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Hyperactivity...having trouble managing it

955 Views 10 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  JoanneF
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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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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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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