Can anyone help me with my 7 month old german pointer who jumps up and mouths excessively when I get home from work. She's absolutely hysterical like she's possessed and will not stop until she has tired herself out- by which point my clothes and skin are shredded. So far I've tried everything both recommended and frowned upon I'm afraid due to my desperation-

-ignoring her (impossible when she is jumping in your face)
-turning my back on her (she just kicks me in the back of the head instead or bites my hair)
-tapping her on the nose (no effect whatsoever and she tries to bite my hand)
-a shock collar (she doesn't even realise it is on her and she tries to bite the remote control in my hand)
-spraying her in the face with water (shocks her for a millisecond but then she carries on)
-using distraction commands (she can "sit" perfectly when paying attention but is too hysterical to listen to any commands)
-using treats (if I have anything in my hand this makes her behaviour worse and she tries to eat my hand)
-making a loud noise (worked the first time only)
-putting her on a lead until she calms down (works if I can get her on the lead but usually impossible as she is moving around too much and trying to eat my hand)

She is normally a lovely tempered dog and is obviously just pleased to see me so I know she is not being aggressive. She doesn't jump up at guests or at my boyfriend if he gets home first so I don't think it is a separation anxiety problem. It's got to the point where I dread coming home and she is going to cause me a serious injury pretty soon, I am already going to work covered in large bruises and scratches which is prompting a few raised eyebrows!

The best technique I have found so far is to push her onto our 3 year old dog who then tells her off on my behalf! The older dog has had no problems so I must have done something right the first time round.

Any advice would be appreciated ......

How long is she left during the day and please tell us more about the types of training techniques you have been using on her since you for her as a puppy, eg training classes , training in doors , outside eg recall , retrieving etc.

Do you both have interaction with the training and do you both use the same techniques and get the same results ?

Also did this behaviour start suddenly or did it develop over time ? Can you describe what you do when you come in eg do you call to say hi when you walk in or do you come in quietly without interacting with her or do you let her outside first and then let her in or do you go out and greet her outside ?

Does she exhibit excitable behaviours any other times other than when you come home or with other dogs and people in different circumstances or places ?

How is the relationship with the other dog ?

Sorry lots of questions but it would be usefull to get a better picture of her and her past training / experiences to be able to street looking at ways of stopping the behaviour without the use of 'training' aids such as shock collars as those sort of devises often increase and heighten anxieties rather than solve problems and can even result in dogs turning anxiety into aggression :-(

Sounds a lot like my Safi, who is an absolute tigger, and really ignoring is the only way.

To prevent her getting to you I would suggest a tall baby gate on the door of the room she is in when your out. 

In my case it's the kitchen which adjoins the living-room, and that is where the dogs are, and are only allowed through when calm.

I first did this in 2006 when I was going up from three to four, having lost two oldies the previous year.

With 6 it makes sense not to have them loose in with us if visitors come or when we come in from being out, as of course they try to outdo each other with the greetings.  They are only collie size dogs.

This are some training techniques which will help, and others will be along soon I'm sure, but in the meantime start thinking about your entry and exit strategies:

Where are you greeting her?  What other options or spaces do you have available?  Some excitable dogs are best moved immediately through the house and into the garden - if it's an enclosed safe space then no lead or collar is necessary.

Distraction with items other than food or commands can work to prevent mouthing - give her a special 'gift' as soon as you get in (keep it in your car or handbag), something she can safely hold or chew works well so try a Kong or Nylabone perhaps.  Hand the toy over and then move her straight outside.

Use baby gates so that you can get through the door into a safe dog free zone, get your coat off, get changed etc all before you say hello to her.  This way you are better prepared and she has time to calm down a bit.  If you combine this with the toy she gets that as soon as you get in and she can focus on that whilst you get changed.

I don't actually greet any of my dogs, or say goodbye, instead we have basic rituals than we run through every time.  First of which is that they all go outside the minute I get home.  Sometimes I go out with them and other times they go on their own.  They come back in once they've had a pee and we might say a brief hello once they're back indoors (they tend to come in one by one which makes it easier to manage than being bundled by all 3 at once!).  If you have an excitable enthusiastic greeter the more time you spend fending them off the more intense they get as they are reading this as your form of 'hello' and attention, even negative attention, is what she's looking for.

Have a look around the internet for advice on this topic from people like Ian Dunbar or Patricia McConnell.  Just because your dog is now 7 months doesn't mean you can't use the basic puppy training methods for this type of behaviour but of course you now have a heavier, taller dog to contend with.  There is no need to punish your dog, you want to reward the right behaviours but you first need to decide what those are.  How would you like to be greeted?  Once you know what you want you need to teach her what you are looking for and reward her when she gets it right.  Are you still taking her to training classes?  Your trainer ought to be able to give you hands-on advice based on what she knows of your dog and your particular strengths and weaknesses in training.  It's all perfectly possible but will probably need breaking down into smaller steps.

I haven't read all the posts

I would let her straight out to the garden when you get home, no greeting to reward her for being wound up and let her burn off some energy there and only let her back in when she has calmed down, she will soon learn that to get your attention she needs to be calmer.

You may have to go back to basics to stop the mouthing, read " the bite stops here" by Ian Dunbar and implement his suggestions.

You may have to do lots of coming and going from the house to give lots of chances for training, leave a trailing lead on at these times only so you can put your foot on it to stop her jumping up.

I find shouting doesn't work but if I whisper or talk in a very low voice they stop to try and hear what I am saying, usually " who wants a nice piece of cheese" has to be something they are interested in hearing and they then get rewarded for stopping the unwanted behaviour.

Hope she settles soon.

I think the answer is in:

>-using distraction commands (she can "sit" perfectly when paying attention but is too hysterical to listen to any commands)

If she is too hysterical to listen, then you need to work on gaining her focus and attention and responses, when the level of distraction is high.  To be honest, I would be using tuggy as a reward, clicking the sit, then playing tuggy to reward again.  That way you are moving between high drive and energy and total stillness and focus, and you are practising moving between those two states.

I'd also wonder if she has been to any training classes, or whether the only training she's received is at home... 

Please do not do anything aversive like using a shock collar or spraying her with water.  She is HAPPY to see you, is that the way you want to respond to her affection?  You are going to produce one confused dog who is afraid to approach her main attachment figure, if you continue with things like that. 

Like Brainless says, ignoring is also the way to go.  Yes, for a LONG while you will get her following you and jumping and mouthing you, but if you consistently ignore all that for a prolonged amount of time, she should give it up to a great extent.

You can also encourage her to bring you something to greet you, as she can't be mouthing you when she has a toy in her mouth...  The solution here would involve using a tuggy when getting home, to begin and hoping she starts to bring it to you when you get home.

Sorry, written v quickly, but the idea of an affectionate dog being shocked for just showing love to its owner makes me shudder...

the idea of an affectionate dog being shocked for just showing love to its owner makes me shudder...

Ditto -I first saw this post whilst travelling this evening, too fiddly to type on my mobile -I cannot believe not more people have commented on the shock collar method. :( A 7 month old is a minor puppy, and like others my first thought would be whether she is left for too long. Having said that, I have three 2 years olds that act like this after being left for mere minutes -it's sheer joy. Again getting them to sit calmly for treats after a quick initial greeting is what I'd do.

Alongside the other great advice given here, have you actually taught her what you DO want her to do when she wants to greet you?

It sounds like a silly question but if your answer is 'no' and 'I just don't want her to do THIS' then thats part of the problem.

She desperately wants to greet you, and in dog world that means getting to your face to be silly and frantic and overjoyed that you are home, only inconveniently, YOU keep your face some 5ft + off the ground, not 2 or 3ft off the ground where hers is, so shes GOT to jump.. and jumping is fun and giddy and silly, and you DO interact with her when she does it even if its not her ideal top number one sort of interaction...

So she continues to do it.

Practice coming through closed doors with her on the other side, when its NOT a high excitement time - practice this with all the doors in your house until it becomes so old news - open the door a smidgen just so you can see her and IMMEDIATELY reward her before she has a chance to jump or do anything that involves less than four paws on the ground. Carry on and enter the room and KEEP rewarding for four paws on the ground. If you want her to sit, ask her to do so now and then get down on her level and praise her and fuss her the way she wants to be fussed.

When  you are actually coming in from work, be ready - ignoring in this instance is really the only way so keep a bag of clothes in the car if you don't want work clothes ruined - don't bring your handbag and any shopping in initially, set yourself up so that you CAN ignore her.

Walk in, turn sideways on and fold your arms and stay still and say nothing - the SECOND those paws are on the floor, praise and reward - I would use a toy here so that you can begin the habit that she focuses her excitement onto a toy and eventually you can walk in and she will bring the toy and wait for it, or you can hand it to her as you come in.

The first few times yep, shes going to bounce and bounce and bounce but stand your ground, keep an eye out for that SPLIT second when she figures 'hey... this isn't achieving anything'. It will be only a split second, you need to get in there and praise for it. If she starts bouncing again (and she probably will), resume the ignoring position again until she quits. The fast you are to reward the split seconds worth of what you DO want, the quicker she will learn this.

If you are doing your work well practicing with the doors during 'not coming home times', and you are ignoring the unwanted behaviour, you should find she changes soon - I would add in a further element however, and get your partner to help teach her to sit as you come through the door.

Again use other doors in the house first, and don't start doing this during coming home times for real, as shes too excited. Have her on a lead and come through a door, your partner or you can ask her to sit. If she doesn't sit, step back out of the door and shut it and try again in a few seconds time.

If you practice all these things, the message you are sending, loud and clear is 'if you leap around, you get nothing. If you sit, you get what you want, and me coming through a door is only ever rewarding when you are NOT bouncing'.

My three year old dog does this to my other half (our dogs are 'our' dogs but she is v attached to him in particular and vice versa). She does not do this to me,....she would if given a chance but as soon as i get home, she gets put in the garden, i don't say a word to her or touch her at all before putting her out, she runs a lap or two at happy top speed then is happy to come in and lean gently on me for a cuddle.

Hi thank you very much for all your advice, I will try to answer as many of your questions as possible...

She never jumped up as a puppy so it's not as if we allowed the behaviour and are now suffering the consequences. It seems to have escalated when we moved house in May (ironically so the dogs could have more room to run free). She used to jump up every time I entered the room but this seems to have reduced due to already using the techniques some of you have suggested such as closing the door again until she is calm. She now only really does it first thing in the morning when I get up and when I come home from work. We both work shifts so they are rarely on their own for a significant amount of time, however, it does not matter whether she has been left for a few minutes or a few hours- the extreme reaction is the same. I have been trying the "ignoring technique" for months and it just doesn't work and it is too dangerous to turn my back on her any more- in 2 quick jumps yesterday I got a large bump on the back of my head and a bloody ear.

The dogs are left to roam the garden when we are not home but due to another of Saffi's talents (climbing tall fences and escaping) she has to be tethered on a long leash but she still has the run of the garden. If I am home first I have to get her off the long leash which is a battle in itself as she won't sit still. I try my best to ignore her until she is calm but as soon as she hears my car arrive she literally screams the neighbourhood down like a strangled cow and gets herself tangled up. Once off the leash this is when the jumping really begins so letting her into the garden to calm down/putting up a baby gate is not really an option in this case.

We admittedly have not taken her to any training classes. Partly due to moving and partly because our first dog is, and has always been perfectly behaved so we mistakenly thought we knew what we were doing. I now think we were just lucky and found a well behaved dog so this might be a good option for such an energetic dog. I am not aware of any differences in the way my partner and myself react towards Saffi although she wouldn't dream of jumping up at him. She doesn't jump up on me when he is there and it sounds ridiculous but she watches him walk away and as soon as his back is turned she starts to attack me again. Although it feels like an attack, there is no aggression or malice to her behaviour and I know she is just pleased to see me. I would love to opportunity to greet her properly but it's just not possible yet.

I made my apologies to start with about some of the bad techniques I have tried, but as I explained I am desperate and have been in tears from the injuries she has caused me and I can't go on like this. Using a shock collar is not something I ever thought I would use as I don't agree with them but it was a last resort and it was recommended by a very experienced dog owning friend/breeder who had seen my bruises. I tried it on myself beforehand and it does not hurt, it is more of a vibration- hence why it had no effect. So please no more unhelpful condemning comments on this matter, I was honest in order to get the best advice I could and explain the gravity of the situation.

She is generally an excitable dog but this is what we love about her- and yes this means excited wee's! We have trained ourselves not to get her over excited so this has stopped when she is around us but it continues when she meets other people/dogs. Her relationship with the older dog was not brilliant to start with as all she wanted to do was cuddle and the older dog was not having this but it has increasingly improved and now they play nicely together. Despite our initial thoughts that Saffi would be top dog due to her strong nature, surprisingly she is not but this seems to work. Clearly it is me that is bottom dog and i fully accept this my problem and not hers!

It has been suggested that due to her escaping it could all be separation anxiety. This sounds plausible but doesn't explain why she only jumps up at me.....

When I came home today I put the older dog in the house as she tends to wind Saffi up and then I stood back from her on the long leash until she calmed a bit. I gave her treats to get her to sit and then managed to get a lead on her. I then had to hold the lead down to stop her jumping and gave her treats when she was calm and sitting. Eventually she calmed enough for me to take the lead off so I shall persevere with this technique which sounds a lot easier in writing than it was in reality!

Thanks again

Well, look....

I think the solution is likely to be many-pronged in a case like this.  I don't want to be hard on you, and clearly you mean well towards her and want to do the right thing, but...

1), you have chosen a very high energy breed.  It's not clear from 'german pointer' whether she's a GSP or a GWP, but either way she's a HPR and a high-energy dog trained to hunt and run for hours.

2), you tie her up in the garden and seem to be out of the house for prolonged amounts of time.  I really don't recommend people let their dogs have unsupervised access to the garden because (in most cases and without making special provisions) it leads to fence-running, barking, boredom, landscaping of garden, and so on.  But even people who do let their dogs into the garden when they're out don't tie them up and leave them tied up, unsupervised.  I think that constitutes a safety hazard and is akin to a dog-on-a-chain scenario.  It's really not an ethical or safe way to keep a dog.  You don't say whether she has any cover or protection in the garden, when she's tied up out there?  What happens when it rains?  What happens if she's cold or hot and wants to move elsewhere than where her leash allows?

3), you say she hasn't gone to any training classes. And 1) + 3) = disaster.

Is it any wonder that your return has become the highlight of the dog's day and the thing she gets so hyper excited about?!  If I had no mental and little physical stimulation and you tied me up for ages outdoors, and I was built like an athlete, plus the person I really cared about kept leaving me, I'd probably be exploding at the first sign of anything interesting, in the same way!!

Seriously, think about:

1)  Ways to increase mental and physical stimulation.  That means: 

a)  Training classes:  Find them.  See www.apdt.co.uk  or  www.puppyschool.co.uk (although she might be a bit old for those, but some of the trainers offer follow on classes) or www.cleverdogcompany.com  or www.obedienceuk.com   Practice what you are shown, at least daily, with her.  Consider something like agility, once she reaches a year old:   www.agilitynet.com (click on clubs)
b)  Food puzzles:  Kongs.  Buster cubes.  Wobbly pyramids.  Hiding treats for her to find. 
c)  Playing tuggy with her, daily.  I suspect she loves to play tuggy.  So use this as a reward, as I suggested, moving between 'sit', click the sit and play tuggy as a reward.
d)  Ensure she is getting enough daily exercise off lead on walks.  At least an hour.  But try to spend the time training her, rather than just walking around.  Once you've started a training class, you'll have lots of ideas for what you can be practising on a walk.

2)  Teach a strong 'sit-to-say-please' concept.  Sophia Yin is really hot on this idea and has lots of useful videos demonstrating it - here is a video of her teaching a dog to sit for a person to pat it:  http://drsophiayin.com/resources/video_full/stellah_sits_for_excited_petting   and another one:  http://drsophiayin.com/resources/video_full/teaching-a-dog-to-sit-politely-rather-than-jump   and how to begin the exericse (with a GSP, incidentally):   http://drsophiayin.com/resources/video_full/say_please_and_suddenly_settle 

Use 'sit to say please' every time your dog wants anything:  To go outside, for you to put the food bowl down, for attention - the more varied the contexts you can use it in, the better.  Note that Sophia doesn't ASK the dog to sit, she just rewards sitting and withdraws what the dog wants if the dog doesn't sit.

3)  Stop leaving the dog tied up outside.  No matter how long/short this is for, it is unsafe and cruel.  How long are the dogs left alone for?  Why can't she be left in the house?  Confine her to a safe area of the house, with chew toys and a comfy bed.  If you have to be away longer than a few hours, employ a pet sitter to stop by and let her out to toilet in the garden.  Dogs should not be tied up, unsupervised.  I think the frustration which comes from being tied up and experiencing things she wants constantly outside her reach, is a major part of the pent up frustration which gets unleashed on you when you reach her.

The reason she jumps up at you may just be that you are her main attachment figure, not your partner - so she is more excited to see you.  It does not mean that you have done something wrong or that your relationship with her is screwed up (quite the opposite - she jumps up because she cares).

Really useful advice Rabid :)

To saffi - we have a lot of people on this forum with similar breeds of dog (mine are HPR too), and with lots of relevant experience.  Have a go at making some changes to your routines and habits and remember that you can keep coming back for more information, or for clarification.

I have to say I am extremely disappointed with the reaction I have had from this site. I came with an honest and open attitude asking for help and have just been accused of cruelty at every turn.

She has the most deluxe, enormous shed you could imagine-it has carpet,a variety of beds to chose from, central heating, cavity wall insulation, windows so she can see out and a flap so she can come and go as she pleases. She also has every kong/toy/food ball going. When we first moved into our house we spent the first week making "the dog house" as nice as possible for them whilst we slept on the floor because we didn't have time to unload the bed as settlin the dogs was our priority. I must repeat, they are not left for long periods of time, it doesn't matter whether she is left for minutes or longer- the reaction is the same. The long leash is a feat of engineering and allows her the full run of the garden whilst ensuring she is safe- it couldn't be further away from a dog on a chain. Yes I haven't explained all of this in great detail but didn't seriously think you would believe someone could be so cruel. Why would I lock them in a crate or a kitchen when she can be running around exploring in the garden and playing with my other dog!?

Seriously, if I wasn't a dog lover would I be asking for advice? Suffice to say I won't be asking it here again.

Thanks anyway to those who did bother to read my information properly and provide some useful tips

Saffi

Your reaction is understandable as when asking for advice you have to accept sometimes you will hear things you don't necessarily like. You wouldn't have come here if there wasn't an issue and if you want to get this resolved then take it as constructive criticism then move on and look at the positive steps people have given to try and resolve the problem. We only learn by sometimes having to make mistakes . We have all made mistakes , you are not alone in that ;-) ( been there myself quite a few times and not ashamed to admit it either )
Do carry on and try some of the suggestions and see how things go and then come back and give feedback on how things are going. Not all suggestions may work and it may take a while and perseverance to see which will work.

Owning dogs like children can be difficult and all dogs are not the same however certain breeds do need treating differently due to the traits specific for the breed.

If you don't explain the situation fully, then how am I supposed to know it?  I can only know what you tell us. 

TO be honest though, dogs need human *attention* and *time* - that is far more important to them than do-it-yourself food toys and fantastic amenities.  It doesn't sound like this dog gets much mental stimulation at all, and is STILL a high energy breed, tied up in the garden.  Yes, she might be tied up on a long line rather than a chain and yes, it might be a deluxe dog shed rather than a kennel, but the basic nature of the set-up is the same.

Dogs need to live indoors and to be part of the family.  FWIW, I compete with my dogs (also high energy HPRs), and they are confined to one room of our house (the main and busiest room).  They have no problems with this, because they receive 1.5 hrs of training and exercise a day and then sit with us in the evenings for several more hours, all watching TV together.  Dogs need human companionship, time, attention and bonding activities (one of which is training).  Leaving a dog alone and supplying it with food puzzles is not a replacement for more time-intensive stuff.  (Furthermore, kongs need to be stuffed - you'd be amazed how many people say their dogs have kongs - by which they mean many lying around, empty, on the ground.)

I'm also an APDT dog trainer...

Having a dog tied up unsupervised is not acceptable in this day and age.  I would not even advise a client to leave a puppy house line on a puppy when they are unsupervised because it could easily get caught on something and result in harm - and a house line isn't even tied to anything on the other end.  Many people don't even leave collars on their dogs when they leave them at home, since a collar could get caught on something and result in strangulation.  And what happens if she charges at something (a cat in the yard, a pigeon), and gets a huge neck jerk when hitting the end of it?  It's just not an acceptable solution to leave a dog tied up. 

Tying her up is also directly responsible for much of the frustrated behaviour you are experiencing when you greet her:  If she spends considerable time tied up and unable to reach what she wants (you, leaves blowing around just out of her reach, smells just over the garden wall and so on), you are coming home to a ball of frustration which then explodes on you.  For a dog, it is far better to have full access to a penned in area, than to restrict access using a long line.

Whether or not you like my criticism of having a dog tied up, or the kennel, there is actually bags of useful advice in what I've told you, leaving aside these 2 issues.  Would be a shame if you couldn't make use of it just because you dislike being criticised.  Wish I hadn't wasted my time typing it out now, but maybe someone else with a similar problem will read this thread and benefit.

In my home country it is illegal to have dogs tied up for more than 2 hours, even on a long line, and as Rabid has explained there are very good reasons for this. It's simply dangerous.

> Why would I lock them in a crate or a kitchen when she can be running around exploring in the garden and playing with my other dog!?
>
>

Therein quite possibly lies the problem, a dog confined to some extent will have to settle calmly.  The same issues can arise when dogs have free run of the house, they wind themselves up, and can either become nuisance barkers at windows, or destructive, yet confined to a quiet room, perhaps with the radio on with chew toys, they chill.

I agree with you I do not crate dogs at home, only for short periods while travelling, at shows, or in hotel rooms (so I can go eat breakfast), or in the Caravan.

>Your reaction is understandable as when asking for advice you have to accept sometimes you will hear things you don't necessarily like. You wouldn't have >come here if there wasn't an issue and if you want to get this resolved then take it as constructive criticism then move on and look at the positive steps people >have given to try and resolve the problem. We only learn by sometimes having to make mistakes . We have all made mistakes , you are not alone in that

Totally agree, Lucy :) Excellent advise.

My dogs have lots of toys - well a box full :) :) My younger dog only plays with two toys - a rugby ball and a monkey cuddly. She isn't interested in any thing else unless it is combined with 'training games'. What she needed when younger was lots of brain stimulation and human time - ball games in the garden/field and, particularly when she was a young dog, lots of games of hide and seek, find the toy under the yoghurt pot etc etc, also obedience classes and regular repetition, in various ways, of what was learnt in the classes. She also went to agility with my other dog and, in the tea break, would do the tunnel, mini jumps etc until she was old enough to do full agility. Lots and lots of variety, but most of all plenty of human time :)

> I agree with you I do not crate dogs at home

IMO there is nothing wrong in crating a young, possibly destructive dog etc, for short periods, provided that it also gets plenty of quality time with it's owner. Most dogs are quite happy in their crates - my younger dog would go to her (open) crate voluntarily despite having another bed and the run of the house. Since moving, her crate has been put away, but, at 10, she still seeks a confined, hideaway place to sleep - under a table, behind the sofa etc :) :)

I should have perhaps made it clear that crating for short periods is fine, which I do, (feeding pup etc).

I just don't feel the need to do so with the dogs in their own home as I contain them to the kitchen (which has an open crate and dog beds) instead when out.

A crate large enough for a Pointer is going to take up a huge amount of space, which may be managed better with baby gates/barriers.

The dogs may be better off in their nice kennel/dog room with a run attached, or in the house, as confinement of some sort may keep her calmer.

> Can anyone help me with my 7 month old german pointer

The general advised amount of forced excersise on here is usually 5 mins per month of life, so at only 7 months old that = 35 mins.

Brain work is more tiring than physical stuff.

Your dog is at the teenage stage, life is all about action, speed, add into a mix a dog that has not yet developed much self controll (due to age) and you have an animal that can be very excitable and impulsive. I think her age is at the root of the problem.

When my dog hit 7 months of age he started to get more exciteable and harder to controll, (jumping up when he had never done that before, knocking me over, pinning me to the floor and chewing my head etc!!) he got worse over the coming months!

I can see why you leave her tied in the garden, it's safer than leaving her loose to escape & get run over, but it would be much safer to come up with another way to contain her. A dog-proof room indoors or a run she can not climb up out of.

Have a good read of theemix's advice, get her used to you coming through the door, you can take the approach one would with seperation anxiety, to start with, only be behind the closed door for a nano-second and as you get her calm, increase the time you are out of the door (work within her limits, do not stay behind the door long enough for her to get excited). And remember, you need to teach her waht you DO want her to do - sit, lay down, run to a specific room to settle before getting a fuss. Whatever you want her to behave like needs to be taught to her, so she has an alternative to the bouncing about.

I was in tears with my dogs behaviour when he was 7 months old, I thought I'd never be able to teach him anything. I soon realised that a HUGE part of it is down to how we feel. Be confidant, but above all CALM and PATIENT, it honestly really, really helps. It's near on impossible to teach a dog to be calm and relaxed if we are wound up/paniking/angry/frightened or defensive/in fear of injury from the excited dog.

You CAN do this, and you WILL do this, it is just going to take time, comitment, patience and consistency.

Things you can do to help;

Sort out her containment for when she is left - something safer with less space for her to get wound up in.

Introduce training, lots of short training sessions all the time. Keep them short, teenagers have a short attention span and are easily bored, they crave action, if she is into toys, use toy-games for training. You can turn any fun-game into a lesson on anything you want, I've foudn that games are a great way to build up self-controll when excited, so it's a perfect way for you to teach her how to sit (for example) when she's wound-up and excited about fetching/tugging the toy you have on offer.

Make sure you interact with her often, but under CALM cicumstances. If she only ever sees you as a fun thing, you will find it much harder to get her out of this.

Be consitent.
I wont give you a hard time re. the shock collar, I am completely against any aversive methods, but we are all only human and I know I have done things I wish I never did but we live & learn.
Dogs (and any living being) learn so much better through rewards - reward the behaviour you want and the behaviour will increase, so set up as many ways as you can to get her to do the beahviour you want - reward it - and it will soon become the automatic reaction :)
Rewards include food, toys, games, petting - anything the dog likes - the more the dog likes the thing, the more rewarding it is. Some things the dog will find more rewarding than others, some things the dog will find more/less rewarding in different situations. The more often you train with her, the more you can find out what makes her tick.

Please don't leave the forum, there are many people that want to help.
Even though my dog is now 5 years old, I really do remember how bad things felt for a wile when he was a teenager, I really thought I'd have to re-home him - and I had been training him all the time since the moment I brought him home. The teenage stage can be VERY testing!!!

> I should have perhaps made it clear that crating for short periods is fine, which I do

:)