How to train a dog OVER EXICTED by FOOD to be CALM

Here are links to the tutorials that will greatly benefit you and your dog if your dog gets over-excited, over-aroused, or hyper when you train using food.

TThanks for watching! Please give a thumbs up, comment and subscribe! It means a lot to me :)

Happy Training!

- Emily Larlham (AKA Kikopup)

[ErynRollsDice]

This is a video I needed 2 years ago when I first got my pup. He was excited for food, my arm would be covered in scratches. Hope it helps other people out.

[tedjack]

The correct level of arousal and how to get it. Thanks for spelling out the link between those tutorials. We use so much of your techniques.

[MachoSheri]

My new puppy looks at food like food is a new invention....

[jaystyles]

This is EXACTLY what is happening with my dog! I’ve been trying to reward him for calm times but giving the treat makes he all hyped up!!! So tricky! Lots of GREAT tips here! Thank you! SLow treat delivery will be my new skill to use!

[kirstymacfarlane]

This is what I need! My girl, Valentine, has always been food driven but she's on steroids just now. Oh my!! She is pretty good but I've learned a lot from this video to help her dial it down. Thanks 🐕🐕💕💕

[catsanddogs]

I love your advice about slow treats delivery. I didn't realize that fast movement is natural to us(people). I'll keep it in mind.

[KaiSub]

My Tervuren is becoming more excited about treats, so this is very helpful!
He starts to paw at my arm and bark/whine if he doesn't get the treat right away, but if I use a lower value treat he usually can't keep his focus in training sessions.
Oddly enough he is much more attentive outside than inside.

[alternative]

I used to think my dog didn't like me but now I know it's true. Biscuit rolling his eyes at me when I tried to give him a treat was the confirmation.

[CH-orfe]

My dad recently got a dog and I don't think I have ever needed a video as much as this one. The old fartbag is 10 years old and the sweetest dog I have ever seen, but he will NOT. CALM. DOWN. the second he suspects there's something edible. He eats freaking TISSUES when he finds them outside, and while he doesn't ever try to take our food he will not move away for as long as it's there. Anyway, I'll watch this and show it to my father. Thanks for uploading, Emily!

[ronmiller]

By the time I am ready to get a dog, you will have done a great job in training me!

[SusanneBark]

Lovely video. The joy of making dog training videos and sharing your amazing knowledge is apparent in your facial expressions. Thank you🙂

[chihuahuabulldog]

Yet another great training video. The explanations make so much sense. I like how you break things down so they are easy to understand. Many times I have suggested this channel to people for them to learn dog training. Thank you, and also for the links. <3

[TheAndyweeras]

Thanks for this video hyper arousal is a difficult period and most just suggest long walks. I will definitely slow down and issue treats slowly to calm him down. Simple but effective.

[Clover]

My rescue puppy (14 weeks old) is very excited by food - constantly scavenging around kitchen for scraps etc. even after he has eaten. One thing I was wondering though - we were advised to do training sessions with him at mealtimes, so basically gets his daily food allowance hand fed to him via basic obedience training or when training out on walks. But he is in quite an aroused state for these training session as a result - he doesn’t vocalise but he will do things like cycle through different behaviours trying to guess which one I want him to do 😂 and he runs / dives into his crate as thats where we feed him / train him. Everything is done very quickly and excitedly because he wants the food so badly!

After watching all your videos around calmness, I’m wondering if this is something we should maybe stop doing? He loves food so much, I would imagine he would be just as excited about his kibble even if it wasn’t mealtime though. Thanks in advance!

[rebeccam]

Hi Emily, I love all your videos, I think you have the most precise, understandable and detailed training tips on YouTube! (And I watch a lot of YouTube dog training channels!) I would especially like to thank you for this video and the others linked to it as I realised that so much of my dog's issue with learning is because she is over-aroused by the food. She is very bright and loves training but it can often take her so much longer than it should because she's not even thinking straight (even if it's her own boring kibble). I will try these tips out and let you know how we get on :)

[stellaelise]

Capturing Calmness has been impossible for me and my dog because she won’t eat low value treats and she becomes very alert when I walk towards her. She always pops up of I come close. She’s always whining for food. Any tips if we can’t even get step one accomplished?

[lisasouthern]

This is exactly the information I need. I have a food-obsessed golden retriever from China who literally jumps out of his skin with excitement at mealtime. I do feed him frozen from a slow feeder bowl. He will sit and wait until I say "Okay" for his food, but meal prep time is frustrating (for me) as he has an obnoxious, screeching demand bark and will use it repeatedly and obsessively until he gets the food. As I'm walking him into the room where he's fed, he is on 2 feet jumping and spinning scratching walls, etc. He can't contain his excitement. Would this work for something like that? I got him in June 2019. He was super shut down for the first month but has done really well since.

[danielleroberson]

Awesome! This is my puppy 😅 he goes from 0 to 100 so fast! Anytime we try to train he starts spinning and barking and while it’s adorable... it’s incredibly hard to get him to focus! I will try these :)

[randomfishyfishfish]

My dogs from a kill shelter from a third world country and was severely malnourished and always had to "fight" for food.

He can sit down and wait to get his treat or food but I have to use a slow feeder because he will throw up his food if he eats from a normal bowl. No matter how long I wait before giving him food he doesnt calm down.

It even affects my other dog who actually had a hard time being motivated to eat. I feed them in seperated rooms and they NEVER leave food. He still checks EVERYTIME if the other one left something.

Learning new behaviours is impossible with food and as soon as we see my friend who uses cheese and sausages as treats when we walk I get COMPLETELY ignored since I don't use high value treats or any treats at all since his behaviour just gets more and more anxious.

[ryleyw]

my shi ztu is a glutin, when we put her food down (16 bigger kibbles 2 times a day) she starts to shake, then she usually inhales the food basically she may only chew once. so we hand feed, but she just gets all the more worked up with the shaking.

lately I would hold a couch pillow upright between her and the food so she can't see it, she is a bit more relaxed, however she still takes the food and it's like she wants to eat it fast, we say "chew your food" etc and she is pretty ok with chewing but there are the times she chews once then swallows.

when we got her she was a year old and it was our first dog so we really didn't know much about training she's now 9 and an old granny sometimes it's kinda a bit harder. but she's still like a young dog most of the time

Our other dog (bigger, a mix between jackrussel+terroir (dad) Newfoundland+something else (mom) we got as a puppy 3 years ago, she's good with food and we of course did training.