July 24, 2023
My young Golden Retriever lunges and jumps all over people and other dogs. He is not at all aggressive but he never calms down. Which of your courses would best help me learn to train him?
Full Question:
I have a 10 month old golden who has not been properly socialized. He is very reactive to people and other dogs. He lunges at them and jumps all over them wanting attention. He never calms down. High energy level no matter how much exercise he's had. He is not at all aggressive. I don't know how to teach him to be calm and not jump and lunge at people / other dogs. He knows basic commands, although he considers commands to be temporary and thinks its ok, for instance, to only sit or stay for a brief time. Which of your courses do you think would best help me learn to train him? 
Cindy's Answer:
With dogs like this, I take away their option to practice the wrong behavior. I use a leash at ALL times and if you can't control him on leash yet then I make sure he's not being put in situations he is not yet ready to handle.
Expecting an over excited dog to hold a sit stay at this point is setting him up to fail. Remember, management is going to be the foundation of changing this behavior. That means you don't allow him the freedom to continue to make the wrong choice while you work on all of this. Don't "test" him by having people try to pet him or approach, we want him to learn to focus his mind and not look at every person or dog as an opportunity to go wild.
We use high value food rewards to teach some core concepts through marker training. Here is an article that explains the concept https://leerburg.com/markers.htm
We have a free course on management, it's geared also towards people who have multiple dogs but you may find some of the information useful https://university.leerburg.com/Catalog/viewCourse/cid/14/?loc=homepage_lead-course_course-name
I'd recommend the Marker training video (if you don't have experience with this concept) and Basic and Intermediate Obedience.
Expecting an over excited dog to hold a sit stay at this point is setting him up to fail. Remember, management is going to be the foundation of changing this behavior. That means you don't allow him the freedom to continue to make the wrong choice while you work on all of this. Don't "test" him by having people try to pet him or approach, we want him to learn to focus his mind and not look at every person or dog as an opportunity to go wild.
We use high value food rewards to teach some core concepts through marker training. Here is an article that explains the concept https://leerburg.com/markers.htm
We have a free course on management, it's geared also towards people who have multiple dogs but you may find some of the information useful https://university.leerburg.com/Catalog/viewCourse/cid/14/?loc=homepage_lead-course_course-name
I'd recommend the Marker training video (if you don't have experience with this concept) and Basic and Intermediate Obedience.
User Response:
Thank you!! Your thoughts and the links you provided are exactly what I need to move forward with my dog. Now I not only know what to do, but why and how it works, especially the marker. I think I was confusing him by using Yes and Good dog interchangeably. Now I know what to do instead. Thanks again, Cindy.
Cindy's Answer:
You are welcome, let me know how it goes with your training.
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