Is your dog full of energy? Particularly if you have a younger dog, you might find that they seem to have an almost unlimited pool of energy, but even older dogs can have plenty of energy from time to time too, and it can be really nice to see your pup so full of life.
You might think that it’s more difficult to train a dog who’s so full of energy – even if you’ve got some of the best dog treats – but we can work with their energy and use it as an asset in training sessions.
Juliana DeWillems, the owner and head trainer at JW Dog Training & Behavior, has explained how we can use our dogs’ energy to our benefit in a new Instagram post – let’s take a look.
“Are there moments when your dog is full of energy?” asks DeWillems. “This can be a great time to do five minutes of training. It can put their energy towards something productive, plus it can get some really nice snappy responses.”
She continues, “Training can be great for mental exercise, and, depending on what you’re working on, can tire them out physically as well!”
If you can slot in five minutes of training here and there – particularly when your dog’s full of energy – you might find that your dog’s responsiveness increases.
“It can be easy to think training is only for mental exercise, and going on walks is the only option for physical exercise,” adds DeWillems in the caption. “In many cases, training can accomplish both!”
She likes to pair cues together to get a dog moving, like pairing place with a hand target, stay with come, or “Ready? Get it!” with their name – and if your dog’s already full of energy, that’s half the battle!
“This is also why I love positive reinforcement training for dogs,” she continues. “It quickly can feel like a fun game to the dog, so they enthusiastically participate when they are full of beans and want to do something with me. Five minutes of training can really take the edge off!”
While it can be great to see your dog full of energy, there might be times when they’re too excitable and you’d rather they were more relaxed. If so, here’s how to calm down a hyper dog. Don’t forget to check out these practical tips for training your dog on your own, too.
