Hyper puppy -- Help!

[Rayna 3]

Hey guys, does anyone have any tips on how to deal with a hyper puppy/dog? I'd like to hear some methods that you guys use.

Examples of the hyper behavior I'm talking about are excessive jumping (on people, at the door, etc), would rather play than eat, etc.

I really try to let him (actually I have 2 puppies, but only one is hyper) get exercise, but it's really cold right now and it's hard to stay outside for very long at a time. I've taught him fetch and that's working well for exercise, but since I have to reward him then I'm afraid he'll get too full on the treats and won't eat his food if we play too long. I truly want a healthy puppy/dog and am willing to do almost anything to make this happen. Please tell me what I can do better.

Thanks in advance....

[Dizzy]

How old is your puppy?

ALL puppies have LOTS of energy!!

If your puppy is exhibiting behaviour such as jumping up on you, the best thing to do is stand up, fold your arms and look away - no eye contact.

As for the hyper-ness - a tired dog is a good dog!

Mental stimulation such as a kong/treat toy, hide and seek, training sessions and more exercise should help :D

[Doberluv]

How cold is it? What breed of dog again? And what age? What have you done so far to correct this jumping on people? If we could get a little more info, that would help too besides the good tips from Dizzy.

[bubbatd]

Agree...need more info !

[Rayna 3]

Sorry about that guys. Here ya go: the pups are a little over 3 months now and weigh around 10lbs each. They are a Black Lab/Jack Russell mix (the Jack was the mum!!). Anyway, only one of them is hyper, the other is pretty laid back.

To be honest, I'm at my witts end on how to stop the jumping. I've tried telling him 'NO!', I've tried physically taking him and putting him in a sit, I've tried keeping him on a leash for better control -- he just twists and jerks on the leash frantically.

I'll try the 'no eye contact' method, and I liked what was said about having mental stimulation too for the hyperness. Any other suggestions on either the jumping and especially the hyperness? Thanks again :)

[smkie]

Victor was simply unbearable the first few months..i bet i walked him at least 5 times a day..took him to the park at dawn for an off leash run..if i couldn't walk bubbles became my sanity..5-10 minutes of leaping (oh yeah he was deffinately a jumper) wore him down to a normal dog standard) by 8mths to a year we could relax a little and he started "sleeping ing" now the duufus is in bed at 10:22 and calm as can be..it won't last (i hope)

[Dizzy]

The no eye contact will only work if you are patient and persistant with it.

It DOES work though! Literally as SOON as they jump up, stand up straight, arms folded (do NOT swing arms, or bend down), and look up at the ceiling.

Say nothing, do nothing.

Just stand there and I guarentee they will get bored and wander off!

As soon as they start to walk off and are being CALM, give them a cuddle (praise), or just carry on with what you were doing.

Keep repeating everytime they jump up (this COULD be as soon as you move again!)

Doing this with Bodhi, as she jumps up at visitors, and it works a treat!! :D

[Gallien Jacks]

Everyone has given great advice, you could also go to puppy classes, and also what are you feeding?

The jack was the mum? poor girl that must of been a hard birth for her, dont forget they have jack in them, I think that says it all lol

[sparks19]

Well for the cold you better get out and buy a winter jacket for you and the pups. get yourself some snow pants some boots a hat a scarf and some gloves. It is cold here and I am out with Teddy 2 + hours a day. You have to make some sacrifices and do somethings you don't want to do. Bundle yourself and your pups up and take them outside. Run around with them play games with them throw toys for them. Then when you come inside play with them a little bit more or give them some kind of mental stimulation as previously mentioned in this thread. I have a Lab/Coonhound mix with endless amounts of energy but I find a way to deal with the cold and take him outside to get the energy out.

[Gallien Jacks]

Yep I didnt see the bit where they didnt go out in the cold, its a thiing we as dog owners have to do

[aelizilly]

sparks...love your lab coonhound. I have never seen that cross before..he/she is gorgeous! Love the ears. But of course I am a Beagle owner!:p

[sparks19]

sparks...love your lab coonhound. I have never seen that cross before..he/she is gorgeous! Love the ears. But of course I am a Beagle owner!:p


lol Thank you :D He is a goofball and his ears are my favourite feature lol so expressive but being a beagle owner you already know that lol

[Rayna 3]

Alright guys, solid advice. I'll just suck it up and stay longer outside with him :rolleyes:

They're really wonderful most of the time! It's just a few choice moments or behaviors that seem to snag them/me. The mum actually had 6 pups in the litter! Unfortunately, I couldn't take them all :( That's why I got these so young -- the owners were taking them ALL to the pound and I knew I could save 2 of them. I got them at 5 1/2 weeks old -- I'm sure it's been hard for them. I've really tried to work with them, but I'll probably continually ask you guys questions!!

Thanks as usual guys! ;)

Also, in answer to Gallien's question, I'm feeding them a brand I get from the vet -- Science Diet I believe. I assume this is pretty good?

[Gallien Jacks]

thanks, I cant fidn the ingredents for that food, I will keep looking, the reason I was asking is because food can make a dog hyper

[Mindy Miller]

I don't know if it's causing your dog to be hyper, it could be, but I don't have any knowledge to back that up. What I do know is that science diet is NOT a good food. It's overpriced and the ingredients aren't good. You can get a much higher quality food for the same price. Mordy is our resident food expert and this is her website:

http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/

You will find valuable information there. Also if you go to www.naturapet.com you can compare ingredients of other dog foods to theirs. There are other good brands besides theirs, but it's a good one. Highly recommended by lots of chazers. Check out Mordy's site. :)

[Doberluv]

I agree that Science Diet is not a very good food. Good website there for nutrition info.

Anyhow....yes...lots of exercise and romping...gotta get the zoomies out or they can't hear you. Then some obedience work with each pup seperately. That helps them not only learn how to do those skills, but it puts you into a position of leadership. Make training fun and rewarding. Use motivation and reward instead of punishment. You want these pups to enjoy learning and following your lead. You need to be a good, kind, fair, but firm leader in order for the dogs to respect you and mind the rules...(as long as they learn the rules)

This is a fun and effective way to train but you really need to do each dog seperately. That's the trouble with having 2 pups at once. But here's a good site I highly recommend it:
http://www.dogpatch.org/obed/obpage4.cfm

Even if you don't use a clicker, use the principles. It works so much better than punishment or correction based training, IMO.

You'll need to accustom them to a leash by leaving one on them in the house, but ONLY when supervised so they don't strangled on anything. I also wouldn't keep collars on them when you're not taking them on the leash or not able to watch. The two pups playing together can spell disaster. One can get it's teeth caught under the other's collar and strangle one. I know of a dog this happened to so I'm always cautioning about this.

Well, let us know if you need more specific training ideas and do a search too on this and the training forum. You may find out all you need right here.

[Rayna 3]

Awesome guys, thanks a lot :). I'll definitely look more into the food and will check out the training forum as well. You all have really been a great help. My pups and I thank you :cool:

I'll check out those websites you listed asap!!

[fastpitchchic]

When KC was a puppy he was extemely hyper. I went and got a remote control car and put one of his toys on it, it drove it around the house as he chased it. I got a bigger one so when he caught it he didn't destroy it. :)

[aelizilly]

love the remote control card idea...sounds like it would be a great way to tire the pup out. ;)

[Doberluv]

Gosh, I hate to be one of those people who has to come along and dampen all the fun. Although it would give the dog added exercise, my concern would be that it may develop his prey drive to be intense and almost compulsive. It's so nice when a dog has a well balanced prey, fight/flight and pack drive. Sometimes, extreme stimulation like that or like lazer pointers etc, can cause some problems in stirring them up into even more of a hyper or agitated state. I'd be careful to not get your dog accustomed to being in a highly stimulated state as that kind of game. I'm sure there are exceptions and Fastpitchchic, your dog may be one. It's just kind of a risky thing, IMO.

[fastpitchchic]

I understand what your saying Doberluv. Fortunately I haven't had any problems with KC. I have used a laser pointer also, with no problems. But I also watch make sure that they aren't getting carried away.
My sister has a GSD that gets extremely agitated over a water hose, to the point where she will attack other dogs.