Help with an extremely hyperactive golden retriever!?

Question

We have a 1 year old Golden Retriever. She is the most intelligent dog that I've ever had, but she's almost impossible to teach because she's constantly jumping up on me, chewing things up, and just generally running wild. I feel like I have an out of control child. I'm very frustrated.

Answer 1

Your dog will calm down as it gets older. I recommend more exercise and long walks or runs. Tire her out and crate her when your not at home. Training is essential, she really wants to please so its up to you to be stern and train her what is acceptable. Retrievers are not happy bored.

Answer 2

Golden Retriever Hyperactive

Answer 3

Oh the good ole days. I thought my dog was dying when I found her actually laying down for once. I have a 6 3/4 year old Golden Retriever - I'm all to familiar w/ the crazies.

You have to stay in control. If you start freaking out the dog will follow suit. Stay calm and collected. Start with the basics. Goldens are driven by two things 1. Food and 2. Play so use that to your advantage.

Make everything into a game and reward w/ food. Teach your dog sit and become very proficient in down. When you dog becomes crazy tell her to down immediately. It's a relaxation technique that works exceedingly well.

In the house the dog should always be in down, unless getting water, or getting a toy. If it gets up when you get up, tell her to down. While watching tv its down unless YOU otherwise specify.

The dog will reflect the environment. If it's an exciting chaotic environment then the dog will be more hyper and excitable. Don't feed into that.

Goldens also need about 1 hour of out and out running a day. Take up jogging, speed walking or find a nice fenced area and let the dog just RUN!! That will curb a lot of the crazy behavior.

Purchase some bitter apple spray as a deterant for the chrewing. It has an awful taste. When I caught Summer in the act of chewing I'd spray it in her mouth. It's non toxic. It got to the ppoint that I could reach for the spray and she'll stop chewing.

Physically give her a toy she can chew. Then after a few minutes of her chewing her own toy treat her and pet her. If she is chewing on her own toy on her own accord treat and pet her. She'll learn the difference. However most goldens love to have things in thier mouth (they are retrievers after all) so she'll probably carry around misc. things - toys, shoes, shirts, remote control LOL. Just make sure she knows the difference - what is hers and what is not.

Also enroll her in a group training class to help learn the basics of training. After that I'd look into hiring a personal trainer to come to the house to address your own specific needs in her environment. I trained Summer that way and I can have the door wide open and not worry about her running out. I can loose leash walk her in heel or I can walk her in heel w/o a leash. (I have two dogs and I can do this at the same time w/ both of them) They are trained to a whistle for come, etc.

Good Luck w/ your Golden!!

Answer 4

Start simple. Teach her to sit. Give her a firm "Daisy! Sit!" command. Then you can either place your hand under her chin and tilt her head back so that her nose is facing the ceiling/sky. (this usually makes them sit) or you can physically force her butt to the floor. When she sits, make a big, huge fuss over her, tell her she is a good dog and use her name "Good dog, Daisy! Goooood dog!" and give her a treat. If you work with her for ten or fifteen minutes a day (to begin with) then she will get the idea.

Once she has a firm grasp of "Sit" getting her to stop jumping will be the next step. When she comes towards you and jumps, raise your leg like a knee lift and give a firm "NO!". The aim is for her trunk/chest to hit your knee-not hard! Just enough to keep her from putting her paws on you. Once she has all four feet on the ground, give her the sit command. When she sits, give her the "Good dog, Daisy!" treatment. It may take a while, but she will eventually figure out that when she walks up to you and sits, she gets the reward she seeks, which is your approval. Once she's mastered this with you, get another person (spouse, neighbor, etc) to use the same technique with her and she will soon understand that she is not allowed to jump on any one.

As for the hyperactivity-exercise will help. It doesn't have to be a walk. Retrievers retrieve almost instinctively! Get some tennis balls, go out in the yard (if it's fenced in) and throw tennis balls for her. She will do this until YOU get tired! Is she crated at all? My youngest boxer was allowed free run of the yard during the day while we were at work. After three days of that, she was wild as a buck. I found that crating her during the day (she is only left alone a total of about four hours a day-my husband and I work different but overlapping shifts) helped.

You obviously love your baby! I wish you both many happy years together.

Answer 5

The problem with intelligent animals is that they're quite often difficult to handle.

Are you giving her enough brain work? Let her search for her own food, buy a kong to stuff with treats, have her search for toys, walk a trail etc. If her jumping interferes with her training, the first thing would be to train her not to jump up.

I've had a high energy dog and in my experience you can't tire them out by just physical means such as walks and play.

On the other hand, she could be over-stimulated if you're constantly training her and giving her attention - in which case she needs to learn how to relax.

Also, she still young, she'll most likely calm down somewhat as she gets older.

Answer 6

The best time to teach a dog is when they are tired. Take the dog for a walk, or let it fetch a ball to get the shakes out. Our trainer also says that purely physcial activities do NOT tire out a dog. Your dog needs a job. Many times just getting a backpack and putting it on a dog will change it's whole attitude. It gives the dog a job to do. Put a little weight in there and they love it. Dog Whisperer agrees :)

Answer 7

I know this sounds crazy, but try making chamomile tea with valerian and put it in her water bowl when it's time to wind down for the night (not all the time.... just when you're trying ot have a quiet evening)

Other than that make sure she gets plenty of exercise. I had a friend that got one in a one bedroom apartment and then he wondered why it tore things up and misbehaved. They need to be able to run and play.

She'll also calm down a lot when she's older.

Answer 8

Exercise, exercise, and more exercise! This breed of dog is very hyper and needs an outlet to release energy. If you let her run wild outside, or take her on vigorous walks, you'll start to see an improvement in her attention span. Make sure she has plenty of toys to play with.

Make sure she understands that she doesn't get your attention until she calms down. Make her sit before you pet her, don't let her jump on you or company. Giving her attention when she does only makes her think it's okay. When she is acting hyper, ignore her for a few seconds, then turn to her and say sit. When she sits, pet her.

To make her stop jumping: when she jumps, tell her no firmly and place your hand right in her face while giving her the same command over and over, such as "down", gently guiding her to a sit position. Do this every time until she gets the message that your not petting her until she sits calmly.

When I first get home, I ignore my dogs and I always walk them staright to the door to let them out. That way, they run some energy off outside, plus relieve themselves. Then when they come in, I pet them.

Answer 9

I wish you luck. I have one that is about 7 years old now. He has not calmed down much at all. We have had trainers come to the house and tried everything. We have neighbors also with goldens and they have the same problem. They all want to run off all the time. Our dog is great and very smart but so high strung. He is the most loveable thing in the world and has to be touching someone continuously but is wound up all the time.

Answer 10

Buy her a backpack (specifically for dogs), and put it on her. Walk her with it on a few times, then add a 20 ounce water bottle to each side of it. After a few walks with that, add a little more weight. This will give her a sense that she is doing a job, and the extra weight will help her burn off a little extra energy.