Why is my Bernese Mountain Dog [puppy] so hyper?

Question

He's 6 months old now, he doesn't bite viciously, only in a playful matter, and it doesn't hurt. However, he does this often, especially when I come home from a day's work, or even when my boyfriend and I take him on a walk. He'll sometimes get into a frenzy and jump up at us with his, what seems like mouthing. Also, he humps my boyfriend almost constantly when outside, so he'll hold our dog to the ground saying "No!" sternly every time. It's gotten to the point where my boyfriend now swats him gently, but sternly enough on his nose. What can I do? Why does he hump my boyfriend [mind you not me, only him]? And lastly, why is he this hyper? We do run him by the way, he gets his excercise....

He's 6 months old now, he doesn't bite viciously, only in a playful matter, and it doesn't hurt. However, he does this often, especially when I come home from a day's work, or even when my boyfriend and I take him on a walk. He'll sometimes get into a frenzy and jump up at us with his, what seems like mouthing. Also, he humps my boyfriend almost constantly when outside, so he'll hold our dog to the ground saying "No!" sternly every time. It's gotten to the point where my boyfriend now swats him gently, but sternly enough on his nose. What can I do? Why does he hump my boyfriend [mind you not me, only him]? And lastly, why is he this hyper? We do run him by the way, he gets his excercise....

Edit:
he'll be neutered next month
we take him outside all the tmie
he has plenty of toys...

So I hope he'll calm down once he gets neutered, thanks for your advice!

Answer 1

Because he's a puppy. He'll be like this for at least another 18 months.....

Answer 2

From the website below:

"The Bernese Mountain Dog needs an inordinate amount of exercise, interaction, and activity. They require a minimum half hour of vigorous exercise daily as well as several outside trips. They are not recommended for apartment dwelling, as they need a securely fenced large yard to run and play. They excel in conformation, obedience, tracking, herding, and agility."


This is a working dog. Even though he is just a pup, I would get him some saddlebags and put bottles of water or other weighty objects into the bags.

When the dog humps, try jerking your knee right into his stomach. You don't want to hurt him, just throw him off balance. Don't say anything when you are doing it. You want him to associate humping with "dumping" on his butt, not with the voice.

Answer 3

1. Neuter him, if not already done.
2. He's probably humping your boyfriend, trying to dominate him. You are his property.
3. Make sure he has plenty of toys to play with, and let him outdoors as soon as you get home, and maybe play ball w/him or something to release some energy.

They are a working breed, and sometimes can act out, when they do not have a ''job'' to do.

Answer 4

Good job on deciding to neuter him, it will definitely help quite a bit. He'll be more laid back, but you'll still need to exercize him a lot. Make sure he also gets mental exercise, like obeying commands, finding toys, etc.

All three problems - biting, jumping and humping are rooted in his thinking he's the big boss of the house. Dogs are pack animals. Everyone has it's place in the pack. As the pup was growing up you've allowed him to do things to you, like biting, that only a dog higher up the ladder could do to a lower dog. You've allowed him to think that he is your boss and not the other way around.

He's already quite large and powerful and it will be harder to correct this now, but as long as you are not afraid of him and are willing to wrestle with him if you have to, you'll be OK, but you need to fix this now. Here's what you do:

As soon as his teeth touch your skin, you grab him by the snout with both hands and close it shut (just make sure that he doesn't bite down on his tongue). You hold his mouth shut until he stops trying to break free. He'll jerk, he might cry, but do not under any circumstances let go. You might have to sit on top of him in order for him not to pull away.

Once he stops squirming, hold him for a few more seconds, then grab a toy and start playing with him like nothing happened. This way the dog knows that it's unacceptable to bite you, but that you're not mad at it, you are just enforcing a rule that you've established, because you are the leader and not him, it also teaches him that the right alternative is to chew on a toy.

Do this every single time, even if his teeth just barely touched you and even if you think it might have been an accident. Once the dog knows that your rules are solid and are enforced 100% of the time, it will stop biting. I've taught my brother's 5 month old Great Dane to stop biting in two days by doing this.

When your dog jumps up on you, stick your knee out and knock it back a bit. Don't hit it, just push it off. Then order it to sit (only say it once, never repeat your commands). Then pet the dog. This way the dog learns that it actually gets more attention and petting when it's sitting still. After a while, your dog will come up to you and sit so you can pet it. If your boyfriend does this, the dog will never have the opportunity to hump him.

Since right now your dog thinks that he's the boss, you'll want to incorporate these two basic exercizes into your daily life: make the dog say "please" and do "doggy push-ups".

1. Let's say your dog wants you to pet it or play with it. It's coming up to you, giving you the toy and in essense saying "I want to play, here's my toy, you'll play with me because I said so." Even in basic interactions like playing, there's a controlling party. Instead of playing with your dog, tell him, "____ Sit!" Once he obeys, you play with him. Congratulations, you've just made your dog say "please". He didn't tell you to play with him, you told him to sit and rewarded him with play. Do this for everything right now, every last bit of attention, food, walks. You can ease up when he behaves better.

2. Doggy push-ups: incorporate 3 minute exercise breaks into your day, where you take your dog and say "sit", then "down", praise him or give him a treat, then make him get up and repeat. Do these through out the day. This is a non-confrontational approach to instilling into your dog that it needs to obey you. Every time it obeys a command, you gain more control over the dog.

Finally, I'm guessing that you guys allow your dog on your couches and possibly your bed. Stop that immediately. If he tries to get on the couch say "Off!" and push him off. When you leave the house, put chairs or boxes up on the couch and close the door to your room, so the dog can't get on a bed or a couch. The leader of the pack gets the elevated position, that's you. Once your dog becomes obedient, you can start allowing him back on the couch, but only after he says please and only if you want him to. My Great Dane at home will come up to me look at me, look at the couch and I'll say "no" or "ok" and she'll act accordingly.

Please buy this book, it's cheap and it'll help you a great deal in understanding how dogs think and learn - it's been a lifesaver for me.

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Owners-Great-Brian-Kilcommons/dp/0446675385