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Off Switch Activated

MyDogBitz

MyDogBitz

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I've had dogs my whole life. Muts, rescues, pure bred dogs, and a few German Shepherds. None of them were as difficult to teach to settle as my current pup. BUT, we are finally getting there. He can now be left uncrated at dinner time, he relaxes in the evening and he is starting to really generalize "All Done" which is my signal that all activity is finished.

He's still restless at times but it's nothing like when he was 4, 5, and 6 months old. There were times when I thought he was just going to be insane all of the time. At that age I was waking up at 4:00am and doing some training, playing, exploring, etc, all before I left for work. Then we would do it all over again when I got home from work and then later in the evening after dinner. Plus whatever my spouse was doing with him before she left the house later in the day.

He spent a lot of time in his crate, tethered (I wish I did more of this) and dragging a leash around. He was A LOT.

There were definitely times when we would go out and train in the rain, because he needed it.

I even have a super short video and post on Reddit of us out in the rain back when he was 4 - 5 months old. LOL!


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Great out in that video! Adorable baby Bomber

He's still so young. A lot of people at the IGP club I was at were saying the first year to year and half was like living with a machine because their dogs never got tired. Developing an off switch at 9 months sounds ahead of the game!

Have you tried experimenting with the place command? It's been recommended to me as it helps with discipline, keeps the dog in one spot without being tied/crated, impulse control and tires them out mentally.
 
Andre said:
Great out in that video! Adorable baby Bomber

He's still so young. A lot of people at the IGP club I was at were saying the first year to year and half was like living with a machine because their dogs never got tired. Developing an off switch at 9 months sounds ahead of the game!

Have you tried experimenting with the place command? It's been recommended to me as it helps with discipline, keeps the dog in one spot without being tied/crated, impulse control and tires them out mentally.
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Yeah, he has a solid place command and we do use it. I do like the dog to learn how to self regulate without it in the house. I noticed that if I use it to much the dog is still bouncing off the walls when he's off place. It's probably a longer road but I want the dog to generalize "relaxing" when he's at liberty without being in command. If that makes sense.
 
MyDogBitz said:
Yeah, he has a solid place command and we do use it. I do like the dog to learn how to self regulate without it in the house. I noticed that if I use it to much the dog is still bouncing off the walls when he's off place. It's probably a longer road but I want the dog to generalize "relaxing" when he's at liberty without being in command. If that makes sense.
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makes total sense about place vs a real natural settle.

After you use the command all done, if he is still too excited, what do you do to help teach quiet time? I've seen the "sit on the dog" technique where you sit on the leash while you do your work or eat to encourage the dog to settle but I am wondering what has worked for you?
 
I taught "All Done" via play. When the game is over I say "All Done" and I put the toy away and that's it, we're finished. He understands that.

If we're hanging out in the house and he's demanding attention, or demanding an object I'll just repeat "All Done" and I'll shew him away.

He's starting to pick it up. Usually he'll just go and flop down somewhere and let out a sigh. LOL.

When he does go and chill out, I might give him a bully stick or something to chew on.

Other times he's persistent and pushy. Depending how much of a PIA he's being, I'll tell him to lay down, go to place, or I'll put him up in his kennel for a few hours. He went to bed a little early tonight. We did two short but intense training sessions this evening and he was still restless. I'm getting a bit old for all of this. LOL.
 
MyDogBitz said:
I taught "All Done" via play. When the game is over I say "All Done" and I put the toy away and that's it, we're finished. He understands that.

If we're hanging out in the house and he's demanding attention, or demanding an object I'll just repeat "All Done" and I'll shew him away.

He's starting to pick it up. Usually he'll just go and flop down somewhere and let out a sigh. LOL.

When he does go and chill out, I might give him a bully stick or something to chew on.

Other times he's persistent and pushy. Depending how much of a PIA he's being, I'll tell him to lay down, go to place, or I'll put him up in his kennel for a few hours. He went to bed a little early tonight. We did two short but intense training sessions this evening and he was still restless. I'm getting a bit old for all of this. LOL.
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Makes sense, this is good advice thank you. Has he slowed down on the energy needs or still just ramping up?

Also, have you heard about the "sit on dog technique" and have you used it? Curious if you found any success with it.
 
I'm not familiar with "sit on dog" but it sounds like something I wouldn't do. I'm really big on letting the dog have the freedom of choice and then providing a consequence, whether positive or negative.

Bill Koehler looks barbaric by today's standards (KMODT) but he pioneered the idea of "freedom of choice" and I'm a big believer in it.
 
MyDogBitz said:
I'm not familiar with "sit on dog" but it sounds like something I wouldn't do. I'm really big on letting the dog have the freedom of choice and then providing a consequence, whether positive or negative.

Bill Koehler looks barbaric by today's standards (KMODT) but he pioneered the idea of "freedom of choice" and I'm a big believer in it.
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I saw it recommended years ago, but I just did a quick search and didn't see any really positive remarks about it (sit on dog). Maybe it works, but I can see there are probably better ways to teach the same kind of thing. Going to look into the freedom of choice, sounds less authoritative and more free which I can see the dog enjoying more because they can do what they want until corrected.

Are there books you recommend that mention this or explain good training practices that you think is worthwhile?
 
Andre said:
I saw it recommended years ago, but I just did a quick search and didn't see any really positive remarks about it (sit on dog). Maybe it works, but I can see there are probably better ways to teach the same kind of thing. Going to look into the freedom of choice, sounds less authoritative and more free which I can see the dog enjoying more because they can do what they want until corrected.

Are there books you recommend that mention this or explain good training practices that you think is worthwhile?
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You can get the Koheler Method Of Dog Training on Amazon ebooks for under $10.00 or something cheap like that.

It was written in the 50s or 60s. Very very archaic. It's basically escape/avoidance training coupled with positive punishment. Straight barbaric by today's standards. Koehler (I think that's the spelling) was a very successful trainer in his time.

BUT he talks about the freedom of choice a lot. There's a lot of trainers who talk about giving the dog the freedom to chose, it all comes from Koehler.

I would read the book for it's historical significance and to see how far we've come as trainers.

There's also techniques still used today. Especially the use of the long line and training collars.
 
MyDogBitz said:
You can get the Koheler Method Of Dog Training on Amazon ebooks for under $10.00 or something cheap like that.

It was written in the 50s or 60s. Very very archaic. It's basically escape/avoidance training coupled with positive punishment. Straight barbaric by today's standards. Koehler (I think that's the spelling) was a very successful trainer in his time.

BUT he talks about the freedom of choice a lot. There's a lot of trainers who talk about giving the dog the freedom to chose, it all comes from Koehler.

I would read the book for it's historical significance and to see how far we've come as trainers.

There's also techniques still used today. Especially the use of the long line and training collars.
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Excellent, thanks! Is it the guard dog training one? Screen Shot 2025-10-02 at 4.28.43 PM.png
 
Yes. That looks like it.
 
Andre said:
3 bucks, not bad.

Thanks Bitz, I will look into it.
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I've actually worked with probably the last guy alive left practicing KMODT. And I'll say this, when you see it done, with a light hand mixed with some modern negative reinforcement techniques, it's extremely effective - with the right dog.

Soft dogs will absolutely crumble under the type of pressure used. Tougher dogs will thrive. When Koehler wrote the book, he was purposely over-the-top with his descriptions of punishment to prove a point - that punishment works.

So take that into account when you read the book and remember when it was written. Finding an original first edition copy is tough.
 
MyDogBitz said:
I've actually worked with probably the last guy alive left practicing KMODT. And I'll say this, when you see it done, with a light hand mixed with some modern negative reinforcement techniques, it's extremely effective - with the right dog.

Soft dogs will absolutely crumble under the type of pressure used. Tougher dogs will thrive. When Koehler wrote the book, he was purposely over-the-top with his descriptions of punishment to prove a point - that punishment works.

So take that into account when you read the book and remember when it was written. Finding an original first edition copy is tough.
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It was tough just finding a regular edition. Could not find it on Amazon or locally, just on Kindle.

Will definitely keep that in mind.
 
Man, I feel this one. Shepherd pups can make you question your sanity those first few months with their endless gas tank. Sounds like you put in a ton of consistent work though, and it’s paying off now that he’s starting to settle and respond to “all done.”

I like that you mentioned tethering and dragging a leash, those little management tools make a huge difference when you’ve got a pup that’s always on. And training in the rain? That’s commitment right there.
 
Malakai The Great said:
Man, I feel this one. Shepherd pups can make you question your sanity those first few months with their endless gas tank. Sounds like you put in a ton of consistent work though, and it’s paying off now that he’s starting to settle and respond to “all done.”

I like that you mentioned tethering and dragging a leash, those little management tools make a huge difference when you’ve got a pup that’s always on. And training in the rain? That’s commitment right there.
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One of the few things that really tires him out is the back tie. We're doing some agitation work now to develop his power and then transfer that power into our play. I back tie him on a harness and I put a regular leash on a 2" flat collar. I use a bite pillow as the target.

The back tie gives him about 6' of lateral movement and the leash helps me keep him on the ground (he loves to jump) and we go through the cycle of:

chase > block > reward > out > repeat.

As he gets frustrated he'll start to bark, I reward the barking by letting him win the bite pillow and then we engage in a game of tug, I ask for an out and the cycle begins again.

He loves it. When he sees the harness come out he loses his mind. LOL.

Anyway, this really tires him out. BUT we've done about 5 sessions thus far and I can see his stamina increasing. So, it's a double edged sword I suppose.

I want to provide him an outlet to fulfill that need to bark with power. This does that. This way, if he's barking at an inappropriate time and I correct him for it, it's fair.

In full disclosure, I'm a total novice. In the hands of an expert this dog could compete on the highest level - I'm positive about that.

I'm doing my best to give him everything he needs.
 
MyDogBitz said:
One of the few things that really tires him out is the back tie. We're doing some agitation work now to develop his power and then transfer that power into our play. I back tie him on a harness and I put a regular leash on a 2" flat collar. I use a bite pillow as the target.

The back tie gives him about 6' of lateral movement and the leash helps me keep him on the ground (he loves to jump) and we go through the cycle of:

chase > block > reward > out > repeat.

As he gets frustrated he'll start to bark, I reward the barking by letting him win the bite pillow and then we engage in a game of tug, I ask for an out and the cycle begins again.

He loves it. When he sees the harness come out he loses his mind. LOL.

Anyway, this really tires him out. BUT we've done about 5 sessions thus far and I can see his stamina increasing. So, it's a double edged sword I suppose.

I want to provide him an outlet to fulfill that need to bark with power. This does that. This way, if he's barking at an inappropriate time and I correct him for it, it's fair.

In full disclosure, I'm a total novice. In the hands of an expert this dog could compete on the highest level - I'm positive about that.

I'm doing my best to give him everything he needs.
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That’s awesome, I love how you’re channeling that fire into structured back tie work instead of just trying to suppress it. Shepherds live for that outlet, and you’re giving him the perfect balance of drive building and control with the out.

Crazy how quick they catch on, right? The way you described him seeing the harness and instantly lighting up, that’s exactly the kind of response you want. You’re building anticipation and clarity at the same time.

Out of curiosity, do you see him carrying that confidence over into everyday situations now that he’s had a chance to bark and push into the work?
 
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