Over excited dog? Hyperactive human
Let’s talk about excitement. More specifically, let’s talk about OVER excitement. Over excitement is kind of like the terrible secret or the elephant in the room of dog behaviour. Because it’s an issue that so many owners have, but very few are willing to discuss or address.
Over excitement can be a lot of different things. It can be hyperactivity. Running around the house and on the sofas, jumping up at people and windows. Tearing the furniture apart. Pulling people down the street. Because over excited dogs aren’t fearful, or aggressive as such, you will meet many many people who end up letting issues build and build until they become unbearable - both for themselves and others around them.
Owners who have hyperactive dogs often don’t recognise they even have a problem until things get really bad - when grandma gets knocked over, or until their dog starts getting into fights with other dogs... “when he’s just being friendly”.
But in the dog world, hyperactivity and overexcitement is a big problem. It’s not a natural way for a dog to behave. It normally perceived as disrespectful to other dogs - particularly jumping on other dogs, repeatedly nudging their undersides, or not respecting their space and warning signals. It’s not actually enjoyable for hyperactive dogs either. It’s a bit like living off energy drinks all day every day. A dog that is unable to relax is going to feel frustrated, tense, anxious or stressed. They can become compulsive too. Obsessive with objects or certain tasks. And it also takes a great toll on our dogs physical health, when they are constantly at a high state of excitement.
The challenge is, hyperactivity isn’t a “dog” problem. It’s an “US” problem. Over the last 20 years, we seem to have formed the idea that excitement = happiness. We LOVE to over excite our dogs. And most of our training and interaction is excitement and high pitched noises and treats and toys - and utter pandemonium!
We need to lose the idea that dogs are only happy when they are excited. Because we don’t hold ourselves to the same standard. Are you unhappy when you are lying down, relaxing in the sun? What about when you snuggle up with a good book or your favourite tv show? Do you have to jump up and down and scream every time you say hello to someone? Of course not. And the same is true for our dogs. A dog that is calm is not unhappy. A dog that is relaxed, is balanced and content.
If you have a hyperactive dog, I want to set you a challenge. Do a little introspection. Keep an eye on yourself. See how excitable you are. There’s a really easy test you can do to see if you are being too excitable. When you get home from work, walk through the door and stay silent. Don’t fuss your dog. Don’t rugby tackle them with cuddles. Just come in calmly, take your coat off, put your bag down. And instead of greeting your dog, sit down quietly and wait.
Count. How long does it take for your dog to relax?
A relaxed dog will calmly approach you, greet you using its nose (scent) and settle back down within 2 minutes.
An over stimulated dog will take around 5 minutes to calm down.
A hyperactive dog may take 10 minutes or more before they are able to relax.
Where are you on the scale?
When I work with clients who have hyperactive excited dogs, 90% of the success is down to showing owners how to be much calmer with their dogs. How they greet them. How they call them. How they give them affection. And when we learn to be calm, it takes the pressure off our dogs and they naturally relax as well.
At the Dogs Way’ we’ll show you how to communicate with silent body language and scent cues. We’ll show you how you can ask your dog to come, lay down, wait, and leave with minimal to no sound. And once you discover how little you need to do to communicate, you’ll realise just how over excited you’ve been all along.
