The title of this thread may be misleading, I dont have any tips, I would like some please Diesel is a lovely dog but I just feel he needs a bit more guidance. He's quite hyper and although I do the ususal sit/down/stay basic stuff with him, I was wondering if there is anything that I can do that could 'reel him in' He tears around the house and even after a long walk he paces around looking for trouble and it takes him a while to settle once we get home. I absolutely adore him but like an unruly teenager he needs some guidance from me. He loves his tennis ball and his retrieve is brilliant but I'd like some other things to do with him that will wear his mind out. Things that we could do in the house would also be good . He is getting very strong and some training or games that focus on calming him and making him more home 'friendly' would be great. Any tips much appreciated xx
Check out the channel pamelamarxsen on Youtube, lots of videos teaching focus/self-control/calm around distractions Also may be worth watching kikopup's videos too, for ideas of games and tricks to wear him out mentally
I find GSDs love learning new things. So I do lots of stuff like HTM moves, scent work, agility etc. Not competitively, just for fun. So Daisy hurdles benches in the park, does nifty rollovers and twirls, and adores it when I go and hide her toy and send her to find it. Find your inner child and play with your dog - it`s fun and they love it.
Thank you I do plan on doing agility with him when he is bigger, he's nearly ten months old, but the local agility club have a class for young dogs where they can get try out puppy versions of jumps and stuff so I'll be taking him along there in a month or so. Toy hiding sounds great, he loves his ball. Finding my inner child should be easy for me xx
Couldn't have put it better myself, definitely find that inner child and you'll have cracked it My youngster is highly driven because she was bred for that purpose, and the more I try to wear her out by exercise, the more hyper she is when we get home, it just doesn't work that way I'm afraid, you need to exercise that brain more than those legs with some gsd's. You also need to instil that "settle" or whatever word you use, so that he knows when enough is enough and you want him to do just that, go and settle somewhere. If I hadn't taught mine that, she'd run me ragged all day long! They do of course, need at least a good hour and a half each day, whether that be in two bursts or one if you can only manage the one, but if you have a garden, that's great for playing ball, teaching more tricks with the ball, and hide and search games. Get yourself a little plastic sandpit and fill it with sand or water and that'll wear some of that energy off too! My pool is invaluable, she's out there now scrabbling about, splashing all the water out after our 2nd walk, THEN, she will come indoors and settle because she knows, it's our routine. Doesn't your other dog play with him out in the garden? If not, then borrow somebody else's for a good game! Take him swimming, I found that to be THE best thing for tiring mine out! Good luck, it's all good fun!
Hi, that makes total sense, tiring his brain out as much as his legs and if Im honest, I dont give his brain as much of a workout as it needs. The pool is a no go as he cant stand the water, I take him down the beach and he wont go near the water, he just stand at the edge and watches Ruby splash about I'm hoping he will at least get his feet wet as he gets older! How on earth do you teach 'settle' He does settle down of his own accord but most of the time, he just dives about the place like a loony..... Thanks x
Clicker training stretches the dog's mental abilities, even the most"hyper"dog that comes to our clicker training class goes home to sleep & rest afterwards. 10 mins of clicker training is the equivalent to a 45 minute physical workout. Check out Karen Pryor's clicker training website for masses of help with clicker training advice
It's easy to teach when you're sitting in your chair, you might have to put a lead on him, initially, just so he stays there lying down and keep instilling the word "settle". I used to use the word everytime mine would slope off for a nap on her own, I'd go over to her and tell her that's a good settle, and she soon cottoned on. Best to wait until he's remotely quiet to practice it though, otherwise it'll end up a pointless exercise, he'll think you want another game lol! I would also gently stroke her head, or her ears and keep instilling the "good settle" bit, you want nice and c-a-l-m so you in turn have to be the same. Shame about the water You need to get one of those big, soft balls with a hole in it too, for some of his dinner, make him work for it, it's all tiring for them. Practice your heelwork out in the garden too, offlead, with some titbits in your hand, coz heelwork is very, very tiring for them, but of course, don't make him do too much in one go. A quieter walk now and again doesn't do any harm either, even onlead through the woods, so he can sniff about instead of running about, you might actually find that he'll come home more tired than if he was running around for an hour!
Thankyou thats a great idea, I do have a clicker as I used to do clicker training with him at dog class, I will take at look at the website. x Great thanks for the advice x
You have already had loads of brilliant ideas :-D GSDs (as well as many other breeds) benefit from being mentally stimulated as well as physically, so definitely try to do loads of fun things to stretch his brain in the house and garden, as well as out on walks. Mine love tracking, finding their ball, bits of fun obedience when out (lie down, speak on command, stay, come etc) as well as retrieving, swimming and hunting rabbits Be careful not to over stimulate though, and that is where a good off switch comes into play. My dogs all know when it is time to relax and don't bother me again until they get the signal from me that we are ready for action again. Does Diesel have anywhere that he can go where he can settle for some peace and quiet - away from the hustle and bustle of your busy household? My garden is secure and I often leave my pack lounging around outside while I crack on with other jobs that need my attention and they just all go to sleep ... however, I don't have many passing distractions to keep them awake and alert Also remember that, at 10 months, he will possibly start to push the boundaries and so it is even more important to stick to the rules you have taught him and keep training him through his adolescence. It all does seem to get easier once you are out the other side
(sorry - I am totally just posting to keep an eye on this thread ) Hope it works well for you and him!
Thank you Kirsty, yes he does have somewhere to settle, the dining room is at the back of the house and is 'traffic' free, his crate is also open all day so he can come in and out as he pleases. Doing some obedience on walks is a good idea thanks, we usually just keep on top of recall and retrieve on walks so I will definitely start doing that. Yes he is at THAT stage, Ive noticed it lately, his recall is usually spot on but he has been taking his time to react to my commands and Ive had to repeat myself alot lately :? I will have to keep on top of that xx Thank you so much, did some clicker training today, started trying to teach 'watch' for him to make eye contact and focus on me rather than a treat/ball etc. He did really good and was worn out after about 5 minutes, bless him xx
Definatey recommend the 'find it' game. Both my dogs adore it and it tires them out. I even managed to teach my gsd to find cash notes lol.
Really?? Wow, thats excellent. Any chance you could tell me how to go about it so I can send Diesel to find out where the hell my fella stashes his money
