Puppy gets too excited durring training

[BraveTyphlosion]

People always tell me that if you teach a puppy a new trick or drill him on commands he will tire out(or at least settle down a bit).

Teddy doesn't do this, he gets increasingly more excited the longer I do commands with him. He gets so excited that he nips and scratches and yipes. It gets to a point where I need to put him in his pen to settle down so I can patch up my wounds from his biting. I'm almost afraid to reward my dog, I've resorted to just throwing the food on the floor as much as I disagree with that because I'd rather not teach him it's okay to just eat stuff that falls on the floor. I don't do that really excited reward either and rile him up, it's just a simple "good" and a treat. Like, he is really scary, god forbid if a child ever tried to handle him, they'd get their fingers torn apart and possibly even get knocked over.

It's really dissapointing because I would like to do more with him but...well...it hurts! And he gets so fussed up it sounds like I'm killing him when really he just whines and yipes because he is trying to figure out what I want him to do. He does really well, he understands sit and down very well and I've even been able to get him to sit from a down position.

Is there anything I can do to make his training more calm?

[kurimusoda]

Douglas gets like that too when he doesn't understand what I'm trying to get him to do. He is most focused at the beginning of a training session. Are you trying to teach Teddy a complicated trick or a behavior that he doesn't naturally do?

In my situation, it is usually my fault for getting Douglas riled up because I've moved through a step too quickly. For instance I've been trying to teach him to balance a treat on his nose, but I put the treat directly on the nose before he was ready. He got really excited, and then starting nipping at the treat when I wouldn't let him have it.

[BraveTyphlosion]

Just practicing sit and down. He knows sit really well, down is a little tiny bit harder but isn't really hard he still does it easily. He does the actions almost immediately upon seeing my hand signal. The only thing that is sort of difficult for him is going back into a sit position from a down position, it takes him anywhere from 3 to 10 seconds to get it with lots of whining(very loud ear splitting whining). I don't think it's hard for him, he is very smart but on the other hand I'm not sure what is too hard for a 13 week old puppy. He seems to understand what I want him to do relatively easily.

I've tried getting him to sit, down, and sit again and then he gets two treats(He only gets one treat for just sitting or just lying down). He does what I ask him he just gets really excited as soon as I reward him and then he kind of gets out of control. I can still get him to do the commands again but I can see how hard he is trying to contain himself. He's knocked himself over a few times from trying to sit down while he is jumping up at me. He also throws himself down onto the floor when I give him the signal to lie down.

I even try feeding him and taking him out for walks before I do this with him so there is no extra energy or extra desire for food. It's just me and him in the kitchen so there are no extra distractions either.

[kurimusoda]

Hmm, I haven't encountered that type of situation before. You could try introducing a "wait" and/or" easy" command. This comes in handy for me during feeding and when Douglas gets treats now. Although at 13 weeks old he didn't get it perfectly, and he's considered to be really mellow ><;

You could also try starting to teach him "leave it," and consequently "get it." The puppy class taught us to teach this by throwing something that they shouldn't have on the ground, but we've worked our way up to teaching the command with a treat in an enclosed fist (and rewarding when he makes eye contact with me and leaves the treat).

By the way, have you enrolled Teddy in a puppy class? It was helpful for us to get Douglas socialized with the other puppies, and having all the puppies learn the command together seemed to make pick up the command faster.

Hopefully the others on the forums can be more useful than me ^^;

[kian]

I hate to be the killjoy but I will! You are going about this all wrong...yes it is true. Your training sessions are too long, do very short sessions and end on a positive command. If he starts to get too excited and not listening, he has had enough. His attention span is short, very short.

Don't give him too many commands until he masters one. From a sit, bring the treat close to his nose with the treat secured in your hand where he can smell it but not get it (another common mistake) bring the treat close to his nose and down to the floor. Be PATIENT! Re-work it, don't say a word!!!!!!!!!!!! Only say DOWN when he actually goes down and do not reward him right away. After a moment then reward him, do NOT release him from the down with food in his mouth and do not ask for a sit up right now until he masters the down and you have released him from it.

I like using a fresh energy laden puppy, I use the energy for training. If your goal is too wear him out, then you have the wrong idea. He is a puppy, training will stimulate his mind and tire him for a short time. Taking him to puppy socialization classes is what you want to do.

Don't do a stay yet at this point, when it is time I will walk you through the steps. Too many people do it wrong and yes puppy classes are a good option to enroll in. Find a trainer who does positive training, does not get frustrated, understands puppies and I really wish I could help you train.

[BraveTyphlosion]

He is going to a puppy class this saturday. I guess I was a little worried because if he gets too rambunctious they might kick him out for being disruptive and then that's 200$ down the drain(No refunds).

I was told that training would drain energy, and I was kind of hoping it would because he does not go out for good walks. He is terrible to walk, we are working on getting him better and he is slowly venturing further from the house willingly. It's kind of like pulling teeth, he stops every few steps and no kind of reward will make him go so I often end up carrying him a certain distance so he will run home and get some kind of exercise. He pulls really hard for a puppy when trying to go home too. I'm trying to ask people to walk their dogs with me because he will follow another dog quite happily. I'm only worth following at home so he can lick my pants.

I have to be honest I don't really say much other than good boy, I haven't taught him the verbal part yet. It's just hand signals right now and he always gets sit(He loves sit so much, he does it when I don't ask him, but he doesn't get a treat if I haven't asked him to do it :S), he usually gets down but every now and again he needs a repeat of the command. He never gets the treat until he has performed what I want him to do properly(when he lays down he has to be ALL the way down)

I'll try making the training sessions much more brief. I guess I just get carried away too because he is so smart and he looks like he really wants to do it. He just gets a look on his face and he honestly does very well. I love it when he looks at me and he just gets it.

What do I do if he doesn't release himself? I often have to get up and walk a few steps away to get him out of his down/sit position. Should I just wait for him to get up on his own?

[amanda.cantwell1]

Ive had a little bit of a.problem before with my puppy when I first starting training her. Though I no longer have this problem because I choose to use the slip collar during training. When used correctly it isn't harmful and is used to correct behavior during training. I really don't care for using treats because it's easy for the dog to get tied to it and not listen when you happen to not have any treats. It's also trad coy to use because you can end up giving the pup too much and they become overweight and unhealthy.

[kian]

Amanda I am a professional trainer and as such do NOT recommend slip collars aka choke collars. Thank goodness we have evolved with better training methods and those are not needed,especially for puppies. Too many use the collar the wrong way and not the correct way with a pop, not a choke. There is a right way to put it on and wrong way. Unless you know what you are doing, don't use it. Incorrectly and you can cause permanent trachea problems.

As for treats, let me explain it this way:
If I told you that I am sending to Disneyland you would get excited to go. Since you have never been there, you don't know what to expect. You go and come home, everytime Disneyland is mentioned you get that excited memory of that day and it feels great.

Dogs baited with a treat to associate with a command works much the same. The treat is a reward and the command becomes like Disneyland. Treating changes the endophins in the brain, so when the command is given that happy feeling between the command and the treat returns. (That works without the treats as well once established). Once the dog is consistent with the command, the treat is weaned off and praise returns. Dogs do not have to gain weight, the treat should never be a huge bite, just a wonderful taste is all that is needed.

As for getting Teddy to hold the down longer, don't treat him right away.

How was puppy class?

[BraveTyphlosion]

Teddy enjoyed puppy class a lot. It was nice seeing him play with all the other puppies. I was impressed with how gentle he was for such a big goofy puppy(he was the second biggest there). One puppy was so small it could fit in his mouth!

The trainer introduced us to some soft treats that don't seem to upset his tummy which is nice. The best part is they have a really strong smell that Teddy loves(The smellier the better) and they're tiny enough for training. She is also going to let us try on a no pull harness for Teddy to see if it helps him walk better.

We're doing clicker training in puppy class and I'm gonna be honest, I love this tool. I did what you said and shortened the time he is trained and he is calmer but I can only get about 4 commands in before he starts getting wiggly and wild so I usually stop at about there. With the clicker he is much more still and focused and he lasts a little longer.

Lol, it's a good thing Teddy is so food motivated. That makes everything much easier. Making a fist with the treat in my hand acctually makes Teddy much more interested than just having it out there for him to see.

[kian]

I am a huge fan of Clicker Training! Sounds like a great time. I like the Easy Walk Harness with the leash ring on the chest, they work nicely.

Glad your stopping when he gets wiggly, your right the clicker can hold attention longer. Was he wiped out after class?

[kurimusoda]

That's great to hear that Teddy is already a star in his class!

This is a somewhat related question! I've been trying to train Douglas "heel" since he was 5 months old, but at 9 months he still pulls sometimes on the way to the dog park (we usually don't go on walks, we walk straight to the park). I've tried putting some measures in place to minimize the excitement: (1) "sit" while I put on his collar (2) "sit" and "wait" inside the door while I open it and step out first (3) "easy" while I close and lock the door behind us. He wears a normal (nylon?) collar though, and since reading the posts about the choke collar I am worried he is hurting himself when he pulls. Should I get him a different collar? Should I bring treats every time we walk? Since the last couple of months I haven't been bringing treats because he isn't food motivated at all.

[kian]

Douglas is a large breed, you can try a Halti (not a gentle leader). I love the Halti, it's easier to use and has a snap to attach to the collar for added safety. Petsmart and Petco will allow you try it on while you walk around the store with it. It's normal for a dog to fight it at first, pair it up with a reward.

[kurimusoda]

Is that a training mechanism or is it something I should be expecting to use on walks forever?

[kian]

Most likely use all the time unless you can get a good trainer to help you. They are easy to use, very easy.

[kurimusoda]

Thanks Kian! I think I will resort to that if heel training doesn't progress anymore. The problem is that Douglas' focus is great while we're working indoors, but the second I try to take him outside--there are too many distractions. I can't figure out how to gradually increase the amount of distractions. My muscles are literally sore the next day after trying to take him on a walk.