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How to get a hyper dog to relax and stop whining

How do you reinforce calm behavior from a hyper dog?

A woman emailed me recently to ask how to get her springer spaniel to chill out before and during walks.

Currently, her dog starts to whine and bother her about an hour before their usual walk.

Then, once she puts on her shoes, her dog really loses control and begins running in circles, constantly whining and even wetting himself. His whining continues while they’re outside.

That’s a lot of energy!

“I want to reinforce good habits,” the woman said. “But I’m just unsure how to do it. He is walked for an hour to two hours a day.”

I know a lot of dogs have similar issues, so I thought I’d share my ideas. I’d also love to hear your opinions, so feel free to leave tips in the comments. Or, let me know if your dog is having trouble with this exact issue.

How to reinforce calm behavior from a hyper dog

Dog backpack Ace the black Lab mix

Look for ways to increase the dog’s exercise

Easier said than done, I know. A person only has so many hours in a day. Here are some realistic ideas:

Take your dog running.

The right training collar can help prevent pulling so the dog runs nicely at your side. I realize not everyone is a runner, but even if you add 10 minutes of running with your dog to your usual walks, that can make a difference.

Dog backpacks.

Another idea is to try a dog backpack on walks with just a small amount of weight in the pack.

Off-leash time.

If it’s possible, try to give your dog some off-leash time to run off some steam at least twice a week. Some dogs can’t visit the dog park for health or behavioral reasons, so another option is to use a 40-foot rope and let your dog run in an open area like a field. Wear gloves to prevent rope burn.

Sophie the English springer spaniel

Ignore the whining before walks – you decide when the walks start

As difficult as it is, it’s important to ignore a dog who whines if you do not want to reinforce the behavior.

There are all sorts of ways to do this. Below are a few examples. These aren’t meant to be followed step by step; they are isolated ideas to try.

Block your dog from the room before he starts whining.

For example, if you work from home and you know your dog usually starts whining at 3:30 p.m., just close your office door at 3:15 or put your dog in his kennel or in another room at that time. Give him a yummy Kong-type treat (aff link) with peanut butter to keep him busy.

[quote_center]”Give him a yummy Kong-type treat with peanut butter to keep him busy.”[/quote_center]

Teach your dog to lie quietly on a dog bed.

Learn how to do this here. Kongs come in handy for this as well, and you can always tether your dog’s leash to a heavy piece of furniture if needed.

Get up and leave the room if the dog whines.

Or, move the dog to another room without scolding or even acknowledging him. Just gently guide him away as though you’re moving a pillow to another room or some other neutral object. Show no emotional response whatsoever.

Increase the dog’s exercise earlier in the day.

That way he’s likely to have less energy later on when you’re busy. You could also move his afternoon or evening walk a little earlier so you are walking him before he has a chance to whine.

Reinforcing calm behavior

I know plenty of dogs that get extremely wound up as soon as I touch the leash or put on my shoes. It’s cute but also annoying.

Here are some ideas to reinforce calm behavior before a walk. Again, these aren’t meant as steps to follow but are some random ideas to try.

Desensitize your dog to you picking up the leash.

[quote_right]”Pick the leash up randomly throughout the day at times when you won’t be heading out for a walk …”[/quote_right]To do this, you would pick the leash up randomly throughout the day at times when you won’t be heading out for a walk for at least an hour. Just pick the leash up and hold it for a few seconds without looking at your dog. Then, set it down and continue to ignore him for at least 5 minutes. This is to desensitize him to the excitement of you picking up the leash.

You could also clip the leash to your dog randomly without actually heading out. Let him drag it around the house (assuming you’re there to supervise) while you ignore him. Then, unclip it after about 10 minutes without showing any kind of response.

Expect your dog to sit before walks.

Don’t head out the door until your dog is sitting quietly. You’ll need to start out with really low expectations at first like “sitting silently for one second.” Once your dog does that, head outside. Next time, you’ll have slightly higher expectations like sitting quietly for two seconds, then five, then 15 and so on.

Ask your dog to sit before other steps leading up to the walk as well. For example, the dog must sit before you put the leash on him and then again before you open the door and again before you head out the door. Just make it easy enough for your dog to be successful. Some dogs really can’t control themselves (yet), so one second of sitting may be all you can ask for at this point.

Dogs sitting before their walk

Work on general obedience overall

If a dog is having any sort of behavioral problem, it often comes down to basic obedience skills. Does the dog sit and lie down on command at home with no distractions? If not, that’s what you should work on.

[check_list]

  • Does he come when called 99 percent of the time?
  • Does he understand “heel”?
  • Will he stay on command for up to five minutes without distractions?

[/check_list]

Again, you obviously need to start out really slowly and very gradually build on your dog’s skills. This will only strengthen his self-control when it comes to other life experiences such as walks in new area, patience before meals, staying calm at the dog park, etc.

So those are my main ideas for helping an active dog chill out. What ideas do you have?

How do you reinforce calm behavior?

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Dawn

Wednesday 24th of September 2014

These are great tips, Linday! There are two reasons Pierson gets worked up. One is when I open the closet door to get his leash. She starts jumping around and whining like a maniac. I stand there quietly while not looking at him until he sits down. And when I bend down to put the leash on him, if he jumps up I stop and stand quietly again until he calms down. When I first started doing this, it took 10 tries or more before he settled down. Now it only takes 2 or 3 times.

The other time he acts up is when he sees a squirrel outside. I call him to me and make him sit. I have treats to distract him. I'm hoping that sometime when he sees the squirrel, he will run right to me instead of going crazy at the squirrel.

Aisling

Tuesday 23rd of September 2014

Its a lot more difficult when you have two dogs getting eachother excited. I have to put the leads on in separate rooms because they go crazy!! I do make them sit before I open the door, but the moment that door is opened, their excitement levels are back up again. Once we get out, they calm down though.

With regards to whining, I am yet to find a solution to that. They dont really whine before the walk. But I have a dog guard in my car so both dogs go in the boot. The moment they realise where they are going (I usually drive to the same 4/5 spots), they will whine and whine. If I ignore them, they keep whining. If I acknowledge them, they keep whining. If I give out to them, they keep whining. The only solution I have is to block out the windows so they cant see where they are going but I think part of the fun for them of bringing them into the car is so they can have a look around.

Lindsay Stordahl

Tuesday 23rd of September 2014

You know what? That is the same problem I have with Ace. For 7 years now I have not been able to get him to stop whining in the car. I just put up with it. He only does it when we are going somewhere "exciting" but it's still extremely annoying. Thankfully, on roadtrips or just normal errand trips, he lies down and sleeps.

Rebekah

Monday 22nd of September 2014

Thank you. I feel like you wrote this just for Faolan and I.

Lindsay Stordahl

Tuesday 23rd of September 2014

Haha!

Emma

Monday 22nd of September 2014

We are all calm except when friends ring the doorbell. Our house guest dogs are often nervous overzealous energy dogs, though. Usually within about 2-3 days, they are as mellow as we are. Mom says the secret is two fold. One, they see how calm we are and kind of pick up on that. Two, exercise and lots of it. We walk with them, run with them, play chase, tennis ball, or other games with them until they are just plain tuckered out. Mom has had a lot of dogs and hasn't had one yet that didn't mellow down after a couple days. I'm sure there are dogs that won't tire out, but we are still searching for one.

Lindsay Stordahl

Tuesday 23rd of September 2014

Your mom is amazing! I think she is right. As long as you can be active enough, you can tire out any pooch. Or at least almost any. Whenever I foster or pet sit a high-energy dog, we go for lots of walks and runs and that helps the dog settle down tremendously.