Are most (all) ALDs hyperactive?

[Lynda Kamrath]

My ALD is over a year old now and still just as hyperactive as he was as a puppy.  I expected he would settle down a little after a year old, but no, he is still a very active dog.  Is this common with ALDs, or did I just get one of the very active little guy?

[Lynda Kamrath]

You are lucky!  Charlie would definitely not like Harpo.  And Charlie is very smart to be scared of the rambunctious pups out there.  Harpo is one of them!

[Dena Atchison]

My guy turns 2 years old next month & he is the most laid back dog ever!  He is perfectly content just laying around. 

[Tanya Sheldon]

Yes I have a small female ALD that is 2 years
old and is hyper-sensitive but she remains calm in the house with her shihtzu
sister but the minute she sees us put on our shoes she gets worked up and wants
to go. It doesn't matter if it is for a ride or a walk she just wants to go!
She won't take no for an answer either! She will be right under your feet and we
cannot get the door open without her dashing out into the garage.

Now about her hyper-sensitivity! My son rescued
a golden retriever that was about a year old. Pepsi my ALD was just about 6
months old when my son brought Echo home. So I had 4 dogs. Two Labradoodles
(one my daughters), one Shihtzu and a golden retriever. They were all young and
got along very well. When Echo was just over two, Pepsi started doing this
weird thing...When Echo would come out of my sons room in the morning Pepsi
would go up to his mouth and start smelling. She would do this until I would
stop her. She did not do this to the other dogs. This went on for about 6
months and all of a sudden Echo started slowing down and losing weight even
though he was eating like a horse. When we took him to the vet we were told he
had cancer and it was pretty far along and we put him on steroids and tried to
make him as comfortable as we could until one day my son knew it was time to
put him out of his pain. We had the vet come to our home and put him down it
was sooo sad. My 26 year old son cried like a baby he loved him so much as we
all did.

But Pepsi knew before any of us, that is why she
was smelling his breath every morning. She knew. She also knows people and
other dogs. People that don't like or are afraid of dogs she barks and charges at
them and others she walks up to and rubs up against them like a cat. There are
a lot of other subtleties that I am aware of with her that I do not see or have
seen in any dog I have had, that includes my daughters doddle .

 

[Kami Allen]

My Meggie is super, super calm and relaxed.  The only time she is hyper is after having a bath and runs around the house or if we tell her we are going on a walk.  90 percent of the time she just "veg's" and is my lazy doodle :)

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Define hyperactive.  Poodles are among the group of dogs that have the longest "play behavior" and labs and in the group of dogs with the second longest play behavior.  I always think of a dog as a puppy until s/he is three.  Roo really is mellower at four and he was very active.  Tigger, too at nearly four, was generally less active, but still is the instigator in many romps.

[Lynda Kamrath]

Harpo has calmed down a little now at 18 months.  I took him to the dog park the other day and there was only one dog (a small pitbull) that wanted to wrestle with him.  They wrestled and rolled in the sand and had a great time.  The other dogs ignored him so that worked out well for all of us.  The pitbull's owner said he was used to wrestling with his older brother (a larger pitbull).  Harpoi s the instigator at our home, of course.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Tara settled down significantly when she was about 1 1/2 years old. People said she seemed like a different dog!  And it was true. I guess that was when she changed from a puppy to a dog! :(

[Linda Graham]

No, not ALD's are the same. I have a boy and a girl and our girl is quieter and lower energy than our boy. However, our boy is only Very active when he's playing but when in the house with me he lays quietly and cuddles or chews some of his toys. Dogs do need exercise but if they are too excitable; they need to be taught how to settle down and relax. Like if you never teach your kids how to behave they would just bounce all over the furniature and rip up the house. Very structured activities are good for calming them down, it works the body and the brain at the same time. If they just get to play fetch or zoom around the dog park every time they are too hyper then that just fuels their excitement and energy. Try teaching him a bunch of tricks and do short training sessions a few times a day.

[RIDOODLES]

As a breeder we were looking to incorporate a AL into our American Labradoodle lines, so we searched and searched. he HAD to be mellow and safe, and be from healthy parentage. He flew across country came to us licking our faces and wagging his tail.

He has been an outstanding assett. He has learned hand signals, is vry lovable,cuddles,will run around with 4 of his bigger house mates but will swicth gears easily coming in and chilling in his favorite spot.

I wouldn't generalize this breed. Some pups are born with incredible energy, some not.

[Lynda Kamrath]

Absolutely.  Your AL looks extremely sweet.

 

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

One of mine was full of it until he hit two years old.  The other one has always been calm in the house and very active outside.  I wouldn't call a pup full of energy "hyperactive".  The more exercise they get, the calmer they are.

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

Simon is a 2 1/2 yo standard ALD. He is playful and active, but calms down easily. He has been that way since he was a puppy. Even then, he would go find a chew toy in the toy basket and go lay down and chew it. Simon and my goldendoodle can move furniture with their Doddle wrestle mania, but when playtime is done, so is he. I have two friends with mini ALDs and they are precious little balls of fire! Sweet as can be, but little imps. :-)