Unruly dogs “My dog is crazy” – Calm your dog down – Pet tip 213

Dogs can get really rambunctious or unruly when they are at home and this is especially true of puppies and breeds with high exercise requirements. The second they see you or someone else that they want to play with, they may want to interact with you by jumping on you or running back and forth all over the house. It sure is cute when they are little baby-puppies and it sure gets annoying as they get older and the novelty wears off. Rambunctious dog behaviour can lead to broken lamps or dishes, uncontrollable running, loads of barking, jumping on you or the kids and general chaos that you will want to control. The problem is that you’ve lost control so how do you get it back?

One is the keys to this is setting up rules and being consistent. If you want your dog to be calm in the house then you cannot chase, wrestle with, play fetch with or excite your dog indoors. Everyone in the household needs to follow these rules 100% of the time. You can’t occasionally excite your dog in this way and expect it to be calm at other times; it just doesn’t work so leave these activities for the outdoors, but do go outdoors to help your dog burn off excess energy.

All healthy dogs need to be exercised daily without exception. Depending on the breed and age of dog you have, your breed may well need vigorous exercise multiple times a day. Without this exercise, some breeds have a much harder time staying calm inside the home because they are teeming with energy without a way to release it. A common (and bad) solution is when dog owners send their dogs alone outside thinking the dog will get all the exercise it needs outdoors. Then they are miffed when the dog comes inside and is still excited and unruly. What happens all too often is that the dogs just hang outside waiting and are not getting the exercise they need. Since dogs are social creatures, they are waiting for someone to interact with. Then when they come back inside, they are so excited to see you that they want to play immediately and the rambunctious behaviour recommences at once.

If you are giving your dog sufficient exercise and it is still unruly in the house then here are a couple of things that you can try. Both massage and low volume classical music will normally help to calm a dog down. In terms of massage, many dogs will appreciate a gentle massage with very gentle pressure on their whole bodies. Use the massage and music as a reward only when the dog is calm. To get the dog into the first level of calmness, get the dog to sit a few times and give the dog a food treat each time it sits. Talk softly to the dog and start with a few gentle pats on the head. Then turn on the music and start the massage. Most dogs stay nice and calm both during and after the massage.

If dog massage is not for you or nothing seems to be working then these problems are best and easily solved with training. Both group obedience training and/or a private consultation should get you on a routine to help stop this behaviour. As always get a referral from a veterinarian or someone that you trust.