[adrianna]

My dog does great on walks, usually doesn't pull too much unless he sees a squirrel or another dog he wants to say hi to and is usually relatively calm. However, each time we are about to end the walk and turn onto our street, its as if he sees home and goes crazy! He won't stop running and jumping on me, running in circles and biting on his leash etc. I can't seem to calm him down for a few minutes and feel as if I have no control over him when he gets like this. I worry he's gonna knock me over and try to play rough because he's soo sooo hyper. How do I prevent this from happening, or if it does, how do I maintain control and calm him down. He's a 10 month old Pit Bull / Black Lab Mix that's 50 pounds so he's no small dog and the jumping is out of control when he gets like this. Any recommendations?

 

[Lillith]

Have you tired standing still "being a tree" until the zoomie has played itself out? My dog used to "flail" at the end of his leash, too, when he got excited, and I found the most effective solution was standing absolutely still and waiting the dog out. Once the dog was calm, we continued. If he went nuts again, we repeated.

If just standing there is difficult because of his size and strength, you might try training obedience commands like heeling with turns, sit, down, etc., as you walk that final stretch to home. That might redirect some of that crazy, excited energy into something more productive. Make sure to reward with delicious treats!

As he gets older, this behavior will likely just extinguish itself. It is a very baby dog behavior.