Calming a Hyper Dog

How To Calm a Hyper Dog – Tips

The fun loving nature of dogs is one of the many attractions that make them such beloved pets. There’s nothing more satisfying than spending time playing around with your pet dog, it’s a great way to improve your mood and connect with your companion.

Dogs can be prone to getting overexcited however, and this can sometimes prove a nuisance. Whether it’s hyper at the worse time possible such as late at night or is becoming a regular habit, it’s something you will want to address as quickly and smoothly as possible.

Check out some tips for dealing with a hyper dog and try them out the next time you can’t get your pet to calm down:-

Ignore Them

Whatever a dog is doing, you can be sure they are doing it to get your attention, and being too excited is no different. By constantly reacting to this attention seeking behaviour, you are only reinforcing its effectiveness, which can lead to repetitive occurrences of the problem.

So next time you dog is too hyper, try to ignore it. No matter what he’s doing, be it jumping around or taking a harmless bite at you; do not react in any way. This includes eye contact and physical contact, avoid both and see how your pet reacts to it – you may be presently surprised at its effectiveness.

Provide Them with a Task

When a dog is focused on something, it dedicated its attention to it, which can work wonders to reduce hyper activity. As the causes of excessive excitement can be both mental and physical, your dog could benefit from being assigned a job to do. Many breeds of dog that are natural hunters or herders can find themselves too excited when not given enough exercise or mental stimulation.

Take a retriever for example. This dog loves to retrieve items, so a game of fetch will be engaging his mental stimulation and helping to fulfil his needs. You could provide your dog with a weighted dog bag so its attention is placed on carrying the extra weight.

Exercise

As previously mentioned, many breeds of dog have naturally high energy levels due to being bred for a certain task or job. For example, Huskies where bred for long distance endurance tasks like pulling sledges, so have massive levels of energy that can cause hyperactivity when not given ample exercise.

When a dog is too excited, it’s often because of these high energy levels. Nothing can calm a dog quite like a long walk, giving him plenty of sights, sounds and smells to occupy his mind, not to mention plenty of exercise. You may need to take him on a pretty stern walk, where you set a pace he must keep, but you get to benefit from a good workout too!

After a nice long, energizing walk, you will be surprised at the notable drop in excitement and hyperactivity.