# "Reactive" personality



## Rkaymay (May 12, 2014)

From what I can tell by reading books (particularly "Good Owners, Great Dogs" and "My Smart Puppy" by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson), my puppy's personality is that of a reactive dog. She is incredibly excitable, almost to the point that it seems like she has ADHD. She cannot calm herself down. She is only 3 months, yet after a mile walk or 15 minutes of fetch she is still going strong. Correction and praise equally just amp up her energy. And it's energy that is hard to channel - very frenetic, short attention span, etc. She will calm down once she is crated, but if she is not, she just keeps going and going. I was just wondering if anyone else had experience with this personality and how you dealt with it? It's more than just hyper/energetic.


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## janababy (Jan 2, 2012)

Just wondering what kind of treats you are giving your pup? With our last Golden a friend brought over fancy treats for him. The kind that look like bacon strips and other yummy treats. Our pup became "kujo", he was so hyped up on the preservatives, flavours, and dyes in the treats. I had never witnessed anything like it. Just wondering if your pup might have a sensitivity to something she is eating.
I can relate on the hyperness. too. The same Golden had to be played with for hours at a time. After supper the kids and I would take him into the backyard for an hour and half. I don't know who got tired first. Could be your pup just doesn't feel challenged enough, and needs to do. You might try teaching her some tricks, longer walks, or more playtime. I wish you well with her.


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## Eowyn (Aug 29, 2013)

She sounds like a Golden Retriever. Try more mental and physical exercise, ie. lots of short, fun training sessions and romps in the years will help. It does get better though! Keep at it and definitely get into puppy classes.


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## Rkaymay (May 12, 2014)

None - I generally just use dog food for treats when training, with an occasional dentastix or kong with peanut butter.


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## Rkaymay (May 12, 2014)

Eowyn said:


> She sounds like a Golden Retriever. Try more mental and physical exercise, ie. lots of short, fun training sessions and romps in the years will help. It does get better though! Keep at it and definitely get into puppy classes.


It just feels like she has so much trouble turning herself off. I've had high-energy breeds before and this is probably 12x that haha. She can't even focus on training. She lasts about 5 minutes before she gets so wound up she can't listen.


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## sdhgolden (Aug 13, 2012)

My first dog is similar to this. I had to make sure I was very clam in my interactions with him. Even in training. He gets so easily excited and he is sooooooooooooo food motivated it can amplify his excitement. Even just boring dog food gets him excited. I will say that we did lots and lots of training classes. We never stopped (until a few months ago). He was the class clown for a long time. Classes have made a huge difference. Way better than just training on our own because of the added distractions of other dogs and people. Which he looooved both. He is now a little over 2 years old and he is much better now. He still has loads of energy but he can at least control himself now. I would say he got noticeably better at around 1.5 years old as far as being able to control himself. And now he is even better. You can tell it's still hard for him even now because he gets so excited, but he can do it. I call him my problem child. A term of endearment by for sure  All that training has made him so in tuned to me and so bonded to me that he listens very well. I trust him a lot. 

Since he was my first dog ever I assumed he was a typical golden. But compared to my other golden he has way more energy. The only way we could wear him out as a puppy was to have him play for hours with other dogs(running, wrestling, swimming). And then he'd take a five minute nap in the car ride home and was ready to go again. Walks did absolutely nothing and still don't. When he got old enough we started riding our bikes with him so he could run. I know this sounds silly but we even bough a super fast RC car and take him to the park where he can chase it. He needs at least 45 minutes to an hour of flat out running to get his energy out. Granted we take breaks often, we don't make him do that non stop. If we let him he could probably go for hours. We wonder if he'd be a good field dog.

He has some anxiety and has had it since we brought him home. (We didn't get him from a very good breeder). He does well despite the anxiety and is very comfortable in most situations however I believe the anxiety amped up his excitement/reactions to things as a younger dog. Lots of socialization has helped with this also. New places, new people, etc. Also I'm not sure what you mean by "correction" but that can make things worse, so I would avoid correcting her. 

I know it seems tough now but it does get better. Just keep at it. She will turn into an amazing dog one day! I am so proud of how far my Ben has come and he has even helped me train my second dog believe it or not. (Luckily she only needs 20-30 minutes of fetch to wear her out) Good luck with your puppy! I hope this helped. 


Sent from Petguide.com App


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## Rkaymay (May 12, 2014)

sdhgolden said:


> My first dog is similar to this. I had to make sure I was very clam in my interactions with him. Even in training. He gets so easily excited and he is sooooooooooooo food motivated it can amplify his excitement. Even just boring dog food gets him excited. I will say that we did lots and lots of training classes. We never stopped (until a few months ago). He was the class clown for a long time. Classes have made a huge difference. Way better than just training on our own because of the added distractions of other dogs and people. Which he looooved both. He is now a little over 2 years old and he is much better now. He still has loads of energy but he can at least control himself now. I would say he got noticeably better at around 1.5 years old as far as being able to control himself. And now he is even better. You can tell it's still hard for him even now because he gets so excited, but he can do it. I call him my problem child. A term of endearment by for sure  All that training has made him so in tuned to me and so bonded to me that he listens very well. I trust him a lot.
> 
> Since he was my first dog ever I assumed he was a typical golden. But compared to my other golden he has way more energy. The only way we could wear him out as a puppy was to have him play for hours with other dogs(running, wrestling, swimming). And then he'd take a five minute nap in the car ride home and was ready to go again. Walks did absolutely nothing and still don't. When he got old enough we started riding our bikes with him so he could run. I know this sounds silly but we even bough a super fast RC car and take him to the park where he can chase it. He needs at least 45 minutes to an hour of flat out running to get his energy out. Granted we take breaks often, we don't make him do that non stop. If we let him he could probably go for hours. We wonder if he'd be a good field dog.
> 
> ...


I'm glad I'm not crazy! You just described Z to a T. By "correction" I mean even telling her "no," like when she bites. I think a puppy class would be excellent for her, but they're nonexistent where I live - the closest is 2 hours away, so not exactly feasible. The food thing is definitely there. As soon she she's 6 months we're trying out the dog park, but until then we'll just have to play lots of mind games. I am trying to build a kind of homemade agility course - we'll see what that does for her.


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## sdhgolden (Aug 13, 2012)

Rkaymay said:


> I'm glad I'm not crazy! You just described Z to a T. By "correction" I mean even telling her "no," like when she bites. I think a puppy class would be excellent for her, but they're nonexistent where I live - the closest is 2 hours away, so not exactly feasible. The food thing is definitely there. As soon she she's 6 months we're trying out the dog park, but until then we'll just have to play lots of mind games. I am trying to build a kind of homemade agility course - we'll see what that does for her.


Oh ok. Just avoid using anything like a prong collar or any sort of negative reinforcement. That may work for some dogs, but it's a bad idea for dogs like ours. Positive reinforcement is key. If you can't make it to a class you can practice training her in different places for different distractions like the park, Petsmart or even your vets office. Don't expect perfection and keep her at a reasonable distance from stimuli. The exposure will help a lot though. Also socialization is very important, try to take her to lots of different places and meet lots of people(all kinds and ages) and see new things, and if you have friends with good dogs she can play with that's good socialization too, this will help(over time) to make new things not so dang exciting lol! It's a process but it's fun to watch them grow. I think agility would be great! Good exercise and good mental stimulation. Just avoid jumps and weaves until she's older. I'm sure this will be easier for you as an experienced dog owner than it was for me but good luck anyway!


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## Rkaymay (May 12, 2014)

What collar to you suggest for walking? A halter is out of the question, and I suspect a pinch collar will just get more wound up. A head collar, maybe? And what about when she becomes crazy and overstimulated on walks? What about carrying a weighted backpack?


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## Selli-Belle (Jan 28, 2009)

You have a three month old puppy, they ARE crazy, frenetic, ADHD monsters. At this point do not even think of weighted back pack or collar corrections. She needs positive instruction, take her to puppy classes and enjoy her antics. They grow up so fast.


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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

Rkaymay said:


> From what I can tell by reading books (particularly "Good Owners, Great Dogs" and "My Smart Puppy" by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson), my puppy's personality is that of a reactive dog. She is incredibly excitable, almost to the point that it seems like she has ADHD. She cannot calm herself down. She is only 3 months, yet after a mile walk or 15 minutes of fetch she is still going strong. Correction and praise equally just amp up her energy. And it's energy that is hard to channel - very frenetic, short attention span, etc. She will calm down once she is crated, but if she is not, she just keeps going and going. I was just wondering if anyone else had experience with this personality and how you dealt with it? It's more than just hyper/energetic.


Describes puppy Tayla to a T. Your puppy will do best with a job or two or three. We got Tayla into Nose Work, we do some tracking and she loves to swim. We have started what I call mock duck hunting, we use a fake duck. You have a dog that as she matures will be a hard worker, probably really smart and will thrive on being taught lots of things.


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## Rkaymay (May 12, 2014)

Thank you Tayla's mom! I trying to find jobs for her to do. She does really well when her mind is focused on things - she just can't stay focused for very long.


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## Rkaymay (May 12, 2014)

Selli-Belle said:


> You have a three month old puppy, they ARE crazy, frenetic, ADHD monsters. At this point do not even think of weighted back pack or collar corrections. She needs positive instruction, take her to puppy classes and enjoy her antics. They grow up so fast.


I don't think you understand, it's beyond puppy crazy. I know puppies. I'm not new to raising dogs. She becomes overstimulated to the point where she will hurt herself - and others on accident. If we can't figure out how to manage her excitement, she's going to bite someone purely because she can't calm down. It's not normal, run-around-in-circles puppy antics.


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## Selli-Belle (Jan 28, 2009)

Rkaymay said:


> I don't think you understand, it's beyond puppy crazy. I know puppies. I'm not new to raising dogs. She becomes overstimulated to the point where she will hurt herself - and others on accident. If we can't figure out how to manage her excitement, she's going to bite someone purely because she can't calm down. It's not normal, run-around-in-circles puppy antics.


Still no weighted backpacks or forced exercise at her age, her bones are still forming and these attempts to slow her down can cause permanent damage. Two things to look at are Dr. Karen Overall's relaxation protocol and Leslie McDevitt's Control Unleashed. You will need to teach her how to have self-control and these two things can help.


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

Adding on to Selli-Belle's post. Lots of impulse control games. Such as Crate Games by Susan Garrett, It's Yer Choice (do a search on the forum) and go to your mat games can help the pup learn self control. Plus lots of rewarding for any calm behaviors will help. Sometimes the more exercise you give the more adrenalin keeps running through their bodies and they just can't calm down. Not saying not to let the dog have the exercise but mental stimulation (training games as above) is the way to go.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I've known dogs that are exactly as you describe, and correcting (even verbally) at this age tends to confuse and amp them up. They take it kind of as reinforcement (ATTENTION, YAY!), but also get bad energy off it (I'M IN TROUBLE, ACK!). So with some pups, it makes them a lot more crazy and bitey.

Personally, I'd withdraw my attention for undesired behaviors (no eye contact, voice, or touch). It tends to be the best punishment for a really amped up puppy because it tends to suck energy _out_ of the situation, while negative attention can add energy _in_. It's also pretty gentle and clear.

Second, I'd get this pup a lot of mental stimulation. If you can channel some of this energy into games that the puppy can figure out and play with you, you can end up with a great worker and a wonderful companion. My Jax is a lot like you describe. Even at 5 years old, he'll literally _vibrate_ when he thinks anything cool might happen. He doesn't feel pain when he's in this mode, so physical corrections are kind of pointless, and a verbal correction energizes him and confuses him. But he's an extraordinary worker and a ridiculously smart dog when he has clear instructions and something to do (even if that thing is "settle on your spot and wait for me to throw you a cookie every five minutes").

I second the suggestions of McDevitt, Overall, and Garrett. They have some great games and exercises.


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## Eowyn (Aug 29, 2013)

Rkaymay said:


> I don't think you understand, it's beyond puppy crazy. I know puppies. I'm not new to raising dogs. She becomes overstimulated to the point where she will hurt herself - and others on accident. If we can't figure out how to manage her excitement, she's going to bite someone purely because she can't calm down. It's not normal, run-around-in-circles puppy antics.


That describes most super high energy field goldens I know. What breeder did she come from? I second what Tippy said.

And please do not use a weighted back pack! That is a really bad idea! It won't help and you risk hurting her!

ETA: most goldens go through a "landshark" stage in which they bite everything and anything. I quite literally have scars on my arm from when my youngest was a puppy (she is 17 months). It's completely normal.


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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

Rkaymay said:


> I don't think you understand, it's beyond puppy crazy. I know puppies. I'm not new to raising dogs. She becomes overstimulated to the point where she will hurt herself - and others on accident. If we can't figure out how to manage her excitement, she's going to bite someone purely because she can't calm down. It's not normal, run-around-in-circles puppy antics.


I can't tell you how many people didn't understand my complaints about Tayla. She was also a frustrated biter and everything would frustrate her. I can say that so many people told me to crack down on her because she was a normal bratty puppy. Use this, do that, blah, blah, blah. I tried some of them and it just make things worse. Use only super positive methods of training because anything else with these puppies just backfires. Work in short bursts and there were times when we confined Tayla a lot. Up until she was about a year old she never slept unless she was in her crate. She could be out and active 10 hours and she NEVER laid down like a normal puppy. She was always like an over tired toddler. IT DOES GET BETTER, but find lots of things for her to do. Even if it's training a trick or series of actions. I bet she is super smart. Tayla is and that was part of our problem.


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## Rkaymay (May 12, 2014)

Eowyn said:


> That describes most super high energy field goldens I know. What breeder did she come from? I second what Tippy said.
> 
> And please do not use a weighted back pack! That is a really bad idea! It won't help and you risk hurting her!
> 
> ETA: most goldens go through a "landshark" stage in which they bite everything and anything. I quite literally have scars on my arm from when my youngest was a puppy (she is 17 months). It's completely normal.


She's from the humane society. Actually golden x collie mix.


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## Rkaymay (May 12, 2014)

Tayla's Mom said:


> I can't tell you how many people didn't understand my complaints about Tayla. She was also a frustrated biter and everything would frustrate her. I can say that so many people told me to crack down on her because she was a normal bratty puppy. Use this, do that, blah, blah, blah. I tried some of them and it just make things worse. Use only super positive methods of training because anything else with these puppies just backfires. Work in short bursts and there were times when we confined Tayla a lot. Up until she was about a year old she never slept unless she was in her crate. She could be out and active 10 hours and she NEVER laid down like a normal puppy. She was always like an over tired toddler. IT DOES GET BETTER, but find lots of things for her to do. Even if it's training a trick or series of actions. I bet she is super smart. Tayla is and that was part of our problem.


She's very smart! And highly food oriented. Regular dog food is like a dream for her. The hardest thing is praising enough but not too much. Anything past a calm "good girl" and quick pat gets her so riled up. There is no "party throwing" with Z because that brings the crazy puppy right back. She does spend a good amount of time crated, because that is the only way she sleeps. Out for 30 min with structured activity (no free roaming because that makes it worse), crate for an hour to sleep it off, all day long.


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## gldnboys (Mar 15, 2012)

I have a dog like this (he recently turned 2), so I feel your pain. This is way beyond typical Golden/puppy behaviour, and it really is challenging to deal with. You have already gotten some great suggestions, so I'll just share the few key ones that have worked for me. 

The first one is to remain calm - just try to keep your cool, no matter what. As others have said, any type of correction just tends to get them more wound up. Ignore the behaviours you don't like, and *calmly* reinforce the ones you do. Just a soft voice is often enough, along with treating the good behaviours (depending on the context). 

Lots of mental stimulation works well, too, plus it'll give you something to get your pup to focus on when she's overexcited. I started with my boy when he was 8 weeks old and he was a very quick learner (tons of drive, too), so I was able to quickly get him focused on me and doing commands, tricks, whatever instead of reacting to whatever was getting him all excited. I still use this technique when necessary. (Helpful hint: always carry treats when you go out with her. I always keep kibble in my pocket, as well as higher-value treats, and use whatever is most appropriate.) Various dog sports can help as well, if you're looking for different ways to challenge her brain (and yours). 

A lot of people misinterpret this extreme exciteability with hyperactivity, but they are in fact two completely different things. While my boy does get a lot of exercise, he isn't really hyper at all. He has a wonderful off-switch and is calm and easy-going at home. And no matter how much exercise he's had on a given day, he is prone to getting super-excited and appearing hyper if something really gets him going (and it doesn't take much). 

As a note of encouragement, there are benefits to having a dog like this. You will learn a TON about dog training.  And if you take the initiative and teach her a lot of different things to keep her mentally stimulated, you'll impress everyone with your brilliant dog. :bowl:


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## Rkaymay (May 12, 2014)

gldnboys said:


> I have a dog like this (he recently turned 2), so I feel your pain. This is way beyond typical Golden/puppy behaviour, and it really is challenging to deal with. You have already gotten some great suggestions, so I'll just share the few key ones that have worked for me.
> 
> The first one is to remain calm - just try to keep your cool, no matter what. As others have said, any type of correction just tends to get them more wound up. Ignore the behaviours you don't like, and *calmly* reinforce the ones you do. Just a soft voice is often enough, along with treating the good behaviours (depending on the context).
> 
> ...


Thank you! Zelda's off-switch is not very strong, though I think some of that will come with age. She does love training more than anything!


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## gldnboys (Mar 15, 2012)

Rkaymay said:


> Thank you! Zelda's off-switch is not very strong, though I think some of that will come with age. She does love training more than anything!


That's great! Make the most of it.  My super-exciteable boy is my fourth Golden, and while he's the most difficult to handle in a lot of ways, he's also by far the best worker of the bunch. Very, very smart, with tons of drive. 

Your pup is still very young, so yes, the off-switch should come with time. For the first several months, my pup used to take a while to settle down after a walk, etc., but he's fine now. I was lucky when he was a baby, in that he never had any destructive tendencies at all, and was very happy to play with his toys right from the start, so as long as he had something safe to do to amuse himself, all was well.


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## Anon-2130948gsoni (Apr 12, 2014)

Have you tried music? I've been using it again after reading about it here (kind of got out of the habit except when I leave and my dogs are crated, which doesn't happen all that often) and getting great results, not only with relaxing in general but when we're out.

I have two wiggy, paranoid, easily stimulated dogs (Aussie, BC/Aussie mix) and keeping them focused but not WIRED OMG WHAT WAS THAT DID YOU SEE THAT DID YOU HEAR THAT is a challenge. 

So I've been singing softly to myself when we're out and about. Today was The Guess Who's Greatest Hits (dating myself) and as long as they hear me singing, all might be right with the world and they relax a bit.


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## gldnboys (Mar 15, 2012)

Just a tip regarding the off-switch. A lot can depend on how you react to your pup's behaviour when what you really want is for her to be quiet. I find the best thing is to calmly go about your business and ignore the dog.... Even just do something sedentary like sitting and reading. Since your puppy is still very young, you could try giving her something to do to amuse herself, as I mentioned above with my pup and his toys - maybe a chew bone or a stuffed Kong, for example. If she's really tired out and what she really needs is a nap, some crate time may be in order, or sometimes just plain ignoring the pup is all it takes for them to conk out. (Obviously any of this would be after she'll been well-exercised, but for some dogs - and especially puppies - it can take a while for them to fully settle down even then.)


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