When your dog goes at 100 mph all the time!

Does your dog often feel like they never switch off or have to be on the go all the time?  Do they get over excited, jump up a lot, bark, nip, pull on the lead, do zoomies?  Fear not, there is nothing wrong with your dog, this is all perfectly normal behaviour, but there are things you can do to help them regulate all this energy and emotion so that they can feel more relaxed and content.

Often I hear people talk about this in terms of their dog having too much energy.  While energy is a part of it, it isn’t the whole picture.  The issue is more one of arousal than energy, and isn’t always linked to a lack of exercise.  In fact in some cases, it can be quite the opposite. 

If you exercise your dog too much, they may be more likely to become over aroused and display these behaviours. There is a big difference between a dog who has energy to burn and a dog who is in a heightened state of arousal.

Arousal is your dog’s level of alertness and emotional intensity. When arousal is too high, thinking becomes harder for them and they are unable to make good decisions.  Behaviours like pulling, barking, jumping or charging around become much more likely.

This is especially common in adolescent dogs (roughly 6–18 months), where everything in the world feels exciting, new, and sometimes overwhelming.  They often struggle to regulate their emotions and don’t have a lot of impulse control.

Why more exercise won’t help

Many people set out to exhaust their dog so that they are more likely to be calm and settled at home.   The problem is, that if your dog is already in a high state of arousal, adding more high-energy activity (like constant ball throwing or long, frantic walks) can make things much worse.

Instead of tiring them out so that they relax, you are increasing their excitement levels, adding lots more adrenaline and making it harder for them to come back down to earth and switch off.  Sometimes even though your dog might be physically tired, mentally they are still wired and unable to settle.

The Stress Bucket Effect

Another way to think about this is your dog’s “stress bucket”.  Throughout the day, your dog experiences lots of different things such as:

• Visitors

• Deliveries

• Noises

• Dogs barking in the distance

• Training

• Exciting, stressful or unfamiliar situations

Each of these adds a little bit to their bucket.  If there isn’t enough time or opportunity for that bucket to empty, it can start to overflow, resulting in behaviours such as barking, jumping, pulling, not listening etc. 

Early signs to look out for

Dogs don’t go from calm to 100 mph overnight.  There are usually small signs first that they are becoming overwhelmed.  Some signs you can watch out for are:

• Sleeping lightly and waking at the slightest noise

• Scanning the environment/looking out the window and barking

• Ignoring food they would normally take

• Fixating on something in the distance

• Pacing restlessly rather than resting

These are really important signals. When you spot them early, you have the opportunity to step in and help before things escalate.

So what will help them?

Rather than simply trying to tire your dog out, it’s more helpful to focus on:

• Lowering overall arousal levels

• Providing appropriate mental outlets

• Building better engagement and communication

• Teaching your dog how to switch off, not just go

In the next blog, we’re going to look at some simple and fun ways to provide mental enrichment for your dog. These are great for all dogs, but for adolescent dogs in particular, they can be a real game changer.

If you’re currently feeling like your dog is “too much,” please know that this is incredibly common, especially during adolescence.  You can 100% improve things with the right approach.

If you’d like help with your dog, I run training walks and one-to-one sessions in Romford, Essex and surrounding areas. Feel free to get in touch or keep an eye out for upcoming events.