11 month old = hyper! ah! Please help!

[Erica Andy & Khloé]

So let us start off by saying that Khloe is a great dog and is very well trained, however she is just extremely hyper at 11 months old. I think we notice it the most (and are annoyed by it the most) at nighttime, when we are trying to relax and sit on the couch or watch tv, typically from 6PM - 10 PM. She sleeps on and off throughout the day, but not the whole day by any means, and then at nighttime it is like she drank a package of red bulls!

 

We have tried everything, from taking her on 2 walks a day, 1 walk a day, no walks, playing fetch with her in the backyard, but no matter what she still seems to go go go at nighttime. The oddest thing is that if we are upstairs away from her and she is downstairs, she will sleep and keep quiet. However, the second we go downstairs to where she is, even if she is sleeping, she will run and grab a toy and bring it over to us to play. We have tried giving her bones and chew toys, but she doesnt seem to stay focused on them for very long before being distracted on something else. We also dont want her to get in the habit of "if I go crazy and act out, I will get a delicious bone" or something along those lines. We do not want to reward this "bad" behavior.

 

She loves her crate and will sleep in there throughout the day and at night no problem. However, if she is going crazy in the evening and we try to put her in the crate to calm her down, she ends up barking, crying, and whining because she wants to come out with us and play. This kind of defeats the purpose of having a relaxing night if she is barking in the crate when we are downstairs. However, if we walk away to go upstairs and leave her alone in the crate, she doenst make a peep.

 

We dont think the solution is to just go upstairs and not be with the dog downstairs, because we do not want to have to change our lives that drastically in order to put up with her high energy. Ideally, we would like to all be able to sit in the living together and relax but we are having a very hard time doing so.

 

What do you all do to tame the your high energy puppy doodle?

Thanks so much!

Andy, Erica, and Khloe

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Khloe is still a puppy and they all go through the zoomies in the evening. You say she is getting enough exercise but I wonder if that is so. These pups are high energy and my two need time off leash to run for about half an hour as well as their walks. Also training wears them out and at that age ten minutes doing obedience work in the house works wonders. Sit, down down stays and hide and seek tires them out because they have to concentrate hard. Eleven months is very much still deep in puppyhood. My feeling is that this will (eventually) pass ;) You could also do some time outs for about five minutes if she needs and also perhaps this is the time when a Kong smeared with peanut butter might come in handy. Lots of us have been there and some of us are still there and will have ideas too.to share.. 

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Let me put it to you straight forward. What exactly is TV from 6-10pm?   I never saw any shows for the first 18 months.  Not without interruption.  I think most puppies get this way in the evening. Many here call it the Zoomies. Silly, crazy, fun!

11 months is a very trying age.  Two walks a day? Really?  I'm laughing that you thought that might work . HA, I did too, ONCE

For my hyper energetic, young, fun, dog  we went out every hour, on the hour, and played ten minutes of fetch or Frisbee. Then back into the house.   Every hour.    It does the trick, there is no frustration, your dog is happy, and you can relax on the couch in between.

No walk even touches a puppy this age.  Not ten walks.  As soon as the pup got out of hand it was time to go outside and have some fun.  Enjoy   :)  

[Enid Ferner]

Yes, at our house TV time doesn't start until at least 8:00.... I would definitely take your pup out for a really good walk and engage in some training/play time as well in the early evening after supper. (Off leash time is SO important). Also, still expect a little spurt of silly/hyper behaviour for a little while even after your pup has had some exercise....this is normal. (For some strange reason!).
I'm sure you'll notice a difference.....

[Jen W]

My pup is exactly the same and she is almost 2 years old.  Every evening, without fail, just as I am ready to relax she is ready to play.  For me, it's far easier to go out for another 30 minute walk than to try to fight her sillies for 3 hours.  It almost always does the trick.  

I've also found that sometimes she just needs help settling down.  If we've been on another walk and had some play time and she is still amped up, I will invite her up onto the couch (she's only allowed up if invited) and have some snuggle time which often works (though sometimes she gets invited up and thinks it's time to wrestle in which case she is told to get off and we go on another walk).

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

Do you have her crated for most of the day, while you're out at work? If so, maybe having someone come in midday to take her for a long walk or romp would help burn up some of that energy. By a year old, both of my dogs settled nicely during the evening hours. I did, and still do, give them two walks every day, plus some running around time. We also practice some obedience mini-lessons each day - perhaps you could add that to your evening routine. Even better, why not investigate whether or not there's an early evening training class nearby. That would tire her out, for sure. I also sat down on the floor with them on my lap or right next to me for evening cuddles. Or, if you allow your puppy on the couch, snuggling might settle her down while you're trying to catch up on your shows.

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

I would agree...I'm guessing she needs a more strenuous exercise. Enzo is just a year. If I don't let her out to RUN...and I mean run at full speed, she is full of energy come " sit down and relax" time. We can walk her 10 times or walk ALL day long...it means nothing. She needs the full out run time to expend that energy.

[Ginny Nightingale]

oh boy! I get to watch this pup all weekend this weekend! Guess i will be busy! Seriously though, Erica, if she is sleeping during the day, she is going to want to play at night--that is tough because you are tired--it eventually goes away, but all of my dogs did this--now they snooze at my feet the minute I sit down--so it does pass.

If you are working during the day, maybe there is a doggy day care or a dog walker that could take her out during the day for you and get some of that energy out before you get home? I think I remember you not liking the doggy day care so maybe you can look into hiring someone to take her out, walk her and play with her for an hour or so in the afternoon. It would not be forever, but just until she matures a bit more.

[Christy&Riley]

Riley is 16 months and while she more often lounges around now, we definitely have to burn energy otherwise she gets into trouble. Two quick walks in the morning before work for potty breaks. I run home at lunch to throw the ball for her for a good 5 minutes to get her panting then a brisk walk. At night we used to play fetch for a good half hour then a walk later. We just moved so not such great play area yet. Usually a couple walks now. The latest game is that my husband throws a ball (they are in the basement) and while she runs after it, he goes and hide. She runs all over trying to find him. Good exercise and works her brain. What everyone says on DK is true...a tired puppy is a good puppy. I found the effort to play with her was a good investment in her listening to me later....oh and it has gotten me more exercise than I've done in years. :-)

[Christy&Riley]

Also, the past few months I've found that doing some grooming will get her to settle down. Kind of a habit for me to do something (brush her, work on mattes, trim paws, trim eyes, etc) while watching tv.

[Donatella and Sunshine]

I take Sunshine to a dog park almost every evening (at least I did it all the summer) and it is really good for both, she and me.

Walking was not a way to make her tired because instead of walk she just sniffs and sniffs around "analyzing" the zone,  never gets tired and do not want to walk more then two blocks away from home. But at the dog park ....  OMG !!!! She runs like crazy, plays with many other dogs, run after the birds, chases balls, greets every people there, barks to the people outside the park.....she just looks so happy !!!!! We use to go more ore less at 7.00 pm (after dinner) and stay there until 8 or 9 pm and back home she just lies in the floor and sleeps so well, she looks, relaxed, grateful and tired :) (We do not use the crate anymore).

She has two leashes, a purple one to walk and a pink one to go to the park. I grab every leash in each of my hands and extending her both of them I ask her "park or walk?" she comes and touches with her muzzle the pink one every time.  Then we get into the car, and you can see in her face how happy she looks. She keeps an eye on the road because she knows exactly the way to the park and checks if we are truly going there. Wen we are almost there she gets so  excited, wants to be the first one to get out from the car and just runs to the entry gate like crazy.

For me, the dog park is the easiest way to make her happy and tired. For her being in a huge space (much bigger then my backyard) of leash and with other dogs is the best thing ever

She just turned one year this last weekend.

[Emily, Bentley, & Maserati]

Sounds like our pack! We say want to go to the DP? They all 3 run for the door and sit while we put collars on and load into the car. They too, know the way to the park and they get excited when we turn onto the road the park is on. 

We love the dog park! I get to walk and they get to run themselves silly with their dog friends! It is a win, win! 

[Emily, Bentley, & Maserati]

Maserati just turned 1 last week. He is high energy. Walks mean nothing to him other than a good time. He needs hard play and more importantly mental stimulation. 

He participates in 3 different dog sports. We have flyball practice weekly. He just started dock diving over the weekend, not to mention our daily swims in the river, and every other weekend we're a part of a lure coursing group. Those full focus and both physically and mentally stimulating activities are key for him. I'm not saying you have to do dog sports, but your pup needs more hard play. Find what makes her happy, is it fetch, tug, romping around with other dogs, swimming, etc... If you find a way to use her energy in a positive manner you can help all of you relax in the evening! 

If Maz is being more energetic than usual we will do some physical conditioning exercises or go over basic commands and build to a more difficult task. Mental stimulation wears them out just as well as physical! It is amazing what 10 min of obedience commands can do. Also, we use a "climb" & "focus" command. If he needs to calm himself down we tell him to "climb" onto his Kuranda bed. He can do w/e he wants on the bed as long as none of his paws touch the ground. You can watch him calm down and once he has settled we "free" him and he comes back to playing. If he is acting crazy and not minding we give him a focus activity to help funnel that energy back onto us so he can complete a given task. 

As the others have said 11 months is still puppy age! They have lots of energy but just need your help in learning how to express it! Hang in there!