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Chaotic Puppy Energy.. Redirecting?


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Hi Everyone!

 

We picked up Hattie yesterday - who won't sit still long enough for a decent photo - she is 17 months, and 65 pounds of pure muscle. We had to get a harness for her so we can work on no pulling on the leash (one that attaches at the front of the chest) and are making progress with that.

 

Anyway, I won't go on and on about what we are doing and how she and everyone else is doing except for regards to energy. I NEED SOME ADVICE!!!! :)

 

Having not had a puppy in a long time, and not a 65 pounder.... I'm a little out of my element on this area.

 

Her energy comes in these explosive bursts! The biggest bursts are obviously when she is coming out of the crate. I won't let her out until she's calmed down (She goes crazy when she knows she is about to come out of one), but as soon as that door is open, it's this rocket of exteme energy. Even Moon isn't so sure about it!

 

I understand where it's coming from, just now how to direct it until we can wean off the crate. IS there a way to direct this coming out of the crate before I can get the leash on her to go run outside? It's like 5 minutes of a hurricane in my tiny house and I'm not sure if this is something I can train out of her so we can peacefully exit the crate and peacefully go outside to unleash the energy.

 

Moon (and also Macho was) is energetic after she comes out of her crate after a work day, but nothing like this and she calms down fast so we can go outside.

 

Thoughts? Suggestions? I'm ready to hear it all. I just need some options until we can get rid of the crates and have them chillin in the living room by themselves.

Mom to Macho (JS XtremeMachine 1/12/2007 -8/17/2012 ... Gotcha day 9/2/2011. I miss you BigMan)
Moonbeam (Ninos Full Moon 11/1/2009, Gotcha day 9/2/2012), Hattie (Kiowa Hats Off 4/14/2011, Gotcha day 10/13/2012), Keiva (JS Igotyourbooty 1/12/2007, Gotcha Day 1/8/2014)
Jimmy (Blu Too James 06/26/2014, Gotcha day 09/12/2015)
, a shepard mix named Tista, some cats, and some reptiles.

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I'd definitely keep making her settle down before you let her out. Is it also possible for you to crouch down in front of the door and slip her collar on before you actually let her out? I started doing this with Eli cause he'd run across the room and it worked pretty well - now he just darts out the back door and into the sunroom instead of wandering off into the living room.

Mom of bridge babies Regis and Dusty.

Wrote a book about shelter dogs!

I sell things on Etsy!

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LOL!! Oh definitely moving the breakables! Hattie is a ball of joy - just gettig use to her initial explosion of energy is new to me. Love her to pieces already!

 

We are making her be calm before she comes out of the crate, no real way to make her stay calm once out to grab her - she is draaaaama if I try- lol!

Mom to Macho (JS XtremeMachine 1/12/2007 -8/17/2012 ... Gotcha day 9/2/2011. I miss you BigMan)
Moonbeam (Ninos Full Moon 11/1/2009, Gotcha day 9/2/2012), Hattie (Kiowa Hats Off 4/14/2011, Gotcha day 10/13/2012), Keiva (JS Igotyourbooty 1/12/2007, Gotcha Day 1/8/2014)
Jimmy (Blu Too James 06/26/2014, Gotcha day 09/12/2015)
, a shepard mix named Tista, some cats, and some reptiles.

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I say as long as you get her calm in the crate and she's not knocking you over and attacking you let her run circles and just toss a toy for her to direct her happiness onto that. It's hard for a puppy to have that much impulse control. ;-)

 

And we need a video! LOL

------

 

Jessica

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sounds like time for some serious exercise that focused. teach her how to respond to tennis balls- roll them, bounce them, use a racket and let her go! at that age our grey was running back in forth in the yard after tennis balls for a good 20+ minutes to get him tired. we would stand in the middle and have a huge basket full of balls and lob them to the left and right. he just ran,caught,,ran the other direction, caught. at one point dh estimated that he was running 800+ yards. also soccer balls are great fun as well as frisbees and jolly balls(the big size).

this is a good time to start obedience work, manners never hurt and if she's clever you can get her into rally-o and agility in a short amount of time. she needs to know all of her commands well before agility, but rally-o reinforces commands. once she calms down in a couple of months you can also teach her how to pace on lead next to a bike. that fits in when she gets her obedience work under control.

 

as to getting her out of the crate, slow and easy, leash her and bring her out. use treats to direct her attention. i personally wouldn't look to put the crate away that quickly. she's still young and it sounds like she will need a place for down time for both you and her! good luck, enjoy- the energy is just building up. somewhere around 2.5-3 i was shocked at how powerful felix really became. she's still an awkard teenage. remember to enjoy all of her energy- it's a blessing! just work on refocusing it .

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My puppy is now almost 14 months, and he is the exact same way. Our routine is the same everyday, but he still gets excited and crazy over the same things. For example, it doesn't matter if I leave for a few hours or a few minutes, he jumps and goes crazy every time I come to the door. He starts doing his "little hops" and play-bowing at me. He's also nuts at dinnertime. From my experience, there are things you can do to help the situation, but puppies will be puppies. With enough time, they get older and calm down.

 

For this situation, I would give her a few minutes to settle down before opening the crate door. And when you do, don't make a big deal out of it. Just open the door and quietly walk away, ignore her for a little while. When she calms down, then you can pet her, feed her, etc. Also, make sure she gets a lot of exercise. I HAVE to run my puppy out off-leash at least a few times a week, otherwise, his energy becomes more misplaced (in other words, he starts acting really bad). Obedience classes are also great to work on basic skills and focus their energy onto something productive. Truman is starting his fourth class this week, and trust me, he is far from obedient. Have fun with your puppy! They grow up really fast. :)

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I would open Bandita's crate and open the back door and let her go outside where she would proceed to do zoomies like crazy. Once she had tired herself out I took her back inside. She was more likely to cooperate with me then.

Judy, mom to Darth Vader, Bandita, And Angel

Forever in our hearts, DeeYoGee, Dani, Emmy, Andy, Heart, Saint, Valentino, Arrow, Gee, Bebe, Jilly Bean, Bullitt, Pistol, Junior, Sammie, Joey, Gizmo, Do Bee

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Thanks everyone!

 

Hattie is indeed super crazy no matter how long the timeframe in the crate! So, based on the layout of our house to yard, I can't just get her from crate to backyard. What I have started to do is have her leash and harness ready to go with Moon's, and just sitting there. When she has calmed down IN the crate, I let her out and don't make a big deal. I let her run and go crazy in the tiny house for a few minutes until her energy level calms. Then I pick up the leash & harness, and wait again for her to calm down so I can get it on her. THEN we go out to the backyard and go crazy with toys! :)

 

She is so different from Moon, and Macho, it's so interesting and fun and challenging at the same time!

Mom to Macho (JS XtremeMachine 1/12/2007 -8/17/2012 ... Gotcha day 9/2/2011. I miss you BigMan)
Moonbeam (Ninos Full Moon 11/1/2009, Gotcha day 9/2/2012), Hattie (Kiowa Hats Off 4/14/2011, Gotcha day 10/13/2012), Keiva (JS Igotyourbooty 1/12/2007, Gotcha Day 1/8/2014)
Jimmy (Blu Too James 06/26/2014, Gotcha day 09/12/2015)
, a shepard mix named Tista, some cats, and some reptiles.

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