Dutch Shepherd Forum

Ok, a little info about him: he is a year old Dutch Shepherd named Apache. I have had him since he was 8 weeks old, and work with him everyday. He is indoor/outdoor, but spends the majority of the day outside in a fenced 2 acre backyard. Its because he wants too...he gets bored inside.

Anyway, he does great when he is working. He is focused and calms down. However, sometimes he get way overstimulated and goes crazy. Its like a switch flips and he can't listen to commands he just did instantly a second before. When the flip switches, he usually tries to play. It is not aggressive at all, but he takes it too far and will get too rough with my arms, and tears my clothes. He doesn't listen to commands unless i calm him down or distract him first. And its not only while like playing or anything. It can happen anytime something exciting (or boring sometimes) happens (new people, dog, me doing something else, etc.) I have tried to ignore him (gets more crazy). And forcefully holding him till he calms down. The last one sometimes works, because i can hold him down and then once he sort of snaps out of it, i can give him a command. often he will revert back again a few minutes later. And holding him down is not a solution i want to rely on...he often thinks i'm engaging him in play and gets more crazy.

Have any of you experienced this kind of over-stimulation before? Not sure if this a dutchie thing or just a individual dog personality thing. Any suggestions on how to calm him down/get him to snap out of it?

Oh, btw, it is not a lack of exersize. like i said, he runs in a huge yard everyday, and i take him on 2-4 walk/runs everyday, plus lots of hiking, training, and basic agility. I have also been being to do some training for SAR.

Lexi does that occasionally but I can always snap her out of it with a treat or a ball

dogs are neither moral or immoral, they are amoral meaning they simply learn by the consequences of their
behavior. In a Dutch Shepherd those games although at times as a puppy may be cute, a young adult or mature dog should never be given that latitude. That behavior warrants a consequence. To me a treat or a ball is rewarding that behavior, a leash correction is not. Does that mean a hard leash pop maybe, maybe not. I start with a firm verbal correction and leash correction at exactly the same time, if off leash and I am using an E collar the same way. I never raise a hand or hit the dog, my communication is always through voice and the leash. Will that behavior become extinct tomorrow or next week, probably not but, over time being consistent with repetition after repetition the unwanted behavior will become extinct through the consequence of the correction.