Excitable behaviour in Hovawarts
It is perfectly normal for a hovawart to become excited when visitors arrive, when preparing to go for a walk or on an outing; most settle down very quickly.
Occasionaly some Hovawarts with a very excitable temperament can be difficult to control when faced with anything that makes them happy ! They may chase after moving objects, run towards objects or people of interest, spin in circles, jump up, mouth, whine, paw you, want to play all the time even after a walk, not come when called, bark excessively, pull strongly on the lead and so on, and they get bored easily.
Do not leave him at home because he is difficult to manage. He needs to be taken on lots of outings to help reduce the excitement he feels when encountering new and exciting places and people. Give very excitable hovawarts lots of walks, runs and free play, it will help in controlling their excitability.
Hovawarts are in fact quite sensitive so never shout at them, it just makes things worse. They can panic, not knowing why they have been shouted at, or what to do. Instead try giving him the "sit" command and aim to make that command his default behaviour; this especially helpful if he does a lot of jumping up when greeting you on your return home. Expect a Hovawart to be confident, loyal, gentle, affectionate, territorial, protective, and independent. We simply can’t overstate that you must be mindful of the need to spend large amounts of time properly training and socializing your Hovawart.
Training ideas
- Gradual exposure to excitable situations - Give him the time and opportunity to become comfortable with the situations he finds exciting, from a distance. Only move slowly closer to the stimulus when he is calm.
- Changing your hovawart’s response - Your hovie has probably been inadvertently rewarded for his excitable behaviour. Most people touch, pat or give treats to distract their dogs, which may help to control the overexcited behaviour at the time, but it also serves to reinforce the problem. The key is to ignore the behaviour. You must teach him that excitable behaviour results in being ignored, while calm behaviour results in being rewarded. The way to ignore a dog is to stand absolutely still, turn your back on him and avoid eye contact and do not react to anything he does - all easily said but can be hard to do in reality. However, patience and persistence on your part will be rewarded. Always reward and reinforce calm behaviour. It may be after a long walk or during a long car ride, just give him a gentle pat and calmly say, “Good dog.”
- Obedience training - Obedience training is vital for all Hovawarts. It is important that your Hovawart should know the “sit”, “down”, “wait”, “off”, “come”, and “stay” commands as a minimum. Going to training classes together is very beneficial, and provides a controlled social experience for your hovie.
- Mental stimulation – Very excitable Hovawarts tend to get bored easily. So keep them busy with “intelligent toys” such as a Kong, or Buster cube that has been stuffed with food, (which is part of his daily food rations) or hide small treats around the house and encourage him to search for them, play hide and seek with him. Teach him tricks, change your routine, take different routes to the same place - all are great ways to provide some mental stimulation.
- Consult your veterinarian - Just occasionally excessive excitability can be a sign of disease. Hovawarts that do not respond to gradual exposure, positive reinforcement training techniques and really are getting adequate exercise, may suffer from Hyper or Hypo thyroidism so it is wise to consult your veterinarian.
