We must always consider the whole dog, take into account the dogs world; exercise, food, daily activities and lets not forget breed or breed combinations. In your journey together, you must consider all aspects of the situation, go beyond just obedience training and include everyone in the process. Most behavior problems stem from something beyond obedience, our goal is to help you address the issues and support better behavior using not just obedience but deeper understanding and handling skills to help you and your dog become better together.
One of the first things to consider is whether or not your dog is being properly exercised. Proper daily exercise will help drain your pup of excess energy and allow the brain to settle down into a more trainable and livable state. For every dog this can mean something different, a small lap dog may only need a quiet, leisurely walk to help him settle down, while an active minded Weimaraner may need a morning run, an afternoon game of fetch and a long evening stroll to get his mind settled and calm. Understanding your breed or your dogs bred purpose will help you unravel this mystery.
Take a good look at the food your feeding, don't be afraid to switch up and see if the changes you need will occur. We have seen dogs being affected by the dye in some foods, acting like children with dye allergies, just unyieldingly hyper-active and seemingly unable to focus, when changed to a color free food, they have settled down into a much more comfortable state of mind and become much easier to work with. Similarly we have seen some dogs with too high of a protein level in their food, go from a shivering, energetic bundle of nerves to a much calmer and more in control of themselves state of being. You may need to switch up a few times before you find what helps for your dog, but it is a piece of the puzzle not to be overlooked.
Over stimulation of dogs is quite common, we all love the attention our dogs thrust upon us when we have been out of sight for a day, or a few hours, but accepting and even encouraging this behavior can lead to several behavior issues. One of the biggest problems we see is over exhuberant greetings at the door; jumping, whining, piddling and even nipping can occur. Unfortunately we as the dogs owners and caretakers often accidentally teach and encourage this behavior from day one. Puppies are cute and we all love when they want to show us their love and affection, but take a good look at that picture; dog stands up on our leg, we pet and baby talk and encourage ... 50lbs later we have a dog who is just repeating what they've alway been rewarded for except now its suddenly making owner very upset. the dog doesn't understand what has suddenly changed or why your upset. Excited piddling can also occur due to over stimulation when getting attention, sometimes its just overwhelming for the dog and they will submissively piddle at your feet, which for dogs is an acceptable way of declaring i want to be friends and you can be in charge. Of course as people, we do not appreciate this communication and may get frustrated, yell or be mad at the dog, which really just compounds the problem. Trying to understand the situation from the dogs point of view can be quite eye opening and provide insight into why things may be occurring and what might help to stop the issue.
Seeking the help of Professional Experienced Trainers when needed can make the entire process much easier and faster for you and your dog.