walks -crazy on the way home!

[megkyume]

Does anyone have any experience with boxers who become unruly only on the way home from a walk??

Macey gets really excited when we turn for home on our walks (unfortunately I can't really walk around a block or anything like that to avoid the distinct turn towards home). She tugs, pulls, jumps, barks, and today started to nip at my legs. When she starts pulling I usually either put her in a sit or turn around until she's walking normally next to me, but today she got even more hyper when I did that. She actually put a hole in my pants when she nipped at my leg! After that I gave her a big "NO" and she calmed right down and walked calmly with me home. I don't want her to have to get in trouble for her to calm down, but I'm not sure what to do. I've tried running with her away from the house to wear her out, and walk back home, I've tried running both ways (she gets jumpy at me unless I run full speed on the way home, and I just can't do that yet!). I'm not sure if it's a function of her youth, or if with proper training I can correct this. I'd like to correct it before she's 50+ lbs!

Also, I think she needs crazy run around time. We have the fenced in yard & land to do it, but she's currently recovering from Giardia (hopefully), which I think she got from treats left in our yard from Geeze, rabbits, who knows what else. When she's outside without a lead, she goes hunting for said treats, so we got a retractable lead for our yard meanderings. I think that the retractable lead isn't so good for teaching leash manners, so now she's not getting the crazy run around time outside. !!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[zomo]

I think that more exercise, like you suggested,is just what is needed. Walking is good training but they need to run like the wind. I sometimes feel like I can see wiggle lines coming off my dogs when they have too much energy. We also had the pulling on the way home problem but she grew out of it.

 

[ehayes21]

A good way to stop this is to make the behavior unrewarding. Dogs do what works for them, so if a certain behavior is rewarding, they will repeat it. When it's not rewarding, they will try and find something else that works. In this case the reward is attention, even if it's a "NO", she's still getting a reaction from you. When she starts acting up, stop dead in your tracks, turn your face up to the sky, and ignore her completely. The instant she's quiet by your side, reward her with praise/attention for that behavior and continue your walk. She may keep trying, just be consistent and she'll catch on. Good luck.