Espresso Dog Training

I hear it all the time.

“I walk him for an hour, but…”

“He can swim for forty-five minutes, but…”

“She can run around in a field for two hours, but…”

“… he (or she) can’t calm down!”

I’ve touched a little bit on teaching dogs to be calm in this (kinda lengthy) blog post: HELP! My Dog Will Not Settle Down!

Today I want to discuss a little more why all that exercise you’re doing with your dog isn’t really calming him down.

For starters, dogs, like us, gain stamina.

Let’s say you get your puppy. Your vet clears your puppy to walk for thirty minutes outside. After a few weeks, you notice your puppy starts becoming a little more hyper, so you increase the walk time to 45 minutes. For another few weeks, your puppy is able to relax inside, before suddenly acting up and acting rowdy again. Each time you increase his exercise, he seems to work out his energy for only a few weeks or even days before he’s destructive and rambunctious again.

What’s happening here?

The answer is pretty simple. Your puppy (or adult dog) is actually bored. He has all this mental energy that isn’t being used. He’s certainly getting a workout, and that’s great to keep a dog fit and active, but…

You’re basically doing what many sports folks call “conditioning.” You’re building up your dog’s stamina so he can withstand longer periods of exercise, or, alternatively, more intense types of physical exercise – this is done especially in weight pull and dog carting. By increasing the amount of time you’re taking your dog for runs or walks, you aren’t working your dog’s brain out, and therefore, you’re actually not burning off much energy at all!

In addition to teaching your dog how to relax (which you can find instructions for in the blog post linked above) you really want to start working your dog’s brain. In other words… You need to do some training with Fido!

Keep in mind, this doesn’t have to be something you do for thirty minutes three times a day. Are you watching t.v.? Well, when a commercial comes on, go start teaching your dog how to sit. When your show comes back on, give your dog the “All done!” cue and end the training session. Pretty simple right? In a thirty-minute show, there are usually quite a few commercials that last around three minutes. So you’ll be able to get at least a good 6-10 minutes of training time in there!

BOOM! Look at you, using your time like a champ!

You can also look for more ways to work out your dog’s brain here: 3 Games That Work Your Dog’s Brain

It may be a difficult habit to get into at first, but seriously, it’s one that’s WELL worth it if you have a dog who never seems to get tired. Trust me. Your dog will thank you, your wife will thank you, your kids will thank you, and you’ll have a much more relaxed, much quieter home now that Fido is actually calming down!

And remember, you can always reach out here if you need help!