My dog is becoming unusually hyper. Whining, won't hold still, and jumping/nipping at me

Question

My dog is just over a year old, so full blown puppy stage... but she is constantly hyper. I don't mean like burst of energy then she lays down. She is always moving. I'll play with her, take her on walks, let her go to the bathroom regularly...but she just jumps on me and whines like she needs something, then when I pay attention it's more play. If she does sorta lay in my lap she's constantly moving positions and biting at my hands and legs. Then I'll pet her and she'll start play growling and biting more. It doesn't matter how many times I tell her 'no'. She keeps doing it. It doesn't matter how much I play with her, She is never tired. Is ADHD in dogs? She did jump out of my hands when she was little and hit her head on concrete.. could that be it? or maybe the breed? She's half Mini Schnauzer and then the other half was a mutt that I think was a Chihuahua-terrier mix.

I don't know what else to do. My boyfriend hates her because she does the same thing to him. She's sweet if you can get her calm enough for a few seconds..I hope she grows out of this. Her mom was my dog too and was never like this.

Answer 1

You just have a very energetic pup who needs to get rid of that energy.

This will not go away anytime soon, when they hit their senior years is typically when they slow down.

She wants to play which is very normal, the only cure for that is to play with her ;)

To stop her from biting and jumping I could try clicker training. The goal is to relate the sound of a click as a good thing, start by just clicking and giving treats for her to understand this.

You always want to do positive reinforcement, if she starts jumping and nipping tell her to sit and wait a good 30 seconds before clicking and treating.

You can also try redirecting the nipping behavior to her toys instead of your hands. When she bites her toys click and reward. :) hope this helps, sounds like you have a healthy dog.

Answer 2

I somehow associate hyper with little dogs and I don't claim any expertise with them, but is there someone else with a dog with whom you could arrange daily play dates in a doggie park? It might be a relief to allow her to exercise with a creature with more stamina.

Don't some pet stores have pet obedience classes? Might that help? Maybe the teacher can give you some pointers.

Answer 3

Mm about 2 months ago she was considerably less hyper. She would keep herself occupied with toys and lay in my lap to sleep for a few minutes before playing again... now I can't get her to be still for anything.

An unexplained change in behaviour is a good reason to see the vet. Hyperactivity can be an indication of a thryoid problem, for example.

If medical problems can be ruled out, I would focus on more training for your dog, and making sure she gets lots of exercise. Consider whether you may unintentionally be rewarding her behaviour with more attention.

It's easier to train an animal to do something than to not do something, so think of some things that you would like her to do when she's hyper instead of whining, nipping, and otherwise bothering you. Train her to do those things on cue. Then, when she gets hyper, tell her to do one of those things, and then praise her lots for it. Once she learns that she has better ways of getting good attention, she should be a better-behaved dog.

This article may be helpful: http://www.dog-health-guide.org/doghyperactivity.html. I've summarised it above.

Answer 4

First like everyone else has said, if this is a new change/gradual change, ask the vet.

Otherwise some ideas for approaches:

First it can be really hard to tire out some dogs. But try. Remember that tiredness is mental (think about when you concentrate a lot) as well as physical - for example teaching a dog to track scent can be very mentally tiring for them and much less so for you. Make sure the activity is tiring. Get a doggy backpack and have her carry your water or some extra weight on a walk, making it both more intense exercise and more tiring for the same distance (not enough to make it painful or harmful, and not if the dog has joint or similar issues. just a little, so it takes more effort and shallow inclines take a bit more work, a bit like how some runners use small weights on their ankles and wrists).

The other option - and equally valuable - is to educate the dog to entertain herself. If you think about it, what's going on is boredom and perhaps also insecurity ("entertain me, reassure me, give me attention!"). You won't be able to always do that, and the dog need to learn it. Unsurprisingly it will be a reluctant learning because the dog has it ideally now (as she sees it!). But being able to handle lack of attention is a useful skill, and if she hasn't ever had to learn to entertain herself, how will she learn. Buy a child's pen or something (people often give those away for free as kids grow a bit!), put her and some toys and water in it. Then ignore (although in same room). Keep ignoring until ready to pay attention. She will eventually learn. Once she can cope a bit, extend the time slowly. Watch for signs the dog is self-calming - behaviour like panting, grooming, big yawns, looking away, can all be self calming behaviours and are skills a dog would naturally learn as a puppy.