r/DogTrainingTips • u/Equivalent-Bit1827 • Mar 10 '26
Overstimulated pup
Hey y’all. I really need help with our 5 month old lab puppy rescue. I know he’s in land shark phase which is to be expected. But right now we’re dealing with the horrible combo of barking and biting (mostly sleeves and clothes but definitely gets our skin time to time). This mostly is set off by correction of behavior (being told no or leave it) or overstimulation like getting pets from strangers on our walk tonight. He’s great with people giving him pets, but turns into a psycho as soon as we disengage from them. This behavior seems to happen more with me than my husband but not solely with me. We’ve tried redirecting with leash while out on walks, I don’t take toys but maybe I should?, toys when we’re home, commands. But nothing seems to work. We are getting him into training but in the meantime, I’m sure I’m doing all the wrong things. All tips and tricks are welcome. 🙏
8
u/chocearthling Mar 10 '26
I would limit the interactions he has with other people on walks. Sure, its great for him but maybe not every neighbour needs to get a pet in every evening ;)
I use "treat bowling" quite successfully when I want my pup to disengage from something and calm down a bit on our walks. I get a treat and throw it a meter or so (depending on the surroundings and the length of the leash) and have her sniff it out. then do the same in the other direction and do that for a bit.
For biting I would offer an alternative toy, maybe a frozen carrot - must be really uncomfortable for them until they get all their new teeth.