My Dog Gets overly excited outside!

Question: I have a 18 month old black lab named Endo. I have been following you since my wife and I got him and have been trying to work him on shed dog training. In our house he is awesome, very respectful and listens well. When it comes to field work he gets super excited as I feel like he gets too much stimulus. Any ideas? Or what you would recommend for training? Thank you much!

Answer: The issue of a dog getting overly excited is not uncommon. It can be due to a variety of things, some due to genetics and others are cultural. We can shape and control a lot of that behavior, but how easily we can do that depends on those variables. I think slowing down with everything you do is probably the first thing I would recommend. I mean that from both a training progress standpoint and also literally. If the dog wants to go fast, I slow down. I see it often that dogs "boil over" and when that happens you don't have the chance to gain much. The key is recognizing when that will happen, why it happens, and then not letting the dog get to that point. It's a slow process to change that behavior which again, that word slow comes up. Part of this could be as simple as the fact that the dog is only 18 months old. It looks like a dog but is really just a big puppy. Keep that in mind. We can't do anything to speed up maturity, instead we stay consistent in developing good habits and shaping behavior. The good news is that you are the ones training the dog, so you don't have any pressure when it comes to timelines. Take advantage of that and slowly keep moving forward toward your end goals,

I hope this helps, keep me posted, and enjoy every step in the process.
Jeremy

Next Journal: "Train Your Dog to Find Sheds"