Today I'm trying to break my dogs routine in hope to calm him down.

[Endler32]

We are going cold turkey.

Up until now my dog has cried all day to get what he wants, I have always given in.

He cries every time I go near the front door as he wants to be walked. If I don't take him he continues to cry. It's the same with breakfast and dinner, he cries until he gets fed. This has resulted in him having 2 long walks every day ( he cries, I eventually give in and walk him, we come home, he sleeps for a hour, cries and I take him out to shut him up ).

I know what I have been doing is wrong and I must not let him dictate when he's going to get walked or if he's going to get a walk. It's made life hard, today I am not feeling great, the weather is not nice and I really could do with staying in, of course he has other plans and from the moment I put my shoes on to do the school run he started crying. He has sat by my feet howling and crying, I removed him for a short time to the garden ( to stop me giving in ), when he was quite I let him back in, I have done this twice and he is now asleep.

I feel mean because to follow this through and he won't get walked today unless I can get him to be quite for more than a few minutes, if I stand up now he will get up and cry again, he is a very intelligent dog and I know once we crack it the crying will stop and life will become easier. One day without a walk will not kill him will it? We can do training in the house to tire him out a little.

Am I doing the right thing?

I have done a bit of research and most of what I read implies that I must not give in to the crying or things will just get worse as he will think he just needs to cry to get his own way.

I have posted about my dog a few times under a different name ( had to change my name so please don't out me ).

My dog is a lab x collie.

I don't think you need to keep him on lead for walks. He does need some off-lead exercise, just not massive amounts and frequent walks on a daily basis. One decent length walk with a mix of on and off-lead should do it.

He probably reacted to the other dog and young girls because he was wound up from not having any off-lead zoomies to burn off his energy. Standing still and making him wait until he'd calmed down to move off again was the right thing to do imo and if you stick with it he'll get that message too. You are changing the balance of your relationship to one where he listens to you, rather than nagging you into submission. He sounds like a bright lad and will soon get the idea that the most rewarding thing to do is be calm and look to you for instructions/guidance.

I really think you'll have a much calmer, happier boy once he's got the idea, it's just one of those situations where you have to stick to your guns and be completely consistent in your approach to reap the rewards, for both you and him.

Daisy, we almost didn't make it to the field, he was pulling so hard and whining that I was tempted to turn back home before we got there. I kept him on the lead because I don't want him dragging me to the field because he is excited about running and going crazy, I wanted to try and gain some control and keep him calm. He was on a longer lead, I have the halti double ended lead so I only had one end clipped on ( giving him twice the length ). Usually we get to the field, I let him off and he goes crazy . Did I do wrong by keeping him on the lead?

He always reacts to dogs when on the lead ( just has been getting worse over the past few weeks, even after a run ), he is fine off the lead, will run over towards them but will come back if I shout his name.

No - definitely not wrong, but I think possibly you made it harder for yourself than it could have been.

If it were me, I would drive to a walk for now, because he is going to have a lot of confusion to burn off and although you are having a bit of a battle of wills with him, it mustn't become a traumatic and hateful experience for you both.

Dog training in my book is about making it as easy as you can for them to get it right - not about putting them into a very difficult situation and hoping they'll guess what the right thing is to do.

I am quite happy for mine to run up to other dogs - and again I know that's not the MN favoured way- but in my world, dogs need to be able to interact with each other happily. They need to learn to speak dog to avoid fights, confrontation and bad behaviour. I wouldn't allow this behaviour in an urban situation though, I live rurally where dog manners are very different.

In the back of my mind, I think you are in the SW roughly? Or have I got you confused with another poster?

Yes,I am in the SW, we are very rural and I am unable to take him in my car. Most dog owners here are lovely and happy for him to run up to their dogs and play. He's never really had a bad experience with a dog, my other dog lets him jump all over her and never puts him in his place. He used to run towards other dogs and then stop to check out the situation, now he just runs straight over to them. When he's off lead I can call him back or slow him down a little, he usually calms down once he has sniffed the other dogs bum but when on the lead other dogs don't really like being sniffed by a hyper dog.

I have him on a halti harness and lead and I can hold him better now but he tries to weave around my legs and pulls me into the road. I will let him off the lead tomorrow so he can have a run, hopefully we will see the dogs he likes to play with, we often go days without seeing anyone and then ( like today ) we see several people and he just can't contain himself.

I have tried a local dog training group but their classes are always booked up, I just can't afford a 1:1 trainer at the moment.

When you say he's always reacted to other dogs when he's on the lead, do you mean he reacts with excitement and wanting to greet them, rather than being aggressive? If he's not aggressive there's no reason he can't say hello to other off-lead dogs, especially if he'll come away nicely when you call him anyway. Social interaction is another thing that will help to tire him out.

I can understand you not wanting to let him off if he was pulling you about and it makes sense to keep him on lead on the way to the field, but I would then take whatever positive break in his hyper/pulling behaviour (be it stopping for a split second to look at you or letting the lead go slack for a second etc) as a chance to reward him by letting him have some zoomies.

I know you do some clicker training with him already, so you could possibly click, then release, to reinforce what exactly which behaviour was being rewarded by being allowed off-lead. If you struggle to handle the clicker and lead etc (I know this can be tricky with a hyper dog) you could start introducing a marker word (I use Yes!) instead. That way you can always capture the behaviours you want when out and about and reward with attention/affection or letting him off-lead if that's possible and likely to be the most rewarding thing at the time.

Nothing wrong with turning round and going home again if he decides to drag you on the way their either, imho. I've done it myself back when one of mine used to get bonker/hyper on the way to a walk. I tend to think of it as basic manners. If one of my dcs took it upon themselves to tell me to get a move on and started dragging me up the road on the way to the swings/slide etc that would most likely be the end of that excursion and I don't see the dogs as being any different.

Iirc, you can't drive anywhere with him at the moment because he only fits in the car your dh has during the day - is that right? So not easy to arrange walks you can just drive to and let him off straight away. Maybe when the evenings start to get a bit lighter you could take him after your dh gets home?

Cross posted.

He reacts with excitement, never aggressive but will bark if a dog barks at him.

Yes, he won't fit in my car, and my car is in the garage. Dh works during the day and also has a tiny car but we are looking to replace dh's car for something a bit bigger and dog friendly, hopefully by the summer we can get him used to going in the car and maybe join in with a local dog walking group.

I shall take the dog clicker with me tomorrow, treats are just sending him more loopy and jumpy. Once we got half way around the field he was walking really nicely so I gave him some fuss, he even managed to poop which never happens as he's too busy to stop for a poo when off the lead and chasing a ball.

And I think I make things worse by stopping when we see someone walking towards us with a dog, he probably picks up on me feeling anxious, I probably tense up as I'm thinking 'oh, shit, the dogs going to drag me across the road again'. Tomorrow I will just keep waking and hold on tight .

Why do you feel anxious? He sounds quite normal for a young, confident dog - can you identify why you tense up?

From what you've said, he has a reasonable recall, is friendly and not agressive and responds to you when you're out and about. That all sounds very positive to me, but it also sounds as though you don't trust him?

Anxious because a few weeks ago he jumped up at a lady ( was just saying hello ) and he almost broke my hand when I tried to pull him away from a dog so I guess I tense up when I see people coming because I don't want my hand broken or him to lick someone to death.

He's much easier off the lead, I might take him to a different field today which is closer to my house so I don't have to walk him on the lead as long. I have a poorly finger at the moment ( a infection ) so I don't want him hurting me when walking.

Sorry I didn't come back yesterday - I was decorating dd's birthday cake. Didn't get it finished until midnight!

Yes, you tensing up will probably be exacerbating the situation, but I do understand how hard it is to try not to. Pip is reactive on the lead (only to off lead dogs that run at him) and much as I know better and try not to, I still find myself scanning the horizon for potential problems and tensing, which of course puts me on edge and has the knock on effect of Pip picking up on my anxiety. I find singing helps, you do feel a bit daft, but it's hard to sing and be anxious at the same time - especially if you choose a happy tune.

I've worked on teaching Pip 'lets go', so now when I see a potential issue he gets a really jolly 'lets go' cue and we walk briskly away. I always find it's easier to keep them 'with you' if you're moving, rather than trying to stand still and control them leaping about.

As daisy said, he actually sounds like a normal, well adjusted lad - just a little over enthusiastic.

Something I saw on another thread just reminded me.

If the lead is hurting your hand when he gets overexcited, have a look at Ezydog leads. They have interchangeable handles, some are cushioned, some neoprene and there's a kind of waterski-type handle for large strong dogs (we had that with our large breed fear aggressive boy). They're a bit pricey, but worth the money and so much more comfortable than a standard dog lead. They also do various shock-asorbing leads which might help take the pain out of the initial launch when he's excited. We had the waterski handle with a detachable shock-absorbing lead with our fear aggressive lad and it was great for him, but I find the handle a faff with dogs that you don't need a strong grip with.

Thank you, I will look at the leads.

I walked him straight after the school run and actually had an enjoyable walk, we didn't see anyone ( which probably helped ), he didn't pull too hard and I let him off in the field without using a ball, he went a bit crazy for a minute when I let him off but then he stayed close by and didn't run off to far, it was nice to see him having a normal stroll without bouncing around or running, he was sniffing the ground, scent marking everything ( he doesn't usually stop to scent mark as he's too busy ) and seemed quite relaxed. The only annoying thing he did was graze on the grass as soon as we got in the field, he seems to think it makes great food and grabs as much as he can ( he's never sick from it ), so today has been a good day and he's now asleep.

Now to me that sounds like a pretty perfect walk - although it's a shame the grass eating annoys you. I'd be thrilled if mine stopped at grass as a snack tbh - they far prefer a crap snack of any variety . Revolting creatures.

Am I understanding correctly that his previous walks have mostly been manic racing around after ball affairs? Bless him. He really needs to learn to entertain himself and take his foot off the adrenaline pedal. Walks are about mooching about, eating grass, following scents and if they're really lucky, finding someone to play with for a while.

It sounds as though things might be getting better? A little maybe? Don't be disenheartened if it goes backwards a little at some point though - it is likely to but if you stick at it, your very bright dog will learn and adapt and become a joy to live with.

Oh, he does like grazing on other things too but today it was grass .

I tried him without the ball before Christmas and he just went crazy and his recall went out the window ( found myself shouting his name across the field every few seconds and when he saw another dog it was hard to get him back ), when I have the ball he ignores anyone else in the field and is totally fixed on the ball. Maybe yesterday being walked on the long lead reminded him that he's meant to stay near me rather than legging it? Today he only ran a few metres in from and then would come back and spent time sniffing around whilst munching on the grass. He's been quite chilled all day other than crying for his dinner.

So pleased for you. It does sound like things are improving, all the hard work and determination you've put in is starting to come together.

As Daisy said, there's bound to be setbacks along the way, but keep at it and before you know it, one day you'll realise what a pleasure he is to have around.

I know nothing but it sounds like progress to me.

I think you have just convinced me that I don't want a dog though...

Random, I don't think people realise what taking on a dog can entail, I would never get another puppy that's for sure, I do wish I had rescued a older dog or a chilled out greyhound ( though my cat would not be happy ).

I don't even want a puppy!!!

Perhaps one day the time & dog will be right

Get a cat, much easier ,they don't need walking, poop in someone else's garden and you don't get in trouble if they scratch someone .

Today I attempted to walk both dogs together, it was not great .

He went totally loopy I the field, then one of his favourite friends ( a collie ) came into the field, he ran straight up to him, got growled at, I called him away ( all good ), we get halfway around the field and he takes off at full speed across the field back towards the Collie, I'm shouting his name and he's getting further away, I'm shouting like a mad woman, he gets a few metres away from the dog and then decides to listen to me and comes back, I then put him on a long lead and he dragged me across the field. Oh, then we came out of the field, had him on short lead and a car came up the lane ( thin lane, not enough room for car to pass a person ) so I pull him up onto the verge with my other dog, the man winds his window down to say 'thank you' and the dog pulls me down the verge trying to jump at the window on the car so he can lick the man to death.

I have burns on my hands from the lead, dog is now asleep. Tomorrow I'm not walking him, I need a day off .

for your day.

Dh has 2 cats one of which "owns" me but they're just not the same are they... however I do get tonnes of affection of her!