My puppy is almost 6 months old, he is wonderful except he gets the occasional mental breakdown where he goes nuts and won't stop jumping or biting, he just keeps at it no matter how much I get try to train him.  I'm thinking I have it figured out and I'm trying to see if that's the case.  He seems to get this way in a minor way right away in the morning before his walk and then he seems to really get this way at night around 8-9 p.m.  Is it because he's tired at night and wide awake with energy in the morning?  And why was he so calm around my wifes family at Christmas up North at her parents house but as soon as he steps foot on his own turf cookoo comes back out of the clock?  I'm really getting stressed the max with this, we have had tons of big sporting dogs in my life but none so dead set on being nuts.  Other than this little bit of craziness Maxwell is an amazing puppy and I absolutely love him.  My wife spoiled me with him for Christmas so he is even more special.  Once I figure out how to post a picture on here I'll make sure to post one of Max.

 Sounds like a normal GSP to me.  The craziness came back out at home because that is where he is comfortable.  He wasn't sure of himself elsewhere, but if you had been there long enough you  probably would have seent he craziness with him there too.  As for what is going on, I suspect the mornings are he is just full of energy and happy to see you.  Find a way to channel that energy and get into a routine. Both will help him settle down in the morning.  So, you might try letting him out to go potty, bring him in and feed him, but make him sit and do some obedience before breakfast.  By the way, mine are so anxious to eat in the morning that if I move even a little they pounce.  So, I have learned just to get up early and let them out and feed them, then we can all go back to bed and sleep until the alarm goes off on weekends around 8 or 9 and during the week around 7.  As for the evening, he is tired. Again, having an evening routine helps, but when mine get crazy like that I put them in a crate to settle down or go to bed for the night depending on how late it is.  I have 4 shorthairs ranging in age from 8 years to 1 years (3 girls and 1 boy).  The two pieces or advice I can give you to help you survive are 1) have a routine which I already mentioned and 2) have a job for your pup.  GSPs are very smart dogs and you have to engage their mind.  If you don't and you leave them to their own devices they will find something to put their mind to, but it probably won't be something that will make you happy. 

Texas Belle has hit the nail on the head! Please dont be offended but i was reading your post to my other half and could barely contain myself from laughing long enough.  We've all been there. I grew up around a few different breeds of working dogs but still wasnt fully prepared for the gsp onslaught  Dont start doubting that what your doing is wrong or anything like that.  As Texas Belle said, give the dog a job and a routine, and keep him mentally stimulated, but bear in mind that he will still have his crazy times.  I know it's testing at times, and just when you think he's calming down, he'll go wild again - that's just gsps for you.

We're also back to dealing with the timetabled crazies with Keely, sure enough first thing in the morning she's wild, then breakfast, sleep, wild again for another 1 hour, sleep, food, wild, and so on.  And regardless of what we do at night to tire her out, she is always at her most wild when we go to bed  Have fun, he'll be worth it

Our Harvey is also just shy of 6 months...and In my short time of GSP ownership...... i have experienced exactly the same issues as i am sure everybody else has.

Just persevere.... and hang on in there...expressions on here make me laugh, like 'Zoomies' and 'counter surfing' spring to mind....

SP

Yeah, love the expressions too!  Definately experienced the "zoomies".  Sorry to be disgusting, but Kintra would sometimes get a "turbo boost" after having a particularly large poo .  She would just get an extra burst of energy and go tearing around the garden, tail between the legs, back arched, and a wild look in her eye, must have been cos she had got rid of some excess weight.

Ha ha.. yes.. Harvey does the same but before 'going toilet'

He usually calms down afterwards..... but mostly not !

Harveys thing for some reason is going bonkers if he sees you clearing poops from 'his' garden...he jumps up and bites and wants to play, but things usually get out of hand, and he ends up having timeout in his crate.... i must be invading his space

SP

To get the picture to show up from flickr you need to grap the HTML code and just paste it directly into the post.

BTW he is a very handsome pup.  Is he solid liver?