My 7 month old border terrier way too overexcited on leash

[EPIXIEME]

Hi all, this has probably been discussed before but I have a lovely border terrier who is nearly 7 month old. We bought him at 14 weeks from a family who could not cope as they had 5 children and we knew he had no discipline from the start, for example he had no bite inhibition when playing and the only command he knew was sit. It's been a rough ride but we knew the score and my other half and I have got him to the point that he is a lovely well behaved dog with people we know and ourselves and in general he loves people and dogs. The last part is the problem. He loves people and dogs TOO much. To get to dogs he pulls and screaches, rolls on his back and screams like a toddler so I can't take him out of the situation. I've tried high value treats which work mostly when we are walking but On the park it doesn't always and when I swap his long leash back to his short leash to take him home and there are dogs approaching or too near he reacts. One man with his well behaved dog decided to shout to me that he was bonkers which hit a sensitive nerve given I am trying my best and know he is not bonkers really. However If he greets another dog he is all paws and in their faces to the point they run away or growl and in last weekend 2 off the lead dogs attacked him which is the most upsetting, he is such a softy and would never want our boy being hurt. If I put him on a long training lead he is so much better and mostly sits and watches other dogs. With people he is also getting better and generally on walks he ignores them but if someone decides to walk up and pet him without asking he loses it and becomes excited. So now I am being slightly rude and if someone does try to stroke him I tell them not to. I feel like one day we are progressing and the next we are back to square one. I also feel I am now neglecting him of meeting other dogs in order to desensitise him.

Has anyone gone through similar and been successful in changing these behaviours? I worry that if it continues he will be attacked again. I have signed him up for doggy daycare for a day per week who also offer one 2 one training in the hope this will help.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Does he get any play with other dogs?

 

[EPIXIEME]

Good point and yes he used to have puppy social every other Saturday until 2 weeks ago when we thought it was doing more harm than good. Seemed too much of a free for all and no real control and made the pulling to other dogs worse. Other than that we don't know of any other dogs who want to play as they are too disciplined or run a mile or owners who are willing to allow him near on leash.

 

[Cahill]

the first thing i would check is-does his diet have an ingredient in that is making him hyper?
your stress is travelling down the lead?
practice the `watch me` me command
be really firm and tell other people to keep their dogs away for now

i am sure there will be more helpful advice....

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Good point and yes he used to have puppy social every other Saturday until 2 weeks ago when we thought it was doing more harm than good. Seemed too much of a free for all and no real control and made the pulling to other dogs worse. Other than that we don't know of any other dogs who want to play as they are too disciplined or run a mile or owners who are willing to allow him near on leash.

yeah, free for alls are not good but I do believe they need an outlet to play and they learn appropriate play behaviour from others. I would recommend a good trainer-one with a dog that they can use. You can teach an auto-sit for a boisterous dog plus impulse control games which will help but it would be great if he could play with a pal (with a close eye kept for time outs if necessary). Its beyond me to explain by text though! He's only 7 months, you have time to sort it.

We have local FB pages for dog walks/socialisation purposes, is there anything like that around your way? I was able to find my goldie a girlfriend to play with hat way when he was younger.

As for Its screaming, I heard a dog screaming at work a couple of weeks ago-honestly thought it was some sort to f major dog fight. It was the gardener's BT screaming on the ground because he wasn't allowed to play with another dog! and this one is 11yo lol.

 

[EPIXIEME]

I think you're right. I need to stop being scared of the what ifs and join a group maybe through meet up. This doggy daycare thing looks good too as they match him with other dogs they look after and they have structured play. Borders play a bit rough and tumble at times and other owners don't always appreciate it, so at least in this situation they won't be there to judge him and the people running it are skilled enough to know how appropriate his behaviour is. I just hope it's going down the right track and you've reassured me it's not too late. I'm glad you have witnessed the screams of a border terrier as it's so embarrassing. I think people think I've just kicked him and they kind of look at me in shock lol. It really is like having a toddler but I wouldn't change him for th world.

 

[EPIXIEME]

Sorry Cahill, didn't see your response and we have been doing the look at me command and he's ok but not consistent so I'm practicing look at me every 5 mins in different places and you're right I do need to reign in the stress which I thought I was hiding but it's sooo difficult. I'll avoid other dogs a much as possible when on leash for now

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I think you're right. I need to stop being scared of the what ifs and join a group maybe through meet up. This doggy daycare thing looks good too as they match him with other dogs they look after and they have structured play. Borders play a bit rough and tumble at times and other owners don't always appreciate it, so at least in this situation they won't be there to judge him and the people running it are skilled enough to know how appropriate his behaviour is. I just hope it's going down the right track and you've reassured me it's not too late. I'm glad you have witnessed the screams of a border terrier as it's so embarrassing. I think people think I've just kicked him and they kind of look at me in shock lol. It really is like having a toddler but I wouldn't change him for th world.

vet any doggy daycare very carefully and I still recommend a trainer. He's old enough to go out and do classes. I started scent work with mine at 6 months-they learn that other dogs are about but don't necessarily get to interact with them (and the scent work gets them to concentrate). Its like have a young horse, you kind of have to do it for things to get better but it has to be done in the right way.

and don't despair. my easiest pup in the world had a teenage phase a few weeks ago (he's almost 12 months). We've worked really hard -lots of very short (5-10min) sessions on different things (impulse control, games-especially on him switching 'off', heel work etc) plus we're doing all sorts of new activities and I have my fabulous dog back.

I dont envy you the screaming, I honestly thought this dog was being pinned down or something!

 

[EPIXIEME]

I am meeting the owners of the canine advisory day care tomorrow and have given them up front info about Archie. Have to say they have lots of great reviews and accreditations and they seem really nice but it's whether they can help in his case, fingers crossed they can. They do training too so will be paying extra for that and hoping they can use the dogs they have in his training. I took him for a walk today and a dog came from no where and same reaction a growl because of his over excitement, pretty disappointing . It's hard cos he's stubborn and digs his heals in so that I can't take him away. He's so strong willed. Then a few minutes later I actually had a good situation to practice on with friendly horses behind a fence. He reacted with over excitement and I sat him at a threshold he could deal with and got him to sit and have a lick of some peanut butter and he managed it. I may try that again as they aren't fast moving targets like dogs. I like the idea of giving him an activity like sensory work. He loves finding things that we hide. Thank you for all the great advice

 

[MotherOfChickens]

good luck

seriously, try some scent work-he'll love it and it'll help tire him out and you can incorporate other command training into it as well.

 

[Nici]

I listen to a podcast called "It's a Doggy Dog World" where the hosts discuss many behavioural problems and over-excitement is one of them. As Cahill mentioned, the "watch me" command does wonders.
If the command is not as consistent as you would like it to be, the podcast recommends using a tidbit that's particularly delicious to your terrier as a treat, e.g. cheese or little pieces of chicken.

 

[TheFizzPony]

Would you consider getting him one of those leads or jackets that say 'I need space'? I can't say I have any experience of them but they are always popping up on my facebook feed. Might aid in stopping people coming up and stroking him without asking

 

[Kaylum]

Is he different off the lead? And how much exercise does he get the reason I am is my rescue dog is very excitable unless she has plenty of exercise she never settles. She is also totally different off the lead. She ignores dogs and does she own thing. But when she is on the lead it's like she is looking at everything and reacting.

 

[EPIXIEME]

Thanks guys both are great advice. I do give him high value treats and use look at me command but he's also picky so what is high value one day is not so much the next walk. He definitely knows how to make life difficult. I'm planning on not feeding him before we go out to make it more attractive. I'll look into the leash thing too. I feel like a bad owner at times as I want him to be able to say hello to other dogs with no drama and I can't quite seem to break through and get him to be calm. It's a shame because in the house and on walks with just the two of us he is great.

 

[EPIXIEME]

Hi Kaylum, he's better when he's on a long training leash but still a bit too obsessed until I run with a squeaky toy like a maniac to keep him interested in me. Then he does calm down and watches dogs at a distance. Have never let him off the lead because borders can get distracted and so many road traffic accidents happen as a result. I know some people would disagree, but with him not being the calmest I couldn't chance it. At puppy social he has been off lead but they just put them in caged off area and he just ends up running from one dog to the next without a real purpose. Don't get me wrong he has made some friends but then became obsessed with humping one of them (nice) so we got him neutered which I hope was the right decision. Sometimes a puppy has put him in his place and he's stopped being so OTT. So I guess in essence he never ignores other dogs which means there is never a respite as I seem to live in dog central lol. He also gets lots and lots of exercise and have tried taking th edge of things with a game of fetch before I go out near other dogs but to no avail. Are you making any progress with your dog?

 

[Clodagh]

My MIL has a border like yours, hers has never been allowed off to play so has never learned how to do it. Hopefully yours still has time. As MILs doesn't know how to talk dog she scrabbles at other dogs faces, which tends to lead them into attacking her as it is very annopying. She also screams if she is not allowed near them, it is an awful noise.
I have now been walking MILs dogs since December and we have made some progress. She can now be let off the lead with my calm labradors once we are walking properly, so I keep her on until they are all calm and then quietly unclip her. She does still occasionally start on my younger lab and I am afraid not being a nice dog trainer I bellow at her to 'Get off' and she does. That only works if the other dog doesn't take it personally.
I would try to join a dog walking group or similar and go out with them, with him on a longish lead and wait until he settles. We did that for a long time with this border. I do not allow the scrabbling at the end of the lead while screaming, she gets a hard jerk and a stern 'no'. I do realise that my training methods are out of date and brutal but it was either that or never walk it!

ETA I would find parks far too exciting places, and full of other manic dogs, hence my suggestion of countryside walks where there are exciting smells to investigate and things to think about. Also, if you are distracting madly with a squeaky toy, surely you are ramping up his adrenalin levels?

 

[EPIXIEME]

Hi Clodagh, how old is the border terrier? Don't get me wrong I would love to let him off leash but I am afraid of how to do it and safely as I don't want him running up to a dog and him being attacked or getting distracted by a bird and ending up under a car. Im also afraid other owners will just see him as a bad influence if we go to a walking group. I think with tomorrow's meeting at the dog daycare/ trainers it will hopefully help. Unfortunately he has been like this from the day we got him and he has been able to socialise off leash at puppy social but not outside and maybe this is making the situation worse. I really do hope I can turn this around as he will have to socialise with lots of dogs at day care.

 

[Clodagh]

She must be two now. She has improved immeasurably in the few months, and I do see that we are very lucky to be walking on private land where we don't meet others and are nowhere near a road, I have no idea how we would have got this far otherwise. I am sure you will get there, good luck.