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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Questions & Comments (308)
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..
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.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/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.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/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.
http://thedoginc.com/stop-your-dog-from-jumping-on-people
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 my experiences with my own dogs -
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/How-to-stop-your-dog-from-biting-you-and-biting-others-dog-aggression-aggressive-dog
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 -
http://thedoginc.com/stop-your-dog-from-jumping-on-people
Here are a couple of articles on mouthing -
http://shibashake.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/How-to-stop-your-dog-from-biting-you-and-biting-others-dog-aggression-aggressive-dog
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.