[Dogsareme]

My Husky/Greyhound who is about a year old that I adopted 4 months ago is finally confident.........but I over did it!

Now he is so confident its hard to get him to calm down and do things right!

Before he was super friendly (still is) but greeted properly, slowly, with me, and in an arc.......now it's RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN TOO SEE THE DOG!!
He also runs to say hi to everyone he meets now, where before he would just cower.

His recall has become worse not better....???? He is anxious (well always was a bit because of being scared, now it's an excited anxious) and voices it. I wait him out always until he calms down before he is allowed to go see anyone or say hi, or smell something etc. I don't react to it, I do not say anything, do not look at him, stand like a tree until he calms down. This has all cropped up over the course of the last week or so. He is suddenly very vocal if he wants to see something or is anxious where as before I did not think he has a voice at all.

I have restricted him to the long lead until we get the greetings and recall down better...guess his recall was so good before as he was scared and found me comforting to come back to...now I just instilled to much confidence in him!! lol I sure over did it.

His treats are not working good anymore...he is too excited. I even up graded his treats but still no go.

Any other suggestion that I can do to get him to calm down. Can't believe I went from one extreme to the other so quickly!! lol. He was a dog that came from a home where there was 56 dogs, most tied up, all starved and neglected. He was not tied up and allowed to run free because he was young. But they where on acres and acres of property with no one around so they were just frightened and terrified of people. I took him in to foster 2 days after they where captured and we turned him around so much that I did not want to give him up......and well....we did such a good job!!! lol

Suggestions??

[Durbkat]

Sounds like a normal puppy to me. How old is he?

[TooneyDogs]

You're on the right track. His world is getting bigger...he's gaining confidence and exuberance and that's good. His barking is frustration...he wants to go there now! and he would rather see the new things instead of coming to you. Perfectly normal. You don't want to stop the confidence or the exuberance...the trick is to channel that energy...teaching him to calm down/wait...not easy with a puppy so, take your time and don't get frustrated or start leash popping.
If he's not taking treats, you're probably too close to the other dog...back up. Try a long, slow massage when he's standing quietly....run two fingers up and down between the eyes and the muzzle. Praise for calmness...very important.

[Love's_Sophie]

Perhaps now would be the time to enroll in a dog training club! Then you can get him out weekly and with other people and their dogs; they will recognize that your dog has needs, and will help you deal with them.

He sounds like a normal dog, though, which is good; you have done a good job of resocializing him, and now it's time to teach him that there are certain rules to greeting others, no matter how excited he is.

[Shaina]

We had (have) the same problem: we got an undersocialized pup who was afraid of everything. When she finally learned we were okay she would just hide behind us all the time. With socialization she went to the other extreme: whining, pulling, and generally getting frenzied to meet people or dogs.

You need to take a step backward and work on the basics. Try not to get frustrated even though you know he already knows the commands: you're teaching him to focus on you even when the other distractions are super exciting. Start back without distractions and work your way up all over again. Go to the park and pet stores to work on his skills, but try to pick times when these places are quiet at first, then work up to dealing with after-work rushes.

Taking a group beginner's training class is a huge help as well: you're surrounded by dogs and people, so working on that focus and listening around distractions, but those people are there to help you, not oo and ah over your dog as he jumps on them. I was kinda skeptical about taking a class since I felt Kim's training was going great on my own, but people here convinced me. Even though she hasn't learned one "new" command, her responses have become much better and her behavior in public has improved drastically.

Sorry for the novel, I just feel for your situation, since we're still working on it ourselves! Good luck!

[natureloverchris]

I went through that with my last dog. He was well socialized but just naturally very timid. I agree with everything Shaina said. It takes a lot of patience.

[Dogsareme]

Thanks everyone.

Good to know I am on the right track with him.

I am very happy about the turn around in him, and at the same time I kind of miss the dog that was attached to my leg lol

I will keep up what I am doing...but start back at beginning, no distractions and work our way up. He is a very smart dog so I think we should progress fairly quickly, and spring is coming so that means lots of more time and distractions to practice with.

[wvasko]

Originally Posted by Dogsareme

Thanks everyone.

Good to know I am on the right track with him.

I am very happy about the turn around in him, and at the same time I kind of miss the dog that was attached to my leg lol

I will keep up what I am doing...but start back at beginning, no distractions and work our way up. He is a very smart dog so I think we should progress fairly quickly, and spring is coming so that means lots of more time and distractions to practice with.

1st off pat yourself on the back. Great job and all replies above are correct. You now have a dog that you can begin a normal work program. Whatever you did it's a shame you can't put it a can and sell it as there are a lot of dogs and dog's owners that would buy it. I just finished reading the dobe biting thread it's good to have a happy ending to read about.