Has your teenage dog's brain fallen out, or are they just over-stimulated?

If you find that your dog races out the door on your walks; zigs-zags in front of you on lead, darts from once place to the next or displays problem behaviours such as pulling on lead, having no recall, jumping up strangers or even barking, lunging and snapping at other dogs then it is likely that they are overstimulated in some way.

This is a problem that when overlooked can lead to further troublesome behaviours (increased over reactivity, aggression or simply putting themselves into dangerous situations due to their adrenaline filled responses to their environment). Dealing with this early on is the foundation to not only the rest of your training together; but also your life together!

The majority of dogs given up for re-homing are adolescent. And the main reason adolescent dogs are re-homed outside of a families genuine changes in circumstance? Their unmanageable behaviour!

If your adolescent dog is overstimulated; then this is where 'their brain falls out' and they do silly things that frustrate, embarrass or even injure us humans. All things we want to avoid. If we are aware of this when raising a puppy; adopting a new dog or just when dealing with a new issue then it sets a really strong foundation for then dealing with any other issues, or adding in any training, later on.

What Is Over-stimulation in dogs?

Over stimulation happens when your dog (or even us!) get overwhelmed by the sensory input going on around us; with dogs this can most commonly be sights, smells, textures, sounds or activities going on nearby.

Some of the most common signs that your dog is overstimulated may include pulling on the lead, barking excessively, jumping up or swinging themselves around on lead, or showing anxiety e.g. scanning the environment, panting heavily, tucked tail etc.

The issues arise when the dog reaches their limit of what they can cope with. For some dogs this will be a lot, and they will have a more confident and optimistic personality with a higher stress threshold. For others simply going in the garden or hearing noises from outside may send them into feeling over stimulated by the world.

Trigger stacking can be considered here; this is where our dogs may cope with one or two things brilliantly; but add in that 3rd thing to their environment and it just becomes too much - This is why they may do brilliantly on a walk for example; then suddenly 'out of nowhere' start being difficult, forget how to walk on lead, or bark at another dog.

Young dogs can be more susceptible to becoming overstimulated as everything is new to them! They reach adolescence before they've even experienced a year of life! Dogs are naturally curious, so you've got a little fluffy being, brand new to the world, who wants to go and explore EVERYTHING, but doesn't really have the life skills yet to cope with all that new sensory input. Even if they're confident, it's likely they're still learning to regulate their own emotions (or depending on age, they may not even be able to do this yet!) so throw loads of new sensory experiences at them, and BAM! One thing too many and their little developing brains can't cope. They start biting the lead or jumping up in an attempt to self sooth; get told off, feel even more overloaded and all of a sudden you and your dog are having a horrible walk!

Not only do young dogs often not have the skills to regulate these big overwhelming emotions and situations, but they are also likely full of young dog bonkers level energy! So when they do get over-stimulated this can come out in BIG inconvenient and inappropriate (to us humans at least!) behaviours.

It is worth bearing in when when dealing with this sort of thing in your young dog that young dogs process their environment differently that mature dogs do. They are absorbing EVERYTHING like a sponge, soaking up experiences. They don't only learn when you are training, but it is ongoing, 24/7. So all the things that you don't even notice, they are having to take in and process as they figure out how to 'do life'.

If your dog is often becoming overstimulated it can lead to negative associations being developed while on walks, especially if certain situations results in anxiety or frustration. It's vital that you prioritise positive experiences for your young dog, to continue the development of healthy social skills and to prevent fears developing or frustration based over reactive behaviours such as lunging and barking.

When your dog is frantic, or struggles to listen to you then it can make training, and life in general, really difficult. and with this comes an Increased risk of inappropriate behaviors becoming habitual (e.g., pulling on lead, barking at other dogs, ignoring recall etc). These issues are less likely to develop in dog's who respond to the environment more proportionally, or who is better equip to cope in a specific scenario, as they have time and head space to stop, process and cope with what they experience. Which is why dealing with over-stimulation head-on is vital!

So, how do we deal with this over-stimulation nonsense?

Slow down - Life is not a race. And a young dog does not need to be marching or running A to B. Slow down. Give them time to take things in. Walking at a slower pace means we reduce how much sensory input they get moment to moment; it gives them times to observe, sniff, and figure things out. When we understand something, then we can pay less attention to it. This is the same for our dogs! The fast paced adventures can be built up to; but for now, just give them a moment to figure out the world.

Train don't 'walk' - As with above, as long as they have an outlet for physical exercise appropriate to their age, breed and health, we don't NEED to be taking our dog for a 60-120 minute walk every day. Take them to a field, a park, or even a car park, but just ONE place; train the skills they need for 'the real world', build your relationship, develop trust, have fun, PLAY and don't forget, take the time to sit with your dog and just people watch! 'Watching' as an activity is SUCH an overlooked, but powerful tool for building a more balanced doggy!

Keep It Simple

Introduce new environments gradually, starting with places they are most comfortable. Choose 2 or 3 locations to work on first and train / chill out together there. Don't try to do too much too soon. Think about your long term goals with your dog when choosing the type of location to build confidence. What matters to you most and what sort of thing can your dog cope with most easily? Can you make these two things align?

Reinforce every TINY thing. Even if it's only the 'least bad' things to begin with!

To begin with if your dog is over-stimulated the moment they step out the home it may be that they throw lots of silly behaviours at you in their attempt to self regulate, and cope. To begin with it may be that you struggle to find any 'good' behaviour to reward, so to start with you can focus on rewarding (reinforcing) the 'least bad' behaviours they do. E.g. maybe they're walking at the end of the lead but not pulling into it - reward that! You can build on it with time!

Capture any moments that they glance toward you, or 'check in', encouraging their focus on you with treats, praise, or a favorite toy when your dog redirects attention to you. Again; if this is only a side eye to begin with TAKE IT. By reinforcing the behaviour once, it is more likely to happen again, and when it does we can more easily build on it. But to begin with, take every little win, and every little try. Because after all. They're not intentionally struggling!

Utilise Controlled Exposure

If your dog is over-stimulated by specific 'triggers' then you can build their confidence, and create more positive associations for your dog to certain stimuli (people, other dogs, vehicles) in a controlled manner to prevent them from getting so overwhelmed. To do this you'll need a location where you have enough distance from potential triggers that your dog is aware of them, but not particularly interested in them. Once you've found a location; each time your dog glances toward the trigger tell them 'Good!!!' and toss a treat over their head while they're still looking at the trigger (e.g. they are looking at a trigger, but calmly watching, and a really yummy treat falls on their head. This will eventually lead to your dog associating said trigger with something nice, and ideally evolve to 'something nice coming from my human!

Example 1: 'There's a dog there = Nice treat!

Example 2: ' There's a dog there = Look to human to get a nice treat! (instead of barking or trying to run away!!!!).

When doing this sort of work the slower you go, the faster you get there. It needs to be done consistently (not to be mistaken with frequently!). And you will need to increase the criteria gradually, slowly decreasing the distance away you are, increasing how long you are working around the trigger and working around varying levels of distraction, e.g. if working around dogs then a dog who is walking on lead will be less distracting than a dog chasing a ball.

For issues with things like sounds, every time your dog hears a noise that they're unsure of mark the moment with a 'good!!' and immediately toss them a treat! Again, you will be working on building a new association of 'Weird noise = a nice treat!'. Anything that is new to your dog, allow them to process it. Don't make them move closer, let them explore at their own pace. And always have 'positive associations' in your mind - First time seeing a balloon? Cool; let watch for a second, process then PLAY!!!! (true story; my teenage dog was initially terrified of the first balloon he saw!!).

This is an ongoing process; and will sometimes means planning your walks differently to your normal routine; but doing the work early can help prevent it being a lifelong issue.

Keep outings Short and Sweet

For younger dogs, keep walks brief but frequent, so they don’t become overwhelmed or overtired. Some people suggest you expose your dogs to LOTS of things every day but in reality the quality of experience is far more important than the quantity. Make sure the outings you have are proactively planned and end before overwhelm or over tiredness hits. You can gradually increase the length of the walk as your dog learns to manage their emotions and response to the environment.

Provide Mental and Physical Stimulation Before Walks (but calm them down again before going out!)

If your dog goes at everything at 100mph, and has more energy than you thought was ever possible, then before you take them out into the world try to engage in a quick play session or brain work games (like chase, tug, and then followed by some scent games to bring their energy levels back down again). Doing this before walks can help release some energy, and set them up to be slightly less feral.

Ensure they get enough sleep and rest

 Most young dogs are not getting enough quality rest or sleep. Over tiredness can lead to being extra sensitive to sensory input; making them more easily overstimulated. Check out our Blog post on SLEEP to learn more!

Prepping for leaving the house with harnesses and Leads is a SKILL: If your dog is hiding and cowering, or leaping around headbutting you in excitement then getting your dog 'dressed' for their walk needs working on. When we take our dogs out of the home when they're already sky high on stress or excitement it makes so much sense that they will likely get overstimulated more easily than if they are able to leave the house in a calmer state. Some excitement or anticipation is normal; but it's always worth spending time on this to help your dog thrive and make life easier for yourself too!

Limit sensory input for extra anxious or overly excited dogs - go to one place repeatedly, new places occasionally. Build skills first in one environment then transfer them.

Utilise secure field hire - If you have a young energetic dog and exercising them on lead feels impossible hire an enclosed dog field. Let them burn off some energy before you attempt training, or just hang out together there. If they're bursting at the seams with steam coming out of their ears it will likely be hard to get them having measured responses to new stimulating, exciting, or scary environments. Secure field hire can give you and your dog some respite.

Sleep and rest days - If your dog struggles going out and about, then make sure they have rest days each week. In extreme cases I will have dogs go out and train every 3-4 days to ensure they are fully decompressed and at a healthy physiological base level before taking them out and working on exposure to whatever sensory input it is that they struggle with. The needs vary dog to dog. But all dogs need sleep and rest, and having it as a primary focus in any behaviour issues can be game changing, so don't overlook it.

If it's still not working, and your dog is remaining the same or getting worse then don't waste time finding 1:1 personalised training - Some dogs are just fully of beans, some really nervous, others a bit of everything and somewhat more complicated! If you're in a rut, and fed up of not being able to enjoy your time with your dog then seek out professional support.

When working on these difficulties patience, consistency, reward based training, and secure attachment style dog raising are vital. Keep outings fun, set small goals, and try to take the pressure off you and your dog. You're on your own journey, as a team. Nothing anyone else is doing matters. But put in the time to resolve these issues now and all other training or adventures later will be significantly more manageable and enjoyable!

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What are your strategies for dealing with your overstimulated young dogs? Share your tips in the comments below!