# Endless energy??



## GSDSammie (Dec 13, 2010)

Hi everyone,

My very well behaved neutered male, 2 year old GSD seems to have endless energy. From the moment he wakes up in the morning he always wants to go for walks, hiking, play in the yard, and when he is inside the house he's always dropping a ball by our feet to play with him. This goes on from morning until 9, 10 pm at night when we have to tell him to go and lay down. My husband works from home, so our GSD is being taking out throughout the day too. 

Once a week we take him to a home-based doggie daycare where he plays with 2-3 other dogs from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm. You would think he would be tired, as he apparently plays ALL DAY, yet the first thing he does when he comes home is drop the ball by our feet to play, and does this throughout the evening. 

Oftentimes when we tell him to lay down, he still has his eyes open, or his head propped up, looking for action.

We play with him a lot, and take him out repeatedly throughout the day, because we want to expel his energy and feel like he's bored. But we're also concerned that maybe us constantly playing with him and taking him out is contributing to his high energy level.

What do you think?


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## KentuckyGSDLover (Nov 17, 2011)

GSDSammie said:


> What do you think?


I think you just described a normal young German Shepherd.


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## Cheerful1 (Sep 27, 2011)

You've also described my six-year-old, intact GSD.


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## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

In a puppy, they need to be told when to rest. But an adult like yours should know when he needs to rest. 

You can try rewarding him when he chooses to lay down, and NOT rewarding him for bugging you to play by going along with it.

You must have a very high energy pup! That sounds really challenging. Have you tried any of the puzzle toys that are available? Sometimes working the brain is as tiring to the dog as working the body.

When my dogs were younger and my husband would go out of town, I felt like I had to be the entertainment for them, so I would get up and take them out to play or hike every time they got fidgety. So after 48 hours of go-go-go, I got tired of playing the dog's servant and stopped being at their beck and call. To my surprise, once I stopped responding to them that way, they settled in and napped when I wouldn't take them out. I do think you are right, always giving him what he is demanding is contributing to his restlessness.


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

We go hiking alot, morning & evening walks, play tug & fetch. And all of that makes him tired BUT what really knocks him out is when he has to use his noggin in our training classes or even short training sessions at home


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

GSDSammie said:


> We play with him a lot, and take him out repeatedly throughout the day, because we want to expel his energy and feel like he's bored. But we're also concerned that maybe us constantly playing with him and taking him out is contributing to his high energy level.


You know, everyone says "exercise exercise exercise" the high-energy dog, but I think there's such a thing as TOO much exercise and activity. It can work like an addiction... the more they exercise, the more exercise they need, until the dog is so wound up he doesn't even know how to be calm and relaxed while awake.

I honestly think that calmness is a behavior that needs to be practiced. If the dog is a house dog, a companion to be enjoyed while in the house, I think the dog needs to learn how to be calm when there's nothing going on. Crate time throughout the day is good for this. Learning to settle. 

I have a 14 month old pup that is all go-go-go. She was a bit of a "sleeper" pup, appearing fairly moderate in energy and drive when little. But as she matures, she's growing into her drive, and now goes a hundred miles an hour! It's crazy-making at times! But we practice crate time during the day while I'm working. If she were to run wild all day, she'd be WILD all the time. I boarded her for two nights at a doggie-daycare place where they let the dogs socialize and play... when she came back from there, she was absolutely INSANE. Just boiling over with frenetic energy. You'd think after playing with other dogs and people for three days, she'd be worn out? Nope. It only amped her up.

I'd love to hear some other suggestions for calming work, if anyone has some!


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## kbella999 (Jan 6, 2012)

Haha. I thought you were talking about my Jerry Lee for a minute.


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## OriginalWacky (Dec 21, 2011)

I've seen a lot of people have really good results with Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol. I first heard about it in relation to anxious dogs, but it seems to be helpful with high drive dogs as well.


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## Lenny (Jul 25, 2005)

Nothing wears out a dog more than swimming. Lenny is 10 and more chill but when she was younger I took her to the lake/pool as much as I could.


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

Smiling inside because my Titan has brought me to tears with his endless energy.. literally cried like a little girl once when I didn't know what else to do for him after HOURS of fetch, running, hiking, you name it. He was EXACTLY like you described.. I mean to the T. He had no stop button what so ever. SO I will explain how I handled it and how miraculously it worked for him. Not that this is the only solution but it's just my experience when I was going through the same issue..

I regulated play time. Sounds simple and silly but I did and still do. All his toys go in a box out of his reach and when _*I*_ want to play.. we play.. otherwise he gets a chew like marrow bone, raw hide, or antler. He no longer gets 100% access to his toys. Not even one. None outside, ever. I bring them out when it's play time. I LOVE his energy and it's so great to have when we are working SAR because he can go on FOREVER. But after I get home from work and he's out for a walk and we play.. I just want company, I want a calm dog inside the house that will sit down, chew on his bone and watch TV with me or sit by my feet while I do homework or a report from work.. too much to ask for?? maybe.. but that's what he does now. He is exactly the dog that I want him to be. He's obedient and he still plays all the time but only when I tell him we can. Because remember those are _your_ toys that _you _are letting him play with. Not the other way around. By him bringing toys to you he is dictating when playtime is and saying he is incharge at that moment.. "I don't care what you are doing, I want to play." Is essentially what he is saying. 

I will admit.. I felt TERRIBLE taking away his toys.. but I learned that it was for his own good and that I wasn't depriving him of playing.. just making it a more controled environment, which is exactly what a dog needs. But now my house hold is so much more peaceful (as peasceful as it can be with a GSD and Boerboel... lol) but there's no more dropping balls, stuffed, toys, frisbees, etc into my lap when I am doing something. There's no more whining to play with all the toys that are lying around the room.. he just knows.. He will play when mom says he can.. and he will play HARD because mom says he can 

I know the feeling and I really hope that helps..


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## GSDSammie (Dec 13, 2010)

Thanks everyone for the great ideas and feedback. It's apparent that I'm not the only one going through this! I like the ideas about calming exercises and will try do some more research on this. Also, I believe giving him more training, or more of a 'job' to exercise his mind will certainly help. Thanks!!!


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## Gracie's My Girl (May 27, 2011)

I understand how you feel! They go and go and go! 

Once I have done an appropriate amount exercise and training each day, I ignore her if she keeps bugging me. As always, she will try for a while to get my attention. It is usually something really annoying like resting her head across the textbooks I am studying! However, she will always sigh and go find a spot to rest once she realizes that I am not going to give her attention. I live a life and every waking hour cannot involve her.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

My dog trainer trains and boards police dogs for a specific police agency. At the end of the dog's shift, it is returned to her for boarding. She has large runs that they have access to for 30 minutes directly after the shift. Then they are crated for 1 hour. Then they are fed and re-crated for 1 hour. They are let back out in the run for their last potty break. Afterwords they are crated until 1 hour before shift begins when they are pottied and fed. 

She said that the dogs feel they are on duty 24/7. They only 'rest' when they are in a crate. Being crated, turns them off and allows them to relax. 

I'm not saying you should crate your dog, I was just suprised to think that a dog that is 'on' 24/7 needs to be told when to turn off.


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## brembo (Jun 30, 2009)

I am in the process of "de-tuning" an ex-police Mal. Peppy is a roiling ball of white-hot energy. You almost expect to hear a buzz of energy coming from her.

I enforce quiet time, no ball, no jumping around. I'm quiet and bless his heart (my GSD) is a most excellent quiet time companion. Peppy sees this and emulates pretty well.

Someone mentioned addiction and that sounds plausible. I think being active and useful (in their mind) is a safe place for them and they crave the feeling. Peppy is coming around to the idea that lazing about is just as much fun as doing her job.


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## shaner (Oct 17, 2010)

Sounds like my dog Cedar. She's about 18 months now and it is impossible to tire her out. Sure, if I ignore her she'll go have a nap because she's bored and has nothing else to do, but she will gladly go from 7 am to 10 pm without a break and she has many times. 

She plays in the house and yard with my other dog Titan (he's 4 months old now), she also plays with my neighbours dog in our yard (we live in the country, huge yards, no fence, so the dogs come and go between our yards) every day. I take her for long hikes/walks, I throw balls, I throw her frisbee, I throw sticks, I work on commands, I give her bones, I give her treat balls that require her to think, I take her into town with me and go to various pet stores and public places, we go swimming in the summer, etc. She's always, always ready for more. 

There's nothing I can do that would tire her out to the point where she isn't ready for more. Believe me, I've tried, it's not possible. 

It's just one of the reasons I love GSD's. Whenever I feel like going somewhere, I know my dogs are ready to go and they can handle anything and everything I throw at them. I do not ever have to worry about wearing them out. I wear out far quicker.


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## Tiffany05 (Feb 17, 2011)

Misty is the same way. How I deal with it, is by having a set ruitine. She knows when she gets her playing and exercising and when it is time to relax. One of those times is when my son naps (which is once a day). She has become accustumed to nap time and immediently goes to her bed and sleeps the whole time my son does. I believe I first implemented this quite a few months ago when she was a pup by first putting her in her crate. It was tiring enough taking care of one of them all day let alone both so I needed a break (even though that break I used for cleaning). She will get very pesky, though, for playing if I miss any of her ruitine exercises.


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