“I take my dog on 2 walks a day, and we play fetch in the backyard, and he runs around the house all day, and STILL my dog does not know how to be calm. What am I doing wrong?”
Does this sound familiar? I hear this all the time from my clients. It seems logical that if we “tire” out our dogs then they will be calm inside the home. That they won’t chew on things and act crazy in the home and jump on people. Right?
Wrong.
I have a relative who consistently tries to quit smoking. Just because he goes to the gym and works out, and then goes home and takes a nap does not mean that he has quit smoking. It just means that he is tired from working out. Stopping a behavior is a mental choice, not just a tired body.
Exercising a dog to tire them out will just create a stronger, faster dog that can do the unwanted behavior longer than before.
To teach a dog how to be calm around exciting environments and people you will need to correct unwanted behavior, and then reward behavior that you DO want. If your dog barks at people that come into your home you can correct the barking, and then when the dog is calm and quiet you can reward them.
Stop exercising your dog to try and get good behavior. You will just find yourself frustrated and exhausted, and your dog will be up from their nap soon and ready to go again!
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