food obsessed and overexcited dog

Hey drp.


Just a couple quick questions...how old and what breed is your older dog? Has he always been so food obsessed, or is it a new behaviour? Can you limit his access to the kitchen?

If you train with the two, don't use food as a reward. Instead give them attention or a toy. You don't want to encourage their insanity over food, and trying to train them with it probably will just help the behaviour persist, as well as make your training sessions harder for them to concentrate on.

It sounds like your labradoodle is learning the food stealing off the older dog, so try to limit his access to the kitchen as well. Doggy gates, or closed doors work well usually.

As far as the overexciteable pup, part of it Im sure is puppy behaviour. To try and decrease it, keep him on a lead when you walk him and literally stop and tell him "sit" until he listens, everytime he starts the unwanted behaviour. "Heel" is a great command to teach these dogs, even if it does take a bit for them to catch on. My pup used to run off at the park, so I kept him on a lead until he learned to listen to me. You can get an extendable lead and let him go a bit further as he progresses through listening to you, that way you can still get him back. Have you considered using a halti or gentle leader? There also so called "anti-pull" collars, like the Lupi lead, which you could look into getting.

Try to stimulate him at home as much as you can. Kong toys, sand pits with buried toys, interactive games with you and your family, all these can help your dog get more energy out in an environment where you can control where he goes.

Its a start, if you could answer my first questions, hopefully I can get a better idea of your food obsession problem

Hey drp,

Ah, yea, the medication will make it a bit harder since it does have a degree of an appetite stimulant effect. You could try feeding many small meals to the dogs throughout the day, instead of one or two bigger ones, this can help curb their madness to get at food. It might be tricky, dependent on your life schedule, but try upping the number of times they get fed.

I think blocking access to the kitchen, especially when you're not in it, is a good idea if they're stealing food off the counter. You might to teach them an "out" command and see how that goes for times when you are in the kitchen. Even if it teaches them to drool from the doorway, its better than being under your feet while you're cooking or eating. Try training them on it, and when they don't listen, immediately put them in a time out situation - a dark room by themselves, or their kennel/crate inside, or put them in their house outside. Being totally shut out of the situation if they get in the way could help them get the point.

For the labradoodle, I'm sure some of it is puppy behaviour. My own dog, Jackson, is about a year and 4 months now, and he still gets very excited over other dogs.

A way to help in the house for those times when he charges a door or the like, is to desensitize him to the stimuli that set him off. If it becomes "old hat" and boring, he shouldn't get so amped over it everytime. Act out what happens when you leave (put your coat on, shoes on, etc), head to the door, put your hand on the knob, and open - as soon as he charges, slam the door shut in his face (try not to catch him in it, but if he gets his head knocked a bit it will only help reinforce NOT to charge the door ). Do it repeatedly, until he gets the point. Once he stops charging, start giving a "wait" command, and rewarding him when he listens. You can do the same with other triggers - the doorbell, getting food out (slam the cabinet door where the food is kept, etc), just repeat the processes, step by step, until he starts to calm down. When he realizes you're not actually doing what he thinks you are (to completion, anyway), he'll get bored and used to the triggers.

I hope this helps, sounds like you've got a handful in your house! Good luck!!