#178 Are You Rewarding the Chaos? Rethinking Dog Energy

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Could your dog's seemingly boundless energy actually be a behavior you've unintentionally created? This eye-opening exploration challenges the common assumption that certain dogs are just "born hyper," suggesting instead that our patterns of reinforcement might be amplifying normal energy into something that feels excessive.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
So here's a question Is your dog actually high energy
or did we accidentally trainthem to be high energy?
Let's sit with that for asecond, because it's one of
those sneaky truths that hidesin plain sight.
You get a young, energetic dog,maybe a herding breed, maybe a

(00:26):
mix, and of course they'recurious, they're alert, a little
bouncy.
So you do what you're supposedto do.
You give them walks, games,toys, training, stimulation.
You want to be a good dog owner, and you are.
You want to be a good dog owner, and you are.
But little by little your dogstarts to expect action,

(00:48):
constantly and without meaningto.
You built a pattern.
They bark, you throw a toy,they jump up and down at the
door, you grab the leash, theyspin in circles, you laugh and
engage.
Even their wildest zoomiessometimes earn them a treat just

(01:11):
for being cute.
And now, what was once aregular dog with regular energy
is now always on, or at least itseems that way.
But here's the thing Most dogsaren't born needing non-stop
entertainment.
They're just really good atlearning what works.

(01:32):
And if Wild and Wiggly gets thegood stuff attention, freedom,
treats, fun then they'll keepdoing it.
Then they'll keep doing it,because dogs repeat what's been

(01:53):
reinforced.
So maybe the dog isn't hyper,maybe we've just created a
schedule where calm never getsnoticed and busy always gets
rewarded.
Now, this doesn't mean yourdog's energy level is your fault
.
Dogs are individuals and sometruly are more wired than others
, but quite often we amplify it.

(02:14):
And let me give you a quickexample.
I had a client once whodescribed her dog as a total
maniac.
He could never just calm downon his own.
So when I asked what a normalday looked like, it went
something like this Doggydaycare five days a week FYI,

(02:34):
that's too much.
Fetch after work, fetch beforebed, weekend jogs with the owner
and more fetch, that's a lot,even for a working breed.
And what was missing?
Any time where the dog isallowed and expected to just be

(02:55):
to chill, to nap, to practicedoing nothing.
Here's the shift.
Instead of only rewardingenergy, start rewarding calm.
Catch your dog lying down ontheir own bed Quietly, drop a
treat between their paws, seethem pause during play, offer

(03:18):
praise and take a break.
Stop tossing a toy every timethey bark.
Wait for a moment of stillness,then reward.
It doesn't take long.
Dogs catch on fast.
You're not punishing energy,we're just expanding the
vocabulary, telling them that,hey, stillness and calm is

(03:40):
valuable too.
And over time, your dog learnsthat it's not their job to be a
full-time entertainer.
They don't have to beconstantly on, they can rest,
they can settle, they can relax,because maybe they were never
truly hyper, maybe they werejust trying to meet the job

(04:01):
description that we accidentallygave them.