I need to work out how to control my excited puppy. When we are at home and around our neighbourhood he's generally pretty good and can control himself to a certain extent. However, yesterday I took him to my parents and to the dog park and he would lunge and pull on the lead with all the distractions around him. It's hard to just remove him from the distractions, because it is in the direction we need to go. So if I am heading to my parents house he loses his mind because he can see and hear my parents dog. I can't just turn around and walk the other way and come back in small bursts to get him calm. We need to go there, so it's a double edged sword. Same goes for the dog park. We turn up and he just goes nuts coz he knows he gets to run in a minute. Any advice?
Promoting calmness in a distracting and exciting environment is continuing task for both you and your puppy. At 9 months my lab has more control but will still occasionally catch me off guard with that unexpected lunge towards another dog. He's 75 pounds of muscle so I feel it. Something I've done to encourage calmness is to go to the dog park but not go in. We sit outside the area and simply watch the dogs come and go. It's help settle and lesson his excitement level. BTW stay away from dog parks. Most are nasty dirty pen areas and your puppy is only a moment away from getting into a fight. Dog parks only encourage excitement something your trying to discourage.
I agree that doing something other than the thing that is causing your dog to be over excited is a good strategy. My dog was an extremely excitable teenager, and we spent ages just walking up to the park gates, then turning away. (Not a dog park, just a normal park). I still walk my dog in 'calming circles' before things that he wants. So before he is let off lead for a walk, I'll walk him in a circle going over the same ground, until he is calm and I can take his lead off and he'll carry on walking with me. Then I'll tell him 'go free'. With an excitable dog, that sometimes doesn't calm down, this can mean they don't get the thing that is causing them to be over excited, so be it. They will calm down eventually then you can reward them with that off lead run or whatever.
We are working through this issue at the moment! Really practice your loose lead walking. I stop dead if she pulls and we go nowhere until she comes back to my side I then reward and we start again. Have lots of really good treats so your puppy is really focused on you. This is tedious to start with, but if you are consistent it isn't forever, we've made massive progress in 3 weeks. We can now walk to regular places pretty nicely (unless we see another person or dog, that's another issue). Really think about whether it is essential to get where you are going. You probably need to get to your parents, so just try and leave lots of time to stop dead every pull. The dog park probably isn't essential, if you don't make it because you stop so much, the puppy will eventually learn that you don't get there by pulling! Our big issue is excitement around people and dogs and we had a 1:1 with the trainer yesterday who suggested dropping a handful of treats under her nose when we encounter particularly exciting distractions. Which worked like a dream in training! I shall try and implement this today and see how it goes. She also suggested a halti lead so I have better control over her, which I am going to try. Good luck. I feel your pain!!
Ditto to the advice about avoiding dog parks, we don't have them in the UK, but where I am we have parks with lots of dogs and that is just too much for Jessie right now! I go somewhere quieter with no dogs for a run around. The trainer said this is fine until I have her under better control!
