# excitment biting..how to stop it??



## all4one (May 16, 2012)

Hi,

I have a 8 month old puppy ( big dog) and he goes from calm to super excited in zero seconds. I took him to the beach to get rid of his excess energy and when he started to run around he immediately started to jump on me and bite me. ( i can never jog with him because he automatically starts getting excited and jumping on me and biting) At that point commands or treats don't work... its like he is a zone that he cant snap out of and it scares me... what on earth should i do! ( i tried the ignoring thing, the yelp thing, the ouch thing and every thing i could find.. nothing works.. it just makes its worse)... pleaseeeeeeeee help i don't want to give up on him but if this continues i don't know if i can keep him  :redface:


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

Since you've tried everything, I have no suggestions 


It sounds vaguely like your pup has the zoomies? IF he runs around like a crazed animal, sometimes doing a drive-by slash... it's a fun burn off of energy ... for him... And you are correct that typical Bite Inhibition methods won't work. You need to distract him:
1. Teach a good Sit at home, and tell him to sit. OR
2. Shove a piece of boiled chicken in his face... then say Sit. OR
3. Blow a whistle at him. Or
4. Squirt him with a water gun (unless he's a Lab). OR
5. Chase him like a crazed human.... most dogs love to be chased.


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## karensilva (Oct 6, 2012)

Hi!

I've been a forum lurker for about a year now, and today I decided to sign up to seek help and advice.

I have the same problems with my lab/rottie mix. He's 6 months now and he has been very hyperactive ever since i got him. It's difficult to train and exercise him becuase he bites all the time. He usually bites whenever I'm walking him or playing with him. It was not a problem at first, but now that he's big and stronger, this issue worries me. Three days ago, he bit my foot so hard, I had to see a doctor. I also tried all the bite inhibition techniques I read here, and in other websites, but they only seem to work temporarily. 

My dog stays outside in our front yard during the day since he's only semi-potty trained (He poops in the right place, but he pees anywhere he wants to). Our yard is roofed and fenced, so he's isn't really under the sun. I feed him thrice a day, full meals during breakfast and dinner, and a small meal in between. He has his water bowl filled all the time. I am spending all day with him, since i no longer go to school.

Because of his frequent hyperactivity and biting, I find it very hard to train him. He only responds to the sit command, though not all of the time especially when he's in a zoomie. I've owned three dogs before, all of which are large energetic breeds, but i had no problems with them.

My questions are:

1. What causes these "Zoomies"
2. How do you calm a dog who's in tazmanian devil mode? 
3. Is there a different training approach to dogs with frequent zoomies?
4. Will this behavior be permanent or will it gradually decrease as he matures? (I've read somewhere that dogs become calmer and laid back when they reach adulthood)

Thanks!



PS: Sorry for some mistakes in my grammar...


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## james downey (Jul 31, 2012)

First thier are a few things you can do. What you are calling the "zoomies" is what dog trainers call drive. Some dogs have a little, some a lot. The dogs with a lot of drive, need to have an outlet for it. Most people use some sort of game with a toy to give the dog a healthy outlet. Drive in domesticated dogs started out in wild dogs as the genetic instict to chase, catch, kill, dissect something for food, and also in some cases genetic instictual drive as a means of self defense. So you may hear some terms of like prey drive. This is the most common....and probably what your seeing. Prey drive is what makes a dog chase a tennis ball or play tug. So if you can get the dog to play fetch with a ball. This can give him a place to dispurse his drive in a healthy constructive manner. Some people play tug with thier dog. But tug can easily become conflictual between the handler and the dog creating stress in the relationship if not done properly. Most of the time, people just create a dog that does not like play with them and they worry about losing thier toy, a dog with a little more additude about what is his may get possessive to varying degrees....maybe just not bringing the toy back, or letting it go....all the way to a dog that will bite to get what they want. So, I usually reccomend playing ball and retrieve games to owners who are just looking for a way to get the energy out of the dog. Now, all this is useless without rules to the game. The dog must understand there boundries they cannot cross...like biting me when excited, grabbing my clothes....these sorts of things. So, I teach my release the ball first. that's rule number one. Let it go. There are a number of ways to teach this. I am sure you can find something on youtube. second is do not touch my skin with your teeth. I am a bit old school with this. I do not yelp, say ouch.... I discpline them for it. I believe dogs do have incredible accuracy with thier mouths. And when they do not, they are just being careless because they are allowed to be. I do not put them away and stop the game. I keep playing. We are going to play ball, and they are going to play by the rules. Now once I have the rules set and the games in place. I can use these for training. I teach all my dogs the mechanics of what I want them to know with food. It's easier for them think when using food. Then when they are exactly how I want them with food. I go play ball, but now they have to work to get the ball. I ask them to do what I showed them to do with the food. but now I do it prey drive, and since the dog knows what to do already, and does not have to think about it so much. It's much easier. So we go play ball. They have to preform commands in order to get their ball. I also suggest looking at some stuff on clicker training.


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## Miss Bugs (Jul 4, 2011)

I have a dog like this the only thing I was able to do was stop all activity and put her away the second she started getting like that. I feel bad cuz she simply never gets exited anymore however the alternative was her nearly ripping my leg open.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

James has some good suggestions. I believe that what he calls Drive is very different that what we call "zoomies." Zoomies is a burst of energy where the dog runs around in figure-8s etc. like a crazy animal. They can occur before bedtime in puppies, when the weather gets cooler, after a bath, and at random times when the dog is feeling good.

All4one hasn't posted, so I hope my suggestions helped. 

@Karen:
1. Zoomies... above
2. Tasmanian Devil - Sorry it's part of the Lab genes  The best suggestion is to prepare for them, if they are regular. For example, a 15 min. potty walk before bedtime will help, if that's when they occur. Look for patterns of when they occur and schedule some fun training before they hit. ... I chase my dog when gets the zoomies, and he doesn't get a chance to bite me, b/c he's running from me. I also toss him a tennis ball to run with... If the dog bites you (in play, altho painful), then withdraw attention by leaving the dog alone for 30 seconds, if safe to do. Teach Bite Inhibition - See the Sticky in the New Owner section: The Bite Stops Here.
3. In general, it is an energy/ play issue and will decrease with age... If fixed, then 6-10 mos is around the peak of zoomies in Labs
4. Walk the dog 30 min. twice a day, and maybe 15 min. before bed. Something that helped me a lot was to find a playmate with the same energy to let him tussle with once a week or so... As James suggested, you need ways to drain that energy...


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## JLeighL (Jun 27, 2012)

I have the exact same problem with my lab/terrier. She is 5 months old and go insane when outside. This behavior only happens when she's outside. I put her on a long leash so she can play with balls and all but the second i walk by her she goes insane and starts jumping and biting. She actually broke loose of her leash yesterday and took off so fast across the yard and down the street! My heart hit my toes b/c she's interested in cars and tries to chase them so i quickly went after her and grabbed her in my neighbors yard! She is learning but still has a lot of commands like "come" that she doesn't understand. Very, very ferocious outside though. I have been trying everything as well but it seems that when she's goes out for a walk she looses all self control and durns into a little demon dog! =( still working though b/c i love her so much!


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## Nuclear_Glitter (Jun 20, 2012)

I think for those of you experiencing this issue, you should try this training method: http://www.dogforums.com/dog-training-forum/4915-rev-up-cool-down.html

Can't say how well it will or won't work for your specific issue, but it's worth a try.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

well I am new to the group and maybe a bit old school when it comes to the dogs, when a dog is mouthy with an edge to him I see the majority of them is about a lack of coping skills in a nervious way especially dogs with natural high drives ( they don't know what to do in the moment). They lack information, skills and application of skills. They just need to learn how and when and when not to apply their high drive and it has always helped to appreciate what they made of not to think badly of the misdirected behaviors that you are currently seeing. I don't find it's a good idea to keep them in an energy buzz as a form of interacting with you (they don't have control of themselves to handle it), they need to be working on more basic foundation skills of how to interact with you, that will be more useful for you. What is helpful is getting owners to focus on calm still positions first to build on. Especially skills that you can use for a life time in real life.. Practice all the skills your pup/dog will need at a vet visit is a good one to start on. Stand still, check in the mouth, check in the ears, check the eyes, lifting paws, touching from nose to tail eye contact. Take small steps don't rush it, don't make it a struggle do what the dog can do for that moment and stop, finds ways during the day to practice make it a game. Anything that works towards calm. the drive will be there when you go back to it, but they will have needed skills to better use their drive when you do. 

Don't feel you could every out exercise a dog with a high drive they are endurance junkies and doing more and doing it harder you just might be developing a higher and higher drive instead of calming it down. 

You have to think about what they need, what are they missing as your priority and not focus so much at stopping what is happening in the moment. If you fill in the skills they are missing, the other behaviors will subside to what they learn to do instead in that moment. Just my take, all dogs come full circle and are just fine they just missing information in spots.


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## YoMoe (Oct 7, 2011)

I think draining energy in general would help. I use a feeder ball or kong wobbler to feed 1/3 of the dog's daily food. I think both these help with the dog's natural inclination to forage. 

I also like to use a tail teaser. My dog LOVES this toy. She is crazy for it. After 10 minutes chasing it she is spent, then I take her for a nice long walk. She is much easier to manage because she has gotten out the pent up energy. It also helps satisfy their prey instinct. 

I think to solve one problem sometimes you have to work on why the problem exists in the first place. I like to work with the dog's natural instincts. 

I think the rev up cool down training sounds good also.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

james downey said:


> First thier are a few things you can do. What you are calling the "zoomies" is what dog trainers call drive. Some dogs have a little, some a lot. The dogs with a lot of drive, need to have an outlet for it. Most people use some sort of game with a toy to give the dog a healthy outlet. Drive in domesticated dogs started out in wild dogs as the genetic instict to chase, catch, kill, dissect something for food, and also in some cases genetic instictual drive as a means of self defense. So you may hear some terms of like prey drive. This is the most common....and probably what your seeing. Prey drive is what makes a dog chase a tennis ball or play tug. So if you can get the dog to play fetch with a ball. This can give him a place to dispurse his drive in a healthy constructive manner. Some people play tug with thier dog. But tug can easily become conflictual between the handler and the dog creating stress in the relationship if not done properly. Most of the time, people just create a dog that does not like play with them and they worry about losing thier toy, a dog with a little more additude about what is his may get possessive to varying degrees....maybe just not bringing the toy back, or letting it go....all the way to a dog that will bite to get what they want. So, I usually reccomend playing ball and retrieve games to owners who are just looking for a way to get the energy out of the dog. Now, all this is useless without rules to the game. The dog must understand there boundries they cannot cross...like biting me when excited, grabbing my clothes....these sorts of things. So, I teach my release the ball first. that's rule number one. Let it go. There are a number of ways to teach this. I am sure you can find something on youtube. second is do not touch my skin with your teeth. I am a bit old school with this. I do not yelp, say ouch.... I discpline them for it. I believe dogs do have incredible accuracy with thier mouths. And when they do not, they are just being careless because they are allowed to be. I do not put them away and stop the game. I keep playing. We are going to play ball, and they are going to play by the rules. Now once I have the rules set and the games in place. I can use these for training. I teach all my dogs the mechanics of what I want them to know with food. It's easier for them think when using food. Then when they are exactly how I want them with food. I go play ball, but now they have to work to get the ball. I ask them to do what I showed them to do with the food. but now I do it prey drive, and since the dog knows what to do already, and does not have to think about it so much. It's much easier. So we go play ball. They have to preform commands in order to get their ball. I also suggest looking at some stuff on clicker training.


I disagree that the zoomies is the same as drive. The zoomies we are talking about is the burst of energy that happens only on occasion. It's not all the time, all day long. Usually right before bed time is when we see it most at my house (when our dogs were puppies that is!). It reminds me of a two year old child who is so tired that they start to be a bit crazy. What they really need is sleep, but, they are too tired and are acting hyper!

As far as biting, yes, dogs have fabulous accuracy with their mouth. But, most of the people that come here for advice about biting are dealing with either very young puppies who they've just gotten, or older pups who have never really learned bite inhibition. It is very natural and normal for puppies to play and explore their world by biting and nipping, just as children play and explore by putting everything in their mouth. However, it's something that it's important to teach them not to do (both the puppy and the child!)
So, I would disagree strongly with "disciplining" a young puppy that has not been taught bite inhibition yet. It would be the same as punishing an 8 month old baby for sticking stuff in her mouth. There are other ways to teach.

All4one, it seems you said you tried everything. The thing is, trying everything can be super confusing to a puppy. You are not just trying to stop your pup from biting, you are trying to teach him a life long skill. You're trying to get him to actually LEARN something, forever, not just stop biting for a minute. So, whatever you try, you have to give it time to sink in. If you try something, but 2 weeks later, you give that up because it doesn't seem to be working and you try something else, well, you're giving up before it's sunk in. Then by changing methods, you're just confusing the puppy.


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