Getting Very Excited Upon Seeing The Leash

[mooki]

Hi all

My dog is 8 months old so not sure if I should be posting this in the Training section instead (sorry if I'm posting in the wrong place).

My staffy is driving me nuts.. as soon as he sees me or my partner bring out the leash to go for a walk he starts barking at us, biting at the leash, jumping up on us and basically getting extremely excited. And as soon as we get the leash on he's running for the door and dragging me behind him.

What can we do to stop this? It's not as bad when there's 2 of us there because one of us can distract him with food while the other puts the leash on. But when I'm by myself, I can't control it. He bites the lead, tries to run off with it, jumps up all over me and barks his little head off. It's driving me nuts!!

(For the record, I've tried walking away for 10 seconds each time he barks which quietens the bark a little bit but doesn't stop the biting of the leash and jumping up. I could say "no walk" but then he'll trash the backyard because he hasn't had any exercise!)

Can anyone help? Here is a photo of the little monster:

[Cosmolo]

Move the lead from place to place as many times within a day as you possibly can, without going fo a walk. That would be my starting point. Are you going to training? Thats the best bet for the loose lead walking and general excitability.

[The Spotted Devil]

I like Cosmolo's idea - I did the same with the broom when Zig was a pup as he went nuts for it. I took every opportunity to sweep outside with Zig present. I had spotlessly clean paths and, eventually, a pup who just didn't give two hoots

To cope with the problem of giving your staffy a walk, perhaps you could hide a second lead at the front gate - a different 'environment' might just calm him down, especially if you snap the lead on and quickly start walking. The trick is to not be predictable....sometimes I pick up the lead from the cupboard before I'm ready to leave and either wander around the house carrying it, leave it somewhere on the ground or snap it on to Zig's collar. He clearly anticipates the walk but doesn't get over excited.

[Tilly]

Our GSD goes nuts when you pick up his collar and lead for work/walk.

He is always made to sit still/calmly before he gets either put on. Basically I just stood there and made no eye contact until he is sitting and he has learnt the quicker he calms down and sits, then the quicker he gets to goes out. When he knows he is going for a walk he bolts to the garage door and sits.

Edited January 7, 2009 by Tilly

[Kelpie_Pup]

Our GSD goes nuts when you pick up his collar and lead for work/walk.

He is always made to sit still/calmly before he gets either put on. Basically I just stood there and made no eye contact until he is sitting and he has learnt the quicker he calms down and sits, then the quicker he gets to goes out. When he knows he is going for a walk he bolts to the garage door and sits.

Just what we did Except Halle will hop around with us while we have the leash until we put it on her.. its so cute, she knows she as to sit, so she moves with me a little, then sits, then hovers a bit more with me, then sits! She's trying to master the move-while-sitting trick

At 8 months, your dog should know how to sit, so it shouldn't be too difficult. Just takes persistence :rolleyes: Re the pulling and dragging to the door, leash training should help with this. Again, at 8 months that should be on its way too

[Pawprints]

Our GSD goes nuts when you pick up his collar and lead for work/walk.

He is always made to sit still/calmly before he gets either put on. Basically I just stood there and made no eye contact until he is sitting and he has learnt the quicker he calms down and sits, then the quicker he gets to goes out. When he knows he is going for a walk he bolts to the garage door and sits.

Just what we did :cool: Except Halle will hop around with us while we have the leash until we put it on her.. its so cute, she knows she as to sit, so she moves with me a little, then sits, then hovers a bit more with me, then sits! She's trying to master the move-while-sitting trick

At 8 months, your dog should know how to sit, so it shouldn't be too difficult. Just takes persistence Re the pulling and dragging to the door, leash training should help with this. Again, at 8 months that should be on its way too

Agreed with both.

I did the same thing. Picked up the leash, and asked him to sit. If he didn't, leash went back, no eye contact, and walked off.

Tried again and again. Then once we mastered the lead on quietly and the lead was on, then he pulled like a train and danced around as I was opening the door. Again I just stood still, not moving , no eye contact until he calmed down, and I again asked him to sit and STAY. Once we had that sorted then we opened the door

If he lunged to get out the door first, a quick correction and another sit stay.

It takes a little while and if done in stages works well. Now he runs to the door when I pick up the leash and sits (even though he is wiggling with excitement, he is still sitting)

[Nimmo]

Hi Mooki,

On a whole your pup is actually a fairly well behaved 'monster' !

It's very natural for dogs to get excited at walk time, but I think you are doing the right thing by walking away and ignoring him when he gets 'too' excited, and with a bit of patience he will learn just like the other dogs mentioned in this thread have done!

I think the other human who takes him on walks also needs to be more vigilant in this regard. Instead of just putting on his lead despite the jumping, he really needs to wait for puppy to be settled before putting his strap on.

Oh... Me and Axel love it when you take him out for walks too.. We eat all his dog food, play with his toys and mess up his bed!

Regards,

Nimmo