Dog’s and humans share many common traits. They can both be lazy, athletic, relaxed, anxious, fearful, and also overly energetic or hyper.
If you have a dog that is hyperactive and it gets to the point of being annoying or troublesome, it can be difficult to not become frustrated, that’s an emotion humans and dogs share as well.
A common mistake many dog owners make with their overly excitable dog is to remove them from the family or room, thinking everyone just needs some peace and quiet. The dog often ends up getting banished to the back yard, another room or time-out in a crate.
This method of dealing with highly energetic dogs does nothing to solve or remedy the unwanted behavior. It is just a quick fix for the situation. We all know quick fixes are not fixes at all but simply a means of kicking the can down the road to deal with it again later. And you WILL end up dealing with it again later, and again and again until your dog learns how to manage his intense energy in a more constructive manner.
An unintended consequence of the banishment method is you remove what the dog is so eager to have: human interaction. Sending them off by themselves to “learn to behave” is counterproductive for it often intensifies their desire and NEED for interaction with you. It can take your dog’s crazy energy from bad to worse and often leads to the dog becoming destructive our of boredom and frustration.
Obedience training provides mental stimulation for your dog. An added benefit of a well-trained dog is mental stimulation tires a dog out much faster than physical activity.
Training is not about tiring your dog out, we want to achieve the opposite when training dogs. What K9 Culture does when training hyperactive or overly excitable dogs is teach them how to manage their impulses, in essence; show them how to have good manners. We use obedience training to help the dog understand and achieve this skill. How, you may ask, will obedience help with hyperactivity.
Teaching and showing a dog how to stimulate their mind is the start of an important process in teaching him how to stimulate his mind in a positive manner while achieving the interaction with their human they are craving.
Training starts and ends with communication. Your dog is desperately wanting to communicate with you and without a good basis of obedience commands you AND your dog can become frustrated because you cannot speak the same language. Yet.
We recently trained an English Pointer, Hope. She had previously been an outside dog until her owner passed and his daughter took Hope into their home. The problem was Hope had never learned ANY obedience. She was a happy go lucky, overly friendly dog that just had no concept of manners.
Hyperactive English Pointer Hope, learning her new skills.
Her new home has a nice backyard, but they wanted Hope to be able to be inside and be part of their family. But Hope had no skills on how to do that for she had never needed any. And her over the top energy made it very frustrating for her family.
After a 2-week board and train, Hope understood how to communicate with her family. Thankfully, her family could now communicate with Hope and help her control her energy and settle down inside but still be her same happy self. Watching transformations like Hope’s is why we do what we do. She has a family that will love and adore her forever and she now knows how to make them happy to.
As their level of obedience commands improve, their ability to manage their own impulses and understand the routines of your home improve. Your dog learns through this process what is acceptable behavior and what is not and you learn how to effectively communicate that to your dog and they learn how to understand what you want from them. Obedience commands become fantastic communication tools for a peaceful home with your dog.
In the end, a strong and solid basis of obedience leads to A Dog That Is A JOY To Live With! That is K-9 Culture Dog Training’s Vision and Mission and we help you achieve that through basic and advanced obedience, impulse control and focus.
An additional benefit of a well-mannered dog; is a dog that is trained is happier and more confident and for the hyperactive dog owner, they are calmer! Good dog training is not just about obedience training, the obedience part is just a means to an end. Our certified trainers help your dog overcome their behavioral issues and turn them into positive behaviors and routines.
If you are in the Dallas Metro area and would like a dog training evaluation to help your overly excited or hyperactive dog learn to be calm and have good manners, give us a call so our trainers can meet with you and discuss the issues you are having with your dog. We can put together an appropriate training program so your dog can start living their best life with you.
The K-9 Culture Family
972-245-1587