Could he be anxious?

[Sarah Bennett]

So, my big ol' lug of a dog is Salvador.  He is 15 months.  I have not had him in formal obedience training, though we did just start this last Monday (which was actually just question/answer day for me, he wasn't there).  He has been attending doggie daycamp on a weekly basis since he was six months old, though during the winter he didn't go as much, as we had a horrible winter (cold and snow) and the facility is a good 20 miles away.  

Salvador has always been an extremely hyper dog, specifically when other people or dogs are involved in a situation.  He is always friendly and pretty submissive, but always extremely hyper (jumping, mouthy, panting heavily).  I have honestly struggled getting him to act any different when someone comes over.  He usually has to be separated from them (with a see through baby gate, and located in the same room so he can still see and have the opportunity to be petted and interacted with), and really does not calm down, specifically for shorter visits.  He stands at the gate panting heavily the entire time.  If you approach him, he starts squirming and wiggling.  If you try to remove the gate, he spazes out and runs and jumps everywhere.  

If I try to take him places, pretty much the same thing happens, which makes vet trips and taking him to walks and to parks a big undertaking, but I do it anyway.  

So, I was talking to the owner of the doggie daycamp today, discussing things that the trainer had recommended from my description of Salvador, and the owner questioned, "I wonder if he's anxious around others that are not you.  He kind of acts like he is anxious, friendly, but anxious, and just does not know what to do."  

I'm going to talk to the trainer about this on Monday, when Salvador is there.  But I'm wondering, just from this description, what people here might think.  I've never thought that he might be anxious...just crazy and hyper...I won't like, ADHD has crossed my mind before too...

I'd welcome any thoughts and/or suggestions.  

Thanks!

[Kylee]

My doodle loves when people come to the house, she gets crazy!! So I totally understand where you are coming from. I had her in obedience class and asked my trainer what the best thing was to do. She told me that since she gets nuts to put her on a leash if I know someone is coming over and make her sit/stay right next to me. Once the person comes in they can come greet her, but if she goes to jump I am to correct her and make her go back into a sit/stay until she calms down. This is hard since she just loves people so much, but if I don't leash her she will be all over them. The trainer also told me to do this when I am out on walks with her and people approach her. She has def. gotten better, but not 100% by any means. I never thought my doodle was anxious, but maybe she is and I just don't know it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Salvador is not "anxious", and dogs don't have ADHD. He just sounds like a normal healthy untrained sporting breed dog to me. He needs training and it also sounds like he could use more exercise. He needs to burn off some of that energy. All young dogs, but especially retrievers and poodles, run and jump and want to greet people. You have to teach him how to do that properly. 

Dogs need training from a very young age. They never ever know what they should or should not be doing, how to behave, or where to direct their attention unless you teach them. That means drilling on basics every single day from the time they come into your home. Sit, down, stay, off, come, "watch me", practice, practice, practice until you have a reliable down-stay (or whatever)  for 30 seconds, then a minute, then ten minutes, than 30...you get the idea.

An "anxious" dog is a nervous and fearful dog, not an exuberant friendly dog. Salvatore seems anxious because as the daycamp owner said, He just does not know what to do.  Even people are anxious when they are don;t know what they should be doing in any given situation. He needs you to give him direction and teach him

[Sarah Bennett]

I'm hoping that through the training that I'm starting it will help...  and I'm willing to say I'm naive and ignorant... but my biggest issue is getting him to listen to me when there's other's around... He listens to me in the house-when it's us-he's great... sit, stay, come, etc.  It's when other's are around.  I can not (meaning I don't know how) to get him to focus on me-but again, I'm hoping that the trainer will be able to give me skills concerning this.  

In regards to the exercise... how much do/did you exercise your dog when he was this age?  He's in daycamp once a week (basically all day play), and the rest of the days I take him either to the dog park and play frisbee with him for about 45 minutes to an hour or we walk for about 45 minutes... sometime after this, we usually play fetch up and down the stairs for a little bit...  He sleeps well and usually spends the evening passed out.  

I will admit to not drilling him with training probably like I should. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Getting him to focus on you when there are others around requires training him in those types of situations. Once he has mastered the sit, stay, come, alone at home with you, you then have to practice these in public places, or when company is over; dogs are situational learners. There are lots of resources here on DK for this. Check out Lucy & Annabelle's Mom's videos on doorbell training, for starters. Join the Training Group and read through some of the discussions there.

A good trainer will teach you how to train your dog, but then it's the day-to-day practicing that makes the difference. And you must be consistent, even though it takes a lot of patience and time. Every time he gets away with a behavior that you don't want, it reinforces that behavior. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

He sounds like a pretty typical 15 month old Doodle to me.  I'm assuming he's neutered, right?  That's step one.  I think that it's great that you're going to be starting training....without that his boundless Doodle energy will drive the unwanted behaviors.  I agree that it starts with exercise....I think an hour of real exercise is fine, and it sounds like you're doing that.   Mental exercise is just as important, and that's where daily training  comes into play....it will tire him as much as a good walk in the park.  You need to help him learn to be calm.....state of mind is so key.  That starts with being calm yourself as you show him what you're expecting him to do.  When we have guests I gate my boys in the bedroom until they show me that they're calm...they do not come out until they've stopped pacing and vying to get out.  As soon as they lay down....I remove the gate and they follow me out of the room.  I sometimes have to verbally correct them after they're released if they get excited again, but that's pretty rare now.  Excitement is the root of lots of bad behaviors, and I do everything to avoid that.  So the training class will teach you how to train commands, and then practice and keeping his environment calm around all kinds of distractions will take you the rest of the way.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I have one dog who has an anxious personality and another who is almost four and a perpetual puppy, so training with them is different, but similar in that it is constant. Murphy needs to know it's ok that people come into the house and that "Ive got it" and he can "settle" then because he acts like he and we are in danger and just wants to panic. Bella, however, is so darn excited and happy that she jumps 3 ft in the air and spins around and is totally besides herself. They both need firm direction and for two different reasons. Salvador does not sound anxious to me, and more like my Bella with their excitement. But without constant training, I would have total chaos when the door bell rang. Im glad you are getting into training, you will see a big difference. He really doesnt know what to do with himself and you can tell him!