# Trouble handling a High Energy Rescue



## StephenV (Jan 16, 2006)

First some background. I adopted a shepherd 8 years ago and she has been the best dog I ever had (shes my avatar pic). Those years have been spent doing obedience and agility training with her, and including her in every aspect of family life. I homeschooled her to pass her Canine Good Citizen Test. She is now in the late stages of DM and I have to put her down next week. It is the worst thing ever to have to do.

In March of this year with this on my mind I adopted a 2 yr old shepherd from a local shelter. He was roaming a nearby neighborhood when he was picked up.
He is gorgeous and purebred. See pic. No tags, no chip, intact and nobody claimed him. The shelter neutered him and I adopted him. He contracted pneumonia a few days later from the shelter. I paid hundreds of dollars in vet care to nurse him thru it.
Its been 4 months. I have spent a lot of time training and exercising him, including a few basic sessions with a professional trainer with mondo ring experience and belgian shepherds. I have brought him a long way, but I am about at the end of my ability.

Here's my problem. He bullies other dogs and will nip strangers and guests if they get in "his" zone. He's part rogue, part opportunist, part bully. He's high energy, driven to run, but he lacks useful focus and is always "wired" when outside. Its like he's always looking desperately for something but hasn't found it yet. He has no use for treats or toys outside of the home or yard. He will crisscross a field repeatedly at a full run. He will pull me on a bike at a full run for blocks. A normal walk is exhausting, I have to check him repeatedly to heel and not pull.
There are no places to run off lead here so I started taking him to a dog park to try to socialize him and give him an outlet. He runs and runs and runs and it calms him down for a few hours. He will try to climb every tree he sees to look for squirrels. I muzzled him the first 2 times but he seemed good enough to remove it. I was so happy at the progress. Finally a release for him. The problem is he runs up to dogs in the dog park and barks in their face, and he runs them down and nips at their back legs. Then just as quickly he will run off to the next exciting thing to chase. I police him constantly while there but he is off lead. So now he has angered several other dog owners in the park. They have these calm docile tubby dogs and here comes 90lbs of wired muscle flying up their backsides. He is affectionate at home and is very attached to me but he is pushy. So I am struggling with what to do, stick it out and risk a life of turmoil and possible lawsuit, or try to find him a new home.
I need straight advice for the best thing I can do for him. Photo attached.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

What have you done thus far to ensure he knows you are the "leader" in your home?

Do you NILIF?

How about -
Mind Games (version 1.0) by M. Shirley Chong

And skip the dog parks. Go hiking or to the beach or elsewhere to throw a ball, run with him, etc.


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## Mrs.K (Jul 14, 2009)

Impulse and Self-Control go a long way. Sounds like your dog is lacking exactly that. Via that the dog learns to calm himself and to control his wants. But you have to stay on top of it and really do it. It's not done in one day. 

Start him on crate games. They do make a huge difference. Not only learns the dog to control himself but he will also focus on you for the release. 

Get Susan Garretts Crate Games DVD. It will also be beneficial for Agility.


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## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

Training classes! Obedience and then agility. He needs to learn to work with you and not focus on other dogs while constructively expending energy. So sorry about your senior dog. Try not to attempt anything major with your young dog until you're back on track. Classes will help a LOT!


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

StephenV said:


> First some background. I adopted a shepherd 8 years ago and she has been the best dog I ever had (shes my avatar pic). Those years have been spent doing obedience and agility training with her, and including her in every aspect of family life. I homeschooled her to pass her Canine Good Citizen Test. She is now in the late stages of DM and I have to put her down next week. It is the worst thing ever to have to do.


I'm sorry you are having to do this with your sweet girl. We recently with throught his with our 9 year old. It sucks! Please don't make any decisions on your other dog right now. He may feel your stress and the situation with your girl and that may be causing him to act out. You might find you have a whole different dog in a few months. I would avoid places where he acts out like the dog park. Take him for long walks away from others and really work with him. Give you and him time to adjust to maybe just grow up a little. It sounds like he still has a lot of puppy left in him.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Looks a lot like my Hans. 

He has to be a WL, and very drivey. This guy needs a job. My gut says he might be more suitable for police or SAR work than as a pet in a home.

But I am no expert and am waiting to see what the experts here say. 

Very sorry you have to part with your sweet girl.


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## San (Mar 22, 2012)

I am very sorry about your older shepherd. 

StephenV, your dog sounds a lot like our current GSD foster. Our foster is 1-2 yo, very high energy and bossy. My first impression of him was "OMG, this dog is barbaric!!" 

He was taken in by the rescue (he was a stray) at the end of Jan 2012. In four months, he went through two adoptive homes (both returned him in less than 5 days), one foster home, and a boarding facility. He is very smart and opportunistic, given a chance, he will happily train his handler 

We've had him for 7 weeks. We make sure he gets plenty of exercises daily. We walk him close to 4 miles a day, he wears a weighted backpack some days just to tire him out even more. Hubby plays tug with him 2-3 times a day, and I marker train him 3 times a day. 

If you can find a large enough treadmill, you can consider teaching him how to run on it, one of our previous fosters loved it. 

His interaction with our resident dogs are still very limited (he is close to 80 lbs, likes to plays rough and will bully other dogs, so we don't give him a chance to do so). He is either crated, or separated into a different part of the house (with a 5-ft gate), or tethered to one of us when we are home. 

Our foster has not nipped at a stranger, but he has yet to meet a guest in our house or get close enough to nip anyone during walks. We control his environment so he has no chance to do so. Until his basic obedience is reliable under distraction, he will not have an opportunity to get that close to others 

Definitely practice NILIF, handling a dog like this is like playing mental tug-o-war, you don't have to be harsh, but you have to be firm and more persistent than he is.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Your dog sounds like my foster failure. He's happy, out going, dumber than a box of rocks, sweet as can be, and very high energy. When he gets excited, he completely loses what little self control he has. Man, I love this dog!

I'm not sure what sort of training you have done with your dog. A couple of lessons with a ring trainer isn't much and a CGC, I hate to say it, is almost nothing in the way of real training. You need to learn how to handle him in a firm, no nonsense manner, with a lot of praise, and you need to learn to enjoy his love for life.

He also needs a ton more exercise. Letting him drag you around and pull you on a bike is totally unacceptable. It's not fun for you or your dog. Find someone that can help you with this. I'm assuming you've discovered prong collars by now? Use them as a training tool and not let the dog self correct as most dogs will just learn to grit their teeth and pull through them.

Stop taking him to the dog park. He's pissed off other people there with his behavior so it's irresponsible on your part to keep going. Get a treadmill for him if needed.


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## StephenV (Jan 16, 2006)

Thank you guys, you are really helping me think through this one.
DVD on Crate Games - thank you, have not heard of that before, am checking into.
Obedience class- planned. With this extreme heat, I am looking for an indoor class. I have done 5 private 1 hour lessons with the mondo trainer so far, didn't think he could handle a group class yet.
No more dog park - Understood.
NILIF - yes I practice it daily. And he tests me daily. And he needs more of it. He has to go to his room and down for his dinner. He must lie down when I eat, not stick his nose in my plate. He must wait outside the kitchen when we are preparing food in it (he's stolen food from off the counter) He must go to his crate to get a kong with a treat. Etc. I have taught him sit, down, recall, up, leave it, retrieve, and a few more which he does reasonably well. If he does not comply, I gently make him. He is not allowed on the bed. He is crated when I leave the house, because he will find something with my scent on it and chew it up (separation anxiety).
Lacks Impulse and Self Control - yes. yes. yes. This is very true when he is outside in public. I am working on this one believe me, building his wait times. He's tolerable in the house and respectful to my senior. The cat tolerates him up to a point. If there's a noise, he barks and comes to me. If I'm in the shower, he will push open the door and come and stick his head in. He will try to climb in my lap for affection.
Prong Collar - I asked the trainer about that or a martingale, he said let's not give up on the flat collar just yet but it may be necessary.
Exercise: You're right, he needs more exercise. I play tug and or fetch and I walk him 1 time a day to a small fenced in grass parking lot then walk him back. He could use 3 walks a day and access to a 10 acre field, but I can't manage that yet. I have my paralyzed senior girl to care for and carry out 4 times a day and a full time job. I'm fit but pushing 50 now so I have to watch my limits.
Treadmill - I don't have the room and my wife is not keen on having one, not sure if my dog would use it but I do hear they work.


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## StephenV (Jan 16, 2006)

oh - and yes - however frustrating he can be, I really do enjoy his love for life. Even the trainer admitted wistfully while watching Blitz run, jump ditches and leap from place to place that he wished his champion dutch shepherd would just ignore him for 1 second and go have fun


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

StephenV said:


> I'm fit but pushing 50 now so I have to watch my limits.


Look up 'Flirt Pole' & "Spring Pole"...they are the best tools for those of us pushing the big 50. I first heard about a flirt pole & spring pole on this site. 

I have a drivey dog and the flirt pole & spring pole have saved my sanity! Even when I'm tired and couldn't possibly give another ounce of energy to my dog, I'll take the 'Spring Pole' attach it to a pully that hubby built on the porch and let him play as I sit on my rocker, drink an adult beverage and marvel at my abilty to exercise my dog!


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## Mary Beth (Apr 17, 2010)

StephenV said:


> Prong Collar - I asked the trainer about that or a martingale, he said let's not give up on the flat collar just yet but it may be necessary.


Try a training harness - the front buckled kind. It's made a walking my big GDS who would happily lunge at other dogs,people, and tear off after a squirrel or rabbit a pleasure. I'm in my fifties and petite, and I can now walk my 135 lb. GSD easily. There's the Gentle Leader, Sensation, and the Walk in Sync. The Gentle Leader didn't fit my dog well, so I chose the Walk in Sync -it comes with a leash that has grips and helps on the arms, free access to training videos, and a money-back guarantee. I am very sorry about your older dog. It is admirable of you to think of other dogs at this difficult time and to adopt a rescue dog.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

Since you are working with a trainer, what does the trainer say? Mental exercise can tire a dog out, too, so think of ways to keep him busy when you are doing other things. Try a Buster Cube or other food release toys that require thought and exertion to get the food out. Give him jobs. My active dog brings me things, walking shoes, socks, books. Have you tested him on sheep herding? Is there any type of herding available in your area? If so, try it. Agility was mentioned and is good, too. Also look into Fly Ball if you can find that, as it's not only a job and a sport, but he'll need to learn to get along with other dogs to participate.


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## StephenV (Jan 16, 2006)

Herding would be wonderful if we could try it, but that just isn't around here.
I definitely plan to get a Buster Cube. It's got to help. And a flirt pole would probably be good too. The trainer won't divulge much outside of the lesson plan for the day, but did suggest exercising him before taking him for a walk or before training, to calm him down, sort of a pre-walk walk. Something about being taken outside of the home or yard just puts him into overload. He cries and yaps in excitement when put in the car to go somewhere. When outside, toys and treats lose all power, it becomes all about the joy of running here and chasing that. He jumps ditches, dives in creeks, launches himself up tree trunks and generally terrorizes anything that moves. :/ But he does come back which amazes people.
I guess I have my work cut out for me.


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## San (Mar 22, 2012)

Have you considered a weighted backpack during walks? I know it helps my foster to focus on his walk more. We put 2-3 lbs (build it up over time) of weight on each side of his backpack, it tires him out more too =)


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## Mary Beth (Apr 17, 2010)

StephenV said:


> Something about being taken outside of the home or yard just puts him into overload. He cries and yaps in excitement when put in the car to go somewhere. When outside, toys and treats lose all power, it becomes all about the joy of running here and chasing that. He jumps ditches, dives in creeks, launches himself up tree trunks and generally terrorizes anything that moves. :/ But he does come back which amazes people.
> I guess I have my work cut out for me.


Well, he has good recall, a big plus. You can try desentizing him to the car so that he learns that not every car ride mean going to exciting places. Just take him around the block, then home that's it. Try the same procedure with his walks. Start in the yard. Keep him on the leash - quick walk around the yard. That's it. Repeat couple of times a day. Alternate it with a short on leash walk to the corner and back. Work on heeling, so he has to sit at curbs or whenever you decide. No sniffing allowed and do frequent turns so he has concentrate on you. He'll get the idea after a time, that going outside of the house or yard does not always mean running free. For additional exercise, a dog walker, if you can find one, might help. Preferably someone who jogs, runs or who will take him for a fast speed mile walk. Maybe your trainer can recommend someone.


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## StephenV (Jan 16, 2006)

Mary Beth, that is excellent and practical advice, I will work on this. 

Oh, and I am trying out the Buster cube now - he really does go at it and stays busy with it so its a keeper.


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