Welcoming a new puppy into your home is exciting, but what happens when your furry friend becomes too excited?
Overexcitement in puppies is common, but understanding it is key to managing their behaviour.
In this guide, we’ll define overexcitement in puppies, explain the common causes of this behavior, and highlight the importance of dog training and socialization for calming an overexcited puppy.
Understanding Puppy Overexcitement
This is because puppies are associated with a lot of energy and curiosity and they are usually thrilled at the slightest provocation.
But new pet owners should learn that point at which excitement crosses the border to become over-excitement.
This is to help you know the crucial difference between both to give your puppy the correct training and turn it into a well-mannered dog.
- Signs and symptoms of puppy overexcitement
Overexcited puppies often exhibit behaviors like jumping, nipping, barking, or zooming around at high speeds. Their tail may wag furiously and they may find it hard to sit still making it a challenge to follow commands.
Here are some common signs:
- Jumping Up: Your puppy may jump up on people or objects often with uncontrollable enthusiasm.
- Excessive Barking: An overexcited puppy might bark non-stop even when there’s no obvious reason.
- Nipping and Biting: In their excitement puppies might start nipping at hands, clothes, or furniture.
- Zoomies: Running around in circles or dashing from one end of the room to the other can be a sign that your puppy has too much energy.
- Difficulty Settling: Even after playtime an overexcited puppy may struggle to calm down, showing signs of restlessness.
The impact of overexcitement on a puppy's development and behavior
While a lively puppy is usually a happy puppy, chronic overexcitement can have negative effects on their development:
- Training Challenges: Excitability in puppies is another related problem since the puppies in question can hardly pay attention to what they are supposed to be taught and become easily distracted.
- Behavioral Issues: Prolonged excitement however is not good for the puppy hence activities like biting on furniture will be exhibited.
- Stress and Anxiety: Constant excitement may be frowned upon as this may cause high-stress levels, which may later manifest into anxiety problems in the future.
- Socialization Problems: Some of the overly stimulated puppies can even have poor socialization as they become aggressive and annoying to other dogs or people, which makes them acquire a bad experience.
Differentiating between excitement and anxiety
The excitement in puppies usually comes with happy signs like wagging tails, playful behavior, and bright eyes, while anxiety often shows up as trembling, panting, cowering, or excessive barking.
Recognizing the difference helps you respond appropriately, either by encouraging play or offering comfort to ease your worries.
Training Techniques for Calming an Overexcited Puppy
Use treats and praise consistently when training your puppy on these commands because the puppy will always be eager and attentive.
Basic Obedience Training: Sit, Stay, and Come Commands
Teaching your puppy basic commands like "sit," "stay," and "come" can work wonders in managing overexcitement. They assist in helping change their behavior for the better while making them think; they essentially get the mental exercise that wears them out as much as physical games would.
Leash Training and Walking
Leash training is designed to ensure that the puppy learns how to walk well beside you hence preventing those habits that accompany excessive excitement such as pulling and lunging. Initially, engage in short, purposeful walks to reinforce good behavior and ignore or correct mouthiness. However, over some time, your puppy will be able to understand that when he is calm during the walks, then they will be allowed to off-leash play.
Crate Training
Crate training proves useful in that it provides the puppy with a comfortable place to rest and cool down and thus is effective in taming excitement. This statement helps the crate to be associated with positive experiences such as toys and treats and the puppy is taught to go to the crate during free time. This technique helps in housetraining as well as helps teach them how to calm down on their own.
Socialization and Environmental Enrichment
It has been agreed that proper socialization as well as proper environmental stimulation of the puppies help produce a well-balanced and confident dog.
Now it’s time to look at why each of these elements is significant and how you can include them into your puppy’s schedule.
- The importance of socialization for calming a puppy:
Socialization is the process of familiarizing and exposing your puppy to the surrounding environment, its members together with other animals, and any other thing it might come across in the future positively.
For instance, a puppy that was taken from one place and another starting from a busy street and a park and the like will learn to handle such situations.
Socialization enables them to cope with unpredictable situations hence minimizing the probability of developing stress or anxiety.
- Gradual exposure to different people, animals, and environments:
Socialization with other animals should be done gradually. Organise, plan and conduct polite and stable sessions with well-disciplined and mannered dogs or other pets. This educates your puppy on how to behave around other animals and the people around them thus minimizing the chances of developing aggression in the future.
Another factor that people should incorporate is the exposure of the puppy to different terrains. Start with known scenarios and then gradually expose them to new situations such as visiting the vet or traveling by car.
- Providing mental and physical stimulation through toys, games, and activities:
Young puppies in particular have a lot of energy and if that energy is not properly channeled then the dog may become restless or cause a lot of damage. A happy and well-behaved puppy should be stimulated both mentally and physically.
Treats or toys in a puzzle feeder or a chew toy help in developing your puppy’s mental abilities and also help in stimulating him. Activities such as chasing a ball, running away, or tossing a rope which may include playing catch or treasure hunt also offer good channels for physical vigor.
Not only the body, but the mind of your puppy also needs to work therefore, your puppy needs to engage in activities that require him or her to think.
Managing Overexcitement in Specific Situations
Overexcitement is something that one has to learn how to manage while handling a puppy to ensure that the puppy learns to behave properly within the home environment.
Puppies show interest in various ways on certain occasions and it is helpful to understand how to manage such occasions.
Here’s how to attend to over-excitement during playtime, while meeting people and animals, and during free time.
- Playtime: Setting Boundaries and Teaching Appropriate Play Behaviors
Playtime is also important when it comes to establishing what is allowed or not allowed to guide the puppy appropriately.
It is important to have specific and understandable terms that the animal understands, such as ‘gentle’ or stop words like ‘enough’ when the play gets too rough or too active.
Play structured games such as fetching toys or tugging, which they are forced to follow; this directs the aggression and also teaches them how to play softly.
- Greeting people and animals: Teaching Calm Greetings and Avoiding Excessive Jumping
To deal with over-excitable behaviors during greetings, the owners can teach the puppy to sit or stay before it approaches any person or another animal.
Praise them for not being aggressive, especially if you want them to stay that way, so, you can use treats or praise.
In the process, they will realize that initiating friendly greetings is more fulfilling than charging at their targets or barking, which will be good for all parties.
- Alone Time: Preventing Separation Anxiety and Teaching the Puppy to Be Comfortable Alone
One should gradually introduce his or her puppy to solitude and gradually expand the amount of time the puppy will spend alone.
Beginners with short durations, give them interesting toys or treats and go back before they develop stress.
This boosts their confidence to be by themselves, thus preventing them become overstimulated while at the same time avoiding cases of separation anxiety.
When to Seek Professional Help
Much as we love our pets, many times, we are faced with issues concerning either their behavior or health. In some circumstances obtaining the right assistance can mean a lot to the wellbeing of your dog as well as yourself.
Recognizing Signs of Underlying Issues
Nevertheless, if you consider your puppy’s overexcitement as excessive and the situation is persistent or the problem is accompanied by other issues such as aggression obsessive chewing, or excessive barking, there can be signs of other behavioural or health problems.
Some of the signals that may require frank intervention include if the child finds it hard to get a hold of him or herself, gets overly aggressive, or displays symptoms like overactive mode, or the child’s appetite or sleep either increases or decreases drastically.
Consulting with a Veterinarian or Professional Dog Trainer
If your puppy’s behavior does not change with simple training and time, it is always wise to seek the services of a veterinarian or a professional dog trainer.
A vet will be able to say that your puppy does not have a medical condition that could be causing the hyperactivity, while a dog trainer will give practical tips that can help contain the puppy and turn it into a well-behaved member of your family.
Behavior Modification Techniques
There are numerous causes of overexcitement, which may demand specialized training and corrections, including, positive reinforcements, desensitization, and counter-conditioning.
These help correct your puppy’s response to these stimuli by making him become relaxed and develop self-control.
When applied with professional help, it is among the most effective methods for correcting improper behaviors and developing the right academic temperament.
Conclusion
To calm an overexcited puppy, try using soothing techniques like gentle commands, plenty of playtime and exercise, and designated quiet moments for them to unwind.
Always remember that repetition and, as much as possible, lots of patience are your allies when training a puppy to relax.
However, if the energy level feels still like a cyclone, you can soon consult a professional dog trainer or review other materials for more information and techniques. You are not the only one going through all these; call for help because help is always around the corner.
