Spring madness - over energetic dog advice needed !

[Trotter the wonder dog]

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Hi

Well it must be springtime because our male ( entire ) Hungarian Viszla is utterly mental at the moment.

He is normally pretty laid back. Good with the whistle, knows what is required of him, generally behaves himself.

Right now, however, he is very hard work. Tends to pull at the lead, overly sexual and interested in humping other dogs and much more prone to "selective deafness" and choosing to only come to recall when he feels like it. Off the leash walks on the bridleways and footpaths are a bit fraught at the moment.

We've put a lot of effort into him and most of the time he is very good. But there is always a month or two in the spring when he becomes a nightmare. It seems to be a pattern emerging. He'll likely calm down in a couple of months but right now he is very hard work.

It is a joy to see him in the prime condition he is, full of vitality, but the downside is hard going sometimes..

Any magic potions? Temporary medication even? Of course one of the answers is to put him on strict lead walk and treat every walk as a training run at the moment, but it is not easy. He tends to get carried away at the moment. Off the lead he is not as predictable as we would like at the moment.

My poor wife had her back and neck muscles pulled out of shape by his nonsense this afternoon, so I am looking to hear if anyone has any techniques or approaches they use to calm their pooches down for a short period until things settle again?

Do other people experience their dogs going a bit crazy for a while at this time of year?

 

[KateR]

You could speak to your vet - they may have treatments that will help with his hormones like injections etc

 

[goldenbear2013]

the first thing i would say i have him neutered.

if your not planning on studding him out then there is no point him being kept in tact.

the health benefits are endless to having him neutered and he will also calm down A LOT!

in terms of his recall, buy a long lead. not the retractable ones but the nylon or hard wearing ones from the pet stores. you can usually get 10-25 meter leads from around £10-15. well worth the money to let your dog have some freedom but without the nerves of whether he is going to bomb off or not.

i read an article somewhere a while a go saying dogs have 'brain farts' one minute they are golden and the next they don't even know what 'sit' is. it is a common thing in young adolescent dogs and depending on how old your dog is it may go on until around 18 months to 2 years of age. my labrador is nearly 10 months old and i'm having a super time with him and his mood swings at the moment! >_<

again; depending on the age of your dog maybe working him a little more to tire him out so he is a little less feisty when he is back on the lead or just relaxing at home.

The breed need a lot of stimulation so it may also be down to frustration. the fact that its spring time may just be because he is being taken out more with the warm weather. going off onto fields etc instead of general walks in the winter??? i don't know now i'm just guessing in relation to your routine.

hope that helps but do really consider having him neutered!

Sophie x