Are you bothered about how your dog constantly jumps up and down, spin in circles, bark, or yip? Well, these are not signs of happiness but over-excitement, boredom, or lack of stimulation.
Many shelters are full of dogs that dug up the garden, chewed everything in sign, and made a nuisance of themselves.
Your dog has an excess of energy stored up and the only way for their brain to deal with it is to become hyperactive and work it off physically.
To address the problem, you need to first assess the kind of activity your puppy gets on a daily basis and the way you’re interacting with them.
Here are some simple ways to calm a hyper puppy:
Engage your dog in exercise
You need to exercise your dog regularly if you want them to be well-behaved. You can take your pooch on a long walk in the morning for at least 30 minutes. Then in the evening after work, you can take a shorter walk with your puppy. Don’t make it too fast; you can stop along the way and allow Fido to smell the roses.
Besides stretching their legs, the exciting smells also stretch your furry friend’s brain. This way, they tend to stay calm at home.
You can also play vigorous games like fetch or Frisbee during the day to wear your Fido out. If you’re always out of the house during the day, you can hire a doggy daycare or dog walker to exercise your dogs while you’re away.
Know your dog breed
Some dog breeds are naturally hyperactive. A good example is the Border collie. This dog breed can run all day, go for a walk on a leach, without getting tired. In this case, you should develop an appropriate exercise plan for this kind of dog.
Since a walk on a leach may not do the trick, you can try running and fetching games in a fenced yard. You can also try a dog park where your furry friend can freely run.
Don’t encourage their hyperactivity
Many dog owners make the mistake of giving your puppy attention with equal hyper energy. This can make your pooch behave more badly.
So not show how frustrated you are. Instead, try to be as neutral as possible when they become hyper. You can also redirect that energy into good by giving them a productive task and working them through it.
More so, always keep an even tone of voice to help your pooch settle down.
Use puzzle toys
Puzzle toys require your puppy to think and that’s a good way to let them burn energy. Different toys like Bongs and Buster Cubes give you a chance to load them up with your dog’s favorite treat or kibble.
As your pooch manipulates the toy to make it release its food, they become occupied and won’t have time to display hyperactive behaviors. You may even adopt this method to feed your furry friend their entire meal.
Build a routine
Hyperactivity can be a result of insecurity on your dog’s part. If you adopt a puppy newly, for instance, they might act hyperactive because they were once used to moving around some familiar routes and using some structures.
One fact is that dogs thrive on routine. When you develop a daily routine, it gives your puppy an idea of what to expect, and that goes a long way to calm their nerves.
You might develop a routine in this format:
Morning: Exercise, breakfast, and then stay indoors while everyone leaves for school or work
Afternoon: The owner or a dog walker comes to take the puppy out to play some games
Evening: Family comes together to eat dinner, dogs eat theirs too, and then a short walk
You only need to be consistent with a routine – no need to write a detailed schedule. It helps effectively to calm a hyper dog.
Learn a new game or sport
You can get your dog engaged in dog sports like flyball, agility, disc dog, or freestyle. This is a great way to build a strong bond between you and your pooch. It not only provides physical exercise but also mental exercise. However, you need to note that formal training for some sports can be quite expensive.
You can set up home-built agility obstacle courses at the back of your house. Teach your dog to play hide and seek, or play Frisbee just for fun.
Obedience training
You can give your dog some obedience training to build a strong language link between you and your dog. This is a smart way to calm their nerves, as it teaches them how they are expected to behave.
Also, train your dog on functional skills such as stand, sit, and stay. When a company or dog sitter comes and the dog refuses to settle, a sit-stay is often enough to make your dog calm.
Reward calm behavior
When your puppy completely relaxes and settles after a moment of hyperactivity, reward them with some calming rubs, attention, or a special chew toy that they can enjoy and stay calm.
Rewarding your dog in the right way and at the right time helps them to learn faster what behavior is acceptable or not.
Visit your vet
If you’ve tried different methods to calm your hyper dog and it is not working, you should take your dog for a veterinary check. Although most times, training, exercise, and activities are what your dog needs, some medical conditions can also cause hyperactivity.
Your veterinarian can conduct a comprehensive medical examination and check the best approach or medication to rule out the problem.
Keep the following in mind:
- Frustration, anger, banging, and shouting will only worsen the hyper state of your dog.
- You need to calm down for your puppy to adjust its hyper nature. If you feel angry at any time, you can get someone else to stand in your place or put your puppy back into their crate. Take a break to put yourself back together.
- Stay consistent to show your puppy what you want from them. You can set up some rules and routines and stick to them. Stop your cat from coming onto the couch one day and stop them from doing the same thing the next day.
- Staying calm and consistent gives your puppy a chance to learn from you and become calmer.
- You can follow the Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF) program to make sure your puppy work for their toys and food.
Conclusion
Keeping a hyper dog at home can be worrisome as they tend to mess up a lot of things and even damage household items. The good news, however, is that you can efficiently calm your hyper puppy following the tips mentioned above.
Your dog needs a lot of training to manage their hyper states, but you also need to provide a positive stimulus for them to engage their senses. Once their mind is focused on something, indirectly expending energy.
If the methods highlighted above do not work on your puppy, you should visit your vet for a proper checkup and the best advice on how to calm your hyper puppy.