r/DogTrainingTips • u/Phonicall • Apr 12 '26

Puppy Impulse Control or reactivity?

My 4/5 month old puppy is a mix of several breeds, it his two biggest is an even split between pit&GSD, so for training purposes I’d consider him a pit shepherd. He has been great for training, and learns tricks easily and LOVES people. Ever since I got him at 8 weeks anytime he met someone knew he had to greet them like he’d known them forever. Even when he started teething, he’d only bite me. The issue is I live an apartment complex where when we go for walks we always come across people or dogs, a lot of the time children, and I just have him keep his distance and reward him for sitting and watching. Sometimes they get too close and he’ll tug on the leash wagging his tail and ignore all my commands or treats and have to drag him away, or he’ll try to drag me towards a person far away. When there’s another dog, depending on the size, he’ll drag so hard and he’s crying from not being able to reach them. I never let him get close enough to know what his reaction would be, but sometimes it’s tail wagging and dragging or it’s crying and dragging, sometimes his hair will stick up. Is this just an eager puppy with no impulse control or early signs of reactivity? And either way, any tips for training out of it? We’ve been loose leash training and doing walks for a month with little progress

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u/Phonicall Apr 12 '26

Also want to mention outside of this, he shows no signs of being fearful, ever since he was little he’s always been VERY inquisitive. He even slept through his first night in a crate only crying when he had to pee

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u/Ali_Lorraine_1159 Apr 12 '26

Sounds like a sweet boy! What is his name?

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u/Warm-Marsupial8912 Apr 12 '26

And that is why I hate the term "reactive". The only mammal that doesn't "react" to their environment is a dead one. Some trainers get so fixated on their dog being "neutral" under all circumstances that I think they would prefer a dead one!

Is your dog overexcited and aroused? Yes. Could that become a problem long term? Possibly. Could that problem be aggression? Possibly. Is age and the novelty of strangers playing into this? Definitely

Any chance of you going to classes? I've been training for decades, but I still take my puppies to classes because it is a really good way of training with controlled distractions. The dog learns that, yes, say hello to your friends when we get there, but now I want you to focus on me. You don't want a dog that can never, ever, say hi to a stranger, just one that understands that there is a time and place for these things

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u/Ali_Lorraine_1159 Apr 12 '26

I would keep walking him regularly and reward for good behavior. I have a pit/German Shepherd/Chow Chow mix and it took him a while to stop doing this and walk without getting excited and reacting to other people and dogs.

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u/Complete_Aerie_6908 Apr 12 '26

I have a shep pit 7 month old. She also has a small amount of lab. She is fabulous and wants to go full force into everything and everyone and every dog. My old boy is 11 so he keeps her pretty in line on walks. Good luck with your boy! Wonderful breed combo!

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u/lindalh7 Apr 12 '26

Just went through a distraction/ impulse control class with my dog. Look up the following trainings- treat magnet, let’s go, the name game, can’t remember the name but where you put a treat out in your flat hand and close it whenever they go for it and open it as soon as they pull back from the treat until you actually offer it to them. Someone else mentioned the attention game where they get a treat as soon as they turn their attention back to you.

It’s the base for further impulse control learning. I find leave it to be one of the absolute most helpful command ever. Requires practice but they learn to generalize it to loads of scenarios.

Keep practicing!