Why a crouching person is so hard to resist
People crouch to seem friendly and less towering, but to a sociable dog the posture reads as a direct personal invitation: body lowered to her level, arms opening, face close, attention entirely on her. A dog who has been rewarded by that encounter a few times learns to launch toward it the moment knees bend, dragging the lead with her. There is a second reason to build the wait, beyond manners. Not every crouch is an invitation she should accept; it may be a parent steadying a toddler, a jogger tying a lace, or someone who is frightened and making themselves small. A dog who checks with her owner first gives you the chance to read the situation and decline politely, and she also learns that greetings are something that happen with you rather than around you.
Teach the check-in with scripted helpers
Recruit helpers she likes but can cope with, and start further away than you think necessary. The helper crouches; your dog will orient toward them, and the instant she glances back at you, mark it, reward her from your hand, and then give the release word that sends her over for her greeting. That sequence, look at the person, check with you, wait for the word, is the whole behaviour in one loop. The helper's job is choreography: strokes stay brief and low-key, delivered to the chest or shoulder rather than over her head, and they stand up calmly if she arrives like a torpedo, ending the encounter without drama. Practise first in the garden or a quiet street, because a helper she knows in a familiar place produces far less arousal than a stranger in a park, and you want many easy repetitions banked before the real test appears uninvited.
Handle the unscripted crouch in the wild
Real encounters arrive without rehearsal, so manage them actively. When you see someone begin to crouch ahead, create distance early, step off the path if you need to, and ask cheerfully for a moment while your dog settles; most people are happy to wait when asked before the launch rather than after. Use that pause to run the loop: she looks, checks in, hears the release only if you judge the greeting wise. Declining is a complete answer too, and rewarding her generously for walking past a croucher without an audience teaches her that not every lowered human is hers to meet. Children deserve a special rule, because they crouch, squeal, and reach all at once; keep those greetings on your terms entirely, or skip them, until her wait is thoroughly proofed with adults. If she is a dog who finds people worrying rather than wonderful, the same permission structure protects her in reverse: nobody gets to use a crouch to lure her closer than she wants to be.
Proof the behaviour gradually
Build difficulty one dial at a time: a more exciting helper, a shorter distance, a busier place, a helper who talks to her while crouching. Changing two dials at once is how tidy training unravels. Keep early greetings after release short, ten seconds of stroking before you call her back to you for a reward, so returning to you stays as valuable as going out to them. Over weeks the check-in begins to appear on its own each time someone bends down, which is the moment the habit is truly installed. Record which helpers and settings she has succeeded with in KinsLe's Care Teams so the next family member walking her knows her current level and logs the practice they complete.