My German Shorthair might be too energetic for my family. What should i do?

Question

I have a German Short hair dog who will be 1 in January. I have a daughter who just turned 1 in November and my wife who cant seem to handle the dog. I hunt with him almost every weekend and i love being outside with him. the problem that i am having is that he likes to run all over the house when he is not in his kennel and he doesn't always obey his commands when i have given them to him. Any ways i can get him to calm down so that he can be with the family more often. I have not taken any classes with him, he knows sit and stay. But not all the time, probably more like 80 percent of the time. I take him for walks twice a day and he loves every minute of them. Anything else i might be able to do to try and get him to settle so he can be with the family? thanks.

Answer 1

My friend got two other dogs to keep hers occupied. He is a handful for their family too and he's 5. Its the only dog she purchased the rest were all rescue ad he wears them all out.

But it might help for himto have a playmate. I wouldn't get a puppy maybe 6-8 months old maybe a beagle mix that might also enjoy hunting with you.

Answer 2

Two leash walks a day is unfortunately not enough exercise for a 1 year old dog this size. just think, after these walks are you tired enough to lay around? if not, then he definitely isn't either. is there an enclosed area you could take him to to run him instead of the walks? 20 minutes of running twice a day would probably make a huge difference, and wouldn't take any longer than a walk. if there are no enclosed areas, there are 30 and 50ft leashes that allow a lot of running.

a one year old dog is at it's peak of energy and adolescent crazyness. do more training with him, practice commands etc. mental excercise can calm a dog down also. just don't give up on him, he will calm down as he gets older (even though he'll still need lots of exercise). he sounds like a good dog, and he deserves the chance. get him a kong so your wife can stuff it with canned food, peanut butter, or something else tasty. freeze it and let him go to town, it will keep him busy for a while. also obedience classes are fun for you and him and might make a difference!

Answer 3

German Shorthairs are very energetic dogs, and need a lot of exercise. Obedience training may work, they are very people oriented dogs. If the dog is still only 1 year old, some of this may just be puppyish behavior.

Encourage slowing down in the house, so maybe put him on a leash and walk around the house at the pace you want him to take. Do this daily, and talk encouragingly to the dog while you walk. You need to reinforce good behaviour when you see it, this will tell him that you approve of what he is doing.

Make sure his outdoor space has enough room to really run in. If your wife is intimidated by the dog, putting him in a run will be a good alternative to upsetting the household.

Answer 4

Training and exercise. You have a high energy dog, so he'll need to be really exercised every day. Take him somewhere fenced and let him run or take him somewhere safe on a very long lead and play ball or something with him at least once a day so he has an outlet for his energy.

As far as getting him to obey, you have to 100% consistent with enforcing the rules. It would probably be best to enroll him in classes at your local pet store and have you AND your wife go. The dog should listen to BOTH of you. With appropriate training, the dog should learn what is expected of it and will calm down. The trainer can also help you get the dog adjusted to needing to be careful around the baby. I think PetSmart's training classes run around $100 and they meet once a week for a couple of months and you can stop in and ask the trainer questions any time after that. It's well worth it for the peace it will bring to your house.

Answer 5

First of all, good job not just saying "screw it" and giving him up. I have a very active dog too, a border collie/heeler mix. She was the same way. What I did was I got a Springer dog leash. This is a thing that attaches to the seat post of your bike and minimizes pulling. Run him, gradually adding more and more time, building up his stamina and paw pads. My girl can run for an hour and a half, and she's 5. I imagine if you have time for two walks, you can fit in a two hour bike ride? It's best to do it in the morning-little traffic, and he gets tired so he can nap during the day and leave your wife alone. Springers are available at Petsmart (not petco) and on SpringerUSA.com. Good luck; GSPs are great dogs.

Answer 6

My aunt has this same dog, get use to it he wont snap out of that behavior till he gets up there in years, they have a collar that calms the dog down and makes him listen to all his commands, dont know what its called but it has a pager on it so all you have to do is press it and say his name and he will come running to you and sit and if he doesnt listen or is a bad boy it has a button you press that nicks him with a small zap and lets him know he was bad, the results where amazing he use to be the jump on you run around the house psyco before then after they got the collar he doesnt run around the house and listens to everything they say, so maybe get the collar and try it out and if that doesnt work then you need to make a outdoor pen or find your sweetie pie a good home!

Answer 7

Ok-hate to say this but, you need to do more work. How long/far are the walks? GSPs need long walks or a yard for exercise. I would say 1-2 miles a day minimum. And that is including the weekend hunts. He also needs an obiediance class-not to be mean, but if you could have him trained yourself you wouldn't be on here. If you ask him to sit and he doesn't-formce his butt to a sit. If he thinks that the sit command is "sit sit sit sit" then he won't do it the first time. And your wife needs to work with him too-not just you. If she isn't on board you have a problem. I will say that you should be coming out of puppyhood in a few more months, but that won't help much if he isn't trained. It isn't a fast fix or a easy one, but it is the only one you have.

Answer 8

I feel your pain, but, I love dogs like that. If you are hunting him every weekend it means he has plenty of hunt drive for detection work. There are many trainers around the country that would love to have a dog like that to train. If you want to, you may contact one of them and see if they would be willing to buy him, if you want to sell him and get another dog, or trade him for a dog that is not as hyper. If not, you need to get into an obedience class that will teach him the basics and you can start by having him hold short "down stays" and extend their duration as he becomes more dependable. He cannot act like a maniac AND hold a down stay. Other then that you have a really hyper dog and you will need to accept that.

Answer 9

How long are the walks? You should probably take him on 2 hour walk/runs 2times a days a dog like that needs to burn off energy. Is he still on puppy food if he is put him on dog food. I suggest Royal Canin its great stuff. Any way He needs stuff to keep his mind busy he will mellow out when he is around 3years old. Do training with him everyday and have your wife with you to be apart of it he needs to respect her & the baby. When walking him he should walk beside you not in front of you. When you take him out of the house you should leave 1st then him. That goes for your wife & the baby. He must respect everyone in that house & know that the people are the boss.

Answer 10

It is great that you are getting him out walking every day, but you didn't mention how long the walks were and their intensity. You may want to egt him a doggy backpack and fill it with water bottles and talk him for a good long vigorous walk 2x a day. They extra weight may help in expending some of his energy.

You may also want to invest in some obedience classes. Try to find one with a trainer who is also well versed in behavior modification. This way you get the best of both worlds, consistantcy and exercise will help him become the perfect family dog.

Good luck