excitability

[njustine]

Hello! I am new here. I adopted a 1 year old german shephard, border collie cross. Her name is Alina. She is a sweetheart and is wonderful with my daughter..however the one major problem that she does have is excitability. She lived in the shelter from 8 weeks until now so everything is new to her. She gets so excited she jumps all over us and wont sit down...paces constantly....

Any suggestions on keeping her calm while in the house?

[Jack's Dad]

Calm inside starts outside. You have a combination of two of the highest energy dogs on earth. This combo is going to need a lot of exercise and mental stimulation. You will need to find activities beyond just the normal walk. That's the starting place for calmness inside. IMO

Classes will help also. Look for a good trainer.

[Lucy Dog]

She's probably going to need time to adjust to her new home. Don't expect results overnight and be patient.

Like Andy said... lots of physical and mental stimulation will do wonders for indoor behavior. And look into a doggie manners class... that should help too.

[njustine]

what are some ways I can physically and mentally stimulate her? Besides going to dog parks/walks?

[Lucy Dog]

Forget the dog parks. They're not for exercising and they're just bad news in general. There aren't a lot of things I hate, but dog parks are definitely one of them. Too many fights break out at them.

For physical stimulation, walks are good, but off leash running is great. I do at least a half hour to an hour of it every day - usually fetch because lucy loves running after that ball. Some uphill hiking is another good way to exercise if you've got some trails near you. Basically any outdoor activity you can think of.

For the mental stuff, work on training. Start with the basics and go from there. Try to teach a new trick every week. Training (thinking) can wear out a dog just as well as the walks and running. Training classes or maybe some agility would be great for mental stimulation.

[KZoppa]

oh boy i dont miss that time. Mental stimulation would entain training. Make her work for EVERYTHING she gets and does. Physical would be walks, off leash play time preferably in a fenced area but NOT at a dog park. As mentioned already, dog parks are bad news and horrible for socialization purposes. Get into a training class. Perhaps get her into agility after she's got some training. Its mental and physical exercise and fun for both of you. I understand the GSD/BC cross. our 7 year old male is one. He was an energetic pain in the butt until he was about 5.... lol. He's still got some energy but I think the GSD side of him has mellowed him out. He takes after the GSD side more than the BC side but both are high energy and high need for mental and physical activities. Its never too late to start training and working with her. Again, i highly encourage you to get into an obedience class with her and move through the different levels. It will help you bond with her and a trainer can also help you with ideas and training to help teach her to control the energy. Good luck!!!

oh and as for keeping her calm in the house, there are several things you can do. When you allow her back inside from a potty break or play time, bring her in leashed. Walk her around the house on the leash, If she begins getting too excited, remove her from the house and try again. you would do this a couple times a day. Give her a "place" out of the way of general traffic and tether her to a heavy table or chair with an appropriate chew toy to chew on. Praise her when she is calm. No rough play in the house. By giving her a place out of the general traffic area of the livingroom but she can still see whats going on, you can encourage her to remain calm inside and this allows her to get used to the activity without feeling its necessary to jump up at every single thing that happens. You would work up to her staying on her place off the leash and continue to praise her as though she were tethered. She'll connect the dots and realize that calm in the house is going to prove a greater reward than being jumpy and exciteable

[AbbyK9]

Adding to what everyone else has already said ... playing games with your dog where she really needs to use her head are fantastic for mental stimulation. I have started doing some scent work for my dog and it's fantastic for tiring her out.

Suzanne Clothier has a great little article on scent work and different scent games you can play with your dog on her website at http://www.flyingdogpress.com/content/view/46/97/

[Dooney's Mom]

Originally Posted by AbbyK9

Adding to what everyone else has already said ... playing games with your dog where she really needs to use her head are fantastic for mental stimulation. I have started doing some scent work for my dog and it's fantastic for tiring her out.

Suzanne Clothier has a great little article on scent work and different scent games you can play with your dog on her website at Flying Dog Press - Suzanne Clothier - SCENT GAMES - Educating Your Dog's Nose

Ditto on the scent work and "find it"...... it is the best thing I do to mentally tire her out- 20 minutes of find it= 2hours of excercise- has changed her demeanor and calmed her down A LOT!

good luck! (you could also check into agility once you get a handle on the obedience- BC and GSD mix ..... that dog should be very hard to beat in agility!!

[MaggieRoseLee]

Originally Posted by Jack's Dad

Calm inside starts outside. You have a combination of two of the highest energy dogs on earth. This combo is going to need a lot of exercise and mental stimulation. You will need to find activities beyond just the normal walk. That's the starting place for calmness inside. IMO

Classes will help also. Look for a good trainer.

Couldn't have said that any better! That mix of energy and intelligence will be a handful. Your goal needs to be to MENTALLY and physically challenge and stimulate that dog, so it will be harder than other breeds.

If you have any herding classes in the area that would be ideal. Absolutely enter some obedience classes/clubs. EXERCISE is key, off leash is best, but if there is a huge fenced in area you can play Chuckit with the dog for 20 minutes or so, that would help.

PLUS the time element of her settling in and realizing that THIS is her forever home so she can calm and relax.

[BlackPuppy]

This could keep you busy for a long time.

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