Hyperactive Dog? How to Teach Your Dog the Art of Doing Nothing

You walk them for an hour. You play fetch until your arm hurts. You give them puzzle toys. And yet, at 8:00 PM, while you are trying to watch Netflix, your dog is pacing, whining, and shoving a toy in your face.

“He just needs more exercise!” you think. So the next day, you run them for two hours. And they just get fitter, stronger, and more demanding.

This is the trap of the high-energy dog. You cannot tire them out physically because they are athletes. You have to tire them out mentally, and more importantly, you have to TEACH them how to relax.

Calmness is a skill. For many breeds (Border Collies, Terriers, Pointers), it is not a factory setting. It is an optional upgrade that you have to install.

In this guide, we will stop the cycle of endless exercise and teach your dog the fine art of doing absolutely nothing.

The Myth of “A Tired Dog is a Good Dog”

This saying is only half true. An exhausted dog is a good dog… until they nap for 20 minutes and wake up ready to go again. If you constantly exercise a hyperactive dog, you are building an endurance athlete with adrenaline addiction. You are creating a super-dog who needs 3 hours of running just to function.

We need to shift focus from “Activity” to “Decompression."

"Capturing Calmness” (The Kikopup Method)

This is the easiest, laziest training you will ever do.

1. Keep a jar of low-value treats (kibble) near your couch.
2. Ignore your dog while they pace/pester.
3. Wait.
4. The moment your dog sighs and lies down on their own—calmly drop a treat between their paws.
5. Don’t say “Good Boy!” (that excites them). Just deliver the food silently.
6. Repeat every time they choose to settle.

Result: Your dog starts thinking, “Hey, lying on this rug is remarkably profitable.” You are reinforcing the “off switch.”

The “Place” Command (Mat Training)

“Place” is more than just “Go to bed.” It is a job. The job is: “Put your four paws on this mat and stay there until I release you.” This engages their brain (impulse control).

How to Train It:

1. Lure dog onto a raised bed (Kuranda beds work great).
2. Click/Mark and treat.
3. Build duration: Treat for staying on the bed for 1 second, then 5, then 10.
4. Add the “Three Ds”: Duration (time), Distance (you walk away), and Distraction (you bounce a ball).

A dog holding a “Place” command while you cook dinner is working harder mentally than a dog running in the yard.

Karen Overall’s Protocol for Relaxation

This is the gold standard for anxious or hyperactive dogs. It is a 15-day program of graduated exercises designed to teach a dog to stay calm while weird things happen.

Example Day 1 Tasks (while dog is on mat):

• Sit for 5 seconds.
• Sit while you take 1 step back.
• Sit while you clap your hands softly.
• Sit while you run in a circle.

It teaches the dog: “No matter what crazy thing the human does, my job is to stay chill.” (Google the PDF; it is free and life-changing).

Mental Stimulation > Physical Exercise

15 minutes of brain work = 1 hour of running.

• Sniffari Walks: Put the dog on a long line and let them sniff everything. Sniffing lowers heart rate and burns mental energy.
• Frozen Kongs/Lickimats: Licking releases endorphins (soothing hormones). Feed all meals out of puzzles.
• Scent Work: Hide treats around the house and say “Find it!”

The “Overtired Toddler” Syndrome

Sometimes, your dog isn’t under-exercised; they are over-tired. Puppies and high-drive dogs often don’t know when they are sleepy. They get “zoomies,” getting nippy and frantic. The Solution: Enforced Naps. Put them in their crate or a quiet room. 9 times out of 10, they will fall asleep instantly.

Summary

You don’t need to run a marathon to have a calm dog. You need to value calmness as much as you value obedience.

• Reward the silence.
• Teach the “off switch.”
• Be boring.

Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your dog is to be remarkably uninteresting.