Puppies & Dogs

how can i train my puppy if she is so hyper?

I have a 6 month old 60lb female bloodhound puppy. Yes, I said 60lbs at 6 months! She is huge! Her dad was 120 lbs and mom was 98 lbs. Any way, she is so hyper when I take her out (she stays outside because she is so big but I get her out atleast 3hrs a day.) I am trying to teach her obedience and tricks, but I just can’t handle her. I need tips as well as ways to get her to respect me. Ive tried letting her run her before I start training, do it straight when I get her out then let her run when we got through, tried everything! Anyone have any tips? Shes just so big that she needs to learn to listen

In my experience the best way to train a hyper dog is by doing a few different things. One is exercise (which it sounds like you are going) and lots of it, the only thing is with a 6 month old you don’t want to pound on her joints too much so things like swimming are fantastic, or playing fetch on the grass. She would be to young for jogging or bike riding but playing on the grass and in the water are fantastic.

Another thing (like you asked about) is getting your dog to respect you and to control herself a little. I do this in a couple ways. First don’t giver her anything for free. Ask her to sit before you pet her, or lie down before you throw her toy. I also teach my dogs to wait until they are released to eat their dinner. I put my dogs in a sit tell them to stay and put their food on the floor, they have to wait until I release them to eat. You can start this by sitting on the floor with a handful of small treats. Have her sit down by you and tell her to wait and put the treat on the floor, if she tries to get it be faster then her and grab it back, when she waits their nicely (for just a few seconds as first) then you can say ok and she can go get the treat. Slowly increase the amount of time she has to wait for the treat. I also do this with things like the door, I ask them to wait until I say ok. One other game I play is tug of war, first I let my dog tug, then ask them to drop it and sit, then they get to tug again. This teaches them that even when they are excited they have to do what you want in order to get what they wan.

The last thing with training her is you need to channel her energy I would do this by using a clicker www.clickertraining.com is a fantastic website that has everything you need to know on their. They will tell you how to use a clicker and even have articles on how to train everything from walking on a leash, to complex tricks and obedience. Good Luck and as she gets older she will calm down a little!