high-energy dog woes!

delfin

delfin

Cathlete
Last December our old, low-energy bulldog had to be put down.... now we've got a young, high-energy, mixed-breed shelter rescue. I love her but... she's wearing me out! I walk her for almost an hour every morning.... sometimes more. My girls play with her. We chase her around the yard. I've even ordered a "backpack" for her to wear when I walk her, so she'll use up more energy. We've also started agility classes (which she loves).

My bulldog spent the better part of each day snoring contentedly on her dog bed. Our new dog is the complete opposite. Any dog lovers out there with any other suggestions for channeling all that energy? Thanks for any suggestions! :)
 
Last December our old, low-energy bulldog had to be put down.... now we've got a young, high-energy, mixed-breed shelter rescue. I love her but... she's wearing me out! I walk her for almost an hour every morning.... sometimes more. My girls play with her. We chase her around the yard. I've even ordered a "backpack" for her to wear when I walk her, so she'll use up more energy. We've also started agility classes (which she loves).

My bulldog spent the better part of each day snoring contentedly on her dog bed. Our new dog is the complete opposite. Any dog lovers out there with any other suggestions for channeling all that energy? Thanks for any suggestions! :)
 
I've been there, I know how you feel. LOL! My dog is not very high energy anymore,thank goodness, but she was a year or so ago. This little gadget saved me lots of time wearing her out. It's called 'the Springer' and you hook it on your bike. It works extremely well and the dog can pull hard and you barely feel it. A few times around the block at full speed, did wonders.

The Springer link
http://www.gearfordogs.com/pages/Springer.shtml
 
I've been there, I know how you feel. LOL! My dog is not very high energy anymore,thank goodness, but she was a year or so ago. This little gadget saved me lots of time wearing her out. It's called 'the Springer' and you hook it on your bike. It works extremely well and the dog can pull hard and you barely feel it. A few times around the block at full speed, did wonders.

The Springer link
http://www.gearfordogs.com/pages/Springer.shtml
 
You may also want to challenge her mentally. I have an Aussie and he's smarter than I am. Mixed breeds tend to be smart, too. Get a puzzle cube and put some of her dog food in it and make her earn her meals. She will have to toss it around (they need some space to do this - a kitchen floor is great) and figure out how to release her dinner or breakfast. Also a kong filled with peanut butter and frozen has given me an hour break.

The Springer is a great idea as well. But I find I can only spend so much time with the dog. I need him to entertain himself. The puzzlecube was a wonderful thing for him.
 
You may also want to challenge her mentally. I have an Aussie and he's smarter than I am. Mixed breeds tend to be smart, too. Get a puzzle cube and put some of her dog food in it and make her earn her meals. She will have to toss it around (they need some space to do this - a kitchen floor is great) and figure out how to release her dinner or breakfast. Also a kong filled with peanut butter and frozen has given me an hour break.

The Springer is a great idea as well. But I find I can only spend so much time with the dog. I need him to entertain himself. The puzzlecube was a wonderful thing for him.
 
My favorite dog trainer has all his clients switch their dogs off a corn or wheat based food. It can cause hyperactivity. We usually recommend Wellness or Sensible Choice. These are premium foods that you can get a local petstore (not at Petsmart I believe). Slowly change the food over a week to lessen the chance of diarrhea

Corn, wheat and dyes in food can cause aggression and hyperactivity.

It's worth a try but alot of your situation may just be the dog's personality.

Lisa Schroeder, DVM
 
Certain breeds are just high energy for a while. Dogs with retriever, lab, are just puppies until about 3 years old. We got a golden mix from the pound 7 years ago. She was a year old when we got her, and it really concerned me that she would not settle down. We took her to obedience class, and she was smart as a whip but flunked because she was so excited to see the other dogs. Over time she settled down and it was around 2.5-3 years old when she was much more settled. She still likes to tear around the yard chasing bunnies, but now is a completely obedient dog. Agility is good, it will help get the energy out!
 
Hi delfin,

You're getting some good advice here.

I also have a young, high-energy dog. Our trainer recommended doggie daycare. We take Rascal, our Boxer, once a week and it's been great at burning up some of that crazy puppy energy. Dogs play a lot harder with other dogs than they do with people. He'll spend a good portion of the next day sleeping. IMO, it's been money well spent.

I'd also recommend the book "Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson. It gives a lot of good ideas for mentally and physically using up your dog's energy, and ways to redirect their natural drives for training.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/18...0929/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-7975288-1811869?ie=UTF8
 
>> Get a puzzle cube and put some of her dog food in
>it and make her earn her meals. She will have to toss it
>around (they need some space to do this - a kitchen floor is
>great) and figure out how to release her dinner or breakfast.
>Also a kong filled with peanut butter and frozen has given me
>an hour break.
>
>

These are also good ideas. I remember taking an empty gallon plasitc milk carton and poking/cutting holes in it(big enough for treats [broken up or small biskets] to fall out of, but not to big they fall out in minutes, you want them have to work for it, various size holes were the ideal, they get instant treats, but have to work hard for others). My dog would just thrash this around for hours, trying to get the treats out. It was loud and rattley and totally obnoxious. She loved it! It ended up being all squished and about half the size she started with. LOL! I've also done the peanut butter in the kong thing. She got real serious about this. LOL!
 
Thanks for so many good suggestions everyone... I've actually considered the doggie day care idea. I give her the stuffed kong and "molecube" filled with treats when I have to leave her for a few hours. It really seems to help.

I'll check out that book, too.

Was hoping she'd like to swim in our pool... but she mostly just runs around the perimeter, hoping we'll get out.

Now my daughter wants to get a Maine Coon cat... think she'll want to play with it? Sometimes I think maybe another dog would be a better idea.
 
Main coon cats are great, they are very mellow. If you get one you should get a ktten so she won't get to annoyed by the dog. Another great breed of cat is called the rag doll. They can get to be 30 lbs, very mellow & very beautiful. If you guys want to read a great story about a " misbehaved dog" read Marley & Me, it is just so wonderful, anyone who has ever loved an animal will identify with this book;) ;) ;)
Karen
 
I have a 21-month-old Lab who could play all day. A lifesaver for us has been finding other dogs for her to play with, so if you have a dog park nearby or somewhere else where a lot of people take their dogs and let them run and play safely off leash, you'll find that nothing you do can wear your dog out half as well as playing with another dog!
 
I have a high energy dog and, while I never had the nerve to try, lots of people recommended getting a second dog. They keep saying that the two would wear each other out and behave much better than just the one. I was always too scared that it wouldn't work and I'd have TWO hyper dogs instead of just one.
 
How old is she? Make sure her growth plates are closed before many "foced activities", like biking, running, etc. Free running and play is ok.

My breed is the definition of high energy. I get up an hour early 3-4 days a week and we go for off leash hikes. I walk, they run. I also do a lot of training and games around the house.

We also do agility. We have class one night a week, rent the facility one night for training and do bits of training every day.

Another suggestion is to teach her how to settle. In the evenings, we have down time. Normally, the hyper of the hyper one sucks and kneads on her sleeping bag becuase she literally can't sit still. But she figured it out on her own. I do require that we have some calm time at home :)

Colleen
 
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