Best Pets Dog Training LLC

Expert help for your pup.

My puppy is wild! Read these calming tips

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How to calm a wild puppy.
Help, my puppy is wild!

Here are a few tips to help calm your wild puppy.

A puppy witching hour?

Puppies get especially wound near dusk, or between 6 and 8 p.m., depending on where you live.

When possible, exercise and potty your puppy before this time. Then, she can rest in her crate with a Kong stuffed with her dinner, while you enjoy yours.

Jumping up

New rule: “Jumping makes all attention and fun activity stop.”

If you are sitting and your puppy jumps on you, stand up, fold your arms and turn your back. After your puppy has all four paws on the floor, sit back down. Wait a few seconds, then pet her if she is sitting, standing, or laying down.

This also applies for when you are on walks. If you are walking your pup and she begins to bite, paw and jump up, stop walking, cross your arms and turn away. As soon as she stops, start walking again. Remember to keep those walks short — no more than 15 minutes — for tired puppy legs!

Jumping / Scratching / Biting while playing

Leashes, tethered to a sturdy object, can be a lifesaver. Tethering is especially effective for supervised child-puppy play. Playing with a tethered pup has some special rules:

  • Tether your pup for no longer than 10-15 minutes.
  • Always use a harness to tether your puppy.
  • Interact with your tethered puppy (see instructions below).
  • People, including children, must stay calm around a tethered puppy.
  • Always supervise your tethered puppy.

Engage your puppy by playing with a small toy, or training an easy skill. Feed your puppy a treat before he gets over-stimulated. Practice walking away from, then up to your puppy, and dropping a treat on the ground if his paws stay on the floor.

If your puppy starts jumping or biting at you or your child, walk away. Interrupt the playtime by stepping out of his reach. Wait without talking until he calms down (sits or keeps all four feet on the ground). After he calms down, say “Go play!” and resume playing, petting or teaching a trick.

Relaxing time for your puppy (and you!)

Take advantage of crate training and give your puppy some alone time to relax in her crate during the day.

Put her in her crate for about 30 minutes, once or twice a day while you are home. (One of these times can be during the puppy witching hour!) Be sure she has a frozen Kong or other tasty chew toy in the crate. This will give you a break from your wild puppy, and teach her to settle herself for short periods of time.

This exercise can also teach her that her crate is a relaxing, safe place. With practice, she may go to the crate on her own. Teach children and other people in the house not to disturb a puppy who is in her crate.

Disturbances include:

  • Running or screaming around the crate.
  • Making loud banging or popping noises near the crate.
  • Sticking your fingers in the crate.
  • Calling or talking to your puppy while she is in the crate.
  • Putting your face up to the door or walls of the puppy’s crate.

If need be, you can cover your puppy’s crate with a blanket, or add a “Do not disturb” sign to help remind your family.

Practice these tips and you may have your little Tazmanian Devil settled in no time!

Three simple strategies for training your dog not to jump up

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Day 2 of 365: Furry FriendTeaching your dog not to jump up on you or your guests may seem like an impossible task, especially if you have a dog who loves people (and people who love dogs)! How many times have your guests been greeted at the door by your overenthusiastic canine’s nose and front feet, while you haplessly shout “No! Down! Stop it!” in the background? Or you meet a friend while walking your dog, your dog jumps up, and your friend praises and pets the dog, and says, “Oh, it’s OK, I love dogs!”?

Let’s work on changing that scene with three simple strategies for training your dog not to jump on people. You’ll have the most success with your dog if you use these approaches in combination with one another.

Strategy Number One: Ignore the jumping. Unless your dog weighs more than 60 lbs. or is using his mouth when he jumps, ignoring jumping up is the fastest way to permanently make it go away. Dogs jump up to get your attention — so stop giving it to them! Pushing your dog down, yelling “No!”, kneeing him in the chest, stepping on his back toes, bopping him on the head or any other interaction you can think of are a “score” in the needy dog’s book, and make him even more likely to jump next time. (After all, if a dog wants something, what’s the first thing he has to get? Your attention.) To instruct others on how to completely ignore your jumping dog, ask them to turn their backs, cross their arms and look up at the ceiling until all four of your dog’s feet are on the floor.

Strategy Number Two: Manage the behavior (of both people AND dogs). The doorbell rings — where is your dog? Rushing, barking, to the door, waiting to pounce the minute it’s opened? Before you answer the door, grab a leash and put it on your dog. Then use the leash to keep the dog out of jumping up range, even tethering your dog in a secure location if necessary. This strategy is a must if your dog is big, your guests don’t like dogs, or your dog mouths and bites when he or she jumps. On the street, keep enough distance between your dog and anyone unlikely to follow your rules so the jumping isn’t reinforced (and follow Strategy Number Three).

Strategy Number Three: Teach your dog an incompatible behavior. A sitting dog isn’t jumping up — simple as that. Work on improving your dog’s sit or down at the door while no guests are there, and on walks while no one’s around. Then you can ask for and reward a sit or down during progressively more difficult trials: You ring the doorbell, you pretend to greet a guest, enlist a friend or family member to play the guest’s part, etc. When the time comes, have really great treats handy and either you or your guest can ask your dog to sit or down BEFORE the dog jumps. Ask people not to pet your dog unless he is sitting or lying down.

Like everything else in dog training, consistency is key. Teach everyone in your family these strategies, and soon your pup will have one more feather in his good manners cap.