All dogs are created equal, but certain dogs are created more hyper than others. I have three very energetic dogs, two Siberian Huskies and a Shiba Inu, so I have had my fair share of hyper dog challenges.
Here are some important lessons I learned on how to calm a hyper dog or a hyper puppy.
Hyperactive Dog Tip 1
The best medicine for a hyper dog is calm energy.
One of the most important things to remember if we have a hyper dog, is that we should always try to remain calm.
If I lose my temper, get frustrated, or become angry, my dog will pick up on that energy and become even more hyper. When my dog is over-excited, I do my best to remain calm, and project calm energy to him.
Hyperactive Dog Tip 2
Make our dog work for his food.
A great way to exercise our dog mentally, is through the use of interactive food toys. Some good ones include the Buster Cube, Premier Busy Buddy Collection, and of course Kongs.
Frozen Kongs are great for when I have to leave my dog home alone. I just put some wet food into a classic Kong and freeze it. My dog has fun licking and chewing at it, and it helps to keep his mind occupied.
I also try to figure out new ways to make my dog work for his food. For example, sometimes, I will put his food on some paper, and then bunch up the paper into a ball. Then, I push the paper ball into a Holl-ee Roller toy. My dog usually has a fun time figuring out this food puzzle!
Another thing that works pretty well is the Egg Babies dog toy. These toys have openings to give us access to the squeaker balls within. I open up the compartment, take out the squeaker balls, and put some food into the toy. Sometimes I stuff a regular ball into it, to make the toy more challenging.
Sephy and Shania have lots of fun trying to get food out of the Egg Babies toy. The Egg Baby is a soft-toy though, so some dogs may just chew and shred it.
It is important that we are around to supervise our dog when he is working on a toy. We want to make sure that he does not swallow pieces of paper, soft-toy fabric, or rubber.
Hyperactive Dog Tip 3
Play fun games with our dog.
A game that my dog absolutely loves to play is the flirt pole.
A flirt pole is a simple pole or handle that is connected to a rope, with a toy at the end. We may create our own flirt pole or simply buy one.
I made my own flirt pole by getting a drain-plunger and detaching its wooden handle. Then, I drilled some holes on the handle and tied some rope through it. Finally I just attached the other end of the rope to the Premier Tennis Tail Toy
With this game, we may exercise our dog while not having to overly exert ourselves. Other fun dog play games include soccer, catch, fetch, and tug-of-war.
Hyperactive Dog Tip 4
Do obedience training with our dog every day.
Enroll in a dog obedience training class or get a good positive reinforcement dog training book. Then, have short (10-15 minutes) training sessions with our dog, several times per day.
This will help establish us as a pack leader, improve the bond with our dog, exercise our dog’s mind, and provide us with effective tools to control him in the house.
Hyperactive Dog Tip 5
Walk with our dog around the neighborhood, or go on a fun hiking trip.
Neighborhood walks are a great way to exercise our dog, and socialize him to people. Walking can also help with obedience and bonding.
We may walk our dog on a loose leash or in a heel position. Personally, I keep my dog on a loose leash most of the time. I only put him in a heel position when I need greater control, for example-
- When I see another dog, cat, or squirrel,
- When young children are around, or
- When my dog starts to get reactive.
Dogs enjoy roaming around and smelling social markers (dog urine) left by other dogs. They can easily do this on a loose leash. Being in a heel position all of the time, is probably more boring than death for a dog. Therefore, to provide a fun walking experience for everyone, relax, give our dog some freedom, and stop to smell the roses.
In addition to neighborhood walks, it can also be fun to go hiking on nature trails.
Note that different parks, or different trails within a park, may have different leash rules (on-leash or off-leash). We may have to try out a variety of parks and park-trails, before finding one that suits us and our dog.
Hiking can also be a relaxing way to socialize our dog to both people, and other dogs. Unlike enclosed dog parks, hiking parks are larger, and have a lower density of people and dogs. In hiking parks, owners are usually more engaged with their dogs, and are better able to control them. Hiking trails also offer an interesting environment for a dog to explore.
If we are too busy, consider hiring a dog walker to exercise our dog. Many dog walkers offer group-walks, where they will take a small group of dogs to a nearby off-leash park. This is a fun activity, and a good way to tire-out our furry friend while we are away at work.
Hyperactive Dog Tip 6
Organize play sessions with another dog.
One of the best ways to drain energy from a hyper dog, is to organize play sessions with other dogs. I invite social dogs over to my house, to have one-on-one play sessions.
Other possibilities include dog daycare centers or enclosed dogs parks. I prefer daycare centers because they usually have more social dogs. In addition, the dog playgroups are well-supervised, and therefore much safer.
Enclosed dog parks are open to all, so there may be aggressive and anti-social dogs. In addition, owners may not supervise their dogs well, because they are busy socializing with the other people at the park.
In my experience, it is difficult to find a good enclosed dog park. In addition, there is always an element of danger, because all it takes is one irresponsible dog owner for a dog fight to occur.
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My dog is a 1 and 7 month old Shepard lab mix. She is very hyper and she tries to test her dominance on me. How do I get her to know that I’m the boss
Here are a few articles on dog dominance -
1. Dealing with dog dominance.
2. Dominance and bad dog behavior.
3. Dominance and aggression (UC Davis)
We have a German shepherd puppy that is almost 7 weeks old she wakes my family up through out the night. Is there a way I could calm her down before she wakes them up?
Congratulations on your new puppy.
Where does she sleep? Does she bark during the night and that wakes people up? What does she do that wakes people up? What is her daily routine like?
Here are some things that I do to train my puppy.
I have a 10 month old samoyed. She is extremely hyper and love to eat.
I have ADD when I grew up, so I understand and have patience with her.
As soon as she is spayed, she will be enrolled in social classes for dog,
Ruby is very naughty, so I have to be firm with her at all times!
hello,
i have two german shepherd puppies…90 days now…and i put them in the bathroom with their water bowel and their wiwi pad…
and i train them everyday for obedience….but as soon as they r out of the bathroom..they start to play with eachother in a very hyperactive way…i just want them to relax with me in the living room and enjoy the TV time with me without them running and jumping on eachother…they r very well trained for basic obedience commands sit , down and stay…
any ideas for them to relax….???
Some things that help with my dogs in terms of managing their excitement during play -
1. I supervise them during play time.
2. I throw in many play breaks, so that they refocus on me, and calm down some before going back to playing.
3. I teach them clear play rules, so that they learn good social behaviors.
However, all dogs are going to need daily exercise to drain their energy. Some dogs, especially younger dogs and puppies will be more energetic and will need more structured exercise.
A well exercised dog will be happy to sit with us and enjoy tv time. I talk about some of the activities I do with my dogs in the article above.
Hi, I have a very hyperactive silky terrier pup that won’t listen to a word I/my family says. She’s too active, she won’t even sit still for a minute. She’s constantly nipping and scratching, and she jumps up on everyone everytime. She also has an aggression problem when it comes to grooming sessions – she always snarls everytime she sees a brush or comb. Other than that, she’s a sweet little dog, but simply a bit out of control most of the time. I want her to know who’s boss before she grows any older and thinks she’s in control of the house. Any advice besides the tips you have given here?
Hello Jo,
Here are some things that work well with my hyper Huskies-
1. I follow the Nothing in Life is Free program. I make my dogs work for their food and for anything else that they really want. This greatly motivates them to follow house rules and helps me to become pack leader through the control of resources.
2. I redirect their hyper energy into positive sanctioned activities, like the ones I talk about above. I also set up a fixed routine and a consistent set of rules.
3. I do bite inhibition training. This trains them to control the force of their bites while interacting with people.
Here is a bit more on -
How I trained my Husky puppies.
How I stop my dog from jumping.
Touch exercises and grooming..
With grooming, I start small, go very slowly, and reward my dogs very well. In this way, they associate it with positive experiences and grow to at least tolerate me touching them all over, or putting my fingers and a toothbrush into their mouth.
They are giving me a lot of trust by allowing me to do these things, and sometimes, grooming is uncomfortable or scary for them. After all, I am invading their personal space, tugging at their hair, and using a lot of grooming implements that they are unfamiliar with. Therefore, I make sure to go at a pace that they are comfortable with, make the experience short, and very very rewarding.
Here is an article on how I go about brushing my dog’s teeth. I use a similar process for other grooming tasks as well. The key is to slowly build trust through repeated positive sessions.
I recently got a new puppy, she was stray found while on a trip. We assume she’s a shepard mix but we’re not certain. We brought her back home to our (almost) year old male chihuahua who is very calm and settled. But Penny, our new pup, is very hyper and playful and often over powers him, like when their eating for instance, she won’t let him get to either bowl. At first he was playful with her and very welcoming, but its been a little over a week and he’s not listening to commands, cowards down, and even staying isolated when company is around. We think he may feel bullied or jealous, and we don’t know how to handle it. Should we train her and get her to how his accommodation or should we work to him to accept her?
I would really appreciate some advise, I don’t know what to do!
Thank you.
Some things that help my dogs get along -
1. Clear dog-to-dog interaction rules. I teach all my dogs what is acceptable and what is not, while interacting with each other. In this way, Puppy knows what to expect from my other dogs and vice versa. If there are any issues, I step in and manage them. I make sure to be fair and consistent about enforcing the rules.
2. A place to rest. My young Husky, Lara, has a lot of energy and wants to play all the time. I make sure she does not bother my other dogs when they want to rest. I also set up a very fixed routine and schedule for Lara so that she knows when it is time to play, walk, eat, and most importantly sleep.
3. Close supervision during play-time. I supervise very closely during play-time and do not allow humping, stealing, or any other anti-social behaviors. I also throw in many play-breaks to calm my dogs down, get them to refocus on me, and manage their excitement level. I stop play if I notice anyone getting overwhelmed.
4. Group obedience training. I reward my dogs extremely well when they are all calm, and working cooperatively together for me.
This is more on my experiences with introducing a new dog into the family.
Hi! I have a 5 mo old shiba (Luke) who is soo hyper..all the time. He would do this mad dash across the living room at the couch toward your face! I tried your Kong suggestion: I soaked some of his dry dog food for 5 min, and smashed it into a Kong; problem solved!!! Thank you so much!
I spoke too soon =\
Heh yeah, frozen Kongs are helpful with Sephy, but Kongs alone are not enough to contain his great Shiba powers.
Some things that help with Sephy -
1. I follow the Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF) program and make him work for all the things that he wants, including attention, affection, access to the backyard, etc.
2. I set up a very consistent set of rules and a fixed routine. Sephy is a lot more calm when he knows exactly what to expect from me, and what I expect from him. I also established a consistent way of communicating with him.
3. When Sephy was young, I put a drag-lead on him (only with a flat collar, and only under supervision). The drag-lead gives me better control and allows me to more easily catch him when he tries to run away.
Here is a bit more on my early training experiences with Sephy-
http://shibashake.com/dog/shiba-inu-training-secrets
Hugs to Luke!
I have a 7-month old swiss shepherd/husky mix, who takes a three hour nap in the afternoon, and wakes up around 7am after maybe 8hrs of restless sleep. I’m going to try out your Husky methods, because despite the walks, once a week obedience training, and random obedience sessions at home & games meant to drain his energy, he still manages to get into trouble that may lead us to trying to rehome him. He’s beautiful, smart, affectionate & we all absolutely love him, but we feel at the end of our rope. Any advice, or ways we can keep him quiet at night? When he’s alone at night he howls and somehow manages to move the baby gate before making a mess downstairs.
It sounds like it could be an anxiety issue. Does he only howl when he is alone? Does he howl during the day when he is alone?
My Shiba Inu, Sephy, used to howl at night when he was young. As soon as we moved his crate into the bedroom, he stopped howling. I think he was anxious, and did not want to be on his own during the night.
Now that he is older, he will sometimes prefer to be on his own, even during the night. We let him out if he wants to, but he does not get to come back into the bedroom once he chooses to leave.
Here is a bit more on dog anxiety problems.
Hi, im not certain what breed my dog is she’s half chihuahua and the other half unknown, i got her from a friend’s friend and she’s a year old but she’s too hyper. i lose patience to much and I try really hard but no matter what, whenever I come home or step foot in the yard she jumps on me like crazy and runs around me I’m just not in the mood for that at times. sh’es just too much. HELP!!! I don’t want to give her away but if i have to I will.
Hello Nancy,
Some things that help with my dogs in terms of jumping-
1. When they jump, I no-mark (Ack-ack).
2. Then, I give them an alternate pre-trained command, e.g. Sit.
3. As soon as they Sit, I calmly praise, and give them some calm affection.
4. If they continue to jump, then I turn away, fold-up my arms, and ignore them. This teaches them that jumping and not listening = no affection, but Sitting and listening = Attention and affection.
5. If they escalate their behavior and start biting on hands or clothing, then they go for a brief timeout. This teaches them that if they bite on people then they do not get to be with people.
Here is a bit more on why dogs jump.
i have a very hyper lab..he gets plenty of exercise, he jogs with me and my dad every morning two hours macimum which is kind of hard since we also can’t get him to stop pulling on the leash..
he takes naps in the middle of the day..we also go to dog parks om weekends..we give him plenty of bones to chew..
at night when i gey home from work, i play fetch or other games like hide and seek with him for an hour or two.. we can’t teach him anything ecen if i get a bag of treats..
he’s one year old already and still we can’t work him and he doesn’t even know basic obedience even though we practice it with him everyday
what i don’t get is that he gets plwnty if exercise and he’s still so disobedieny and hyper.. i’ve just about resorted to trying everything. i’d love for him to get trained by a professional but i can’t afford that
My Shiba Inu, Sephy, is also challenging to train. It was difficult to hold his attention for any length of time, when he was young. He is also aloof and not very motivated by attention or food. He likes new things though, so he will work for something new, e.g. new toy or new food. He also likes his freedom, so he will work for access to the backyard. He loves chasing games, so that also works well as a reward. Training success depended a lot on identifying what motivated Sephy most.
With Sephy, I started with very simple commands. The first one that I did was “Look”. I would just bring my hand up to my eye level and say “Look”. If he looks at me, even just briefly, I would mark the behavior (Yes), and play his favorite game with him as a reward. Then, I just keep repeating.
I also follow the NILIF program with Sephy. Through NILIF, he learns that in order to get what he wants, he first has to do something simple for me.
Here is a bit more on our early training experiences-
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-i-trained-my-husky-puppy
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-dogs-learn-how-dogs-think
We have a 10-week-old Beagador (Beagle/Lab mix), and we saw the game you call flirt pole on Dog Whisperer and he called it furball. Whatever you call it, you can make a great pole from a lunge whip that’s used for horses. Any horse supply has them and I think places like TSC do too. We just tie a stuffed dog toy to the end of the whip and it has a long reach so we can make our little guy run like crazy without wearing us out. It’s also flexible so we can make the toy bounce really easily. Make sure you get a whip that’s rigid enough to hold the toy on the end without bending too much, some of the cheap ones wouldn’t hold up very well. We’ve found this game to be a great opportunity to practice making our puppy give up his toy. We started out using his favorite treats to distract him as we said, “Drop it”, and he’s picking it up quickly! He also sits if he sees your hand go in the treat bag.
Great idea!
Play time is fun and can be a great teaching opportunity as well.
Big hugs to your new puppy!
I have a question how much should a husky at 5months weigh??
Shania was around 27 pounds. Lara was probably a couple of pounds lighter.
Hello,
I recently rescued a one and a half year old pug. She’s my first small dog and she’s a fluffy ball of energy. We go on two walks a day that are an hour or longer. She has plenty of toys and I give her a lot of attention. She’s still SUPER hyper. She’s constantly tormenting my other animals and I don’t know what to do. I would love to let her run around in the yard but she’s an escape artist! When its time for bed all
ssslshe wants to do is play.
Heh – yeah I hear that Pugs calm down after around 3 years old.
Does she get along with other dogs? Play sessions with other dogs helped my Sibe puppy drain a lot of energy. Pugs have short noses though, so make sure they do not over-exercise especially in hot or humid weather.
I also make my dogs work for all of their food. Frozen Kongs were helpful in keeping my Sibe puppy busy and helping her calm down before bed. Couple of hours before bed, we have quiet time so that she gets to calm down. If she is active right before bedtime, she gets too excited to go to bed.
i have 10 week old male puppy he was given to us at 7 weeks old. He is very super hyperactive. He bites whenever i put a leash on him and bites the bottom leg which is getting to hard. when taken for a walk he pulls so hard, likes to jump on people i had to restrain him. I need help up to my wits now. i have try putting a dog toy on his mouth, no luck on that either.
thank you
Hello Sarah,
In terms of biting at home, here are some things that helped with my dogs-
1. Bite inhibition training.
2. Consistent no-mark and alternative command.
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting#timeout
In terms of pulling, here are some of my experiences with leash training-
http://shibashake.com/dog/leash-training-your-dog
Here is what I did for dog jumping-
http://shibashake.com/dog/stop-your-dog-from-jumping-on-people
Some other things that helped with my dogs during puppyhood-
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-obedience-training
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-i-trained-my-husky-puppy
Shibashake- Hi I have my dog going to the science fair. I want her to be calm. What should i do???
Heh, my Sibe puppy Lara also gets really excited when going to people or dog events. The more of them I take her to though, the better she is. I usually start with places that have lower people density, e.g. the park during off hours. That way, she gets used to a smaller number of people, then I slowly make my way up.
If she misbehaves, I just take her away a certain distance until she can calm down. Then I try bringing her back slowly. If she starts getting over-excited again, we move away again and just repeat. I did this at a Husky event that we went to, and after a bit of this, she was able to calm down.
What kind of dog do you have? How is she when on neighborhood and park walks?
Good luck at the fair! Let us know how it goes.
Hi,
I have a 10 week old siberian husky his name is Gage. He bites constantly, he follows behind everyone and bites their pants. He’s even broken a tooth by doing so. He also goes for fingers and toes alot. We have also tried to potty train him, he wouldn’t use it outside, so we started using puppy pads. He would potty around it, but not on it. This is the first time ever owning a siberian, so I’m not sure what to do. Help?
Hello LeAnn,
In terms of play-biting, two things were helpful with my dogs-
1. Bite inhibition training.
2. Redirecting the dog onto something else or giving an alternative command.
Here is more on my experiences with puppy biting.
Here is what I did while potty training my Sibes-
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-potty-training-facts-and-myths
The first few weeks are always the most difficult. I was reminded of that last year when I got another Sibe. It takes a while to potty train a Sibe puppy, but if we reward good behaviors well, and are very consistent, then they will learn in no time.
http://shibashake.com/dog/a-new-puppy-first-10-days-of-hell
Hugs to Gage and congratulations on your new Husky puppy!
Hello! I have a 10 month old German Shepherd and he is SUPER hyper. My husband and I leave him in his crate and whenever we let him out he will run in circles for an hour nonstop and grab his toys and beg us to play. We will lay on the couch watching TV and he’ll try to jump on the couch and shove his toys in our face. We have tried to calm him down but all he does is get even more excited. It’s been like this for months and we don’t know what to do. We have tried everything! The calm energy vibe, the food toys, taking him for walks(he is very out of control when we walk him), etc.
Heh – yeah sounds like my Sibe puppy Lara. She is always on the go and always ready to play.
Some things that I do with Lara-
1. When she was younger, I fed most of her food to her using frozen Kongs. That keeps her busy for a while doing something calm, and she is usually ready to rest for a bit after that.
2. I walk her over 1.5 hours every day and we have several play sessions. Here are some things that helped me with leash training -
http://shibashake.com/dog/leash-training-your-dog
3. We do commands every day – throughout the day.
4. She plays a bunch with my other dogs – supervised.
5. We reserve a place at the back of our backyard where she gets to dig.
Hi my dog does very well when we are “alone” I used to have a roomate that did the oppposite of what I tried to practice, Calm behavior being a main one (this person was more hyper than my dog) now my roomie is gone and Im doing the obedience training over again, but when he sees the former roomie again he goes bonkers wild bananas!!! He literally runs in circles and slams into the walls repeatedly. How can I stop this? Xroomie has been warned that i will come down like a samurai if he continues to hype up my dog but even if he’s just standing there quietly my dog engages in this crazy desperate behavior. =( I want control here and I want my dog to be calm no matter who is present.
Hello Karen,
People desensitization exercises may help.
The key is to use distance to weaken the strength of the excitement stimulus and only expose a dog to little amounts of it at a time. This allows us to set our dog up for success and slowly teach him to stay calm.
Hi I have a 2 year old rottweiler cross husky he is generally well behaved and calm in the house but when we walk him he is a bad puller we have recently started doing lead training (stopping when he pulls and not moving until the lead is slack) which is going well however when ever he see’s another dog he gets so excitable and pulls so badly he doesnt hear anything we say! He isnt aggressive just over excited! We walk him for at least an hour a day so dont think its not enough excercise we dont know what to do to calm him down with other dogs??
Thank you xxx
Hello Alex,
My Shiba Inu also used to be really reactive to other dogs. Some things that helped with him-
1. Being calm. If I get anxious or nervous, he picks up on my energy and gets even more excited.
2. Neutral experiences. I create space, ignore the other dogs, and make seeing dogs as calm and boring as possible.
3. Desensitization exercises with other dogs.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
hi!, our dog is 10 months old, she’s so very hyper and she always eat and chew everything, when we had a dog walking she’s so very innocence and when she see other people she’s afraid. what will i do?
Hello Camille,
Yeah puppies think that everything is interesting so they try to put everything into their mouth. When my pup chews on something bad or dangerous, I give her a no-mark (e.g. Ack-ack). This lets her know that the behavior is undesirable. Then I redirect her to chew on a toy. If she redirects, then I praise her and reward her with a game. Very quickly she learned that certain objects are more fun than others because she gets rewarded for chewing on them.
In terms of people, here are some things that can help dog meetings be less stressful-
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-to-meet-a-dog
Desensitization exercises can also be helpful-
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/hub/Dog-Anxiety-Fearful-Dog#mod_15989160
Hi i have a problem with my puppy shes only a few months old about 6 or 5 we have taken her for walks and everytime we take her shes getting out of her lead and ot coming back we’ve tried a sorts of leads but its not working someone help please
im worried that maybe one time shes going to get run over please reply!!!!!!
Do you mean she is escaping from her collar? I use the Premier martingale no-slip collar. It is great at preventing collar escapes. I size it so that at its tightest, it is the size of a regular flat collar. For sizing a flat collar, I just use the 2 finger rule. Make sure to resize as puppy grows.
Many flat collars slip with use, and therefore may have to be continuously readjusted to make sure that it does not slip over and out of the dog’s head.
What kind of dog do you have? For smaller dogs, a harness may be more appropriate.
I also use a 6 foot leather leash during walks. It gives me good control and is great for leash training. Here is more on Dog Leash Training Equipment.
I need help with my 13 week yr old puppy.she doesn’t. Play with toys she chewed my socks and she eats everything she had time to grab without me seeing and she is so hiper I dnt know what to do please reply back
Hello Summer,
Congratulations on your new puppy!
I got a new Sibe puppy early last year, and she was also a big cyclone of energy.
Puppies are excited about everything because everything is new and interesting. Puppies also do not know what things are considered ‘toys’ and what things are socks, clothing, and our designer shoes.
Here is how I trained my puppy-
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-i-trained-my-husky-puppy
Here are some other things that helped me calm puppy down and gain better control in the house-
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-obedience-training
hello! Our family has a 10 month old shiba puppy named Mari. She’s a very good girl most of the time, but sometimes she does some destructive things while we aren’t looking (chewing walls, getting things that aren’t hers, etc). We are almost always there to watch her, but sometimes its inevitable (such as needing to do something in another room). We have a kong toy (which uses dry food) but she’s never interested in it. We have tried some of these “puzzle toys”….but she only enjoys them when we’re around-of course
. Do you have any ideas for some puzzles or quiet activities she would enjoy on her own? Thanks so much-and we’re really enjoying this site…it has so many wonderful ideas that we’re working on adding into our everyday routine with Mari. Thanks so much.
-Mari’s Family
Yeah, it is not easy finding quiet activities for a Shiba. Mostly, Shiba Sephy likes chasing games and wrestling with other dogs.
One thing that Sephy likes doing on his own is chewing. The problem is that it is not always easy to get interesting and safe chew toys. Several years ago, Sephy found a deer antler while out walking and he totally loved it. Seeing this, we bought him some processed deer antler, which turned out to be a bad idea because he cracked one of his teeth on it.
Now I am a lot more careful about chew toys.
My two Sibes love bully sticks. Sephy likes them as well, but he only works on smaller pieces. When he gets a large piece, he cannot finish it in one sitting, and gets stressed about finding a good hiding spot for it.
Have you tried frozen Kongs? Sephy is not really into those, but my Sibes love them.
Shiba Sephy also likes shredding things. The issue here is making sure he does not eat the bits and pieces of stuff that he shreds. Sometimes, I let him shred the cardboard stick that you find in wrapping paper. Other times, I put things in cardboard boxes or wrap some pieces of chicken in cardboard and let him work at getting it out. In the beginning I supervised him carefully to make sure he doesn’t eat any cardboard. He seems to be only interested in shredding and not in eating.
NOTE – Cardboard is not good for a dog’s digestive system so these shredding games would not be appropriate for a dog that likes eating paper or cardboard.
Another thing I have noticed about Sephy is that he will work on interactive toys by himself if he is hungry. I make him work for all of his food. He gets some for doing grooming and obedience exercises. They rest he only gets through his interactive food toys. A half hungry Shiba is an industrious Shiba.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you find other alternative quiet activities. I am always looking for new things for Sephy to do.
Big hugs to Mari!
Thank you! I think we’ll start making her work for some of her food as well. And she also loves bully bars, but she doesn’t always chew on them. She also enjoys shredding too, and doesn’t seem interested in eating it!
Thanks so much!
-Mari’s family
Hi i have a 8month old male lab and i am finding it hard to want to let him off lead when we go to parks or dog beaches because as soon as i let him off leash he will bolt in the direction to the closest dog, and wont stop or come back, i have to chase after him. i dont mind him socializing but i just hate that he runs off. i feel bad not letting him off leash because i know he just wants to play… any suggestions? Thanks
also he goes to obedience training twice a week, but wont listent to any comands when he sees another dog he wants to play with..
Hello Rachael,
Well, I have a Shiba and two Sibes so I may not be the best person to talk about recall training. Both these breeds are extremely independent, and not really well-known for their recall abilities.
I usually start recall training (Come) at home, where there are few distractions. There are a variety of methods that can be used to get a dog to come when called. This article from the ASPCA gives a good overview of all the methods-
http://aspcabehavior.org/articles/84/Teaching-Your-Dog-to-Come-When-Called-.aspx
Once recall is very reliable at home, then I tried it in an unfamiliar but quiet enclosed space, e.g. enclosed exercise space at a nearby SPCA, enclosed soccer field. The key to recall training is to start small, and set our dog up for success. Then we can very slowly increase the level of distraction.
After recall is reliable there, I tried it with a long line in the quiet hiking trails close to my house. There are more distractions there, but I go at off times so that we are alone. After a few times, I decided that it was too dangerous for my Sibe. She has high prey drive, and she bolted after prey. She came back to me after a short time and I also have the long line, but it was enough to convince me that off-leash time for her should only be in an enclosed space.
I am a proud owner of a Boston Terrier/Pug mix named Frankenstein. He just turned 1 and he has always had the problem of not being able to hold in his excitement/energy. If hes home with me and my girlfriend hes relaxed. On the other hand he goes nuts when I arrive home from work until about 30 minutes then settles down. When guests come by, he never eventually calms down. I also get texts from my girlfriend about him acting aggressive when it is just her and Frankenstein. I am very close to taking him to training classes, but money is tight and if we can get him to be calm then we can avoid the expense. Should I invest in the classes? Is it something that a vet can control. I love my pup and just want to have him contain his energy. What do you think about bringing in another puppy into the house? Thank you.
Hello Brian,
When I arrive home, I usually try to keep things calm. I walk in calmly and go about my own business for a short time. Then, if my Sibe puppy Lara is behaving well and not jumping, I ask her for a Sit. If she does this, I praise her well and give her attention, affection, and treats.
If she jumps, I no-mark her, fold up my arms, turn away and ignore her. If she tries to bite me or my clothes, she goes into a brief timeout.
In this way, she learns -
Being calm & Sitting = Attention, Affection, Treats
Jumping = Get ignored
Biting = Lose freedom
I put a drag-lead on Lara when people come over to visit. I only use it with a normal flat collar and *not* a training collar. If she is too crazy in her greeting, I lead her away and she does not get to be with the guests for a short duration. Then, I walk her slowly back on-leash. If she pulls, we move back. If she is calm, we move forward.
I also instruct guests to ignore her (this also means no eye contact) and only give her attention when she is calm.
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-to-meet-a-dog
In terms of classes, I found individual sessions to be more useful than group sessions. Group classes were useful for socialization, but I learned a lot more about controlling my dog from individual training sessions.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-medication-good-bad-dog-behavior-modification
In my experience, getting a second dog only adds a lot more work, and further increases the excitement level.
I only got my second dog after I had solved most of the issues with my first dog.
http://shibashake.com/dog/getting-a-second-dog
I just got my 7 week old Siberian Husky puppy, Anya. I keep her inside, because one dog is enough for me, and I know she needs constant company — I work from home, so I’m always here, I take her for 20-30 minute ‘walks’ every two or three hours to drain off some of her energy. My only problem? She’s very, very hyper. And it’s not quiet hyper — She barks like crazy, almost nonstop, unless she’s in my lap. I can deal with this when I’m on my off time, but when I’m working? Not so much. I don’t mind petting her when I’m busy, or playing with her a little, but I just can’t make her be quiet for any small period of time unless she’s physically in contact with me.
Is this just separation anxiety, or hyperness? I’d love to take her for real walks, but she hates being on a leash more than anything; She only goes where she wants to go, and I won’t drag her around. That’s mean. But then again, she might be too young to understand ‘walktime’.
Help? D:
Hello Scott,
Congratulations on your new Sibe puppy. I love the name Anya.
In terms of the barking, do you go to her when she starts to vocalize? That is a natural reaction, but doing so rewards puppy for vocalizing, which reinforces the barking behavior.
With my Sibe puppy Lara, I make sure not do go to her when she is noisy, or to give her any attention. I wait until she stops making noise for a short duration, before rewarding her with my attention. In this way, she learns that being quiet = attention, being noisy = gets ignored. Then as she starts to learn, I slowly lengthen the time that she has to stay quiet.
Another thing that really helped with puppy Lara is to make her work for all of her food. Frozen Kongs were really awesome when she was a puppy. It kept her occupied, and she would usually drop off to sleep after working on it.
She also liked playing chasing games like the flirt pole. Sibes really love to run.
Here is a bit more on dog barking-
http://shibashake.com/dog/woof-woof-stop-dog-barking
In terms of leash-training, what seemed to work well with Lara is the red-light-green-light technique. I just stop when she pulls, and only walk when the leash is loose. Sometimes, I turn around and walk in the opposite direction, but most of the time the start-stop works well with her.
http://shibashake.com/dog/leash-training-your-dog
Hugs to Anya.
I have a two year old husky (we were told by the breeder that her sire was halfwolf). She is very very hyper. I think I’ve seen her exhausted only once in the two years we’ve had her with us. She’s also extremely skittish.
Now, we’re in the process of finding another dog to be her companion, but do you have any suggestions for what we could do? (we have tried food rewards, she won’t have anything to do with treats or even dog food)
Hello McKenna,
Some of the things that my Sibes, Shania and Lara enjoy doing-
1. Digging for earth critters. They really love to dig and are good hunters. I leave a large section of my backyard un-landscaped and they have fun digging there.
2. Going for walks, meeting people, looking at people, and exploring along the hiking trails. Shania likes going where there are more people, and Lara prefers going on more quiet hiking trails. I take them out for about 1.5 hours each day. When it is hot, they are less energetic.
3. Playing with each other and other dogs. They also expend a lot of energy playing, wrestling, and chasing each other.
4. Working for all their food. They get all their food through obedience, grooming, or interactive toys. Sometimes, I also spread some of their kibble in the backyard, and they have fun looking for food under bushes, in the grass, etc.
Sometimes, I also play games with them. They all seem to enjoy playing chase games such as the flirt pole. I play tug-of-war with Lara, but only with very strict tug rules. Games together with strict game rules, can be a good way to teach them obedience, as well as exercise them physically and mentally.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-play-fun-games-to-play-with-your-dog-or-puppy
Each dog is a bit different in terms of what they enjoy doing most, so I try to identify what they enjoy and then construct fun activities around it.
I have a 4 1/2 month old Pomapoo. We have had her for 2 months and have gotten her pretty well trained at home. We do obedience daily with ‘sit’ ‘shake’ and ‘lay down’- which she does very well at. Its when we go out in public that she acts like a maniac. Every time she sees another person or another dog she runs after them on her leash and is pulling so hard that she gets herself standing up. She usually doesn’t bark, but rather whines a lot. We have tried since day 1 to have her sit, tell her ‘leave it’ and hold one hand on her back to try to keep her calm. We have also tried picking her up, but have stopped because she wiggles so much and always gets loose. We have also socialized her A LOT since the very first day we brought her home. We have a doggie park that she goes to regularly as well as taking her with us on trips where she has interacted with many other people and dogs. We also just had her spayed 4 days ago and she is already back to her crazy self. We are just running out of ideas and methods for keeping her calm in public. Thank you!
Hello Katherine,
My Shiba Inu Sephy also used to be very reactive, especially wrt. other dogs. Here are some of the things I did to help him with his dog-to-dog reactivity-
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression
With people, I did some desensitization work with Sephy in the beginning, and he is usually pretty good when meeting and greeting people.
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/Dog-Anxiety-Fearful-Dog#mod_15989160
I have a Golden Retriever/Beagle mix. She is 3 1/2 years old and her name is Tempest. She is very hyper still and jumps up on people. Over her 3 years she has gotten better but still jumps up when someone (friends, family or strangers) shows her affection or enters our home. I have a friend whom is pregnant that is coming to live with me and I am afraid that Tempest will hurt my friend or her unborn baby. What are some good techniques to use to get her to not jump? We have tried the ignore her until she calms but that just makes her angry so she does it more.
Also, along with Tempest we have an almost 6 year old Terrier mix named Eli. We have recently (4 months ago) moved to Japan due to my husband being in the military. Eli has not adjusted well to our move with his failing eye sight. I was wondering what I can do to help him adjust? He used to be very outgoing and friendly to strangers and a big little lover of children and now he wants nothing to do with anyone outside of our home. He gets so scared when other people are around that he shakes and will either freeze or will tug and pull to get back to our apartment.
I usually put my dogs in a short time-out if they continue to jump after I have turned away from them. Here is more on my experiences with dog jumping.
Yeah, my 3 legged Sibe Shania is also more wary of new dogs and new environments because she feels more vulnerable. What has worked best for her is to quickly establish a fixed routine. In this way she knows exactly what to expect every day, which will help to reduce stress.
I also did desensitization exercises with her, to help her with things that she is most fearful of.
Here are a couple of articles on dog anxiety and desensitization.
Big hugs to your dogs. Love the name Tempest!
I think your site is wonderful, nice work, great advice.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Stephanie!
Hi, I have an eigthh month old pug who seems to not be socialzed, whenever people come around our home, or she hears nosies or voices…when we’re out walking…or in the car nad she sees people or other dogs she starts bbarking. How can I get her to stop barking so I can addressed her fear or the problem, resulting in getting her better aquainted with people and other dogs in a more calm enviroment to get her socialized?
What has worked well for my dogs is desensitization training. My Sibe Shania was very afraid of the garbage truck, so I slowly desensitized her to the sound and ultimately to the truck. She is a lot better now.
My Shiba Inu was very reactive to people and other dogs. Here are some of my experiences with people desensitization -
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/Dog-Anxiety-Fearful-Dog#mod_16001172
Here is some of my experiences on dog socialization
I have a lab/golden retriever mix. He is extremely hyper and will not stop barking, day or night. He will sit still long enough for you to pet him, but the second you go to walk away he is trying to jump on you and snapping at your hand. He is starting to get very large and frankly, scares me at times. He is so strong and so hyper that it is hard for me to take him on a walk and I’m scared to out of fear that if we see another animal he will go crazy and I won’t be able to control him. My neighbor has already started mentioning him barking so much and I’m worried that they will start complaining before long. My husband wants to get rid of him, but I don’t. I would like to keep him and figure out a solution to make it better. Any tips?
Hello Melissa,
Yeah both Labs and Goldens are working dogs so they are very energetic. The good news is that they are also highly trainable because they are bred to work together with people.
In terms of the biting, having rules and structure is very important. My first dog, a Shiba Inu was very mouthy and I instituted a lot of house rules and also a very fixed routine for him. Here are some of puppy biting tips I use with my own dogs.
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting
In terms of leash training, here are some possibilities -
http://shibashake.com/dog/leash-training-your-dog
In terms of barking, here are some possibilities -
http://shibashake.com/dog/woof-woof-stop-dog-barking
Okay, it is now 11:47 PM at night & my wild mixed=breed dog is up & about & not ready to calm down. She’s been going strong since 8:30 AM this morning. She’s chewed just about everything in the house, destroyed expensive cell phones, a large air-cleaning machine, carpet, kitchen tiles, even the flagstone patio which she loves to eat. She’s eaten a chunck out of the leather seat in my old 1985 Jag, chewed up the drain pipes in my back yard, working on my window blinds as I speak, & chases every small animal that comes to my backyard from the woods. She chews off her leash & takes off to parts unknown, thru the woods, running like a gazelle over every neighbor’s yard & can’t catch her. Thought about having her vet get her on medication to calm her down, but hate to have a druggie dog. Yes, I’ve spent a fortune on personal dog training that didn’t work & yes, we take her to the dog park everyday & still, she doesn’t calm down. It’s never ending & driving me crazy. Any suggestions from any of you out there who may have experienced a dog (from the shelter) who acts like this. I’d welcome anything you could offer. Don’t want to take her back to a shelter as I know that was why she was in the shelter to start with, but…………
Hmmmm,
Engaging her in a dog sport may help because that would exercise her both physically and mentally, as well as get her focused on doing a common task with you. What dog sport works best would depend on her temperament and natural instincts.
Agility is always fun because there are a variety of different obstacles which makes things more interesting. The only issue I had with agility was that some of the better quality equipment can be pretty expensive to buy.
You may want to try taking her out with other dogs and go on long walks that will get her tired. Huskies don’t do well alone and need another dog to work out the energy. We have 2 huskies and they go non stop but don’t damage anything other than their toys. If you can do it I would go on a hike for the day and let her pull you up the hills, by the way you will need a harnes if you don’t have one. One more thing, try not to yell at her. Huskies pick up on voice tone and will go into overdrive so remain calm and you will see a better response. If you have to give her up then try to send her to a Huskie shelter. Good luck.
Hi we have a 6 year old Labrador retriever bitch Who is very hyper she is well exercised plays ball gets long walks but in the house is in your face all the time and is terrible round food,we got her a special food bowl because she would make her self sick with eating too quick,she is well trained. Ut can hardly stay at peace for long we have 3 other dogs who are all well enough behaved 2 Border Collies and a collie Cross
Some things that helped with my hyper Sibe pup -
1. Making her work for her food. She also just inhales her kibble. To control eating speed, she gets her food as frozen Kongs, in Kibble balls and other interactive toys, as part of a Find-It game in the backyard, or as rewards for doing obedience commands.
2. Follow the NILIF program – I only give her something (food, access to backyard, affection, scratches, etc.) after she does something for me first (Sit, Down, etc.).
3. She has rules in the house, when she is walking, when she is in the backyard, etc. If she gets in my face, I usually turn away and get her to do a Down. If she is good and does a Down, then I reward her with some kibble and affection. If she continues, then she gets tethered in the kitchen. If she starts to whine, then she goes to timeout.
In this way, she learns that to get affection, she should do a Down. If she does not do that, and continues to harass people, then she loses her access to people.
i have a rhodesian ridgeback/labrador retriever/beagle mix and even though he is a puppy almost an adult he jumps bites barkes chews scratches sprints and snaps at everything
What helped with my dogs is to communicate clearly and consistently to them as to what are desirable behaviors and what are undesirable behaviors.
I use a mark (Good Boy) for good behaviors and a non-mark (Ack-ack) for bad behaviors. A mark is usually followed up by giving them a reward, and a non-mark is usually followed up by taking something away from them.
Usually when dogs jump, bite, and bark, they get more attention from us. This is a reward for them, which causes them to jump, bite, and bark even more.
Here is an article on why dogs jump and some of the things I tried to discourage jumping.
Here are a couple of articles on mouthing -
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-tips-solutions
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting
I have an 11 month old fiest/terrier mix who is hyper 24/7. Even if we are running around all day he is still bouncing around at bed time. Any advice on how to calm this ball of energy?
Hello Miranda,
Some things that really helped with my current Sibe puppy -
1. Frozen Kongs –
I just put some wet food in a Bubble Kong and freeze them in the refrigerator. In the beginning, it took about 1 hour for puppy to finish which was pretty awesome. Now she finishes it in 15 minutes, but I tether her while she is working on it and after that she is happy to take a nap for a couple of hours.
Another Food game that is great is “Find-It”. I throw kibble all over the backyard and puppy loves going around looking for buried kibble.
2. Puppy Play Groups –
After a play-group session puppy Lara is pretty conked out for the rest of the day. We go to supervised playgroups in a dog daycare place nearby which organizes them for free. Another possibility is to invite friendly neighborhood dogs over for one-on-one play sessions.
3. Hiking at the Park -
Hiking at the park also drains a lot of energy from puppy. I think it is because there are so many scents, so many people, dogs, a new environment, squirrels, and much more.
4. Keep things calm before sleep -
Puppy Lara has a few high energy play sessions with my other dogs in the evening. However, at least an hour before sleep-time I make sure she is in a quiet place and resting.This ensures that she is calm and ready for bed when the time comes. In the beginning I played with her before bed thinking that this would get her more tired, but it usually got her so excited that she couldn’t settle down. Now I give her some time to settle down before bed.