How to deal with playful, unpredictable puppies?

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How do you deal with your puppy's craziness? For me, I want my puppy to walk precisely behind my left leg in a heeling position at all times, or else I get very frustrated during walks. I also can't stand my pup running around crazily inside the house or whining and making weird noises. My pup is a German Shepherd, but still it is too much to ask at the age (< 1yr). I find it very stressful to deal with the puppyhood playfulness --- so much surprises, irregularities, noises, and random people wanting to talk because of the puppy!! !

My pup is going through training and I know it just takes time and maturation, but still it is so stressful. How do you deal with it?

Well its a puppy, its going to make weird noises and get hyperactive sometimes, even full grown dogs still can do that. And yeah a dog isn't likely to walk as precisely as you want, so you may have to be a little more flexible...about that. Also do you ever play with it or does he have toys to play with to wear off some of the energy?

But if you really cant cope with it and its too stressful might be better to give the dog up to someone who'll enjoy him more. I mean dogs are animals its a bit too much to expect them to be quiet and 'civilized' all the time..dogs are quite a responsibility.

I assume you already know quite a bit about dog training, if you are working on heeling. Definitely treat-based training does improve a puppy's focus, but it's going to take time and effort outdoors.

When I first got my dog, she would bark quite often, which was hard for me. We tried several things, but when worked best was saying, "No" in a firm voice and hitting a nearby table or other solid object so it made a loud noise. She didn't like MY loud noise either, and would cower a little bit, silently. After about 15 seconds of silence, I would call her over, praise and pet her. "Good quiet."

Make sure you are not accidentally training your dog to do things you don't like by giving her treats, a bone, petting, etc. to distract her when she does those things. You also might try to work in some regular, predictable play time on your schedule, so you know what you will do with the puppy, and when. Then it won't get desperate to play so much at random times.

People wanting to talk to you when walking the dog is no good - have you tried wearing headphones or earbuds? Most people won't talk to you, and if they do, you have the perfect excuse for ignoring them.

Dogs will be dogs.
Mine is about 6 or 7 and I've had him for 2 1/2 years but he still gets silly. He goes nuts when I get home and I can hear him baying like a hound (he's a pit bull) inside the house when I drive into the garage. He goes nuts when it's time to go for a ride or a walk, too.

I had another dog (now deceased) who was also a pit but she didnt go nuts over me coming home, going for walks, or rides but did go nuts over food. She'd come to me later after I'd been home for awhile and want (demand) affection.

As long as they aren't destructive, a liability, and usually obedient (if I yell loud enough) I just let them be what they're going to be; dogs.

I am firm but fair with puppies, at times I am guilty of being irascible when they overstep the mark and shatter the decorum. When I relent with my stubborn expectations on how a puppy should behave and charitably concede they have their own furry brains and innocent zest, I more often than not join in the carnage. They do need to be gently nudged and encouraged to improve standards, letting them whine a little is fine if they are being too clingy and giving a yell to reinforce something sometimes works but they can overlay this with some form of encouragement if they see you as the big cheese, they have no idea what the hell we're shoving from our voice boxes but if it's noisy it means something to them.

Yup. When I come home, mine hits me in the balls like a hairy, guided missile! She's got a deep sonorous bark (she's a Basset Hound) that tends to make people do a double-look.


Agreed. They are dogs and should be allowed to be dogs.

You're lucky it's still a puppy and trainable. I never wanted a dog because they are just too much. But I've been living with a dog for over two years now as my boyfriend'd had him long before I met him. He's a beagle and still like a crazy, very noisy puppy, at the age of 6. Bf says he wanted to have a friend not a 'robot' so he didn't train him. I don't feel like he's my friend when he acts like a beast and smells like garbage and worst farts you can imagine. I wouldn't befriend a person with his kind of personality either. To be honest all my latest tantrums and meltdowns were caused by him. The people who saw how the situation is told me to re-home him. I can't do that as my boyfriend is very attached to him and thinks that he's his little baby. So I try my best to like him.

Ok, so it seems like it is only me who can't stand the dog not walking in a heeling position Really, all your aspies out there? Don't you get annoyed by this lack of structure and routine? Is it possible to teach a german shepherd to always walk in heel anyway?

Re-home the dog and get a pet rock

We had a basset when I was a kid.We got her from a breeder the day before Christmas. She was very sweet and lovable but it took months to housebreak her and for a pup her size she could really generate a lot of "waste". We had no other dog that we got as a pup that took so long to housebreak.

The most annoying habbit my dog has is that he has to stop and sniff everything while we're out on a walk, then pee on it. The other dog had a bad habbit of stopping to poop at the worst locations. Once it was while walking past a sidewalk cafe while people were eating only a few feet away. The other time while crossing a busy 4 lane street she came to a sudden stop and assumed the position. There was no stopping her once she stopped and got into position and it was very embarrassing, especially that time in front of the cafe.

It is desirable to have a dog walk with me beside me without going all over the place all the time and stopping to sniff everything and pee on it. I don't have that luxury with my dog. It can be VERY annoying but oh well, that's life with a dog.
It could be painstakingly trained into him to walked heeled next to me but I figure a dog's natural instinct is to go around and sniff things.

In addition to my dog, I'm also a Humane Society volunteer dog handler and I get to walk and spend time with all kinds of dogs. Dobermans seem to be the best walkers even though most of them that we get probably haven't been trained to heel or do anything else. As a dog handler, they just seem to generally be an easy dog to deal with. German Shepherds are usually pretty easy, too, in my experience. I love them all, though.

Poppy is a rescue dog, although I also had another Basset as a kid, and she's pretty good at doing what you want. We usually walk her on the beach or in a local wood and the only problem is that she wants to make friends with every other dog and child. You're right though, they do generate a lot of "waste". A hell of a lot!


Yes! Basset's have the second most sensitive nose in the dog world, next to Bloodhounds and they sniff everything! I've had two bassets, an English springer spaniel (manic), a bulldog (lazy) and a greyhound (stupid) in my life. All were rescue dogs apart from our first basset. The greyhound was the worst. She used to get car sick and was scared of everything including the wind and balls. Very fast though.

Well, the thing is that the bit you want (dog walking behind in proper position) is what really SHOULD be happening in an ideal situation. The dog will never walk absolutely precisely, but if it's pulling on the leash alot, walking in front of you, or pulling in random directions for no reason, chances are it actually thinks that it's in charge. A dog's view is that one way or another, there is an "alpha" in the pack. It's either them, or it's someone else, and the alpha is in the lead. As the dog's owner, it's important to establish that it's you in charge, not the dog.

However, alot of people go about this entirely wrong. For instance, doing something like yelling at a dog 20 minutes after it's done something is a frequent thing that owners do... and the opposite of the correct approach. One quote I've heard from trainers (as in, professional trainers) about dogs is "dogs entirely live in the moment, not in the past". If you're yelling at a dog that did something earlier in the day, they're not going to have a bloody clue what you're so angry about. If you want to discipline a dog, you must catch them in the act, not after the fact.

There's alot of aspects to dog training like that, where people think they're getting it right, but then cant understand why their dog still does stuff that they shouldnt. And you also need to be constant, doing the same things in the same situations to make sure the idea keeps getting reinforced for the dog.

I have a puppy myself... well, I say "puppy" but he's pretty huge... and he's got alot of energy. However, we've been doing constant training with him (using a professional trainer), and he's been very good about that lately. He usually doesnt do things he's not supposed to do, he's trained to know the boundaries of the yard and stay in it, and if he has grabbed something that he shouldnt be eating... such as mulch... I can actually simply take it directly out of his mouth, and he wont so much as grunt at me. He's still learning on the "going for walks properly" bit, but for the most part only pulls on his leash if he gets overly excited due to there being another dog nearby. And he'll sit on command and other stuff.

And that's probably the best thing you can do, is to find a professional trainer that knows what they're doing and can help you establish good habits and behaviors for both the dog and yourself. Alot of people try to train their dogs entirely on their own, thinking (incorrectly) that they know full well what they're doing, and yeah... problems later. A friend of mine is having this issue, thinks he knows what he's doing, absolutely doesnt, wont listen to advice, and then wonders why his dog is out of control all the time, and thinks that the problem is entirely with the dog, not with himself.

Of course, none of this is absolutely perfect. One way or another, as someone else said already, dogs will be dogs. No matter how well trained they are, they all still have their own unique personalities and quirks, and are never perfect. Sometimes they are going to be weird or unpredictable. But real, proper training... done correctly, and CONSTANTLY... can keep this down to a very managable level and make for a much better relationship between you and your dog.

And also one way or another, dogs sometimes just have alot of energy. They need attention, they need stuff to do. Finding some good things for your dog to do can help a ton. In my case, we get out some of that bonkers puppy energy by taking him down to a local dog place (I'm not sure what to call it, it's not a park), where he can meet, play with, and generally socialize with other dogs. Among other things.

If you can't deal with a pup, why did you get one in the first place?

If I were allowed to have a dog (landlord forbids pets of any kind, even though he brings his dog up occasionally when he still lived in Bawlmer), it would be an elderly dog, precisely because I can't and won't put up with puppy antics. I also don't have the patience to train a pup. Give me a lazy older basset hound and/or an even lazier older bloodhound any Day!