''No'' which she understands, what she wants at that moment is the attention of the stranger. She learned from the reaction of strangers that even though you said no, if she insists she still get what she wants.
2 things that could help here are to stop the reinforcement she is getting and reinforce an acceptable behavior. Sounds like your best reward here is actually the attention she is getting from strangers, but don't worry, you can use it to your advantage.
The stranger needs to stop the reinforcement of still petting her/giving her attention despite the bad behavior. Be firm with them - Tell them to have her sit before they pet her since you are trying to teach her some manners. If the person is not cooperating, remove her from the situation or prevent her from getting to the stranger (put her on her leash by your side and put her in a sit - or go and crate her). You want to completely stop the reinforcement she is getting for the bad behavior.
If you can find something she likes more than the stranger's attention, use that to call her back towards you and reward her for obeying.
Be consistent. 7 to 14 months were pretty harsh with my Sheltie. I felt like she was just repeating the same bad behavior but I kept being consistent with the training and when she got out of the adolescent phase, it's like all the training finally sank in and she listen to everything I taught her.
Mmm 8 months old sounds like the adolescent ''I'm testing my boundaries'' phase in most dogs ...
I would suggest you be firmer with strangers who let her walk all over them. The problem is despite your ''No'' which she understands, what she wants at that moment is the attention of the stranger. She learned from the reaction of strangers that even though you said no, if she insists she still get what she wants.
2 things that could help here are to stop the reinforcement she is getting and reinforce an acceptable behavior. Sounds like your best reward here is actually the attention she is getting from strangers, but don't worry, you can use it to your advantage.
The stranger needs to stop the reinforcement of still petting her/giving her attention despite the bad behavior. Be firm with them - Tell them to have her sit before they pet her since you are trying to teach her some manners. If the person is not cooperating, remove her from the situation or prevent her from getting to the stranger (put her on her leash by your side and put her in a sit - or go and crate her). You want to completely stop the reinforcement she is getting for the bad behavior.
If you can find something she likes more than the stranger's attention, use that to call her back towards you and reward her for obeying.
Be consistent. 7 to 14 months were pretty harsh with my Sheltie. I felt like she was just repeating the same bad behavior but I kept being consistent with the training and when she got out of the adolescent phase, it's like all the training finally sank in and she listen to everything I taught her.
