I have a 6 month old large breed puppy and I am now finding it difficult to keep him under control when he sees other dogs and sometimes people. I am supposed to be going on puppy classes tomorrow and I can't face it as just trying to get him to the class is a nightmare. He gets sooo excited at all what's going on. Talk about a catch 22 situation :(
Can anyone give me any tips on how to keep him under control or what it is that I should be doing so this doesn't get out of hand
Many thanks
Rachel (first time dog owner!!!)

Hi Rachel
cant offer much in the way of advice but I can sympathise .
Although being a Staffy ,Gus isnt particularly large but he is the same way when he sees other dogs - he loves them all , young , old, large, small .
His classes have stoppd for the last 2 months as our trainer was ill but they start up again next week . He gets excited as soon as we get out of the car - he loves going to his classes and sometimes its so embaressing when we are sitting in class and he is sitting there whining as though to say " look at MEEEEEEE".
At least he enjoys the classes I suppose . :)
Will watch this post for advice and info
What breed is he by the way
Lel

Hi Rachel ..you have my sympathy , you really do :) Hudson (Malamute) was the same last year ..a complete nightmare. The only cure is to introduce him to as many different people and situations as you can ...but never make a fuss of him when he starts to perform ..wait it out until he settles and THEN make a fuss ..he will get the idea eventually.

Hudson used to jump all over visitors ...now he is calmer ..much calmer ..the only problem we have now is when he sees MASSES of dogs (ie at a show) when he starts getting hyper , but I am sure that the more shows we do the better he will get (fingers crossed)

Melody :)

Hi Rachel :)

This is normal - he's only a pup and other dogs are irresistable to him. Try and get him socialised as much as possible, and don't worry - everyone elses pup will be just the same.

HTH
Chloe

Hi Rachel _ I have a dobe and he was the same ( still is sometimes ) take him to the classes like Chloe says the others will probably be the same and don't worry if the're not because we've all been there :)
Don't be put off -he's just a puppy all be it a big one -do what you can and if you feel you've had enough take a break -good luck :)
Liz:)

Hi Rachel,

What breed do you have?

He is still young, but you do need to get some training in quick, before this problems gets worse. Were you not able to find any training classes before now? It would have been easier for you and better for him, if you had gone to classes when he was about 4 months old. :)

I would seriously suggest you research into clicker training, this is a great way to get the dogs attention and has made a real difference with some problem dogs I have worked with.

One of my clients had a LARGE and I mean LARGE black Great Dane, he was about 18 months old when she came (he was rescued at about 15 months old, having been allowed to run riot all over the house and furniture). He was a complete nightmare with other dogs and she came to my classes, but luckily we were prepared for the first time problems and had the whole class in the hall and him in the foyer with one of my assistants, doing what we were doing, but in his own space.

The owner then took a clicker and worked with him at home and it has made a huge difference. He is walking past other dogs now without a problem, he even ignored a Jack Russel that chased him, when he was on the lead and the lady was soooooo happppppy :D

You will need to either find a clicker trainer or get the following books:-

"Go Click" by Elizabeth Kershaw, which is an intro to clicker training.
"Clicker Training for Dogs" by karen Pryor, which goes through everything and is easy to understand and read.

Give it a go!!! :D

I would also recommend you have a chat with the trainer (go without the dog if you are worried first time), explain the problem, see if they can help with clicker training and see if they are happy for you to join, or if they would prefer to see you privately.

Also make sure your trainer does not use any harsh methods, as this could easily make the problem worse and hype your dog up, because he will probably get stressed.

manda
X

Rachel...firstly what breed...thats rather important to any advice offered. Generally I would say that puppy classes are better if you start at 12 weeks not 6 months, but thats not much help to you is it? Just get him to the class & get him out & about as much as you can...its a lack of socialisation & most likely a lack of discipline but they should help you with that at the class.

Rachel has a Rhodesian Ridgeback, if I remember rightly

I'm currently hanging on to an eight month old Malamute at basic obedience classes. I'm not the only one hanging on for dear life when another dog enters the room, but they do settle down and as the weeks go by the playing up does lessen. Go to the classes and remember to take plenty of treats (I use liver cake - do a search for the recipe on this forum). Use the treats to keep his attention with you.
Go ahead with the class and enjoy it :)
Joan

Hi all ,
I'm an old member signed on with a new name.Some may remember me and my baby Newfoundland pup Cru'Ella.
Ella is now a week off 7 months and has had many of the same symptoms.She wants to play with every dog at training and drag me with her.But rest assured it does get better.
We used to socialise her as much as poss with other dogs but found that the lack of big breed owners in our area made Ella a dog most owners gave a wide birth to.There began our problem.We dont know any owners of dogs in our area , so how could we socialise her?
We joint the local "Good citezen" kennel club class which soon became Ella's favorite trip of the week.She rarely got a chance to come face to face so relished these meets ...making her as you said....extra playfull and wanting to meet and pull........
Still , we have persisted , and now , at 6 months Ella has two friends over the park.Part Retriever and part lab they are fairly big and Ella adores them.She's almost perfect at her recalls whilst playing now which was our biggest battle.Its all done through persistance .
Good luck x
Zoe

Hi guys

Thanks for the reassurance, I didn't go to the class in the end today. I've decided to find other classes with a trainer that will help me with my beast.
Lets just say I wasn't comfortable at the place that I took a six week puppy course. Nothing bad just not for me.
I shall attempt to do more socializing.
Thanks again for the advice
Rachel

I have 2 newfoundlands, megan 4 very calm and loveing, PJ the male is 5 he is very OTT but he has the basic obedience as I do water work with him, please find a training class that practise's kind training as mine do not respond to loud commands only reward.My son has a puppy from there last litter and max is nearly 19 month and has just started to settle down a bit, he wants everyone to love him but people are frightened by the size.We found food oriantated training worked if he saw a dog in the park and went to go after it we gave him a treat to keep him interested in us instead of the other dog, he was trainined on a flexi lead, as that was the only way we knew we could get him back if he disobayed, I know it is not the perfect way but max or PJ would just totally disreguard any command

I have one of your babies, Ozzy living in Gloucestershire, saw you at Crufts and gave you some photos, does either Megan or PJ smile at you when they have done something wrong as Ozzy does and he is not being nasty as my Maltese does it too when he is in trouble. By the way Ozzy is now about 7 stone and towerimg over the GSD. and I love him to bits. I got my brown landseer but sadly she died after only 4 weeks of owning her, she had e-coli and then passed it on to my other Newf bitch and my ccocker and we nearly lost those too. How is it going with the dogue de bordeaux, send me your email so I can keep in touch. Debbie.

Have emailed you

I am very tiny and have an afghan who is now 16 months. Although i agree 100% that it is best to get the pup trained to behave (and we go to training weekly), there is a point where if the pup gets used to physically dragging you, its hard to break that habit. If physical dragging and pulling is a big issue, you may benefit from using a halti. I started using one after the first time i got unexpectedly pulled over, an not only did she behave better on the lead, she was more well behaved off it. :)

I have a 17 month old giddy Dobermann bitch and she can pull for England when she's feeling that way out. I would definitely recc keping up the classes to get yours used to being with other dogs and people and not being the cente of attention- and it does get easier eventually (they keep telling me- only kidding!) - but Ailsa still drags me all the way up to her favourite park and one thing which makes her easier to manage is a Dogmatic leather head harness. Absolutely brilliant- along the same lines as a horse's head halter- total control in busy traffic, crowded areas and when other dogs come sniffing round. Fortunately, Ailsa is not all that bothered about other dogs but it's reassuring to know I can pull her away quickly if I ever need to. She was a real houdini with the Canac Gentle LEader and the Halti but the Dogmatic is a fitted buckled harness with no danger of her unfastening it.

Oh- and coming BACK from the park, she's a complete pusycat - no pulling!

I would always go to my classes about 15 to 20 minutes early to get my dog usta being there so he wasn't to overly excited. We would go walk around (allow some sniffing time) practice healing and stays ect. and out for a pee before the class started. It really worked wonders for him. Plus I would always play with him or go for a walk before class so he wasn't to hyper (but he still was hyper thats my boy :)).

ttfn :)

hi raisin,
speak to your vet,see if he can recommend an animal behaviorist (sometimes the r.s.p.c.a will do this if you have a problem/boisterous dog).
if you cant take him to puppy classes,i recommend this is maybe what you should think about doing,at least he will be relaxed in his home surroundings,and he wont have too many distractions(hopefully).
but you should still try and socialize him with other dogs,so he become less excited about there presence over a period of time.i know some animal behaviorists dont come cheap,but i can reccomend one that my cousin used a few months ago,and charged only £25per hour (some give you ridiculous prices) and i heard that this lady was really good,she spent nearly 2 hours with my cousin the first time,then left it with my cousin for two weeks,and when the two weeks was up,she returned to see my cousin for a progress report,and within those two weeks nearly all the problems my cousin had with her dog had all been solved.
so for less than £50 result happiness! if you want details of this ladys contact number,e-mail me privately,and i will be more than happy to send them on to you.
but it it is all to do with training,i am afraid,i own 2 deerhounds and them or any of my other dogs have never been a problem,you have to be cruel to be kind in regards to training dogs,because i see way to many boisterous dogs in rescue homes,when there is no need for them to be when they are trained proporly.i hope you have been helped a little along the way and you just need to persist with him and be just as stubborn as he can be when you are trying to learn him along lifes little ways...x

I have a 10 month old Rhodesian Ridgeback - so I know how you feel with a large breed. Hopefully your dog classes would have helped - if they haven't already suggested it try a 'Gentle Leader' head collar as an immediate remedy - to stop him rewarding himself for pulling and jumping up. With our RR my husband could just about hold on to him - but there was no way I could hold on. The trainers do have some really good tips on keeping the attention focussed on you - we found clicker training did the trick. It does take time and patience, but they do catch on eventually.

I have a 10 month old Rhodesian Ridgeback - so I know how you feel with a large breed. Hopefully your dog classes would have helped - if they haven't already suggested it try a 'Gentle Leader' head collar as an immediate remedy - to stop him rewarding himself for pulling and jumping up. With our RR my husband could just about hold on to him - but there was no way I could hold on. The trainers do have some really good tips on keeping the attention focussed on you - we found clicker training did the trick. It does take time and patience, but they do catch on eventually. I'd be happy to pass on tips we have learnt.

Nikki