Puppy goes CRAZY at the end of daily walks

[Erica Andy & Khloé]

We have a 5 month old goldendoodle named Khloe that we take on two walks a day to keep her "crazies" under control. She stops and sniffs just about everything, but she's a puppy so that's understandable!! However, when we turn onto our street for the last leg of the walk, Khloe goes absolutely insane-- jumping on us, biting our coats, biting my scarf, trying to get her leash out of our hands, jumping crazily and high off the ground too!! It's nearly impossible to get her home. Sometimes we have to carry her the rest of the way home, and when we get to our house, she sprints away, leash in mouth! We have NO idea why she does this. Does anyone else have this problem? Please let us know!! Thank you so much :)

Edit 3/25/14: thank you so much everyone for the advice so far. We went on another walk today and I want to emphasize the severity of Khloe's craziness. She goes so crazy jumping and biting and hops all over. Tonight she was going so nuts that she wrestled out of her harness and was running free on the street! On the first half of walk she is great and accepts treats if we give them to her, but when she is in this state of "rage" she won't eat them.

I also tried just stopping and waiting for her to calm down. When I stand still she's fine, but the second I move an inch she flips a switch and goes crazy. She is borderline scary as she bites so hard and can put holes in our clothing.

Is this what you all experienced? Thank you!

[Pat and Traveler]

Trav would do something similar--he turned into a beast when he got almost home!  I'd never had a dog, and thought I'd made a horrible mistake getting a puppy.  This did pass, and he's quite content to get home now.  I really feel for you during this trying time!  When I got Trav into the fenced yard, I just battled past the leaping and nipping and scary eyes and left him alone in the yard, which he didn't like at all.  He would lie down when we got to the gate and do all the things you mentioned.  Ugh!  Hated that stage!

[Ginny Nightingale]

Hi Erica!!! Glad you found doodlekisses--you might want to join the puppy madness group and re-post this to find others who have been going thru this--but I agree with Pat--there are times when you think that the puppy stuff  will never end--but it does--the timing is strange, but who knows what is going on in her cute little head--is she happy to be getting home and that is how she shows it? 

Do you bring treats on your walk? Have her sit and give her a treat as you get closer to home--in other words, anticipate the CRAZIES an cut her off at the pass--do the sit and treat a few times and she might be focused enough on you and that treat to forget to go wild---worth a try!

Don't get discouraged--you are getting there! AND WELCOME TO DK! (By the way, you can put a photo into your discussion by clicking on the photo icon--second from left on the tool bar)

[Ginny Nightingale]

Here is Khloe!

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Oh dear goodness. I just melted!

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

I think Ginny probably nailed it....but I just wanted to add my 2 cents.....Khloe is adorable!

[Emily, Bentley, & Maserati]

What a cutie!! 

[Miss Ellie]

She is gorgeous...and Ginny is so right...this too shall pass...just be patient:)

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Lucy was the same at Khloe's age. Really difficult (and embarrassing) stage! It does pass eventually (probably not soon enough, though!). If you're in a secure area, dropping the leash tends to stop the behavior. Khloe is adorable, btw (good thing they're cute, huh?)!

[Dee & Chloe]

My Chloe did the same thing as a puppy and still does once in a while when she is excited after seeing one of her friends on our walks. What works for us is for me to firmly say no and turn my back on her and stand still. When she is calm, I turn around and I give her a treat. If she starts again, I do the same thing until she calms down and make her stay sitting  for longer before I continue the walk. Don't worry, it does get better!

[Ginny Nightingale]

Good advice Dee!

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

OMD she's so cute! Yes, I remember this stage.  Don't get discouraged, it does pass :) with some work.  Khloe's old enough to start learning to focus on you when she's on the leash.  Just the basics, perfection not needed :)  Here's a couple of ideas in addition to Ginny's that might help:

Keep treats in your pocket and as you walk and she's by your side, behaving, say "look" and give her a small reward while walking.

Every so often, reverse your direction and give her a small treat if she follows.  Make her sit and give a treat. Vary your walking speed.  Give her lots of love when she does well. You can increase these little training steps as you get closer to home to keep her mentally engaged. The idea is that she doesn't determine what happens on the walk, you do.  You always have to be one step ahead of these little ones :)  But it will pay off big time!

One last thing -- No sniffing while walking. This one was hard for me when Finn was a pup. Give her "free" breaks to sniff in one place and relax for a bit. Actually use the word "free" or "release." Then "Let's go" or something similar, and resume your walk. I relaxed this rule recently and that's been a big mistake:) we have some retraining to do :)   

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Sounds like a puppy. ;).
At the age of five, Spud, still goes nuts from time to time on an exciting walk.
How nice to feel a zest for life. The joy!

I'll be honest with you, at five years old, Spud, still gets playful behavior from time to time.
All of the sudden he grabs his leash, turns around and jumps backwards for a block.
That truly tires him out ;). It's hard to jump backwards tugging a leash for a block. It cracks me up. We laugh! I don't stop it because after all I am walking him to get his Yia Yias out. ;)
It drives my husband crazy but I just think Spud has his own happy style and life is too short to take away a happy, playful, burst of short-lived energy.
Enjoy your pup. They all don't walk perfect all the time and that's a good thing too