Excitement on "break"

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pww13
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Excitement on "break"

Post by pww13 » Sun Feb 12, 2023 7:52 pm

Hi everyone -

I have an 18 month old yellow lab that we have done a lot of e-collar training with. She is incredibly smart, but we are having a lot of issues with her excitement level when breaking.

For example, she loves people. We have worked hard to have guests, and ourselves, ignore her when we walk into the house until she is calm, but no matter how much we do this she still gets incredibly excited the minute you give her attention, even when she is calm. She is very obedient, so even when she is excited she will listen and down on her bed as long as she needs to. BUT, our issue is that the second we give her the "Break" command, the excitement hits 10/10.

Any tips for 1) reducing excitement with people inside and outside the house, and 2) reducing excitement upon a "break" when she is been obedient up until that point? THanks!

gypsy
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Re: Excitement on "break"

Post by gypsy » Mon Feb 13, 2023 11:01 am

It is amazing how much a couple miles of roading every day helps.

If that doesn't work try it twice a day.

Steve007
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Re: Excitement on "break"

Post by Steve007 » Mon Feb 13, 2023 1:00 pm

That actually isn't a half bad suggestion by Gypsy, but the problem is that people who live in a rural setting don't understand that people in the suburbs can't walk outside and start doing road work on their equipment. Never mind twice a day. Maybe you can. Unless you work all day and have a family.

A better choice -- depending on your circumstances -- is to find an AKC obedience club or instructor capable of training dogs for AKC competition obedience. Don't let the "competition" bother you; it simply refers to the level of training rather than what you actually want to do. You want to find an instructor who has at least put a CDX or UD title on his own dogs. Not a "certified behaviorist", of which they seem to be many around. A trainer with titles. Your dog simply needs to be trained to work under distractions, and that's what the "competition" refers to.

Also keep in mind that an 18 month old dog is not fully mature and will naturally be sort of geared, but it's a good time to put some serious training into the dog. If you do your share -- that means work your dog every day -- the obedience people will show you how. Working your dog's brain will be a lot more time effective and you'll get better results for what you're looking for than hiking out in the wilderness and doing road work on the three wheeler you probably don't have. Which is not to say that exercise is not important, as it certainly is.

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Re: Excitement on "break"

Post by Chemist » Tue Feb 14, 2023 10:38 pm

Not claiming my approach is correct, but I have a relatively similar situation and have a way that I handle it that works well enough for me. My GSP will hold his place and becomes increasingly excited until he is released when a guest comes over. If I leave him long enough he will calm down until he is released and becomes excited again. If it is a Saturday and I run him in the morning and then people come over afterwards he is happy to see them but not over the top. This does not work as well if someone is swinging by 15 minutes after I get home from work.

I try to use a "productive" distraction. That is, I use the person to help train the dog. If the weather is nice enough I spend 5 minutes in the backyard with the guest having the dog retrieve bumpers. His desire to retrieve bumpers is greater than his desire to run in circles around the person. If the weather is bad, it is 5 minutes of going through various commands the dog knows well. Sit, heel around the house, down and stay, heel, place, run on the treadmill, balance a treat on the nose, repeat some cycle of the above. After that he has gotten used to the guest being around and the excitement level has come down a lot. I figure it is killing two birds with one stone because it also helps reinforce obedience commands with distractions.

I also agree with the above sentiment that a tired (mentally and physically) dog is a well behaved dog. I live in the suburbs so wearing them out is more difficult and time consuming but is possible, especially if you get creative. I trained my dog to run on a treadmill, and frequently hide a cup of his kibble around the house and turn off all the lights before releasing him.

Steve007
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Re: Excitement on "break"

Post by Steve007 » Wed Feb 15, 2023 10:44 am

Very good post by Chemist above. The merit to a "long down" -- especially when combined with distractions -- is it really develops impulse control, and a series of obedience commands as he does definitely alleviates stress and tires the dog mentally. Plus the obvious benefits of improved training.

A lot of people have found great benefits from a treadmill. It is a very good idea, though it is worth noting that dog treadmills are different from human treadmills. There are several designed specifically for dogs. I had one for quite a while, and when I get another young dog, I will invest in another.

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gonehuntin'
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Re: Excitement on "break"

Post by gonehuntin' » Thu Feb 16, 2023 1:25 pm

Especially with Lab's, exercise really doesn't matter but discipline does. These dog's do what you allow them to do. If you allow them to get excited and spin circles they will. If you don't they won't. It's all just a matter of obedience. Perhaps put a small 4x6 rug on the floor and make the dog lay on it. When ever a guest comes, down him on that rug and don't let him move off it until you give him the "OK". If you can't handle doing that, put him in a kennel when guests come.

I don't like the kennel approach. Use obedience. It will translate to the field, and it is something that works with every dog 100% of the time.
LIFE WITHOUT BIRD DOGS AND FLY RODS REALLY ISN'T LIFE AT ALL.

pww13
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Re: Excitement on "break"

Post by pww13 » Tue Mar 07, 2023 11:32 am

Thanks for the insight. I need to clarify that she is INCREDIBLY obedient. She can stay in a down for 10-15 minutes while guests are here, so that's not the issue. The problem is that whether she is in the down for 10 seconds or 10 minutes obediently, the minute I release her to say hi she is 100% on the excitement level. How would you guys train a calm hello?

Hope this makes sense. This is why it's been a wrestle as she listens the whole time in the down. We have the same issue when she sees people outside. She is just too excited that people can't pet her, BUT she always listen on recall, down, etc.

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Re: Excitement on "break"

Post by Steve007 » Tue Mar 07, 2023 4:41 pm

pww13 wrote:
Tue Mar 07, 2023 11:32 am
Thanks for the insight. I need to clarify that she is INCREDIBLY obedient. She can stay in a down for 10-15 minutes while guests are here, so that's not the issue. The problem is that whether she is in the down for 10 seconds or 10 minutes obediently, the minute I release her to say hi she is 100% on the excitement level. How would you guys train a calm hello?

Hope this makes sense. This is why it's been a wrestle as she listens the whole time in the down. We have the same issue when she sees people outside. She is just too excited that people can't pet her, BUT she always listen on recall, down, etc.
Invite friends over and "set her up." If she only sees new people once a week, she will be wired. Get her out more. Take her to obedience classes (real ones where the instructors have CDX/UD titles on their dogs, not "behaviorist." ) You just need more distractions and exposure. And time.
Steve007 wrote:
Also keep in mind that an 18 month old dog is not fully mature and will naturally be sort of geared,

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gonehuntin'
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Re: Excitement on "break"

Post by gonehuntin' » Thu Mar 09, 2023 12:42 pm

When you release her and she gets excited and starts jumping around, or up on them, IMMEDIATELY command NO! and down her. It takes work and consistency and like Steve said, she's young, but at 18 months she's getting up there to behave that badly.
LIFE WITHOUT BIRD DOGS AND FLY RODS REALLY ISN'T LIFE AT ALL.

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