Puppy Questions - Hyperactive After Walks, Dealing With Shift Work

[pomchi]

Link is now 14 weeks old, and since being vaccinated we have been taking her for short walks, which she loves and is really well behaved on. But as soon as we get back home she turns into a hyperactive terror, she becomes jumpy and bitey, barks for attention. Like a two year old that needs to have a nap, eventually after ignoring her she goes to sleep but she can take up to an hour to calm down. any suggestions to get her to calm down faster?.

As for shift work - I often come home at 4 or 5 in the morning, and as I have to walk past her playpen on my way to bed, link always goes crazy she wakes up immediately ( as soon as the key goes in the door). If I ignore her and go straight to bed she barks and cries for about half an hour. normally i would think that doing this everynight she would get used to it, but my shifts change all the time so sometimes I work days and then she goes to bed at a normal and sleeps through the night, but then I go back to nights and I am worried that I might be messing with her sleep patterns ( I dont want her to start waking up at 4am thinking I will be coming home).

Any suggestions?? Should I give her a toy when i come home or continue ignoring her.

[Genabee]

Maybe try crating Link the next time you come home from a walk? We used to have that problem, she would run circles around the furniture, panting and barking and acting like a crazy thing. We would crate her and five minutes later she was snoring!!!

Now she comes inside, has a drink, goes back out to relieve herself, then follows us into what ever room and goes to sleep!

Can't really help you with the shift work thing.... I work evenings, but I come home and I am up for a while before I go to bed, so she is up with me. And my hours don't change... But I sometimes find sleeping on the lounge with her settles her down (surprisingly fast. They just want to be with you!). Maybe you could do that for 20 minutes before you go to bed? Don't forget to toilet her though!

[pomchi]

Maybe try crating Link the next time you come home from a walk? We used to have that problem, she would run circles around the furniture, panting and barking and acting like a crazy thing. We would crate her and five minutes later she was snoring!!!

Now she comes inside, has a drink, goes back out to relieve herself, then follows us into what ever room and goes to sleep!

Can't really help you with the shift work thing.... I work evenings, but I come home and I am up for a while before I go to bed, so she is up with me. And my hours don't change... But I sometimes find sleeping on the lounge with her settles her down (surprisingly fast. They just want to be with you!). Maybe you could do that for 20 minutes before you go to bed? Don't forget to toilet her though!

Yeah i have noticed if i sit with her when i get home she goes to sleep straight away but then so do i .

We have tried putting her in a crate but she hates it, i guess we could try putting her back in her playpen after a walk, although she tends to bark when we seperate her in their ( unless its bedtime and then she is fine) I just cant believe how much energy she has even after a good walk.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

a vague rule of thumb for walk time

five minutes per month of age. So six months - 30 minutes. For a big boned breed like a Rottweiler, it might actually be shorter walks (maybe more often), check with breeder.

I find if I walk my dog slightly too long her brain goes to mush and she stops paying attention to anything I want and becomes extremely, um, disobedient. I can always get her to chase me so I have some control, but if a ranger walked up to me and said put your dog back on the lead - sometimes I'd be in trouble. It's getting better, but I always know when I've pushed it slightly too far. Just like an over tired child.

And just like an over tired child - I think what works is to make the environment extremely boring (or slighty traumatic - I hide). Don't cave in to yelling and crying ever or the dog will just learn if I carry on just that little bit longer - I will get what I want. Or if you really can't stand it, cave in straight away not 20 minutes later. A crate with a cover so the dog can't see out might be a good move. If it cries - cover the crate, if it's quiet, leave a bit open.

And I usually feed and toilet my dog after a good walk - and that helps settle her.

[aussielover]

Can you take her to an off leash park and let her have a run? It is much more tiring for them to play with other dogs or run around in a park, than a lead walk.

[Gayle.]

Can you take her to an off leash park and let her have a run? It is much more tiring for them to play with other dogs or run around in a park, than a lead walk.

Do you think so? My dogs always seem to be much more tired after a walk, even a short one, than a free run. The walk seems to be exercise for the brain.......although it's slower, they're exposed to more sights, sounds and especially smells. They also have to pay attention most of the time to the other end of the lead and that tires their brain out.

The free run tires the muscles, but can have the effect of hyping them up too. A combination of both is good though. Maybe a walk to a fenced area where puppy can have a play off-leash, then a gentle walk home to slow the brain down a bit.

[Genabee]

It's not for everyone I know, but maybe try some 'Puppy Essence' drops. My mother in law is into homeopathics and flower essences etc, and when I was ready to kill Genevieve after a few days, she sent me some Puppy Essence and some Rescue Remedy. I have never really been into this kind of thing, but at the time I was desperate!

I noticed within minutes of giving them to her, she would calm down straight away. I give her the rescue remedy whenever we are going in the car now, as she never used to be so keen on it. Now, she hops in and sits there. It also helps during those puppy moments when they seem to have more energy that a fizzy bottle of champers!

Check this site out http://animalhealthstore.com.au/

They also have flower essences for other pets and specific conditions.

[huski]

I personally wouldn't be taking a baby puppy anywhere near a dog park.

When you get home from a walk have you tried doing a short training session instead? Utilise the crazy energy instead of ignoring it or attempting to calm her?

[pomchi]

a vague rule of thumb for walk time

five minutes per month of age. So six months - 30 minutes. For a big boned breed like a Rottweiler, it might actually be shorter walks (maybe more often), check with breeder.

I find if I walk my dog slightly too long her brain goes to mush and she stops paying attention to anything I want and becomes extremely, um, disobedient. I can always get her to chase me so I have some control, but if a ranger walked up to me and said put your dog back on the lead - sometimes I'd be in trouble. It's getting better, but I always know when I've pushed it slightly too far. Just like an over tired child.

And just like an over tired child - I think what works is to make the environment extremely boring (or slighty traumatic - I hide). Don't cave in to yelling and crying ever or the dog will just learn if I carry on just that little bit longer - I will get what I want. Or if you really can't stand it, cave in straight away not 20 minutes later. A crate with a cover so the dog can't see out might be a good move. If it cries - cover the crate, if it's quiet, leave a bit open.

That is exactly what she is like - an over tired grumpy child, she lets me know when we have walked far enough( she tends to just sit and look up with me with sleepy eyes) but then we get her inside and she runs around and barks like crazy, after today's walk I will try separating her in her playpen and see if it calms her down.

[aussielover]

Perhaps she is is just being naughty. If my puppy were to do this for no reason she would get squirted in the face with a spray bottle. That usually settles her down pretty quickly.

at work, she would sometimes bark, i would toilet her and then bring her back, if she kept barking she would get sprayed in the face which was quite effective

[huski]

Why on earth would you squirt a baby puppy in the face with a water bottle for simply being over excited

[aussielover]

Barking for no reason, or for attention is not acceptable behaviour imo, especially at "work".

She has plenty of toys available to play with, is toileted and taken for a short walk. I will allow her to bark a few times upon return, but if it continues, then i stop the behaviour. Usually I can just say no or shhh, but if she is really persistent, then I use the water bottle. although these days i only have to show it to her for her to understand the behaviour is not acceptable.

[huski]

I don't have a problem with punishment or corrections but as a general rule I don't use it to teach a new behaviour - and spraying a puppy in the face is pretty extreme - why not teach them the behaviour you want to see first? I have a hard time believing that is the only or best option. And I've used a spray bottle once or twice - never in the face though!

Sometimes when my dogs get crazy full of beans zoomies I call them over for a training session so we can do something constructive with their energy.

Edited July 11, 2010 by huski

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

pomchi

Take a note of how long you've been walking when she clags out, and aim to be home before that time is up on the next walk.

Sometimes it's good to finish just before the dog has had enough. They still feel good about the experience and look forward to the next one.

For me it was especially important at the beach - to catch my dog at the 45 minute mark and not stay for a whole hour, or I would not be able to catch her. Sometimes we end up doing a bit of "remote" sit / stay / drop, and now she's a bit older - eventually this calms her enough I can catch her again, but it's embarrasing. Quite a few trainers say I shouldn't let her off lead till she's perfect, but she is perfect on lead. So how do you know. She's currently perfect up to the 45 minute mark - and then she clags out. Fair enough.

I also find that she's very happy to sleep after a session of footpath bashing, even if it's quite short compared to an hour of oval circuits.

[lovemesideways]

Perhaps she is is just being naughty. If my puppy were to do this for no reason she would get squirted in the face with a spray bottle. That usually settles her down pretty quickly.

at work, she would sometimes bark, i would toilet her and then bring her back, if she kept barking she would get sprayed in the face which was quite effective

This can turn into a dog that becomes shy or fearful of spray bottles.And seeing as Mindy is supposed to be becoming a guide dog, fear of anything will equal her failing. (extreme case scenario, but still plausible)

As a general rule of thumb, I don't think a dog ever does something for no reason. There is always a reason behind what they do, even if we as humans have no clue what it is, there is a reason.

In the case of you bringing her back inside after taking her to toilet, I would think that the barking is a attention seeking behaviour. "Look at me, pay attention to me, why are you ignoring me when you should be paying attention to me!!"

Shushing, telling her no, even spraying her in the face with water can all equal attention, so the behaviour is in part, getting rewarded.

"Yes if you bark, you get attention."

A more effective way of dealing with it, would be to simply remove her. Have a area somewhere, and if she barks, "Woops too bad you barked, you don't get to be with me!" and you remove her to the other room. Then when she has been quiet for a minimum of 10 seconds. No whining or barking, you bring her back out again.

[pomchi]

As a general rule of thumb, I don't think a dog ever does something for no reason. There is always a reason behind what they do, even if we as humans have no clue what it is, there is a reason.

In the case of you bringing her back inside after taking her to toilet, I would think that the barking is a attention seeking behaviour. "Look at me, pay attention to me, why are you ignoring me when you should be paying attention to me!!"

Shushing, telling her no, even spraying her in the face with water can all equal attention, so the behaviour is in part, getting rewarded.

"Yes if you bark, you get attention."

A more effective way of dealing with it, would be to simply remove her. Have a area somewhere, and if she barks, "Woops too bad you barked, you don't get to be with me!" and you remove her to the other room. Then when she has been quiet for a minimum of 10 seconds. No whining or barking, you bring her back out again.

I think your right, she always tries to get our attention by barking, so we always turn away from her and ignore her till she stops - but she does continue running like a crazy puppy and jumping till she is panting, which cant be good for her.

just a question about removing her - overnight and when we are not home she stays in her playpen so I am trying to keep that as a positive place for her, so I am worried if she barks and I put her in there she might think its punishment and dislike going in there.

[lovemesideways]

As a general rule of thumb, I don't think a dog ever does something for no reason. There is always a reason behind what they do, even if we as humans have no clue what it is, there is a reason.

In the case of you bringing her back inside after taking her to toilet, I would think that the barking is a attention seeking behaviour. "Look at me, pay attention to me, why are you ignoring me when you should be paying attention to me!!"

Shushing, telling her no, even spraying her in the face with water can all equal attention, so the behaviour is in part, getting rewarded.

"Yes if you bark, you get attention."

A more effective way of dealing with it, would be to simply remove her. Have a area somewhere, and if she barks, "Woops too bad you barked, you don't get to be with me!" and you remove her to the other room. Then when she has been quiet for a minimum of 10 seconds. No whining or barking, you bring her back out again.

I think your right, she always tries to get our attention by barking, so we always turn away from her and ignore her till she stops - but she does continue running like a crazy puppy and jumping till she is panting, which cant be good for her.

just a question about removing her - overnight and when we are not home she stays in her playpen so I am trying to keep that as a positive place for her, so I am worried if she barks and I put her in there she might think its punishment and dislike going in there.

Its the same as a kid who gets sent to their room when they've done something bad. it isn't the place that's the bad thing, its their action that they remember.

She'll associate barking with being sent away from her family. The pen just happens to be the place she'll be put. Dogs are sociable, they want to be with their pack, a time-out works on the principle of, you do something we don't like, you don't get to be with us!

[pomchi]

Just an update - we got back from our walk and I have given her a bit of food and water and left her alone completely - she seems a lot calmer - even laying down at times. I will do a lil training with her soon and hopefully that will help her doze off

as for the shift work I tried coming home and sitting with her for 15 minutes then putting her back in her playpen and it has so far worked. I will give it a few more tries before i claim success but it is so good to go to bed without her crying and barking for an hour.

[poodlefan]

Can you take her to an off leash park and let her have a run? It is much more tiring for them to play with other dogs or run around in a park, than a lead walk.

A tiny 14 week old pup in a public offleash park? Nope, I'd not do it.