Very Very Hyper

[benson mum]

Im really not sure im posting this in the right section apologise if its not but im in such a state... this could end up as a long post but im at the end of my tether and sat here in tears.
Benson is 11 months old now and we are having such a terrible time with him, since day one of getting him we have had problems with him jumping biting and being hyper..... he has episodes of doing this but for the last few months the episodes are getting longer to the fact where its from the minute we get up now til bed time and its getting me down.... we can not control him when he is hyper he bounces of the walls quite litterally jumps at us and bites when i say bite i mean enough to break the skin.... he has drawn blood on me 3 times today alone!
To make matters worse he was castrated on wed so we are meant to be keeping him quiet...... that is not happening (i know some people will disagree with his castration but it was strongly recommended by our specialist)
Im worried he is going to seriously hurt himself (or us) he is even now jumping and biting our friends when they come round im really at my witts end even discussing with my partner about rehoming but i dont want to give up on him.... can dogs get adhd??? this is what it seems like he goes manic for hours then crashes out for half an hour then starts again.
Im really sorry to ramble on but i have no where else to turn to apart from the vet and im not sure if they can help.
Thank you for reading this post
xx

[Caryll]

What are you feeding him? Could he be getting too much protein or additives in his food?

Try giving him some tripe (green, and preferably raw) for a couple of days to see if that helps. If you're feeding dry, then try to find one that is 'natural' with no additives/flavouring/colouring etc, and no grains/fillers. I've heard that Challenge is good (it's a new one on me, and I haven't tried it, but a friend swears by it) - Complete Food Detailed Ingredients

Do you take him training? If not, maybe that would help to take the 'edge' off his excess energy?

[kita]

Have you seen a good behaviourist/trainer?

Good ones work on referral through your vet and sometimes insurance will cover their fees.

You can find your local one here:

APBC Members by Region | Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors

Are you able to give him 'time out' periods?

What does he do if you completely ignore him?

What do you feed him?

Sue

[benson mum]

Benson is on james wellbelloved.... its the only food that we found through trial and error that didnt upset his tummy !!
He has been to training and we wanted to continue further with this but all the other doggies dropped out
He is meant to be on restricted exercise because of hd but we have said blow that and walk him 2-3 times a day for hour at a time
He has crashed right now after jumping around for over 3 hours im exhausted but just know i wont sleep well as i no from the minute we open the crate tomorrow morning it will start again.
When he is hyper we have tried eveything, ignoring, time out in his crate but nothing seems to work im so upset i feel like im failing him in some way

[J&J]

Is he taking any medication for his HD?

If he is may be having a reaction to it

Have you spoken to your vet at all, about his behaviour so that any underlaying medical condition can be ruled out?

[kita]

Try these games, they should help tire him out mentally:

The Canine Coach Voted Twin Cities #1 Favorite Dog Trainer, behavior training, group classes in Minneapolis and St. Paul

The game where you hide toys around the house and get him to 'find' them and fetch them is good.

If he is tired out mentally he is more likely to sleep.

Also a good article about training a dog to be calm:

http://www.sdhumane.org/site/DocServ....pdf?docID=362


Sometimes walking them can get them more hyper (they end up more excited) and they can find it hard to switch off after the walk, a bit like a toddler that gets over tired and starts throwing a tantrum.

Do you lead walk him, or is it all off lead?

Sue

[Eve79]

I'll be following this thread closely, as we're having similar problems with our 2 year old GSD. There's just no tiring her out! I've been in tears a few times
We have the same problem with her biting, we try to ignore her as it's her way of trying to get a reaction out of us (I think she see's it as a play thing).
One thing i've found that works is, when she's in the house we have her on a house lead at all times now. When she starts misbehaving I can simply grab the end of the lead & put her in another room alone until she calms down. Before having the lead on, when I would try to get her by the collar, she would get more hyper (thinking it's a chase game) and aggresive (snapping at me) once I did get hold of her.

[Otto 's Mutter]

I agree with Sue on tiring them out mentally. The more you do physically, the fitter they will become.

A book I have likens having the dog using his nose to find a toy to if you had to follow a strand of cotton for maybe 20 metres on the ground only using your eyes, your faculties would be seriously tested, resulting in a feeling of tiredness. Like you, the dog uses all his concentration to follow the trail...

Otto has boundless energy so I know I have to keep him mentally stimulated as well as have his physical exercise.

It is hard work but they are worth it

[LOVEGSD]

I also agree with mental stimulation, it's so easy to think that they only need the physical.

Diesel loves Nina Ottosson toys, he'll quite happily play with these for hours and then be knackered.

Also what about hide and seek games in the garden, hide either tasty treats or toys and then send him off with a 'find it'....again Diesel loves these games.

[benson mum]

Thank you all for your replies i really did feel all alone last night i hardly slept.
Benson is on no medication for his hd apart from controlled exercise - so no of lead walking (whih is not a bad thing as he has nooooo recall!!) but we do walk him on an extendable lead and are currently working on his recall... it used to be 100% but im guessing he is going through his teenager years and chooses to ignore us!!
Looking at your posts im thinking our big mistake is that we have concentrated on his physical exercise becaus eof his hd we have failed miserabley on his mental exercise i feel so bad, like im letting him down in some way.... our trainer who we done puppy classes with came round this morning and said that he is a very stressed dog he feels like he has to be pack leader so she has given us a few pointers which we are iplementing stright away... benson is getting confused but touch wood he hasnt been so hyper so far today!
Im of to search web now for mental games for him
thank you all once again
xx