# Extreme excitability around other dogs



## DougAndKate (Sep 16, 2011)

Hi guys. just our second post here, most likely many more to come! we have a few problems with our 6 month old rescued vizsla mix Elroy. we've had him for just over 2 months now. He gets nippy sometimes, has an occasional accident in the house, but by far the biggest problem we're having is his excitability with other dogs, and even people. 

We go to a state park almost every night and run trails and let him on long leads to explore the woods, and for the most part he's great, unless he sees the many deer, fox, squirrels and birds around, but that we can understand! however, if we come upon another dog, he will go crazy trying to get to it, and bark like mad until we get him away from the situation. even on normal walks around the neighborhood, every time we pass a yard with a dog in it or someone else is walking their dog, the same thing ensues. 

we started a puppy class 2 weeks ago figuring lack of socialization was the primary cause. the first week wasn't _that_ bad (my wife may not concur on this though). again, he got extremely excited when he first met all of the dogs, but once he meets them and begins to play, he actually does fine. until its time to break apart and work on actual training (sit/stay/come/etc) at which point he will bark the entire time. we actually had to leave class this week because we just couldn't get him to settle down, and unfortunately the trainer leading the class didn't provide us much help, which we were kind of shocked at. we were just embarrassed to no end.

we spoke to her on the phone later that day and she basically recommended a muzzle for class so that he couldn't bark. we've been using the gentle leader on him but he gets so crazy it tears his face up and we cant bear to do that to him anymore.

has anyone been through anything similar? i'm relieved it's not aggression, because like i said, he just wants to meet the dogs and play. and needless to say we're not too convinced that the trainer is the right one for us, but it's really our only way of getting him socialized with other dogs right now. thanks in advance for any advice...


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

I'm at the dentist with my daughter so not much time. Do you have a friend(s) with a dog(s)? If so, I would utilize them if possible. Do you have a local Vizsla club? Even if there is not one too close, the nearest one, can provide a wealth of resources ie: V owners near you, trainers, contacts for support etc., etc. As you are finding out, there are lots of dog trainers with a wealth of experience, but there are far fewer with experience working with the unique temperament of a V. That experience is crucial, IMO. I'm hopeful others will respond with specific suggestions to try now. I'm off to get the $damage from the orthodontist : Good Luck!


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## DougAndKate (Sep 16, 2011)

thanks Kellygh! there are a few labs around our neighborhood. i'm sure i can ask their owners about helping out, and we will look into local vizsla clubs. and i feel your pain, i just had my wisdom teeth removed last monday! good luck!


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## laurita (Jun 12, 2011)

Hi DougAndKate,
A very general suggestion for you would be to start working on a "look at me" or "watch" command to start getting your dog's attention when you want it. That way when you are walking and you anticipate a possible excitable situation, you can get your dog's attention on you and not the distractions. This command take a while to get in a public setting, but start at home with little distraction. If you have a clicker, when your dog looks at you, click and treat. if you don't want to use a clicker, use a reinforcing word like Yes! or Good! and treat. As he starts realizing that when he looks at you he gets treated, use a cue to teach him that that word means to look at you. Once you have this in the house, work on it outside with the least distraction possible (on pavement, less smells, low noise, no other animals around). Once you get that, start increasing the distraction. Then what you can work on is getting another dog around and if your dog wants to go see that dog, getting your dog to look at you and the reinforcement is moving closer to the dog. The other, easier option is when you see an excitable moment, distract your dog before he sees it with a treat so that he is engrossed in you and what you have rather than the other dogs. You have to catch your dog _before _he gets aroused though.

In terms of training class, this same thing happened to our dog in the first class and we thought we were going to get kicked out. We worked doubly hard between classes to get our dog's attention. I took him to the park, outside of grocery stores, etc and whenever he stood and looked at me I treated and praised him. when he looked away and looked back at me, yes! treat! You just need to work on becoming your dog's #1 focus, which isn't an easy thing, but you can teach your dog this with patience and consistency. They don't come knowing how to act in a way that pleases us, we have to teach them. Good luck!


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

Hi and welcome.

At 6 months old your "pup" is turning into a young teenager.

Elroy doesn't know where he fits. Not an adult but not a pup. Training is very important at this age. 

If you live in PA and can find any other Vizsla owners, schedule off-leash walks with three of four dogs of different ages. Labs are ok, but Vizslas, GSP, or other pointers will run and interact differently. Not a stroll in the park, but a good energy draining walk. 

Expect older dogs to "correct" his misconduct and there will be some. Let it be. This is how he will learn what other dogs will and will not put up with as acceptable behavior. Dogs have rules. Male dogs have very specific rules.

Try close on-lead on your left side walks with him. Have Elroy behind your knee at all times. Stop and make him stop. This is all part of training.

I would avoid coming upon other dogs face first. This is never comfortable for a dog. A dog on lead is restricted whereas off-lead the dogs work things out quicker.

Just some observations over the last few years.

Rod a.k.a. redbirddog
http://redbirddog.blogspot.com


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

One thing you could try is similar to teaching your dog to walk at a heel & changing directions when the dog pulls ahead. Anticipate excitable situations. You/pup see a dog, your pups ears pricked, you feel the anticipation in his movement etc. You intervene by stopping any forward movement. Moving forward towards the excitement when your pup is barking or pulling is rewarding the behavior. If I am going into a class, and Pumpkin is pulling or ignoring me, then I do not allow her to keep going. She would be rewarded with a "good girl" (in a calmn voice) and the fwd movement once she is calmn. The process takes patience & lots of repetition. As Laurita said, there are a variety of attn exercises that can be done at home & variety of situations. Use friend's dogs as well. If your pup is in a super excited state, he probably won't be listening, so I would avoid giving/repeating commands he's not going to listen to (unless you can reinforce the follow through); otherwise you just teach your dog he can ignore you. Make sure you & your wife correct/react/behave in the same way every time. Your pup needs consistency, so the correction to barking (or whatever behavior) needs to be the same every time from the 2 of you. Use lots of praise & play to reward calmn behavior. We used clicked training as well. You'll need patience & time.


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## denparkin (Aug 29, 2011)

Check out this youtube channel, it may be helpful. 
http://www.youtube.com/user/tab289

Brooklyn was gulping down rocks faster than I could catch her, and if it wasn't for teaching her to "leave it", I would have had to muzzle her. I had no idea how to teach this, but his video layed it out so simple I had her trained in a few days! He has a bunch of different ones that may be helpful to you.

Good luck!


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## DougAndKate (Sep 16, 2011)

thanks for all of the suggestions guys. i'm really trying to work on his concentration within and around the house this week. i think we need to get that down before we expect him to behave any better in public or with more distractions.


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## laurita (Jun 12, 2011)

that's exactly right, DougandKate.

When you realize that: if they can't focus at home, they can't focus outside, it makes training easier...or at the very least, it helps you to be more patient. They need help gaining impulse control and attention. They sort of need a guide to show them that it's even there. A trainer told me that you always need to ask yourself- does your dog need help or correcting? Correcting is for when you are 100% sure that the dog knows what it's supposed to be doing. If the dog hasn't mastered it, the dog needs help, ie you to teach him/her how to behave. And if you haven't over time consistently taught your dog what you want, your dog just doesn't know. best of luck!


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## DougAndKate (Sep 16, 2011)

Just wanted to post a follow up. We've worked extensively around the house on maintaining his attention and he has gotten much better. 

We started with a new trainer about a month ago. At his first one on one session, he was extremely excited just going into the facility, knowing that there were other dogs around. The trainer put him in his place immediately. The 2nd week, she was able to have another dog lay behind a fence while we worked on his training, and Elroy was able to pretty much ignore him and focus on commands by the end of the session. The 3rd week, we were able to introduce another dog right next to him during his training, and again he was able to focus on the tasks at hand. Last night we moved on to a group puppy class. It didn't go perfect, but the barking has stopped. He still whines quite a bit during breaks in the action, but he listens to all his commands and is able to completely ignore the other dogs most of the time. We're not there yet, and realize it's going to take a lot more hard work, but just wanted to post an update and thank everyone for their advice again.


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## denparkin (Aug 29, 2011)

Awesome work and patience. You will get there!


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## Mischa (Feb 17, 2010)

It's nice to hear that things are looking up.
A good trainer is worth their weight in gold!


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## d1987smart (Jun 4, 2020)

I envy your dog's excitement - I hoped the dog we had outside our dental clinic would have half the excitement your dog possesses!


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