My black working-line Lab just turned 1. At home he's genuinely relaxed, settles well, and is pretty obedient. Good impulse control, treat motivated, responds well to cues when he's calm.
The problem is threshold. The moment he clocks another dog or meets new people he gets highly aroused. Jumping, pulling, very difficult to redirect. The interesting thing is he will take treats in these situations, but the moment the reward is delivered he goes straight back to the aroused state. It's like the treat lands but doesn't actually bring him down.
I want to understand how to build genuine regulation rather than just manage the environment forever.
A few specific questions:
Is the "takes treats but immediately spikes back up" pattern something people recognise? What does it actually indicate and how do you work with it?
How do I train below threshold when the triggers (other dogs, people) are hard to control in a dense urban environment?
How much of this is adolescence that will settle with maturity, and how much needs to be actively trained?
Not looking for "tire him out" advice. He gets plenty of exercise. Interested in building a genuine off-switch and regulation capacity in a dog that has real drive.
Any experience with working-line dogs at this age welcome.