![]() This exercise is excellent for empowering kids, teaching your dog self-control, and putting a break in the action so it does not keep escalating unchecked. Now, when your kids are playing and your dog starts getting overly aroused, chasing them, jumping and nipping, anyone can yell, “Freeze!” and everyone will freeze in place and fold arms, and your dog will automatically sit. With practice, your dog will learn that anyone stopping and folding arms means he should immediately stop what he’s doing and sit. If he lacks self-control, that over-the-top enthusiasm could manifest as jumping, nipping, or, if you have young children, even knocking them down. As you go, assuming your dog is doing well, the action should get more and more exciting, moving through rounds of faster and faster walking, working up to running, screaming, waving arms, or whatever your kids want to do. Once he does, a treat should be given, and the game continues. ![]() Whoever the dog is closest to should face the dog and ask for a Sit. When you see that your dog is near one of the kids, say, “Freeze!” When you do, everyone should immediately stop walking, fold their arms, and stand still. No doubt your dog will start walking around as well, wanting to be part of the game. ![]() With everyone having treats handy, begin walking around slowly at a distance from each other. Here’s how to teach your dog this behaviour: Once your dog responds immediately to folded arms by sitting even without the verbal cue “sit,” it’s time to play the game. Your dog will soon anticipate that folded arms mean he should sit. Repeat a number of times and, if you have young children, ask them to do it as well. To get your dog to “freeze,” begin by folding your arms and then immediately asking your dog to sit. I’m going to assume here that your dog knows Sit. A great way to address this is to teach your dog the “Freeze!” game. Speaking of playing with your dog, is that when he normally gets overly aroused? While he’s racing around, his system is being flooded with adrenalin and other stress chemicals. It’s a perfectly harmless way for him to expend energy, and he’ll be all the calmer for it afterward. If your dog gets the zoomies, let him have at it! Toss a ball, chase him around, or just encourage him to keep running wild on his own. That’s when they would be out hunting, and it is the reason your dog’s zoomies normally happen around dawn and dusk. Wolves are crepuscular, meaning they are most active at dawn and dusk. Dogs and wolves are very closely related genetically. Believe it or not, that’s perfectly normal behaviour! In fact, it’s in your dog’s very DNA. Your dog might do something similar, perhaps tearing around in circles in your yard as though he’s chasing an invisible bunny. To understand how to calm an overly excited dog, we first must understand why the dog is behaving the way he is.įirst, there are the “zoomies.” With my previous dogs, we used to laughingly refer to those sudden bursts of energy as the “couch races” because our dogs would suddenly start racing in loops around and around the living room couch. ![]() “She keeps jumping on everyone and can’t seem to calm down!!”ĭoes any of this sound familiar? As a trainer, I hear these types of comments not only from puppy owners, but from owners of adolescent and adult dogs as well. “The kids want to play with her, but she gets so excited she won’t stop nipping!” “Out of nowhere, he starts racing around like a crazy dog!”
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