Over-excited on walks,

[izzywillynilly]

Help! I have a one year old german shepherd cross, that we adopted about a month ago, whichI know isn't long, and mostly he is really good. However on walks, he has started getting really hyper, and will leap at me, grabbing hands/gloves/coat/handbag, and tugging at it, and I'm really struggling getting him to stop. I can distract him for a minute, and then he leaps up and does it again. It started when he saw another dog, and got over-excited, but now he seems to think its a fun game, and does it all the time. Today, even off the lead for a while (recall a work in progress) he still just wanted to grab my bag. If i ignore it, he leaps up, and grabs more. It's becoming really hard to deal with, and I'm covered in bruises. In the house, he doesn't do anything like it, and doesn't jump up. I have no idea of the best way to tackle this, so wondered if anybody had any ideas?

We have the same dog! Well mine is a 10 month golden so not quite but behaviour is pretty identical. My boy started this at about 6 months and its really only the last month he's stopped doing it a few times a walk

Step one with me was as few distractions as possible so you mention a handbag, can you carry stuff in your pockets while you're walking him? Mine HATES gloves, I just can't wear them any more.

The MAIN thing is cross your arms in front of you, stay still and avoid eye contact. I know it can hurt, especially the claws but if you persevere it WILL work. If my boy starts now he stops the second I cross my arms.

Other thing that helps is giving him time to adjust to situations. If he wants to stop and stare at a dog, I let him, as trying to move on will result in jumping (and my boy likes to grab my arm in his teeth, it's not a bite). If he stops and sits or stands I stop and let him smell or listen to whatever he's taking in.

I resorted to distractions too at times but I found that it kind of just added fuel to the fire and just increased the excitement and I needed to concentrate on calming him instead so once I can get him off me (or if I can catch the moment before he jumps up) I pet and talk to him (but not while wearing gloves!). And waiting for him to start walking again rather than pulling him.

It's NOT easy, and I've had REALLY bad days but I love walking him now.

That's all a bit jumbled as I'm just putting things down as I think of them.

IME it is a way of showing stress/confusion as well as over excitement.

Do not acknowledge it - no matter how painful. It will reinforce the action for him and make him think it is the right way to behave in future. One of mine did it - because she was more excited than she could cope with and didn't understand what I was trying to teach her to do.

Don't over praise, or pat/stroke the head. Go for gentle and calm with a rub of the chest instead. Don't get into a wrestling or shouting match pushing him off. Absolutely ignore the leaping and nipping (and find a knackered coat to wear on walks in the meantime) - no eye contact, no huffing, no clenching of hands, no change in walking rythmn. Nothing.

He is not trying to be agressive - if he was, you'd really know it - he is still a big puppy and just doesn't know what to do. He's hassling you to find out how to react. Irritating, painful and probably likely to make you fall over if the ground is slippy but absolutely ignore it, work out what triggers it and it will pass.

You could also try teaching an alternative behaviour in that situation - eg a sit and praise, but I'd advise working out exactly what the trigger is first.

I have a very excitable 2 year old retriever (working line - he is insane) and he would very much like to kangaroo his way to the park. Every time he jumps I stop dead immediately - if he's very excitable I tell him to sit. As soon as he's calm we walk on again. But his reward is getting to the park/beach when he gets a ball chucked around -and he understand that, so walking is pretty good reinforcement iyswim he's always pretty sensible on the way home.

He has been doing pretty well, he can now usually save off from the jumping until right at the end, although it comes back if we haven't been lead walking for a while. And he's a nightmare this week as strangers keep saying hello to him which in his head is the most exciting thing possible in the whole world.

My rescue GSD did the same thing - just turn your back and ignore! Repeatedly...easier said than done I know.

He also used to pull terribly, again through excitement so we got a Halti harness which he has to sit down and raise his front paws to get into - so now when a walk is announced (by picking up said harness) he immediately sits and starts waving paws at me, so cute.