Off Switch Activated

[MyDogBitz]

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!

https://www.reddit.com/r/germanshepherds/s/OpS5qxVhxO

 

[Andre]

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.

 

[MyDogBitz]

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.

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.

 

[Andre]

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.

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?

 

[MyDogBitz]

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.

 

[Andre]

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.

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.