hyperactive dogs

are there any Calm Down cues you can give a dog? terriers seem to be bundles of energy, which is great (shows they are healthy and happy). but not so great before bedtime. its winter here, and cold and dark when i get home. so he doesnt get walked as often as he should (although i braved the elements last night). how can i calm him down before bed?

Comments

Calm down cues

That is an excellent question! I love that people are thinking about this sort of thing, I mean anyone with an active dog wonders about how to calm a dog down but not necessarily how to put it on cue - which you can do.

There are quite a few ways to do this that I know of, but here is my favourite.

From a 'pack leader' perspective, or 'drives' perspective, what we really want at bedtime is to switch gears from 'prey drive' (play, chase, hunt) to 'pack drive' (move with the pack, rest with the pack).

My suggestion is that you 'lead' them from a prey activity like hunting to resting as a pack. You want them to match you, to work with you. It's almost an induction process, that you reinforce.

The truth about most dogs is that they just sleep while we work. You get home tired, and it's cold out (for Antipodeans like bluefilly and myself at this time of year) - but our dogs have slept all day and are only just ready for the work to begin.

When we start our work day we greet our colleagues, check our email, then go to work.

A dog has virtually the same program - they greet their colleagues, check their pee-mail, and ideally, set out to find some food.

So the walk is important, whenever you can. Then the work - 'find the treat' games are great, 5-10 minutes of clicker training, anything like that. Then switch gears into calm, time to settle down, have some nice quiet time together. The cue is that you put your training gear away and sit down on the couch or whatever you do to relax in the evening.

Calm is a default behavior in my house. I don't let my dogs play in the house, I interrupt them by asking them to do something else then send them outside to play. It has always been this way, even when Sabella was a puppy and Django still had his youthful vigour (and testicles, losing them slowed him down). So really, after an initial greeting, just coming into the house is a cue to calm down.

Just another little tip, my cousin has this great game she plays with her dog. She razzes him up by rough-housing or play-bowing with him, then immediately cues him to sit and calm down, which she reinforces. It's a bit like "musical chairs" - he practically trips over himself to sit calmly.

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com