# Puppy goes crazy at end of walks



## jkameisha (Sep 11, 2020)

Hi everyone! I have a 13 week old vizsla pup, and we're having some difficulty on our walks. For the first 3/4 of our walk, she does GREAT. She'll respond when we tell her to look up at us, sit when asked, etc. However toward the end of our walks (or after getting to meet another puppy on the street), all of a sudden something happens and her behavior completely changes. She starts lunging at my ankles, nipping, thrashing around and grabbing the leash in her mouth. When this happens I either attempt to redirect her into a sit (which sometimes works), or pick her up and walk her home since it's typically only a block or so away from my place. Unsure if this is a common behavior, and if this has happened to anyone what you did to help resolve it. She does not seem to respond to a firm no when the behavior begins. TIA!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Not a uncommon behavior in general for a puppy at that age.
If puppies become over stimulated, stressed, or tired. Your going to see that type of behavior. Either shorten your walk, or try making it a less structured walk. A couple of minutes of structure, and a few minutes of free time. Keep repeating the process while you walk. It's very hard for the puppy, to keep their attention on you with distractions. Try to come up with the command, so the puppy knows when it's on your time, and when it has free time. At this age puppies get more free time, then they do your time on the walks. Just slowly build up to what is your time.


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## tegee26 (Apr 25, 2018)

My two V's, 3-yr old male and 1-yr old female get over stimulated after morning exercise. No matter how much we walk or work them. I find a stern "settle down" command works. From my experience they have to be told when it's ok for play time and when to shut it down, especially after walks, etc. It's been effective for us to shut it down if we know they've been properly exercised.


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## samdora7 (Jun 13, 2019)

My now 1yr old boy used to show the same behavior as a puppy. 
When I learned it’s over simulation I started paying more attention to the phases he was going through while on our walk and tried to anticipate when we were approaching the max. At that point I’d either stop and let him assess the environment or sometimes throw some kibbel in the grass so he could go sniff (which has a calming effect). 
If he would still go bananas and start jumping/biting his leash etc. I’d stop and calm him down before moving further. Giving commands at this point won’t make much difference as he would have lost all focus. 
I’d try to remove the leash from his mouth and use my hands to keep him low. Once I felt he was calm I’d use my voice to reinforce good behavior and then start walking again. 
The most difficult part I found, was staying calm myself but it helped to not say anything (as he’s anyway not listening) and just count to 60 in my head  . By counting I was also able to track how he was responding to this method (sometimes it took us only 20 sec sometimes 120) 
Don’t beat yourself up too much; it’s really trial and error with puppies but keep calm and take is step by step.
Hope this helps! 


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## QueenTilly (Jul 7, 2020)

samdora7 said:


> My now 1yr old boy used to show the same behavior as a puppy.
> When I learned it’s over simulation I started paying more attention to the phases he was going through while on our walk and tried to anticipate when we were approaching the max. At that point I’d either stop and let him assess the environment or sometimes throw some kibbel in the grass so he could go sniff (which has a calming effect).
> If he would still go bananas and start jumping/biting his leash etc. I’d stop and calm him down before moving further. Giving commands at this point won’t make much difference as he would have lost all focus.
> I’d try to remove the leash from his mouth and use my hands to keep him low. Once I felt he was calm I’d use my voice to reinforce good behavior and then start walking again.
> ...


Do you remember at what age this subsided? Our vizsla is 20 weeks now and she is still very prone to biting at the leash quite aggressively when she is even just a little bit tired or overstimulated. She works her way up the leash and has also accidentally gotten ahold of our hands instead which is really painful. We have tried everything but once it starts on a walk you may as well just pick her up and carry her to the car or home cause she doesn’t snap out of it. Just wondering if it will naturally pass at some age.
Kind regards!


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## samdora7 (Jun 13, 2019)

QueenTilly said:


> Do you remember at what age this subsided? Our vizsla is 20 weeks now and she is still very prone to biting at the leash quite aggressively when she is even just a little bit tired or overstimulated. She works her way up the leash and has also accidentally gotten ahold of our hands instead which is really painful. We have tried everything but once it starts on a walk you may as well just pick her up and carry her to the car or home cause she doesn’t snap out of it. Just wondering if it will naturally pass at some age.
> Kind regards!


I would say it was around 6 - 7 months that we were really able to have an end-to-end walk without biting. He would still try from time to time but he would respond much better/quicker to the correction. (As a matter of fact, he did start biting his leash just after his castration but that had to do more with the frustration of being held on the leash for a week than overstimulation - we dealt with it in the same way). 

My advise would be to arm yourself with even more patience and really stay put until she stops. In the beginning I also carried a chew toy / rope in my pocket and would aim to have him drop the leash and grab the toy. 

I’m not sure if it “passes naturally” - Mika is my first dog - but my motto is to not allow unpleasant behavior regardless of the age, especially if it’s physical like jumping or biting. 

You could also try shorter but more frequent walks (if your schedule allows), and try to figure out which timeframe works best for her. In the beginning everything above half an hour was too much for us but these days we can go for a 3 hours hike without an issue. 


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## QueenTilly (Jul 7, 2020)

samdora7 said:


> I would say it was around 6 - 7 months that we were really able to have an end-to-end walk without biting. He would still try from time to time but he would respond much better/quicker to the correction. (As a matter of fact, he did start biting his leash just after his castration but that had to do more with the frustration of being held on the leash for a week than overstimulation - we dealt with it in the same way).
> 
> My advise would be to arm yourself with even more patience and really stay put until she stops. In the beginning I also carried a chew toy / rope in my pocket and would aim to have him drop the leash and grab the toy.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the insight! We are also currently trying to trade with a toy or even give the toy when we realise it’s about to start because we don’t want her to think she gets the toy as a ‘reward’ for biting in the leash. Patience is key indeed and we will keep being consistent and hope that it is just a phase that she will grow out of soon.


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## kaiserc (Oct 1, 2020)

Hi there. I can totally relate.

We have a 20 week old boy called Kaiser, whom we all adore. 
However, he too launches frequent shark attacks, which are almost always ( but not exclusively ) directed at me. Possibly,this is because he spends most of his time with me,or possibly, because when they first began ( around 11 weeks ), I deliberately got myself between him and our younger children ( aged 111 and 13 ) when the attacks were aimed at them. 
I wanted to make sure that their relationship with him was not negatively affected ,as they were getting scared and extremely upset -they couldn't understand why their beloved puppy didn't see to love them.

We all know,of course,that he does love us, as he's super affectionate, but nothing stops him launching the attacks. 
They originally occurred when we were in the garden, I couldn't step off the terrace onto the lawn or he'd chase and bite me. Now they mostly happen either when we return to the garden at the end of our walk, or while still out on the walk ( especially if I stop to chat to anyone- unless they have a dog for him to say hello to ).

I'm home almost all day, my husband is currently working from home and we have an adult daughter who pops in and out throughout the day. As a result he has lots of company, lots of love and attention,but we alsomake sure that when he needs to rest , he rests, he has a large garden to play in with us, woods directly behind to roam off lead, meets lots of other dogs at his weekly puppy class and on the school run. We make sure not to overexercise or overstimulate him and try to read his cues, so we're at a loss to know what we're doing wrong.

We've tried ignoring, walking away,yelping, letting my hand go limp in his mouth, distracting with a toy, leaving him alone for a few mins to calm down, spritzing him with a water bottle, curling his lip under so he bites himself instead of me all with very limited success.

My hands and lower arms are constantly covered in bites and healing scars and he's ripped multiple items of my clothing.
I worry about other people seeing him attack me, as I don't want anyone to think he is a mean dog. Worst of all, every time it happens, it makes me feel that we're doing a bad job and that we're not the right family for him. 

Any advice would be greatly received.


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## QueenTilly (Jul 7, 2020)

kaiserc said:


> Hi there. I can totally relate.
> 
> We have a 20 week old boy called Kaiser, whom we all adore.
> However, he too launches frequent shark attacks, which are almost always ( but not exclusively ) directed at me. Possibly,this is because he spends most of his time with me,or possibly, because when they first began ( around 11 weeks ), I deliberately got myself between him and our younger children ( aged 111 and 13 ) when the attacks were aimed at them.
> ...


We had a similar situation and our trainer suggested something that has worked quite well. Our main issue is trying to snap Tilly out of these attacks and she completely loses all hearing. So we needed something to startle her and then give her a sit command to stop the behaviour. Our trainer suggested that the other person in the room not getting ‘attacked’ drops a book on the floor a decent distance away from the dog to startle her and then the person getting attacked puts her in sit. This worked really well to the point that if we lightly stomp our foot now she will snap right out of it and then even apologise for the behaviour. This also works when she starts biting the leash on walks. It’s kind of like we taugt her a sound which she realises means the behaviour she is showing is taboo and she stops. Worked for us!
Also she doesn’t get scared by the foot stomping or book! That’s why you don’t do it too loud and not too close to her but it is just what we need to get her attention.


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## kaiserc (Oct 1, 2020)

Thanks for the reply Queen Tilly, I'll give that a try. Fingers crossed it's as succesful for us as for you.


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