Over-excited Trainee!

slimbek

slimbek

Well-Known Member
We have an 8 month old Spoodle who picks up new tricks very fast, except he soon realises that once the treats come out, it's time to do every trick he knows - all at once(!!) - because he thinks he'll get something right. :)

We try not to reward when he starts rolling, barking and Hi-5'ing without us asking, but it's hard to bring him back down to earth and pay attention for each session.

Any tips for this?
 
Evie sometimes does this when she's over excited, but she usually calms down ready to train pretty quickly, so I'm not really the best person to help here. However I do make sure that when she's in this mood, and I ask her to do something such as a 'sit', that she doesnt get rewarded until she does the behaviour that I've asked.

Being a young dog, Richo would probably benefit greatly from being walked (or played with) BEFORE your training sessions just so that he can let off some of his steam before you're asking for his 100% focus and attention. I figure that if he's a slightly tired dog, he'll be less likely to try and do all of his tricks in half a second flat, and will be more likely to listen to what you actually want.

Hopefully someone else here will have some better suggestions.

Goodluck!
 
Evie has a very good point. Your boy is still very young, just coming into adolescence, and the great part is he's VERY willing to learn tricks. But do try, as Evie says, playing with him first or a good walk to rub the edge of his energy a little.

My boy is a little older, 2.5 years, but still a super charged energy dog and I have to allow him to play quite energetically with his soccer ball, before I can get him to settle to his training. Otherwise he just goes crazy too.

Also wait for a sit before rewarding him when he tries to do all his tricks at once. Do NOT however correct him though when he does this. As he's so keen and eager to work you wouldn't want him to think he's doing the 'wrong' thing. Just keep calm and ask for a sit, may have to ask a few times, then when he does click/treat!

He'll settle, with time, a good walk, play and patience, he sounds such a sweetie, and SO willing, keen and eager to learn and show you what a terrific chap he is "hey look what I can do and all at once aren't I just the smartest dog ever!'. Gotta love a dog that is that keen to work:love:(y)
 
I agree.:) Excersice should be very effective in this type of situation. You can take her hiking, jogging, or to the dog park.:) When Shivon is really hyper, I like to take her to the dog park, chase her in the backyard (she gets incredible zoomies) or practice agility.:D
 
Dogster said:
When Shivon is really hyper, I like to take her to the dog park, chase her in the backyard (she gets incredible zoomies) or practice agility.:D
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You mean Shivon actually wakes up at times enough to get hyper?:ROFLMAO: - Couldn't resist Dogster:rolleyes::D
 
:rolleyes: :ROFLMAO: Haha....

Yes, she does go off the wall sometimes, she uses the 5 hours that she is actually awake to drive me crazy.:rolleyes: Just kidding. Only 1 of those 5 hours.:D
 
Hi Slimbek

Welcome to the group. Congrats on adopting a mixed breed :) Every shelter dog adopted is another life saved!

slimbek said:
We have an 8 month old Spoodle who picks up new tricks very fast, except he soon realises that once the treats come out, it's time to do every trick he knows - all at once(!!) - because he thinks he'll get something right. :)
Any tips for this?
Click to expand...

I had the same problem with my dog, Calvin. It's mostly a problem of self-control -- the training and the treats are Too Exciting and the dog loses focus. I recommend Leslie McDevitt's Control Unleashed puppy book for general help -- she's got a lot of ideas on how to teach a dog to learn to bring himself back to earth, which is a wonderful skill for a dog to learn.

What I've started using in Calvin that works pretty well is Leslie McDevitt's Gimme a Break game. It works, I think, for two reasons. The first is because the dog gets a chance to get his/her ya-yas out by doing their own thing. The second is by way of the Premack Principle, which means that doing fun stuff is a great reward for doing harder stuff. Here's what happened with Calvin and I:

I get our gear out and start training. He's good for the 'boring' tricks but once we start doing leg weaves and other physical tricks, he starts jumping around, taking a bow (that is his FAVORITE), and yodeling. Before the yodeling starts, when I see he's getting ants in his pants, I cue "all done" and "go play" and I sit down and wait. He jumps around, yodels, runs around sniffing, etc. and when he's done, he comes back and lies down. I re-start training. He gets 'breaks' when I see he starts to get Too Excited.

Now when we first did this, in a 20 minute training sessions we probably took 4-5 breaks of about a minute or more each. Now we have training sessions with no breaks, but any time I see he is getting excited, I cue "all done" and "go play" and wait. Now his breaks are about 20 seconds long. I think that training itself has become easier because he knows there's an "out" when he gets too hyped, and because training itself has been bolstered by its association with him being able to yodel and carry on (super fun stuff for a dog!). So give your dog a break! It will improve focus, I promise. But check out McDevitt's book for more in-depth info.

Also check out September Morn's (that's a person's name!) Go Wild and Freeze game to teach your dog some impulse control.

Hope this helps!
 
Nothing to add here, A & C had a great post, Leslie McDivitt and September Morn are great - go for it!! Learning to focus takes time, and taking lots of breaks helps. Bring all your patience to training sessions ... and heck, read the books while your boy's blowing off steam. :LOL:
 
My deaf girl Scout does this... exactly the same way you describe LOL. I actually like to see it (sort of) because the dog is offering behaviours not just reacting to what you tell it. Yes you need a little more self control, but it's fun to see :) I just stand perfectly still and wait for Scout to settle. then I ask for something easy, and we're off. She actually has fantastic focus once we start LOL

I had to teach Mouse a sign for (sorry some may find this offensive, but I figure, hey deaf dog, she doesn't know I'm swearing) "Stop being a dumbass" LOL Mouse calms immediately, cus if I give that sign, she knows she's not getting anything until she calms down LOL

Oliver's perfect and brilliant and doesn't do this LOL
 
I had to teach Mouse a sign for (sorry some may find this offensive, but I figure, hey deaf dog, she doesn't know I'm swearing) "Stop being a dumbass" LOL Mouse calms immediately, cus if I give that sign, she knows she's not getting anything until she calms down LOL
:LOL::ROFLMAO:
 
sara said:
I had to teach Mouse a sign for (sorry some may find this offensive, but I figure, hey deaf dog, she doesn't know I'm swearing) "Stop being a dumbass" LOL Mouse calms immediately, cus if I give that sign, she knows she's not getting anything until she calms down LOL

Oliver's perfect and brilliant and doesn't do this LOL
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:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 
Dogster said:
:rolleyes: :ROFLMAO: Haha....

Yes, she does go off the wall sometimes, she uses the 5 hours that she is actually awake to drive me crazy.:rolleyes: Just kidding. Only 1 of those 5 hours.:D
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Ah that explains her need to sleep so much. She's gathering energy for that ONE BIG HOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D:eek:
 
sara said:
My deaf girl Scout does this... exactly the same way you describe LOL. I actually like to see it (sort of) because the dog is offering behaviours not just reacting to what you tell it. Yes you need a little more self control, but it's fun to see :) I just stand perfectly still and wait for Scout to settle. then I ask for something easy, and we're off. She actually has fantastic focus once we start LOL

I had to teach Mouse a sign for (sorry some may find this offensive, but I figure, hey deaf dog, she doesn't know I'm swearing) "Stop being a dumbass" LOL Mouse calms immediately, cus if I give that sign, she knows she's not getting anything until she calms down LOL

Oliver's perfect and brilliant and doesn't do this LOL
Click to expand...
:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::eek::p
 
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