After bringing your new puppy or dog home you are now finding that he is not as calm as you thought he would be. Is he running around like mad chasing his tail, barking like crazy whenever someone knocks at the door or is outside or to your horror chewing away at your favorite pair of shoes. If your puppy or dog is exhibiting any of these behaviors, then he is probably suffering from hyperactivity.
What is important to know is whether your puppy or dog is just being over energetic or is suffering from a condition called true hyperactivity. True Hyperactivity is a medical condition, fairly uncommon, which sees the dog exhibit frantic behaviors such as restlessness, panting, chasing his tail, and collapsing with exhaustion. If you think that your puppy or dog is suffering from true hyperactivity then it is advisable to seek the advice of your vet.
What you may need to consider is that your puppy or dog may be hyperactive because that is simply the way it has been bred. An example is a Collie, a herding dog, which has been bred to have lots of energy to carry out is work. So it is very important to understand the characteristics of different breeds before you choose one to take home.
Training a hyperactive dog can be a challenge. Outlined below are some tips which may help you with this.
A hyperactive dog needs to have plenty of exercise to calm him down. I recommend that you take your dog for long walks at least twice a day and play games such as frisbee, fetch and find. This not only gives your dog great exercise, but is a good way to keep you fit.
If your puppy or dog is barking excessively and inappropriately then it is important to command them to stop in a stern voice. If he is barking because someone has rung your bell, and he just carries on barking even when you have commanded him to stop then you could try and pull him away from the door and give a correction such as a quick jerk on their collar. If your puppy or dog is outside and does not stop barking, you should command him to stop through the door and not open it if you are not ready to let him in. If he does not stop then you could try and kick the bottom of your door from the inside. The idea is that the loud noise from the kick will startle your puppy or dog enough to stop barking.
If you find that your puppy or dog is chewing his way through your prize possessions, you should place as many of them as you can out of reach. Choose some sturdy toys for your puppy or dog to play with. Play regularly with your dog with these toys in order for him to have positive associations so that he is more likely to play with them when left alone rather than chewing your possessions.
Using a crate is a good idea when during those times when you are not interacting with your puppy or dog. Dogs like the comfort of a confined and defined space and this will act like a tranquillizer and quieten him down.
Finally, it is extremely important to remember to give a positive reinforcement for wanted behavior and negative reinforcement for unwanted behavior. Now that you have some techniques on how to train your hyperactive puppy or dog, get out there and start putting them into practice.
Visit my Training Puppy Tips website to read more about training your hyperactive puppy or dog and about how to solve other problems such as a digging dog.
