Comments on: Hyperactive Dogs – How to Calm a Hyper Dog or Hyper Puppy

By: shibashake

shibashake — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:26:07 +0000

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.

By: McKenna

McKenna — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:37:16 +0000

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)

By: shibashake

shibashake — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:15:55 +0000

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

By: Katherine

Katherine — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 18:23:44 +0000

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!

By: shibashake

shibashake — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:29:36 +0000

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.

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

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.

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!

By: Brittany

Brittany — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 22:13:40 +0000

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.

By: shibashake

shibashake — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:41:25 +0000

Thanks Stephanie!

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 20:34:46 +0000

I think your site is wonderful, nice work, great advice.

Thanks for sharing!

By: Bryan Nowlin

Bryan Nowlin — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 05:14:58 +0000

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.

By: shibashake

shibashake — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:17:39 +0000

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