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San Diego Humane Society

Adopting: Excitable Dogs

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adoptingexcitabledogs.png Many dogs struggle with jumping, mouthing, grabbing and barking when they get too excited. If your pup has shown any of these behaviors, it’s important to set up your home for success and consistently teach your dog the behaviors you want them to do instead. Don’t worry, we’re here to help! 

Body Language

Dogs are typically great communicators, but it’s up to us to learn how to understand what they are trying to say. They use body language and behavior to communicate how they are feeling and what they want from us, and it’s important to notice changes to their body language to help manage their excitement.  

Body language and behaviors that may indicate your dog is too excited include: 

  • Dilated (big) pupils 
  • Panting when they aren’t hot 
  • Tight, high wagging tail 
  • Inability to focus 
  • Taking treats roughly 
  • Mouthing and grabbing at clothing 
  • Jumping and pulling 
  • Mounting 

Triggers Edit section 

Typically, specific triggers (people, places, objects or events) will contribute to a dog’s excitement. Every dog is unique, so triggers will be different depending on the dog. Common triggers for excitement include sudden events, movements, other dogs, people or playing. 

Something called trigger stacking can happen when a dog experiences multiple triggers within a short period of time, making their excitement increase suddenly. The more triggers that your dog encounters in a short amount of time, the more difficult it will be for them to manage their impulses and offer other, more desirable behaviors, like sitting or going to their bed. 

Whenever possible, prevent your dog from being in a situation in which trigger stacking can occur. If trigger stacking can’t be avoided, it’s likely your dog will forget their training until they are removed from the situation and can calm down. If this happens, calmly remove your dog from the situation, take note of the triggers and do your best to avoid similar situations in the future.  

Set Your Dog Up for Success  

Doggy Proofing  

Set your dog up for success by creating an environment that will help you minimize triggers that make your dog too excited. “Doggie proof” your home by removing and securely storing any objects you do not want the dog to play with.  

Create a Safe Space 

  • Provide your dog with a comfortable, safe space they can rest when you’re unable to supervise them. This could be a laundry room, a room sectioned off with a baby gate or an area created with a sturdy exercise pen.  
  • Consider closing doors to prevent them from entering any areas that haven’t been dog proofed. 
  • While in their safe space, ensure your pup has plenty of things to chew on (split antler, bully sticks, Himalayan yak chews) and items to keep them engaged (interactive toys, puzzle feeders, a stuffed Kong, etc.).  
  • Feed your dog their meal with a slow feeder or puzzle feeder to engage their problem-solving skills and prevent boredom.  
  • If your dog begins to jump on you, mouth you or show any behaviors that you can’t redirect, lead them to their safe space to allow them to calm down so they are not turning these behaviors into a habit. 

Remain Calm 

Your dog will pick up on your emotions, so make sure you remain calm while interacting with them. If they’re too excited, don’t let them play with parts of your body — like hands or feet — or push them off if they jump up on you. Also, avoid riling them up further with games like “wrestle” or “chase.” The more relaxed you remain, the easier it is to teach calm and polite behaviors to your dog. 

Remove Triggers From the Environment  

Create space between your dog and their triggers. Cross the street on walks to avoid passing people, dogs or other triggers close to them. Place your dog in their safe space when guests visit or during “busier” or more active times in your day, like when you are cooking a meal. 

Use a Drag Leash  

Attach a lightweight leash to your dog’s collar or harness and cut off the handle so they don’t get caught on furniture. Allow them to drag it around when you are home and supervising. This way, if your dog needs to be redirected, you can pick up the leash and guide them to their safe space. 

Play and Redirections Edit section 

If your dog begins showing excited behaviors such as mouthing or jumping when playing, redirect them with a toy by throwing it or playing tug with them.  

Trainer tip: When playing tug, your job is to hold the toy, theirs is to direct the play! If you are unable to redirect your dog to playing with toys, then stop playing immediately.  

Always avoid playing with your dog using hands or other parts of your body as a toy, as this will lead to an increase in jumping, mouthing and grabbing or other impulsive behaviors. 

Physical Exercise Edit section 

Make sure your dog has a positive outlet for their energy!  

  • Take them on walks or runs using a front-clipping harness to discourage pulling. 
  • Play ball or tug with your dog, following the guidance under the Play and Redirections section above.  
  • If your dog is friendly with other dogs, schedule play sessions with familiar dogs. 
  • If your dog can play for hours and still be full of energy, switch from high energy exercise to low energy enrichment — like a slow walk focused on sniffing. Sniffing will work their brains more than their bodies and tire them out!  

Training 101 

Consistent positive reinforcement training is the best way to help your dog learn the behaviors you want to see. Make sure your dog knows what you expect of them in moments when they could become too excited — for example, offering a “sit” instead of jumping when a person walks through the door.  

Use positive reinforcement training to teach your dog “sit,” “off” and “go to bed.” We recommend enrolling in training classes to help them learn these fundamentals when they are calm. 

Repetition is key: The more you and your dog practice a behavior, the more they likely they will be to do it when they are excited. Practice training polite behaviors for a dedicated 10-15 minutes a day and throughout the day when offering life rewards. 

Use Life Rewards  

Things like meals, walks and playing with a toy are all rewarding and reinforce behaviors. Before doing these things, ask your dog to offer you a behavior.  

  • Cue your dog to sit and wait before giving them dinner.  
  • Wait for your dog to offer eye contact or sit before throwing a ball.  
  • Ask them to sit before you put on their leash for a walk.  

How to Interact Edit section 

Reward the behaviors you want to encourage and ignore the behaviors that you don’t — and make sure that everyone else who is interacting with your dog does the same! 

Consider the following questions when thinking about your dog's behavior and get all household members on the same page about boundaries: 

  • Is the dog allowed on furniture? 
  • Is the dog allowed on beds? 
  • Can the dog give you kisses? 
  • How do you play with the dog? 
  • What should the dog do when greeting people? 

If your dog is allowed to jump on you during play, they will think this is OK to do when greeting your guests. If a behavior is allowed by one person, your dog may try to do it with other people. Consistently upholding the rules is the best way to get the behavior you want with every person your dog meets. 

Ignore Inappropriate Behaviors  

When your dog begins jumping, mouthing, grabbing or displaying other undesirable behaviors, remove your attention to avoid reinforcing this behavior.  

Stand up straight, cross your arms and turn away from your dog for a moment. If your dog offers a different, appropriate behavior after you remove your attention, you can reward this by engaging with them. 

If your dog continues the undesirable behaviors, remove yourself entirely by moving into another room or guiding the dog into their safe space. Leave the dog in a short “timeout” for about 45-60 seconds, then allow them back out. Do not leave your dog in “timeout” for extended periods of time (longer than 1-2 minutes) unless you are unable to manage their behavior in the moment.  

Over time and with consistency, your dog will learn that undesired behaviors result in no attention or short timeouts. 

Never Punish Edit section 

Punishment that involves yelling, striking, collar jerking or other forms of intimidation often results in fear, anxiety, stress and frustration. These forms of punishment damage the human-animal bond, are often ineffective, and can result in escalated or additional undesired behaviors. We recommend using positive reinforcement methods only and working with a trainer who agrees with this philosophy.  

See our trainer directory to find a vetted positive reinforcement trainer who can help. 

More Behavior & Training Resources 

San Diego Humane Society offers training classes and resources to address a variety of needs for companion animals. 

Our training philosophy is based on the behavioral science concepts of positive reinforcement. Training your pet using these concepts will not only help them learn new behaviors more quickly, but it will also strengthen the bond you share. 

Please visit our website for a current schedule of training classes or call 619-279-5961.