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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
I have a Flat Coated Retriever mix and he´s 8 months old. He´s a rescue dog who had absolutely no rules and we´re having trouble controlling him.

We´ve tried training him on a serious problem which is jumping on people because he gets too excited. He does a great job when theres treats around but as soon as we end training he goes back to the same and it´s exhausting.

We sometimes watch videos on how to deal with it but he´s a big dog and the "shushes" and small touches don´t do anything, he just keeps jumping on me and other visitors.

His leash walking isn´t good as well but its almost the first time he´s ever walked with it so we´re not very worried about that.

Another thing is that at around 7am he just starts barking and we have no idea how to stop it.

Would love some help on this hyperactivity please!
 

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Discussion Starter · #3 ·
He arrived at our home a week ago so we are still figuring him out. But we usually take him on a walk in the morning, like 8h30 am, then at 10h we try to do some obedience training. In the afternoon we do obedience training again and at night (around 9pm) we take him on another walk.

When he´s not walking he stays on our backyard, with all the essencial items, including dog toys which he doesnt seem too interest in.

Regarding the food we´re feeding him with Advance.
 

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Teaching a dog to 'not do' something is hard. Like it is for us. If I told you to not think of a space rocket, what comes to mind? So teach him to do something that can't be done at the same time as jumping. Like sitting. But, because jumping up gets him attention (any attention, even 'no, stop it, get down, bad dog' is better than no attention) the behaviour is rewarding for him. So your job is to make the sit even more rewarding.
He does a great job when theres treats around but as soon as we end training he goes back to the same and it´s exhausting.
So keep using treats. If you work, you expect to be paid I assume? Its the same for him. Use healthy treats or even some of his food if you like but you are nowhere near to fading out the rewards yet.

It's only been a week, lower your expectations a bit.

Another thing is that at around 7am he just starts barking and we have no idea how to stop it.
Is that to get you up? Two things - one, in daytime, teach a 'hush' (video below). The other is that if you want to stay in bed until, say, 8.00 you could pre-empt him by going down at 6.50am for a few days and letting him out to toilet, then 7.00 for a few days, 7.10 for a few and so on until he has learned to stay quiet until your getting up time.

small touches don´t do anything,
What do you think they ought to do?
 

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My experience with flat coated Retrievers is that they are very energetic and very sociable. Since you've got a puppy, I'm not surprised you are seeing the extra-caffeinated version of those traits. I expect the problem is made slightly worse by the fact that he is in a new home and doesn't really understand the rules. He will need time and consistency to figure things out.

I'm glad to hear you are doing obedience work with him. Engaging his brain will help drain some of his energy. You have only been at it for a week, and he is a doggy teenager, so I expect almost nothing you have taught has become habit yet. Consistency on your part and maturity on his part will improve things.

What are you doing to expend his energy physically apart from the two walks each day? Remember, he is a hunting breed. His ancestors would have gone out into the woods and marshes to work for hours at a time. A walk on a leash expends very little energy compared to what he was bred to do. One reason so many dog owners get into the Agility sport is because they own dogs that need an outlet for their energy. A collie with no sheep, a terrier with no rats, and a retriever with no ducks can be a difficult animal to live with. Sports like Agility or Rally provide a better outlet than digging holes in the yard or chewing the woodwork. He's still too young for serious jumping or pole weaves, but he still needs some kind of cardio exercise.

I'm also not surprised he's not playing much when left alone in the yard. As I said, Flat Coated Retrievers are very sociable. As gun dogs, they were bred to work under the guidance and direction of their owner. They crave this companionship and attention. He probably thinks the yard is a boring and lonely place without you there. It's better than being bored and lonely in a kennel, but I think he really wants to be part of whatever you are doing. Of course, humans need to earn a paycheck; we can't just devote our day to entertaining the dog. However, it's still important to give sociable dogs as much attention as possible when we have the ability to. Right now as I type this my two dogs are lying half asleep near me, one on a chair and one on the floor where I will need to step over him to leave the room. The one on the chair is watching me with half closed eyes; he opens his eyes all the way whenever I move, and he relaxes again when I do nothing interesting.

As far as jumping on people and guests, does he do this when they first arrive and then settle down? Or does he keep pestering them for the entire visit? I have found it helps a lot to use access to the people as a reward. This requires the people to be on the same page as you: no patting a dog that jumps. When I get home my dogs are usually crazy. I say, "Hi Guys," drop my bag, and walk past them without giving them any other attention. If they are jumping on me I push them out into the yard and close the door. If they are simply spinning in happy circles I hang my coat, go to the bathroom, wash my hands, and do various other things --all without giving any attention to the crazy acting dog. Once the dog is behaving calmly I will pat him and give him attention. The important part here is that crazy dogs get no attention. Good dogs get to stay with the people.
 

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Though every dog is different, it can take some time for a newly rehomed dog to settle in, get their feet on the ground, and they need our compassion, empathy, gentle guidance and patience.

Dog Vertebrate Carnivore Dog breed Companion dog


This book may be helpful to you, it provide some insight into what is happening with your pup, and guidance on how to work with him to help resolve unwanted behavior.
Love Has No Age Limit – Patricia McConnell
 

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Flat coat retrievers are, shall we say, extremely enthusiastic. They are great dogs, but remember they are wired to run in open fields for the better part of the day. Keeping all that energy in check is going to be a lot of time consuming work. Have a friend that has one, and she was five years, before she started slowing down, and still at age eight is what I would consider, a very energetic dog. Energy bursts are now of much shorter duration, though. Patience, consistency and passage of time will prevail, eventually.
 

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Discussion Starter · #8 ·
We never thought of the "seeing people" as a reward, sounds like a great idea! REgarding the other activities, we can´t really give him too much freedom to roam around a big area without a leash yet, unfortunately, he can jump on other people and start running where we´ll never find him. Once he´s used to going to meet us each time, we´re going to do all those great activities with him :)
 

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You can put him in a harness and use a long line on him. I wouldn't use a long line in a dog park or other congested area, but it's a great way to give him a little more freedom in a quiet park.
 

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I have a Flat Coated Retriever mix and he´s 8 months old. He´s a rescue dog who had absolutely no rules and we´re having trouble controlling him.

We´ve tried training him on a serious problem which is jumping on people because he gets too excited. He does a great job when theres treats around but as soon as we end training he goes back to the same and it´s exhausting.

We sometimes watch videos on how to deal with it but he´s a big dog and the "shushes" and small touches don´t do anything, he just keeps jumping on me and other visitors.

His leash walking isn´t good as well but its almost the first time he´s ever walked with it so we´re not very worried about that.

Another thing is that at around 7am he just starts barking and we have no idea how to stop it.

Would love some help on this hyperactivity please!
I had Collies growing up and recently brought home a Doberman puppy from a breeder. From my experience owning dogs the best thing is to give the dogs lots of exercise. If a dog is too tired to be jumping on people and around the house he won't.

My cousin had a Border Collie that had lots of energy, like a kid with ADHD x 10! Like you he struggled with training, when he added more exercise into his daily routine it worked wonders. Tiring the dog down with long walks/ runs at parks really does wonders to correct behavior problems. I also did this with my two Collies growing up and it worked great to complement his daily obediance. I would give my Collies walks/runs in the morning & night. Had a fenced in yard for him to run around in. Took him to doggie parks to play.
 

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At 8 months his growth plates won't have closed so too much exercise (more than 40 minutes at a time) could develop into arthritis later. Better to tire your dog by using his brain, with the added advantage that you don't end up with a super fit athlete that you can never physically tire.
 
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