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

Shibashake- Hi I have my dog going to the science fair. I want her to be calm. What should i do???

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! 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.

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.

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

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?

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!!!!!!

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! 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

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

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

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?

hi, i have a 3 year old bosten terrer named kc. he loves people ,but sometims he hurts them on accedent. He is really hyper. i’m not sure what to do about it. I just want to make him calm around peolpe and animals.

Yes, she plays with tennis balls, we don’t even have to throw them she does it herself. ha ha She’s a nut. I did look at some of the agility equpiment, and you are right it’s pretty expensive. I will try some of your suggestions, it’s just like she still needs some other kind of stimulation, but we’re just not sure what that is. It’s funny you mentioned that about your Husky, ours is 4 and we tried to keep him in for about the first 7 months and he hated it! I guess it’s just that Husky attitude he has, ‘it’s my way or the highway’! I’m sure you know what I mean. We live in KY, and during the winter is the only time he even cares about being in the house, during the day he loves playing in the snow, but as soon as it gets dark he’s at the steps begging to get in, but as soon as it becomes light out he’s begging to get back out in it! They are hilarious dogs, and such a joy! Thanks for your input, I will let you know how it works out.

Hi, I have a 2 yr old Aussie, we adopted her about 5 months ago. I knew what I was getting when I adopted her, I just never expected her to be this hyper! I walk her daily, and then let her out on a lead 5 or 6 times a day. She has been to a trainer and does very well with obediance training, and we practice it with her everyday. She has a Kong ball, and another one of those balls you can put food in, we have given her bones, and she will be interested in them for maybe and hour or so, and then she is no longer interested. She is constantly on the go! 24/7 she never stops! Her trainer mentioned agility training, but she is over an hour away from where we live and we wouldn’t have the time to take her as much as she would need to go for that exercise. We are really at our wits ends, we don’t know what to do with her anymore! Our trainer has no more ideas. We do have 2 other dogs, including a Pug, which stays in the house with us also, and a Husky, but he stays outside (he prefers it that way, not my choice). She does very well with both of them, her and my Pug play constantly. But it still isn’t enough. Help!

Awesome suggestions! I have a hyperactive dog, Levi. Levi is almost 10 months and he is a mix between a German Shorthaired pointer and a rat terrier! He loves every person, dog, cat, you name it that we come in contact with, which makes it hard to walk but with practice he has gotten a lot better.

Question, Levi loves to fetch inside but I can’t get him to fetch inside. Any suggestions on teaching him how to fetch outside as well.

Something that has worked for Levi is that I have a friend come over and she stands at the top of the stairs and I stand at the bottom and we have him run back and forth between us. Not only does he enjoy it and release a ton of energy but he is learning to come when someone calls his name. Sometimes I even run them with him and he really likes that!

I live in a really small town so I had to get creative!

my puppy is 6 months and extra hyper. we take him on walk 15 30 min and play but he still seems to have so much energy. i like the energy but its when he bites and tugs because he wants to play more. he rips tons of clothes and furniture and my parents are thinking of finding a different home for him. BTW hes a lab collie mix

What really helped with my Shiba puppy is to establish some rules and routine for him right away. Consistency is very important when trying to stop undesirable behaviors.
Every time my Shiba did something inappropriate, e.g. mouths on me – I non-marked him (ack-ack), and redirected him to bite on a toy. If he redirects onto the toy, I praise him and reward him. In this way he learns that biting on the toy is ok but biting on people is not.
Here are more things that really helped me when my Shiba was a puppy -
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-obedience-training

Also young puppies need a lot of exercise- both mental and physical exercise. It would be great to get everyone in the family to participate. Doing joint activities together will help to get rid of all that crazy energy as well as start building a strong bond.
The methods above helped me with my hyperactive Shiba.

Hello Ashley,
My Shiba was crazy hyper like that as well – except he was not very sweet At the time I did not have a backyard and Shiba really did not have a good recall, so I had a similar situation. It is tough because as you say off-leash time helps a lot.
Some things that helped –
1. I walked him a lot – 3-5 times a day.
2. My neighbors had cats so I also practiced cat desensitization exercises with him every time we went out for a walk.
3. What really helped was some off-leash time especially with other social dogs. My nearby SPCA had a really nice fenced in area and I would take him there and play lots of games with him. Sometimes, he would get to play with the social SPCA dogs.
4. My neighbor had a really social dog, so I cleared out one of the rooms in my house and made that into his play room. I would go pick up my neighbor’s dog very often and let them play in the empty room.
5. I also explored doing dog daycare and dog walking. These are great if you have a social dog. My Shiba was very stubborn and did not like being away from his people so it did not work out very well for him. However my Siberian really enjoys going to daycare and getting to meet lots of new dogs and people.
Hope this helps – let me know how it goes.

Hello Conshy,
Puppies and young dogs especially energetic breeds like the Siberian will use their mouth a lot to explore the environment. What we do with our hands, dogs do with their mouths. It is a way of learning their environment.
It is up to us to teach our dogs what behaviors are desirable and which are undesirable so that as you say, we can keep them safe.
What helped most with my dogs is to be clear and consistent when communicating with them. First establish a mark (e.g. Yes, Good) for when your Sibe does something desirable and a non-mark (e.g. Ack-ack, No) for when your Sibe does something undesirable.
Every time he does something you do not want, non-mark him and get him to do something else.
A fun exercise that I used to do with my Shiba was I would play with him. When he started biting on my hand, I would Yelp and stop play. The Yelp usually startles him which makes him stop. Then I would just stand, fold my arms, and turn away from him.
If he kept biting, I would either leave him alone in his enclosure (if he is in an enclosure), or I would put him on time-out.
Do the same thing for when he gets on the couch. Non-mark him, and give him an alternate command, e.g. off. If he does not comply then remove him from the couch by body blocking or with a drag lead. If he escalates his behavior and starts biting you then put him in time-out.
Here are some puppy techniques that helped a lot with my Shiba puppy when I first got him –
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-obedience-training

Here is more on puppy biting techniques –
http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting

Also Sibes are extremely energetic dogs. My Sibe is now 2 years old and she is still a go,go,go girl. I take her out hiking for about 2 hrs every day, and she still has lots of energy to burn when she gets home.
Apart from walking and dog games, interactive food toys are a great way to keep your dog busy and exercise him mentally.

http://shibashake.com/dog/best-dog-toys

Hi Moose,
My Shiba Inu is very dog focused as well. It may be partly genetic, but I speculate that it was also partly because he did not have too much human attention when he was a really young puppy.
My Siberian came from a really good breeder who spent a lot of time socializing her when she was young and she is very people focused.
In terms of meeting other dogs while walking you want to create as many neutral experiences as possible. It is also important to stay very calm throughout the whole thing.
With my Shiba I would always get a bit stressed when I saw another dog and that only made him go even more crazy. Once I controlled my own energy, things improved significantly with his behavior as well.
Then I would just move him along. In this way he learns that when he sees other dogs, it is boring and nothing happens. Holding the leash close to the collar will give you much better control to just move him along. The more meetings you have where nothing happens and he just moves along, the less excited he will get in the next meeting.
I also take note of houses with really reactive dogs and make sure I cross the road to create more space between them and my Shiba. I will also cross the road when we meet excited dogs on the street.
At the same time, you can do desensitization exercises with him with other dogs in a controlled situation. This will slowly teach him to focus on you even when there are other dogs around.
Here are some of the techniques I used on my Shiba for meeting dogs on the street -

http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression

That is a great suggestion jdavismp.
You should write an article about how you trained your dog to run with your bike. I think many people would find something like that to be very useful – including me!

Hi Charlotte,
I would definitely stop the leg-humping. When he does that, non-mark him (Ack-ack), and move him off. It may be easier to do using a drag lead with a flat collar.
Then, engage him in doing something else -obedience commands is usually a good exercise. If he goes back to humping, then put him in a brief time-out. Just be consistent and repeat doing this and he will quickly learn that humping will get him into a boring room with nothing to do.
For chewing, get him some safe chew toys. When he chews on something he should not, non-mark him (ack ack) and redirect him onto a sanctioned chew toy. If he starts playing with the chew toy, then praise him and play with him. You can also put a bit of food on the chew toy to attract his interest.
In general, you want to give him some structure, and teach him what are acceptable behaviors and what are not acceptable behaviors.
Here are some things that helped me when my Shiba was a puppy –

http://shibashake.com/dog/puppy-obedience-training

Also make him work for all of his food. This will help him expend some physical and mental energy –

http://shibashake.com/dog/best-dog-toys

Hope this helps. Let me know how it goes.

I definitely second the obedience class suggestion. That will help to teach Sam what are good behaviors and what are undesirable behaviors. It will also give you the tools to control him inside and outside the house.
The chaining is also not ideal as he doesn’t get any exercise and has a very small space to explore. It would be great to fence up the backyard so that he can have free rein. That will allow him to run, and help him get rid of some of his energy.
Also try out some of the activities above. It is boring to stay in a single place all day with nothing to do. Make him work for his food, and get him some high quality interactive toys and good chew toys. Make sure the chew toys are safe and durable – i.e. he can’t hurt his teeth chewing them and he can’t swallow large pieces of them.
You can also start training him at home. First you want to establish a consistent mark (e.g. Good) and a non-mark (No or Ack-ack). When he jumps, non-mark him (ack-ack) fold up your arms, and turn away from him. If he continues, then just walk away from him (this assumes that he is on-leash and can’t follow you – get a friend’s help if necessary). As soon as he is calm and not jumping, say Good, and start walking towards him. As soon as he starts jumping, non-mark again and and turn away. Then just keep repeating. This will teach him that not-jumping gets him your attention, and jumping gets no-attention. Do this many times every day and he will quickly learn not to jump.
Walking him every day will also help. Consider using a head-halti. It is great for keeping large dogs from pulling with very little force.
Also start to teach him the “sit” command. Sit will be useful because when he jumps, you can just give him an alternate command, i.e. Sit. Once he does it, you can praise him and treat him. This refocuses the undesirable behavior into something positive. I would combine teaching obedience commands with treats and bite-inhibition exercises.
Since he is a mouthy dog, bite inhibition will be important. To teach bite inhibition you want to hand feed him his food. Hold the food in a fist and feed him little bits slowly, if he grabs too hard, yelp ‘Ouch’ and stop feeding him temporarily. Then try again. If he uses a soft mouth, praise him and keep feeding him. You can also start by using a metal spoon to feed him if he bites too hard on your hand. It is uncomfortable to bite hard on a metal spoon so that can help to teach him to reduce the force of his bite. Once he starts to learn, you can switch to hand-feeding.
Sam sounds like a really sweet dog who just needs to learn what are our human rules, e.g. when meeting people, etc. There are many more things that they will teach in obedience class, and it will help with control and bonding. Plus it will be fun for both you and Sam.
Labs are work dogs so they are highly trainable.

Hello Gloria,
Australian Shepherds are wicked smart and they can do really well with obedience. They do have a tendency to nip though, being a herding dog.
Here are some things that may help with the nipping –
http://www.shibashake.com/dog/puppy-biting-how-to-stop-puppy-biting

Being a work dog, he also needs a lot of exercise during the day. Make him work for all of his food, walk him at least once every day, and do multiple short obedience sessions with him. Follow the NILIF program so that obedience becomes a way of life.
Very soon, he will be a model citizen. Good luck!

My Shiba used to do leash biting as well. This usually happens when he gets overly excited, and then redirects his excitement or frustration onto the leash.
More exercise, both mental and physical, helped a lot. I started doing short but frequent obedience sessions with my Shiba every day. Make sure to do an obedience session right before the walk so that you get him used to listening and focusing on you, then take him out.
Here are some of the things I tried with my Shiba for leash-biting –

http://www.shibashake.com/dog/train-your-dog-to-stop-biting-on-the-leash

As for playing with your friend’s dog, that sounds like a good idea. Introduce them slowly and make sure to always keep things safe. Some dogs may get protective over their home territory, so that is something to look out for.
Also, you may want to keep your dog on a really long lead at first to make sure he doesn’t run off. They have 30 foot or even longer leads that people use to train their dogs on recall and such. Make sure to only use a flat collar and *NOT* a training collar.

Hello Firestorm,
You seem to have done a lot of research in this area already. Some other things that may help -
1. Finding him a good daycare and putting him there once or twice a week. This will give you a break and if you find a good daycare, they will tire him out by providing him with many play sessions with other dogs.
2. Picking up the pace during walks. You could try jogging with him, doing roller-blading, or cycling with him. Only do this under the direction of a professional trainer so that you keep things safe for you and your dog.
3. Let him carry his own water during walks. Give him a dog backpack during walks and let him work by carrying his own water, and your water. Only do this if he is totally healthy and does not have any joint issues. Make sure not to overload him.
4. Make him work for *all* of his food. Use more challenging interactive food toys. The Buster Cube is good as well as the Omega Ball.
http://www.shibashake.com/dog/best-dog-toys

5. Maybe enroll him in an agility class. An agility course is great because it gives both mental and physical stimulation.
Hope this helps. Let us know how it goes.

I have raised quite a few dogs in my life, including a wolf-hybrid (wolf-dog, depending what your view is), but I have never had as much trouble that I do now with my one year old male lab mix.
From the time he was seven weeks old, he ran and pulled, jumped from high heights, and ran and ran. I would give him two walks per day, two hours long each as often as I could.
During the winter months as he grew older this was quite dangerous as there was much ice and he would pull and pull. Nothing I did worked. Not the heel command. Not wearing him out by playing with him prior to the walk.
I would let my wolf hybrid play with him, and eventually she would even get exhausted from him. I would spend time playing with him, and I would provide him with activities, such as the Kong ball, fetch, jump for it. I’ve trained him to sit, lay down, stay, and come. But it takes me three times of repeating the command to get him to listen. Yes, I’ve used treats and rewards for praising. This was how I trained my wolf hybrid, and all of my other dogs. So, I know how to train a dog. In fact, my previous retriever mix was so well trained even the city police were impressed with him. But the one I have now is more than a handful.
I had him neutered at three months based on the Vet’s recommendation. We believed it would calm him down, but even after a year old, he is still as hyper. I had to get a head halter to walk him on an easier method, but he still manages to pull and jerk. I’ve tried tips and advice from people just like you. I’ve tried the alpha command recommended to me (That was how I actually trained my wolf hybrid, but she was much different of course). I’ve tried the sit and stay, which works a little bit, but not for long.
It got to the point where the vet prescribed him medicine to calm him down. It worked for a while, but it soon became apparent one pill wasn’t enough, not even combined with long walks, wrestling, training, playing, etc. But I cannot keep giving my dog medicine. He is on a high protein diet, as he eats the same food as my wolf-hybrid, and he has been on this diet since he was given to me as a gift after my retriever mixed passed away last year.
This really baffles me as to his behavior. The vet asked me what his breed was. He is part black Lab, part Poodle, and part Golden Retriever. I was then told these breeds were the worst to breed together at the same time, because it caused deep behavioral problems.
Now my question is this. What advice can you give to me that will tire my dog out and keep him behaving on his walks and in the home? Because I’ve tried every advice I’ve been given.
Although tonight I did try something new. I filled his Kong with some dog food, and stuck peanut butter on the top with some more dog food stuck to the kibble.
He was busy for about ten minutes with it, then busily bouncing and chewing the Kong around the large room, and now he’s just rolling it around while he licks at it. But there must be more I can do. I may have to try out that fishing lure game with him and see if that works.

Thanks catwoman. Drop by and let us know which techniques work best for you and Russell.

What do you suggest for a super hyper dog (when it comes to inside the house or the backyard), totally anti-social dog (when it comes to just about anywhere that’s not inside the house or the backyard), and completly agressive dog (when it comes to strangers in the house or the backyard). Thanks.

Once again a well laid out article on dogs.

my friend has a very hyper rottwieler she takes it for walks every day but its hard o socialize because everybody things the dog is mean because its a rottwieler its annoying when you walk ur dog and if a kid comes up to pet her the parents rush over and say dont touch that dog its mean

Hello Roisin,
Hope things are going well with your two puppies.
My Shiba was really hyper too when I first got him. Some things that really helped –
1. Making him work of all of this food.
2. Plenty of exercise – off-leash play-time with other puppies really tired him out. Walks are also important after they get fully immunized.
3. Puppy class – training was fun for me and really good mental exercise for my dog.
As for the older dog, make sure you give him as much alone time as he wants. He should have a safe area, e.g. kitchen or crate where he gets to rest away from the young’uns
Share some pictures of your puppies with us. Would love to see them.

Hello Anonymous,
Sounds like you and your dog will really enjoy getting involved with a dog sport. You can also compete in most of them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dog_sports
There are a great variety so I am sure you will be able to find something that you and your dog will enjoy.

That’s a great idea. I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll put together a hub all about my Aussie girls. Thank you!

We have a spastic and energetic red merle Australian Shepherd who is always happy to see everyone. I’m pretty sure the tongue she whips everyone with (even in a passing hello lick) is linked to her hyperactive compulsion. If you snap your finger to tell her to stop doing something, she licks herself on the side or leg once or twice for comfort before darting off. She can’t stop wiggling or licking or running. It never ends! Lol.
I think all of these tips you give will be very useful for her! Thank you for the hub.

Thanks for such a useful hub. I’m trying to train our puppy how to play fetch.

I have a golden retriever and he never stops being hyper, i tried kong but he still is hyper and he gives up after. It is almost impossible to take him for a walk, what should i do?