ISSUES: Hyperactive Energy
Almost all dogs are born naturally balanced. If they live as they do in nature – in stable packs – they spend their days in peace and fulfillment.
When humans adopt dogs and bring them into our lives and homes, most of the time we have the dogs’ best interest at heart. We try to give them what it is we think they need. The problem is that we are making assumptions based not on what canines need but on what humans need. By humanizing dogs, we damage them psychologically and we create “issues,” which are negative adaptations in dealing with the world. All dog “issues” are caused by an imbalance.
In dog’s natural state, they do get excited and do play with one another, but excitement has a time and place. After a hunt, or after they’ve eaten, they have what is like a celebration, which we interpret as affection. They can and do “play rough” with one another, becoming excited- submissive or excited-dominant. But they don’t practice excited behavior for a long time, and they don’t practice excitement with that hyperactive “panting” sound you get with an overexcited domestic dog. Some dogs seem to be in a state of hyperexcitement all the time, and it’s not good for them.
Most people interpret the words happiness and excitement as the same thing: “She’s just happy to see me!” The two aren’t the same. A happy dog is alert; her ears are up, her head is up, and her tail is wagging. An overexcited dog is jumping up, panting, and can’t stop moving around. This is pent-up energy. Hyperactively energetic dogs are often among the hardest cases to rehabilitate. Hyperactive energy fosters other issues as well, such as fixation and obsession.
When their dogs jump on them at the door when they come home, many of my clients greet them with lots of affection. If your dog is jumping on you, that’s an act of dominance. Don’t allow it. Dogs are naturally curious, and they’ll obviously be interested when someone comes to the door of your home. But they need manners to greet visitors with. Dogs don’t greet other dogs by jumping all over them. They greet one another by sniffing. If that etiquette is good enough for the dog world, it’s good enough for you home.
Keep your dog leashed when visitors come to your home while you are teaching her how to greet visitors politely. Once you feel you are making visible progress, ask your guests to help you out. Instruct them not to acknowledge her jumping, overexcited dog – NO talk, NO tough, NO eye contact – until she has calmed down. When a dog is being ignored, it sometimes calms down in mere seconds.
Hyperactive dogs need exercise, and a lot of it. And they need it before they get affection. When you come home, take your dog for a walk. Then feed her. You have provided her with a physical and psychological challenge, followed by reward of food. Then later, when her mind is calm, give her affection. Don’t encourage the crazy jumping behavior, even if it seems fun for you and makes you feel loved. I am sorry, but all that fuss is not because your dog is “happy to see you.” It’s because she has too much pent-up energy and she got to release it somehow.