Overly affectionate and eager!

[dawnmariemorrow]

Fozzie Bear is a labradoodle who will be 2 years old in february. Fozzie is very inteligent and i believe he totally understands the commands like "down", "no", "here" and "bed", however, once distracted/overly excited he will not do any of these things and will get great fun out of giving me the run around for his own entertainment! As fun as it sounds I'm at wits end and would just love for him to be able to play off lead with confidence that he'll come back.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello,

Welcome to the forums!

It sounds like your dog is emotionally too involved in certain circumstances which make it difficult for him to concentrate on the task. In dog training circles, we say that the dog is "over threshold." In other words, he is too excited that he can't think straight. You can read more about threshold levels here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

 

It also may be a matter of your dog not having learned commands to a fluent enough level to perform them in distracting environments. This comes with maturity (your dog is in the peak adolescent stage which can sometimes be a challenge), consistency and practice.

 

To work on this issue, we can therefore try different approaches:

 

1) Lower the level of distractions. Work more on training your dog in a quiet area and then gradually introduce distractions. Therefore, start training your dog to lie down in a room with little distractions, then, once he responds fluently, train him in the living room with more distractions, then in the yard, then on walks etc. If at any time he appears to be struggling, take a step back and introduce a less distracting environment again and build up from there gradually.

 

2) Increase the value of your rewards. What are you giving your dog to reward his compliance? Sometimes, a higher-value reward can make a world of difference and help get over a hurdle as such. The reward in this case becomes more salient than the distractions which go to the back burner.

 

3) Keep your dog busy. More exercise, training and mental stimulation can help lower high arousal levels in dogs. You may find these exercises helpful: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/

This brain game provides your dog with an "off switch."

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/jazz-up-and-settle-down/

 

As mentioned, the adolescent stage can be quite a challenge with some dogs. You can read here some tips and ideas for this milestone: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/

 

When you mention "he will get great fun out of giving me the run around for his own entertainment" what do you mean exactly? Do you get frustrated? Do you chase him around? Sometimes dogs perceive all of this as a fun game. If you can also provide a few examples as to circumstances where he gets distracted/overly excited, I may be able to formulate a more precise answer with more tips.

 

It sounds like you are struggling in getting him to come when called. Do you have a fenced area to practice? What are you using to reward when he comes to you upon being called? Are you by any chance, chasing your dog around to catch him? Doing so might trigger a game of "keep away" which is not very good for the purpose of training a dog to come when called. It's far better the other way around, having your dog chase you until you have a more reliable recall response.

 

As I await some more details about your specific circumstance, I will post some threads about recall training which may get you started on some troubleshooting:

 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?213-Recall

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?264-My-dog-has-selective-hearing

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?134-What-is-the-best-way-to-train-our-new-7-mo-old-puppy-to-come

Edited December 31, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli