You have finally brought your new puppy or dog home and are now finding that he is not the quiet, placid little pet you thought he would be. It may be that he very rarely sits still, barks like crazy when someone knocks on the door, is running round and round chasing his tail and, worst of all, constantly chewing at your furniture or prize possessions. If this is happening to you, your puppy or dog is probably suffering from hyperactivity.
It is important to understand the difference between your puppy or dog merely being an over-energetic ball of fun and suffering from true hyperactivity. True hyperactivity is a fairly uncommon medical condition where the dog exhibits frantic behaviors including panting, restlessness, chasing his tail and collapsing with exhaustion. If you think that your puppy or dog is suffering from true hyperactivity then it is advisable to seek the advice of your vet.
What you may not have considered is that your puppy or dog is hyperactive because that is the characteristic of its breed. An example is a Collie, a herding dog, which has been bred to have lots of energy to carry out is work. So it is very important to understand the characteristics of different breeds before you choose one to take home.
Consistent training is the only way to train your hyperactive dog or puppy. Outlined below are some tips which may help you with this.
Firstly, an energetic dog needs exercise in order to expend his excess energy. You can do this by walking your dogs at least twice a day and playing games such as fetch, find and frisbee. This not only gives your dog great exercise, but is a good way to keep you fit.
For excessive and inappropriate barking, you should command your dog to stop given in a stern voice. If your puppy or dog does not stop barking even after you have commanded him to stop, then pull him away from what he is barking at and give a correction, a sharp tug on his collar will do. If he is outside and wants to come in and you are not ready for him to come in you should command him to stop through the door. If this does not stop him from barking, you could try kicking the bottom of your door from the inside. The idea is that the loud noise from the kick will startle your puppy or dog enough to stop barking.
If you find that your puppy or dog is chewing his way through your prize possessions, you should place as many of them as you can out of reach. Then choose a few sturdy toys for your dog to play with. By playing regularly with these toys with your dog he will have positive associations and will more likely chew these toys rather than your valuables.
When there are times when you or your family members are not interacting with your puppy or dog, you may wish to consider using a crate. The use of the crate will act like a tranquillizer as dogs like the comfort of a confined and defined space.
Finally, It is crucial to remember to give a positive reinforcement when your puppy or dog gives a correct behavior and to give a negative reinforcement for an unwanted behavior. I hope that you will now start to employ some or all of these techniques to train your hyperactive puppy or dog.
Visit my Training Puppy Tips website to read more about training your hyperactive puppy or dog and about how to solve other problems such as biting dogs.
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