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I have two tamaskan puppies who are 7 months old and already at 75 lb (around 34 kg) each. They love to gallop around the house and body-slam each other into the walls. It was fine while they were little, but now they're knocking over trashcans and chairs and I'm legitimately worried that they're going to knock a hole in the wall.

I walk them for two hours, but that doesn't stop them from running around before the walk nor from starting to run around again after resting a little while after the walk.

I'm on the verge of tethering them to each other so they can't run around the house because I don't know what else to do short of locking them up in the crates, which is sad and confusing.

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  • Can't find it now, but someone pointed out that working dogs, like kids, are trainedng recognize cues for when it's "silly time" versus when they are expected to be calm and quiet. I've watched this in action; a co-worker's seeing-eye dog is completely focused when wearing his harness, and let's it all out and becomes puppy-enthusiastic when that's swapped for his collar. If it happens, it must be possible...
    – keshlam
    Dec 24 '16 at 21:06
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When they exhibit unacceptable behavior, you must correct them while they are doing it. Not after. By the time they move on to their next thought it's already too late. Dogs live in the moment and do not understand corrections for things in the past.

Do

In this case, the moment they start misbehaving, give them a strong verbal signal to stop. Your tone, firmness, immediacy and consistency are the important factors. If they do not stop as a result of your verbal command, escalate your corrective measures until it's just enough to achieve your desired result. This could go up to and include kenneling. Alpha rolling them is the ultimate punishment. Don't take alpha rolls lightly or use them for minor or transient misbehavior. Save that for the big stuff.

Do not

Never hit your dog. That's not a "thing" in the dog world. Do not talk to dogs like they are human. They don't understand that. Do not yell or respond emotionally. Dogs do not respect emotions when correcting their behavior. Do not call the dog's name. Because you want the dog to associate their name with positive reward. If they don't stop immediately, you must correct them immediately. It is important you do this every time they misbehave. Not just some of the time. Otherwise, you will be teaching them it's okay to misbehave some of the time.

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  • The thing is that they do stop when I tell them to, but then go right back to it in a couple minutes %\
    – Raksha
    Dec 25 '16 at 22:56
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    Consider kenneling them as a corrective measure. Make sure it's done every time and before they move on to their next thought. Then, if they repeat the behavior, escalate the kenneling time. You might start with 10 minutes. Then the next time, 20 and so on. If they go a day without the bad behavior, let's say. Then you can reset to 10 minutes. The key here to making this work is you. Your consistency (every time, not sometimes) and immediacy (before, not after, they move on to their next thought).
    – Mowzer
    Dec 26 '16 at 3:05

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