Over excitable doodle

[Kristen]

Our puppy is 12 weeks old. I'm just wondering how much exercise he should be getting at this age? Also, when I take him out in the fenced in area to work with him or play with him he gets so overexcited. He then jumps at me (or anyone who enters the yard) jumping and biting. He's gotten some pretty good bites in with those puppy teeth. He has also started biting and trying to play tug with the leash whenever I take him out. Any suggestions?

[Susan & Randy's Kate]

I use a walker and when I have dogs jump on me I make them sit. Worked great with my boxer grand dog However if I sit next to him on his couch all bets off. We raised horses and you don't want them doing behaviors as a colt that is not acceptable when full grown. Same applies to dogs. You have to get family and friends on board to help. I have to say my blond labradoodle still loves mouthing my arm. They are calmer by one year but really mature by two.

[Pam Lawrence]

I had the same problem when my doodle was a young puppy. He was always a big, strong boy and the jumping and biting really concerned me for awhile. I was on the receiving end of some pretty significant bites. I tried turning my back on him, as recommended by some folks, and that just resulted in him jumping on my back and biting. I found that long walks on a leash helped. I needed to wear him out as much as possible in a situation where I had some control. He also wanted to play tug with the leash. I would give the leash a good, hard yank and say NO really firmly. By the way, I never played tug with him. It seemed to increase bad behavior. I also confined him as soon as possible after a jumping and biting episode and ignored him for awhile after he was confined. Sometimes that required grabbing him by the collar and literally dragging him to the confinement area. Not pretty, but it did calm him down. This was hard for me, because I tend to be pretty permissive and not the best disciplinarian! The good news is that he finally outgrew the jumping and biting. You need to be as firm as possible and let him know that the behavior is bad and that you are the boss. I know it's hard.... I was discouraged for awhile but it really did get better and finally stopped. He is now a sweet two year old who wants to sit on my feet and be hugged.