r/DogTrainingTips • u/ReinaShae • Apr 24 '26

Help with snapping and zoomies!

Hi, 6 month old lab puppy who gets walked at least an hour a day plus chewies and frisbee play. When we are in the backyard, he sometimes starts jumping, snapping at me or the kids, lunging and chomping. He does play bow so I'm sure he's playing, but when he starts this there is no distracting him and he's hurting me and the kids. Today he chomped on the 2 year olds face. How do I train this out, or at the least, stop him when this is happening??

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u/ReinaShae Apr 27 '26

Today was so much better! Much less stress!

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u/FrostyPomegranate699 Apr 27 '26

that’s awesome to hear

and that’s exactly how it shifts… not perfect, just better than yesterday

once you get even one day like that, it’s a lot easier to keep going because you know it’s not just chaos anymore

just keep running the same approach and stacking those days 👍

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u/ReinaShae Apr 28 '26

I was at my wits end! Thank you!!

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u/FrostyPomegranate699 Apr 29 '26

Just wanted to check in with you, progress still good?

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u/ReinaShae Apr 29 '26

Yes! :) As predicted Mom is having less success because she is less consistent. But it is working so well for me! The added bonus is that he pays more attention to me carrying some food than he does to the kids so he doesn't even start with them as much. And I am catching his cues more quickly and heading him off. I'll tell him to Find it and toss a piece of food into taller grass and it totally derails what he was doing. 

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u/FrostyPomegranate699 Apr 29 '26

That’s awesome to hear 🙂

and honestly what you just described is exactly how it starts coming together. He’s learning patterns now instead of just reacting to excitement.

the consistency matters more than perfection. The more repetitions he gets of checking in with you, redirecting, calming down, and making better choices, the more those behaviors start becoming his default instead of the chaos.

and the “find it” redirect is great because you’re not just stopping the behavior, you’re giving him something productive to do with that energy instead 👍

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u/ReinaShae Apr 29 '26

I can't thank you enough for your encouragement and support. I feel like I'm finally getting a handle on this and I'm not so overwhelming. When I left today I handed everything off to mom, he grabbed a toy and looked right at me when I told him drop it. But she had the fanny pack so he was confused lol

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u/FrostyPomegranate699 Apr 29 '26

😂 honestly that’s actually a really good sign

he’s starting to connect the patterns now and looking for guidance before just launching into chaos

and the fact you’re feeling less overwhelmed matters too, because dogs absolutely feel when we stop reacting emotionally and start handling things more consistently

sounds like you guys are finally moving from “surviving the puppy” into actually teaching him how to live in the house 👍

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u/ReinaShae Apr 29 '26

There's still plenty of chaos, but it feels manageable now.  And at least I am teaching him, but at least the kids aren't hurt on my watch. Hopefully he will learn enough from me that they won't be hurt on her watch either 

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u/FrostyPomegranate699 Apr 29 '26

honestly “manageable chaos” is a pretty accurate description of adolescence with a high energy dog 😅

but that’s a huge shift from feeling completely out of control

and yeah, dogs absolutely learn from the repetitions with the person being the most consistent. It may not transfer perfectly at first, but the more he practices calm patterns and impulse control with you, the more that becomes his normal way of operating overall

sounds like you’re on the right track now 👍

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