# Very hyper german shepherd (help)



## keith91 (Jan 21, 2008)

Ok well hello everyone i am new at this forum hoping to learn alot anyway.


I have a white 8 month old german shephard about 60-70 pounds.

Now the problem we have is that he is very hyper he get so excited to see us that he will jump on us and stuff and even hurt us. I know he is not hurting us on purpose but he is a 60 pound dog jumping on your chest. We have to tie him up before we can go in the backyard we cannot even play with him anymore because he will jump on you. 

I need a solution to this please something to make him cool down.

If you have any question i will try to answer them as fast as i can.

Thanks in advance


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

The solution is obedience training. You need to teach your dog not to jump. 
What are you doing for training and exercise?


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## all4thedogs (Sep 25, 2006)

Obedience training and a lot more exercise! 

I would sign him up for an obedience class. They are a lot of fun and will help you teach him manners. They are also great for socialization!

Exercise!! This boy has some bound up energy. GSDs are working dogs and need a job. Play fetch, go for a run, teach him new tricks, play games (hide and seek, tracking etc). 

A tired pup is a GOOD pup!!


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## 4dogs3cats (Dec 21, 2007)

I had this problem with Chance.

If your pup neutered? That helped Chance a lot.

Picture this: we get home, open his crate, and he busts out, circling the living room, jumping OVER yes OVER the couch, clearing it, not even touching it. Jumping on to the loveseat and then using it as a trampoline to jump on us. He goes NUTS! What we have done now, is I will open his crate, call him to me, make him sit, and scratch his chest and let him calm down. Then I lead him out back and throw a ball for him for about 10-20 minutes. It calms him down real quick. I am also taking all 4 dogs hiking twice a week now, and it seems to help and we have only gone once so far!

Sidenote: let me see a picture of that gorgeous shepherd!


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## keith91 (Jan 21, 2008)

Well We cannot take him to a obedience class because he out powers me and my mom and we cant keep him on a leesh we have tried to get those stopper things but he just takes them off.

oh also he listens to us only when we have treats in our hand he does not want to listen when there are no treats for example if we have treats he will not jump on us and when we say sit he sits but without treats he will jump and not listen and treats can get a little expensive after a while

oh here are some pics(he is 8 months old i took these pics today)



















thats in my backyard it a huge backyard and that wall is his house we built just for him its about the size of a normal room


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## all4thedogs (Sep 25, 2006)

keith91 said:


> Well We cannot take him to a obedience class because he out powers me and my mom and we cant keep him on a leash we have tried to get those stopper things but he just takes them off.


That is the point in the obedience class. They will help you get him under control. You could have a trainer come to your house and work with you there. Get a collar he can not slip or use a slip lead if you are worried about him taking off. 

Wear him out before trying to walk him on a leash. Have him run around outside, throw the ball for him etc. 

What have you tried all ready? What kind of exercise is this dog getting? Is he neutered?


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## LittleMoonRabbit (Jan 7, 2008)

If you can't get to classes, have a trainer come to your house. You pay by the hour. Also, I don't understand how a sturdy leather leash and a martingale (am I spelling it right?) collar won't stop your dog from slipping out of the leash. Even if you have a choke chain to start, until you can get him leash trained... it would be almost impossible for him to slip out of that.

wow, All4theDogs, you were just a little too quick for me, lol. We said like the exact same thing


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

I would strongly suggest you and your mom find a trainer to come to your house and work with you and the dog before he's full grown and even more out of control.

He's a beautiful dog and it's too bad that you can't enjoy him because of a lack of training.

I would hate to see him end up in a shelter as alot of dogs do because of this same reason.


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## keith91 (Jan 21, 2008)

The dog(toby) is not neutered and we buy him alot of toys for excersize and he usually just runs around and play byhimself with all the toys.

oh and he doesnt slip out of the collar he takes it off not a normal collor but the one that goes around his mouth to stop him from pulling

can somebody tell me the average price of a dog trainer.


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

You or your Mom would have to call the trainers in your area or call a local kennel club to see if they have any recommendations.

I'm sure you know that it's really not fair to Toby not to be a big part of the family because he doesn't know how to behave.

You can buy him all the toys in the world but it's not the same for Toby unless he has interaction with his family - you and your mom.


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## all4thedogs (Sep 25, 2006)

He needs a lot more exercise then running around playing with his toys by himself. He needs a WORK OUT. 

I cant stress fetch enough. My GSD is a fetch freak. My backyard has a nice slope to it, so I throw his toy up the hill for extra exercise. We play fetch at least once a day for approx 20-30 mintues, and take a nice long walk in the evening. This is on top of his free time in the backyard playing with toys. 

GSDs are highly intelligent and need something to keep their minds busy too. Toys where he has to work are perfect. Kong, Treat Balls etc. 

Swimming is a great exercise in warmer weather. We play fetch at the river throwing the ball up current. That wears them out quickly!!


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## SMoore (Nov 9, 2007)

I have a 6 month old shepherd and she can be the same way. She's going through obedience classes at Petsmart (there are pros and cons to the classes here but I have had pretty good luck so far!)

I use a 5 ft. leather leash and a martingale for her because she has tried to slip out of a regular buckle collar quite a few times. Anyhow, I suggest you try a martingale (or one of the no pull harnesses they sell at various pet stores). If the dog is still pulling on the leash I would stay away from choke chains as they can hurt your dog and honestly i've never seen a choke chain stop any of my dogs from pulling. It only seems to make them gag and be even more uncomfortable so i've always used a martingale (and when placed high up on the neck) it does help and they dont choke!

First try practicing walking nicely on a leash in the back yard or somewhere familiar to your dog. Don't just put the leash on and hit the streets. There are a million distractions out there and your pooch will want to go explore (and wont know any better) so you have to train where you can have the most control. I've always started in the house, then in the back yard and then maybe the front yard and gradually introduce more and more distractions. 

It takes a lot of patience but the reward will be great for both you and your dog. It's not fair to keep the dog from participating with the family when all he really needs is some training.

Make the dog understand that you are his pack leader. Make him work for EVERYTHING. When you bring your dog his food make him sit nicely before giving it to him. If you're giving him a treat make him work for it. Even just a scratch on the head or a belly rub make him work for it. If the dog comes over to you and begs for attention simply ignore him or walk away and when he leaves you alone then go and visit.

You have to make him understood that you control play time and food, etc... It's a lot of stress on a dog when they try to be the leader and don't have to be. 

Also like other people have said GSD's are a working breed so the more games you play the happier both you and your pooch will be as well. I like to burry treats in the yard and make my dog find them. or we have this huge bucket of water and i throw treats in it that sink and she has to fish them out like bobbing for apples. (she loves water) but anyhow just make stuff up and tire the boy out. He just needs some TLC.












My pooch with her dog trainer.


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

I have the impression that you are a fairly young man Keith? 

Your dog is beautiful but he needs training and that takes a LOT of time spent with him. This means you playing with him and the toys, not him playing alone. 

I took my dog to her first obedience class and it was (here near Albany, NY) $75 for 6 weeks. We went to class with other dogs and if two people were handling the dog BOTH came to class to learn. You got homework, just like regular school, and you have to do it because the next class builds on what you were working on. 

Your dog jumps because he is excited to see you. This can be just puppy behavior or it can be the result of not being with you enough. You need to spend a lot of time with a dog and he needs to live inside with you as much as possible and you need to go outside and spend time with him.. not just let him out in a yard for awhile every day. Dogs can be a lot of work (tho it is fun work I think). 

When you see your dog and he jumps try folding your arms and ignoring him. Turn you back to him. Completely ignore him. I bet he sits down after awhile or stands and stops jumping. WHEN he stops jumping THEN you pet him and pay attention to him. 

If you want him to stop a behavior the best thing you can do is train him to do what you want (as opposed to yelling at him for what you don't want). With Atka, also a German Shepherd, I taught her to sit and to lie down. She has to stay sitting until I tell her to do something else or I let her go and havefun (letting her go I use the words 'go ahead'). 

It has taken some effort but yesterday we were at my parents house (they are 81 and 85) and she did not jump one time. She DID sit and let them pet her.. or stand (when I wasn't there and my Dad was going outside) and let him pet her. When my brother came over and knocked on the door she was laying on her towel. I told her to stay and she did.. she loves my Brother and likes to go outside and play rough with him.. and she wanted to play but she was told to lie down and stay and she did. It has taken me a lot of work to get this but she did it and I was very pleased with her. 

You can do it too, but you need to spend time with this dog teaching him what you want him to do. Check out Karen Pyor and Clicker Training (put this in Google) for a start.


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## keith91 (Jan 21, 2008)

Well i am young i am 17 years old.

I tried to train him with some pieces of bread (he loves bread for some reason) and he would only listen when i had a peice of bread in my hand and for a second i thought that he actually is doing wat i say but then when the bread ran out there he goes again jumping up on me i had to leave because he was jumping so much. 

How much time do i need to spend with him (about 1 hr) ?


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

Keith.. a dog is a member of the family. That means he lives with you.. sort of like if you had another person there. 

This means, when you go to school, the dog should be indoors in a crate in the house (no, I would not put a person in a crate.. LOL). When you get home, before you do anything else, you get him out of the crate so he can get out to go to the bathroom. Then you have to walk him and train him. I walk my dog no less than 3 miles (45 minutes at a really brisk walk or 4 MPH.. and I am old so it takes me a little longer). Then I feed her and she stays quiet for an hour (digesting dinner). Then we go outside for her to go to the bathroom again.. and then I take her and work training her. WE come inside and she has her dog bed where she stays and I eat my dinner.. and then I do another short training session and give her another bathroom break.

After that I do other stuff for about an hour or two.. depending on how late it is. I move my dog's bed so she can be near me while I am doing that stuff (I read, go online, paint and draw, etc.) This would probably be when you would be doing your homework? 

After that it is back outside for another bathroom break for the dog and then we all go to bed. Atka used to sleep nights in her crate but now she has her dog bed and she sleeps on that. Sometimes the cats will slepp with her but usually they end up on my bed. Atka is as big as your dog.. so she has her own dog bed.

I set my alarm EARLY.. and I get up and get her out and walk her for at least 1/2 hour before I go to work and then she goes in her crate for the day. 

We have had dog theft issues here. If that were not a problem I would set up so she could be in a fenced area or inside with a dog door during the day so she would not have to be in a crate.. but we have had dogs stolen around here and I am afraid to do that. However, she seems OK during the day. She has a couple of toys in her crate and I take the Kong and fill it with peanut butter so she has that to work on too. She has water in there as well. Since you have the yard and Toby is used to the yard if he is not barking all day he probably could be in his yard and his 'house.'

Dogs are always excited to see you. Your dog sounds like he is spending too much time not with his family, so whe you do spend time with him he goes a little nuts. Dogs are inteeligent social creatures and German Shepherds are herding dogs so are more social than some other breeds. They want to be with their people. They are also very intelligent creatures and too much time alone can give them serious issues from boredom. 

Dogs do train well for food. Try getting a cheap package of hot dogs and cut them up.. I cut each hot dog lenthwise and then do it again so they are quarterd lengthwise. Then I slice the cross wise so the pieces are really small. Dogs don't work for quantity.. they work for quality and a tiny (1/2 dime size) treat can do a LOT of teaching. 

If your dog knows sit, you ask him to sit and when he has done it you give him a treat. When he is doing it really well, you don't give a treat every time.. you do it less often.. but sometimes.. so he does not know if he will get one or not. The same for other commands. I would still try to go to dog class with him and have your Mom come too. You both would learn a LOT. 

You have a really really nice dog.. as said before it would be a very sad thing for him to end up at the SPCA because you don't have time (or know how) to train him. He looks to be a lovely dog. 

I am glad you came here for help and I hope you try some of this.


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## doghollerer (Jan 1, 2008)

keith91 is that a purebred german shepherd? My puppy is about 9 months old and weighs about 50 lbs. I was thinking she was a mix since we found her walking down the middle of the road at about 6 weeks old. I swear they could be litter mates. 

She (Heidi) displays similar behavoir as yours. As a matter of fact, she almost jerked my arm out of the socket today. Here are some things that have worked for me. When she jumps on me or anyone else, we turn our back on her immediately. This seems to work more than anything. I tell her no and get down every time (trying to teach her the command). I have alot of trouble getting through the gate into the dog yard. She and my other dog love to jump on the gate. I do not open it if they are on it. I have also been practicing the sit command before feeding, attaching the leash, etc. Stick with it and eventually he should eventually come around. I have been told the adolescent period is tough and this may be playing into it some. 

As for what to do when the treats run out? I'm not sure. I make sure I have plenty to start with. Some of this has already been mentioned here. Just my $.02 worth, I am by no means a dog training expert.


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## keith91 (Jan 21, 2008)

yes toby is 100% german shepherd we flew him in from Minnesota to mississippi where i live.

Anyway tommorow i will be trying the turning my back on him trick and see if that works ill keep yall updated


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

Go to this site and read what it has to say. 

www.clickertraining.com

I would suggest you get one of the begining dog training packets they have 4 sale. It has a clicker and step by step instructions to teach the dog to do basic things like come when called, sit, stay etc. 

Yeah.. you will need those hot dog treats I told you about but for $1.39 I can get really cheap hot dogs that make about 50 treats per hot dog. 

When my dog is intensely trying something new she can go through a lot of treats.


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## Matte (Jan 21, 2008)

keith91 said:


> Anyway tommorow i will be trying the turning my back on him trick and see if that works ill keep yall updated


Keith, he's a very beautiful dog. Keep turning your back on him all the time, even if it doesn't work at first. It might take a couple of days for him to understand, but do it all the time, every time, and after a while he will get it.

Dogs are creatures of habit, so he needs to see that his jumping will always make you ignore him, and then he will get into the habit of not jumping because he doesn't want to be ignored.


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## rosemaryninja (Sep 28, 2007)

Keith, I just wanted to add that nothing is going to help unless you get your dog out of the house (yes, out of the house, not just in the backyard with a ton of toys) and let him get all that energy he has out of him. Being able to run around the backyard is not the same as being allowed outside into an unfamiliar environment. I could probably play fetch with my dog in the house that she lives in, and knows really well, for 3 hours, and she wouldn't get tired. But I take her outdoors to take in new sights, sounds, smells and she is whacked in an hour. 

It will be almost impossible to teach your dog anything unless you have given him a chance to work off some of that energy he has pent up inside him. He just can't focus when he's this charged. If you can't walk him on a leash, bring him to a wide enclosed space like a field and let him off-leash for awhile.


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

rosemaryninja said:


> Keith, I just wanted to add that nothing is going to help unless you get your dog out of the house (yes, out of the house, not just in the backyard with a ton of toys) and let him get all that energy he has out of him. Being able to run around the backyard is not the same as being allowed outside into an unfamiliar environment. I could probably play fetch with my dog in the house that she lives in, and knows really well, for 3 hours, and she wouldn't get tired. But I take her outdoors to take in new sights, sounds, smells and she is whacked in an hour.
> 
> It will be almost impossible to teach your dog anything unless you have given him a chance to work off some of that energy he has pent up inside him. He just can't focus when he's this charged. If you can't walk him on a leash, bring him to a wide enclosed space like a field and let him off-leash for awhile.



That's good advice, but I wouldn't suggest it for right now. If he can't control the dog he takes the risk of the dog getting away from him and maybe getting lost or hurt. Honestly, I'd wait until some work has been done with the dog before venturing too far off. That's just me.


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## rosemaryninja (Sep 28, 2007)

Renoman said:


> That's good advice, but I wouldn't suggest it for right now. If he can't control the dog he takes the risk of the dog getting away from him and maybe getting lost or hurt. Honestly, I'd wait until some work has been done with the dog before venturing too far off. That's just me.


Good point Renoman. I guess sometimes I forget that not everyone has a dog whose head is around knee-level!  Keith, exercise is very important to your dog's learning, but if you can't get a trainer or a family friend who can control your dog on a leash, it might not be that good an idea to take it into your own hands. In the meantime, at least try to work off your dog's energy with a game of fetch in the enclosed yard.


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