Obedient at home, a little terror outside!

[Luna and Yen]

Hello,

My 16 week goldendoodle is mostly attentive and obedient in our home. But OMG, when we go out for a walk or play outside, it's like a totally different dog... she doesn't listen at all when I call her, she forgets all the commands and tricks I've taught her,  she keeps jumping on strangers, pulls on her leash, and everything is 3x worse when there are other dogs around!

We started puppy training classes yesterday, and even the trainer had a hard time getting her to focus, and finally gave up.

She has so much energy and I feel like she's constantly trying to defy me or be extra naughty just to get my attention. She is walked 2-3 times a day up to a total of 2 hours. I think she's getting enough exercise.

She can be a little angel inside the house, but outside it's like she's having a sensory overload and gets overly excited, and won't calm down.

I'm wondering if there are any tips or words of encouragement from the more experienced dog parents out there. I need all the help I can get!

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Oh boy do understand! Murphy is now 15 months old.  She was a perfcect puppy at 4 months, then again at eight months.  She has been a maniac again at 12 months and is slowly coming back into focus.  All the really long hard days of rain are good for the ground water level, but tough on puppy walking.  Just keep on keeping on.  

Take her outside on her leash.  Work on one command everyday for a week in one outdoor environment, on leash. When you have had success at least three days in row, or no sooner than the second week and another command do not drop the first command but do it in a different environment.  Be prepared for setbacks and seeming loss of her sanity as she matures.  You will need to work daily on this ( with one day off now and then) for at least three years.  Then a minimum of twice a week trying to maintain her focus when the environment shifts.

There is a famous story  around Southern CA about a well know dog TV ad star who could and would do nearly anything rerliably perfect.  UNTIL one day shooting a comercial at a friend's house, the dog went bonkers about sit and stay in the driveway.  Would not sit, would not stay.  It was the pebble surface of the driveway.  He had never seen loose pebble surface to walk or sit on.  Took two hours of retraining to get a "perfect dog" with 1000s of hours of training to just sit on pebbles.

Stay strong!!

[Luna and Yen]

Thanks Maryann for the words of wisdom and advice. I shall power through and hope my patience doesn't run out!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Not defiance. She’s just easily distracted. The more she’s exposed to the distractions, the less they will distract her. It just takes time. Keep at it and don’t loose your patience. 

[Luna and Yen]

Thanks for the advice! I will keep taking her out for walks and get her socialized as much as possible.

[Bill and Pepper]

Sounds pretty normal to me! ;^)

My Pepper is now 8 mos., and we are still working on recall, etc. outside. With other dogs it's real hit or miss. We just continue to train indoors, I find that hand-feeding with recall training (calling his name to get his attention, followed by food) periodically is a big help. Socialization with LOTS of other dogs and people and children may also help with the hyperness; YMMV!