Source
r/dogs•
hardrockfoo

[Help] FTA dog has too much energy

Help!

I need suggestions, advice, help with the big decision to adopt, anything you want to throw at me.

I picked up a 1.5 year old, 35 pound rat terrier named Cricket on Sunday and I'm worried he will have too much energy for me.

On Sunday we;

  • met my parents two shelties separately
  • played fetch and tug of war inside and met my friend/neighbor
  • went to my parents house to meet family and play with the other dogs in a fenced in back yard
  • went home and went on a 2 mile walk
  • obedience training and fetch inside

Monday

  • went for a quarter mile walk in the morning before work
  • went for a half mile walk and obedience training during lunch
  • Went for a 2 mile walk when I got home
  • tug for 15 minutes
  • Obedience training for 30 minutes
  • gave him a new chew toy to keep him occupied
  • went on a 1.7 mile walk
  • played tug inside

After everything, Cricket still has an exorbitant amount of energy and tries hard to initiate play still. I just don't know if I can run him out of the energy he needs to get out without spending every moment I'm not at work with him. Could this be a temporary thing of him just being jazzed that he's not in a the rescue center anymore? Cricket's a sweet, loving dog that seems trained but never had the puppy gotten out of him. He still mouths a lot, but doesn't get in trouble or have any accidents inside. The foster ends Wednesday, but I'm going to extend it to see how it goes. Also I'm picking up a 30ft leash from my mother so we can play fetch outside to see if that helps.

Posted Jun 18, 2019, 4:30 PM UTC

29
Reverserer•

Just going to say this bc it really needs to be said:

I picked up a 1.5 year old

Did you not research the dog you were picking?

You are 2 days into a rescue - the dog is over excited with the new environment - give it a couple of weeks.

Your active time for this dog is not enough. 15 minutes of tug is nothing. Indoor fetch is nothing. Get him outside and running - get a chuck-it and run him ragged.

on a side note, obedience train all the time not just set periods. Every 1/2 hour of play/walk time should include 5 mins of obedience training. Sit, stay, downs on walks are amazing as there is so much going on between people, cars, dogs, smells.

good luck

7
hardrockfooOP•

Yes, I did do research. American Kennel Club states "Some Rat Terriers can get sufficient exercise for their needs through indoor playtime, but most will thrive with daily walks and a bit of tennis-ball-chasing and other play in a fenced enclosure". It also has a similar "couch potato - lots of activity" bar that shelties do which we have raised 3 of them.

1
Dog1andDog2andMe•

You are overloading your dog with too much stimulus. Like overtired toddlers, some dogs become even more hyper when overstimulated. Going to a new home is a trauma to a dog and often results in anxiety ... in some dogs, anxiety comes out as hyperactivity. Your dog is already predisposed by breed to being very active so you want to make sure that you are not artificially causing conditions that make him more so.

Google two week shutdown ... you don't need to follow everything like the law (let dog on furniture if dog is most comfortable on furniture for example, you don't need to leash them to you) BUT do follow the ones about helping the dog feel safe and secure in their new home ... and not introducing too many more new people, places, etc to a dog already dealing with a major change.

5
hardrockfooOP•

I will try the 2 week shut down, though I don't know how long the foster extension is yet. I think the hardest part will be walks since the closest place I can take him for fetch is about half a mile down the road. I guess I'll look into driving there. Luckily he's AOK being in a crate, just takes a bit of persuasion to get him in there. When he is crated during the day, is it ok to let him have his chew toy? It's very large so he won't be able to choke on it.

1
Dog1andDog2andMe•

Again, take it with some leeway ... you can definitely walk your dog, I think! It's just the going over to other people's homes, etc that you might want to limit.

1
saurapidtils: scruffy terror•

I have a rat terrier mix I got at about a year old.

You're doing a great job keeping your dog entertained, but it doesn't seem like you're helping him learn to be calm or entertain himself. You are never going to be able to "run him out of energy"—just like an athlete, his stamina is going to keep going up.

What I did with my dog is when I was ready to chill, I restricted his access to the area near me (with a leash, but a baby gated off small room would work too). I kept a pile of my dog's kibble near me, and every time he sat down, lay down, seemed relaxed, etc., I tossed him a piece—not looking at him, or saying anything, just gently tossing the kibble near him.

Pretty soon my dog learned certain behaviors on my part (sitting down for dinner, sitting in a chair in the living room) meant I was going to be boring and it was time to relax. I gradually stopped leashing him, and instead provided him with a chew in his bed to encourage initial relaxation. If he got amped up again, we went back to leash + rewards for calmness.

This isn't a fast process, and your dog is likely to be quite energetic for a while until he matures and learns the drill—1.5 is very young and your dog is basically a teenager.

4
hardrockfooOP•

That is a good idea for down time. How often do you have to relearn him on being calm? Also, should I not give him a chew toy for down time at the beginning?

1
saurapidtils: scruffy terror•

You can give him a chew toy, but I like my normal day-to-day actions to predict relaxing time (taking out my laptop, sitting in specific chairs, etc.) vs a chew. So for me the kong is an occasional way of helping my dog relax, but not something I've turned into a daily routine, if that makes sense. The kibble I gradually fade as I see my dog begin to make nice relaxing choices, like going to his bed as soon as I sit down, etc.

My dog is 2, turning 3, now, and he's still pretty high energy, but perfectly capable of relaxing with only occasional help. Something to realize about many terriers is that they rarely fully settle unless totally exhausted. So like, my dog can be sleeping soundly, he hears a noise, and BAM he's up ready for action. If that happens too much during a single day, he'll get overtired and I go back to leashing him near me (or putting him in his crate) for a nap.

1
20penelope12•

I don’t know much about this breed but in this website they say it’s normal for dogs of this breed to be highly energetic. I think if you don’t think you will want to do all these things to keep him not bored you should consider another dog. But it may be that as he gets older he will have less energy, maybe when he is about 3/5 years old.

1