Off lead excitement (jumping, nipping and biting)

Hi all,

This is only my second post on the forum and since the advice was good i have come to seek some more.

I have a rescue Staffy, 19months old. I have started to let him off the lead in a closed off tennis count near where i live at the end of his walks before we get home so he has the change to burn off what energy he has left and to work on his recall.

It all goes well for about 15 minutes till he starts to run at full speed in circles around the court (like he does normally) but now he will dash at me, jump and start nipping aat my coat and my ankles, it seems like he is playing or trying to ask me to play.

Though i find this behaviour unacceptable and maybe a little annoying as when i tell him to stop ... a command he knows a listens to usually ... its a bit of a hassle putting the lead back on.

This is something i NEED to nip in the bud before i will even consider letting him off outside of the Tennis court, usually he is a very good dog, well trained and obedient, by this i mean i can literally tell him to do anything and he will do it.

Is he to excited ? Is he trying to ask me to chase him ? im just a little stuck.

Thank you in advance

He is indeed trying to get you to play. Here is a link that will help.

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/stop_your_staffy_puppy_biting

He is likely to be going through a teenage phase as well and pushing his boundaries. It's best to go back to the basics with the training and not let him have his way. How much exercise is he getting. Ideally it should be two walks per day for 45 minutes each. This should also help with the energy.

He is walked 4 times per day:

9 am - 4 miles
2pm - 6 miles + 15 min Tennis court
7 pm - 4 miles
11pm -Midnight (depending) - 4 mile + 15 tennis court - last walk

The times i can take him for his runs (Tennis courts) are set around where no one is about, so i have 100% attention and free access to it without people using it.

My instinct told me he was trying to get me to play but it takes one person to see him do it and for them to think im training him to do said behaviour. I try not to acknowledge him when he is doing it but i also have to pay some attention while im trying to get the lead back on.

Im not sure if its a good thing to do but after it i told him no and made him walk behind me instead of at my heel .... is this valid punishment ? i though of it as moving him to the back of the pack till we got home .... But he was in a mood with me all night.

He is getting plenty of exercise and I understand your need to not have people think you are training him wrong. Have you taught the watch me command? Essentially hold a treat in your hand and have him sit. Once he is watching you putting the lead on is simple.

I don't believe in the pack theory or punishing a dog. A simple no will work and then get him to complete a positive behaviour.

Rescue dogs can get over excited, and none more so than rescue staffs as they are high energy dogs. If you think about it, they're often in rescue because a previous owner didn't care enough for them, which means they probably didn't get much play time, and they may well have been in kennels for a while which is intensely frustrating for them.

I'd do a few things. Firstly, don't just do hyper exciting things in the tennis court otherwise you'll have that anticipation and excitement before you even get in there, which makes things boil over quickly. Go in and do a bit of basic obedience stuff - heel, sit, sit-stay, etc. Work on the commands 'leave it' to drop anything in the mouth, 'wait' to teach patience and 'enough' which means the game's over. In other words, you start controling when you play, how you play and when you stop. If you're not sure how to teach these things, ask.

In between running, call him back to you with a treat and ask him to sit quietly before sending him off to run again. Control the on-off switch. It's a good idea to have that control with tuggy games as well, using 'leave it'.

Because the habit's already there you will probably find it doesn't go smoothly to start off with. You therefore need a 'no' that he understands. The basic principle behind training is that you do something to get what you want, and you stop doing things that get you stuff you don't want (technically speaking that's punishment). Punishment doesn't have to be super nasty or involve shouting, hitting, etc. Those things not only don't work, they can also make things worse. An effective punishment is simply making sure the dog gets the opposite of what he wants. If he wants attention, then walking away is a punishment.

The moment your dog starts to get over excited and doesn't quieten when you ask, turn your back on him and walk away. Unless you feel you are in danger of getting hurt, ignore anything he does other than standing or sitting quietly. What should happen is that he will at some point stop to wonder why it's not working, at which point you immediately praise him and give him his treat.

When you are in the tennis court, any time at all that he comes to you and sits should get a treat, to start off with even if you've not asked for it. Make that a brilliant thing for him to do, as it's completely incompatible with the negative stuff he's doing now.

So more overall control of excitement levels through the introduction of basic training and, using what he doesn't want as your 'no' and giving a big 'yes' to behaviours you do want.

Thanks again guys for the advice and information.

It confirmed what i thought and gave me something to work on.

Cant add to already excellent advice all the best with training