Excitable Ollie just kept on going! Pacing, rushing about, panting, drinking, wanting to go out, clamouring for attention, chewing…….
Being excitable may be an emotion and part of a dog’s personality – but it can be a learnt behaviour too when it’s constantly reinforced.
Dogs very often mirror their humans. Calm and quiet people very often have calmer dogs, and excitable people dogs that are more reactive themselves. This could of course be because people choose the breeds of dogs that suit their own characters.
Excitement encouraged
Ollie is a two-and-a-half year old Cocker Spaniel, and as the owner of a Cocker myself I know how excitable they can be. In Ollie’s case, his excitement is unwittingly being encouraged. Ollie will always eventually get the attention he wants while excited, demanding or barking.
Like many excitable dogs, he can’t be given toys because he then directs his energy to wrecking them, though he was very busy with my unbreakable Stagbar.
When guests come ‘he calms down once they make a fuss of him’. It might be more accurate to say that ‘he remains excited until they make a fuss of him’!
When I arrived he was very bouncy, tearing about, jumping up on me, going and having a drink, rushing about again and so on.
Teaching calm
I said, ‘Let’s ignore what we don’t want – what is it we do want?’ I gave him a tiny bit of biscuit with a quiet ‘Yes’ each time he stopped still even briefly, then when he happened to sit or lie down. His brain was working!
Throughout the evening he was pushing one of the men to respond to him. This gentleman would I’m sure agree that he’s something of a pushover. The downside is that a dog can be less respectful and tries to control him in other ways too. The man can’t walk downstairs without Ollie trying to grab his feet and ankles.
Ollie is over-stimulated in one way and under-stimulated in another. There is too much exciting stimulation and too little healthy stimulation by way of brain work and breed-specific stuff like nose work.
He needs to be left quietly to work things out for himself like ‘good things come to calm dogs‘. He needs to actually be taught how to be calm.
A rough few days
I must say that it’s due to all the good things the men have done with him that Ollie is so friendly, confident and biddable. Absolutely gorgeous. Ollie’s good points far outweigh any bad ones he may have. All his problems come down to over-excitement. Now that his owner realises that quietly restraining himself with Ollie will help him, that should help the dog to learn self-restraint.
When Ollie’s excited antics no longer get the attention he craves he will then start to learn. Meanwhile he won’t give up easily I fear. While he still believes excitement and demanding always works in the end, in the short-term he may simply increase his efforts.
They may be in for a rough few days during which they must occupy him with activities and calm attention but under their own terms – and when he’s not hyped up!
He will learn so long as his humans are consistent.
Six weeks later: ‘ Ollie is definitely a lot calmer and ongoing work will definitely give further rewards. The penny has finally dropped that if the ball is thrown and he brings it back and drops it then it gets thrown again …this is his current most favourite thing but we don’t overdo it! Thanks for all your support over the last few months…Ollie is definitely a work in progress and I’m sure we’ll be in touch!’
