Dog Behavior Tips: Train Puppies to Stop Getting Overexcited

In this Omaha puppy training session, we worked with Godzilla and Gossamer. These brothers are ten-month-old Blue Labrador puppies.

Their guardians set up this training session to learn how to train puppies to stop getting overexcited. They also wanted help with other common puppy behavior problems like nipping and mouthing, jumping up, barking, and digging.

This pair of incredibly excited brothers did some serious barking to greet me as soon as the door opened. They then proceeded to take turns jumping up on me. I quickly understood that I needed to teach the dog’s owners how to calm dogs down. Dogs should not get too excited when they hear a knock at the door.

After I sat down in the living room with their guardians, it took the puppies several minutes to settle down. While they may look full grown, these brothers are still undeniably puppies and behaved accordingly.

How to Train Puppies to Stop Getting Overexcited

The pups acted this way for two reasons. First, there was a lack of structure. Second, the humans petted the dogs whenever they invaded personal space or jumped up on them.

Any time you pet a dog, you are rewarding whatever they are doing at the time. If a little puppy jumps up on your shin and you pet them, you are saying “to get attention from a human, jump up on them.” What is cute at 6 pounds is not as cute at 60.

I shared several puppy behavior tips with the guardians, such as petting with a purpose.

Training a puppy effectively requires consistency and intentional reinforcement. When a dog shows a behavior, good or bad, our response can encourage or discourage it.

Many guardians unintentionally reinforce bad habits, like jumping up, by reacting in ways that reward the dog with attention. Instead, redirecting and reinforcing positive actions, such as sitting calmly, helps establish better behaviors.

Petting with a purpose is one simple yet powerful technique. This is when a guardian only gives affection when the dog is behaving appropriately, ensuring consistency across all household members.

This method helps stop demand barking and overexcitement. It also reduces attention-seeking behaviors. This way, you can have a well-balanced puppy. Though it requires repetition and patience, this approach yields significant long-term benefits in training.

Setting Boundaries with Puppies

I also suggested some rules and boundaries, like passive training. These dogs are almost petulant because they get what they want often and the guardians do not correct them in a consistent way.

While their humans are upset about bad behaviors, the lack of rules made things confusing. This makes it harder for a dog to learn.

Rules play a crucial role in establishing a healthy leader-follower dynamic between humans and dogs. Humans tend to perceive rules negatively because of childhood experiences, associating enforcement with being strict or mean.

In contrast, dogs understand rules through probing and repetition, testing boundaries until they receive consistent feedback. Inconsistency in rule enforcement can confuse dogs, leading them to believe persistence will eventually grant them permission.

Effective leadership requires clear, consistent boundaries, such as prohibiting furniture access until a dog is well-behaved and making privileges conditional on obedience.

By enforcing rules clearly and fairly, owners can show leadership that dogs understand. This helps create respect and stability at home.

Once the guardians used communication methods that Godzilla and Gossamer understood, the dogs’ behavior began to improve. They stopped nudging the humans for attention. They showed respect for their space and listened to commands right away.

Since the dogs are still puppies, it should be easy to change their behavior and fix unwanted puppy issues for good.

We covered a number of puppy behavior tips in this in-home training session. To help the guardians remember them all, we recorded a roadmap to success video that you can watch below.