# Is this normal for a 15 month old V?



## mnadraus (Jun 7, 2015)

Soooooooo. Dutch is 15 months old, 65 lbs and a ball of muscle, energy, speed and kisses. We love him. He loves our 18 month old Maggie and 3 yr old Micah. Hes just big and clumsy and knocks into them sometimes and they fall. And he can get a bit excited and then get jumpy. That normal for his age and will it calm down some in time?

We take him on walks, hikes and play soccer in the yard, fetch, all that. He can be out of his crate but when he is, never tires out or just sleeps. The only time he is normal is between 9pm and 7am. He sleeps like a log on our bed under the covers and loves to snuggle up. Until he sees his reflection in a mirror and tries to catch himself...When can we expect him to be free all the time we are home? Not just on and off thru out the day. 

He loves to eat Play Doh and check out counter tops for snacks and to clean dirty dishes. None of my other dogs really dad that. 

The breeder had his entire family of dogs there when we got Dutch and they were such relaxed and nice Vs. When can I expect Dutch to turn the corner? 

At what age can I expect him to mature some?


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## trevor1000 (Sep 20, 2013)

Well I would say they are all different and mature differently.
He will probably not just grow out of jumping on people, that will need to be trained out of him.
Bacchus started to "relax" a bit just after 2
He will be 3 next month and just the last while I can actually go downstairs and he wont follow me.
Or at least he will come down to see that I am not "going anywhere" or "eating anything" without him, and then back upstairs.

65 pounds lets see him?

I had to "train" my family to never leave food on the counter.
I believe Bacchus has the record for making 1/2 of a pizza disappear in less than a minute.
A$$hole hahahaha


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## Pecan_and_BB (Jun 15, 2015)

Pecan is a month or two ahead but this age is definitely high energy. When she goes above threshold and into high energy state, all bets are off on pretty much any command registering. So I have moved into some training where it isn't about issuing a command anymore, but about rewarding her when she makes the proper choice to be calm.

About a month ago, I started using her "on your bed" command where she goes to her bed, lies down, swings her hips out from under her and puts her head on the floor. Then, without using any commands, it's time to attempt to distract her and see if she can resist the urges to get up and engage with her energy (your mirror scenario). If she gets up within a minute and engages with high energy, all bets are off, toys and distractions go away and I turn my back to her. If she gets up and engages with low energy and good nature, she gets a good girl and a pet and then if she chooses to go back to her bed she gets big praise and reward. If she makes it past a minute, high reward, high treats, high praise. Once the concept sinks in, then it's a matter of adding additional time to the exercise and lengthen it out. Pecan is now at a stage where I can throw the cat from one couch to the other and she'll stay put and stay calm and if she makes it more than 5 minutes, she gets her bully stick treat for the day. It's also important that once she is calm and it's time to reward to associate a word with her state which I use "calm".

If you haven't started any type of "place" or "mat" or "bed" command yet, that is where to start. There's lots of examples on how to train for this one so I won't go into this one.

The entire concept here is to have them teach themselves how to calm down from high energy without you having to constantly give them a slew of commands that they more than likely won't listen to anyways since they are above threshold. Now with Pecan, I can get her to "calm" before she goes above threshold and keep her in that state where she's happy and playing, but not wild woman where she goes into a: "la, la, la, la....I don't hear you....la, la, la,la.....Ooohhhhh shiny thing!....la, la, la....". Our job is to catch them before they go into that state and get them to calm back down for a bit so they stay in that "sweet spot" of energy level.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

Pecan, a cat is the training tool I didn't know I needed. ;D


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## Pecan_and_BB (Jun 15, 2015)

einspänner said:


> Pecan, a cat is the training tool I didn't know I needed. ;D


Our two cats (in mid-air flight or running through the house) are the best distraction training tools I have ever owned. The best thing about these two distraction tools is they have built-in correctional aids for Pecan's bad behaviour which works like this: 

"What did the five paw pads say to muzzle?......SMACK".


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## jean (Feb 17, 2015)

He should be slowly maturing already, although each dog is different. But note that he won't just "mature" and become the dog you want him to be, you need to help shape him into it and encourage him to choose calm behavior by training. 

It sounds like, due to the small kids, he's not free to roam outside of the crate when you are home unless you are able to actively engage with him. Now he associates crate as calm time, out of crate as play time. You need to teach him that house time can be calm time. At this point, you might consider a trainer for professional help. If not, Google for some articles about how to train calm behavior in dogs - there are several good ideas.

Some ideas:

Get him tired by taking him on an off leash hike (or whatever), then commit to letting him be free in the house for the day, and train him how to behave. Ideally you could do this for several days, but maybe it is only possible to have two adults available on weekends. Keep a leash on him if you have to. You could maybe use baby gates if you want to separate him from the kids (one of the adults will have to be on the same side as him). Don't put him in his crate. Have him sit at your feet while you do something else, and periodically treat him for good behavior / laying calmly.

Does he know place? If you aren't already doing this, make him go to his place and wait until you release him before meals. This helps teach impulse control, which is critical. Our dog regularly naps on his soft rug "place", because he never gets food without going to the place, and he's hopeful.

Teach him the "find it" game. Your 3 year old just might be old enough to help hide the treats, and could get a kick out the game. My nephew stayed with us for several days and loved this game with our similarly aged dog - but my nephew is closer to 4. Anyway, this is a game where he is out of the crate, but less likely to be running over kids. And it is mentally stimulating. That might be missing from his current routine. 

Other than training, there is the physical side of it. It sounds like he's getting enough exercise, but it is hard to provide too much exercise, and good off-leash running on trails or in fields is the best for these guys - especially if they can bring a buddy to run with.

Good luck! Also, go find a 6 month old Vizsla to spend some time with, and contrast with your guy!  It is hard to notice the gradual changes, but it is probably happening!


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