Hyper Herding Breeds Have Energy that Can be Challenging

Do you have a hyper herding breed? Does it feel like your dog is out of control? Border collies, Australian Shepherds, Cattle Dogs, Shetland Sheepdogs and Mudis are some examples of those breeds. I personally love herding dogs. My first dog was a Shetland Sheepdog. My second and third dogs were both Border Collie Mixes.

I know how challenging it can be to keep up with dogs that have endless amounts of energy. Some of those hyper dogs may not be herding dogs and that is okay too. I wanted to write a story about a client of mine who owns a Mudi to help you gain some sanity with your hyper dog. Hopefully, you will learn some cool tools and tricks to apply to create a calmer household.

The Story of Amran, a Mudi

Mudis are a small hyper herding breed. They reach a maximum of 25 lbs. However, they are extremely intelligent and definitely need a job to do. Obviously, they were bred for herding. They originated in Hungary. They are also extremely determined and can be a great watch dog.

Amran is a Mudi that came to me with his owner Doug. Doug was extremely intelligent and knew that his dog was too. As a result, he wanted support with training so that his dog’s needs were met and wanted to prevent future behavioral problems.

Like most people, Doug didn’t own a farm and worked full time. These herding dogs and many hyper dogs can easily run for 5 or more hours a day. As a result, it can be helpful to understand what you can do to meet their needs while you maintain your normal and busy life.

Amran was typical puppy that was nipping, jumping, barking and just high strung. However, because she was a herding breed she had excessive. She was also extremely barky. We did a mixture of private dog training in Doug’s home and group dog training.

It’s Important to Train Positively

It can be easy to want to control a hyper herding breed. that is completely out of control (running everywhere and all over the place). However, when you come from this stand point you may have to be so firm that it turns into abuse. These dogs can be considered stubborn and determined. You can more easily change their behavior by coming from a more positive approach and meeting their needs through exercise and mental stimulation.

With Amran, Doug wanted to help to lessen his jumping, biting, and barking. He also wanted her to be able to come well and notify her owners when she had to go to the bathroom.

Group Dog Training at the Geauga YMCA

Doug wanted to make sure Amran was properly socialized to avoid behavioral issues of barking in the future. As a result, he also took my Elementary Obedience Group Course held at the Geauga YMCA. In this course, Amran learned to listen to basic commands around other dogs including sit, stay, come, quiet, walk on a leash, and target (“mark”).

Amran wanted to bark at the other dogs. Doug trained the LAT with Amran during the class. Amran learned to feel more comfortable and relaxed. Because she was less stressed, she began bark much less at the other dogs in the class.

Lessening Jumping

Because Amran was a hyper herding breed, when I arrived into the home, she wanted to jump and jump. She could do this for hours I am sure! We began by clicking and treating when she sat. I would turn my back when she jumped. Because she was so smart we had to take it to the next level so that she didn’t learn the sequence jump, sit and treat. Doug learned to also reward the absence of jumping.

This meant he clicked and treated when Amran was sitting, standing, laying down, walking towards me etc. These behaviors were reward even when she did NOT jump first. So Amran started realizing that she was getting rewarded for keeping four on the ground period.

Also Amran was communicating that she was energetic. Channeling this energy to a toy also helped lessen the jumping as well. Buster cubes, Kong Wobblers, Kongs, and Puzzle Toys worked great for Amran.

Basically, these toys gave Amran something to do instead of jump. Her energy needs to be released and cannot be repressed by holding a sit all of the time.

Lessening Puppy Nipping

Amran also wanted to excessively nip his owners. It was most frequent in the evenings. Because she was a puppy, I stated that she need an earlier bedtime. Many puppy’s get tired early and if they are kept awake too late their cortisol in their body begins to spike. As result, they get a second wind and start puppy nipping and acting hyper.

When Amran was put in her crate earlier for bed, BEFORE her hyper nipping started, this evening puppy nipping stopped. We also trained a great leave it command which helped with the puppy nipping as well.

Lessening Barking

Amran loved to alert when anyone was coming into the yard including me. When I arrived at her home for training sessions, she was excited and barked at times. She also barked at delivery men, the neighbor’s dogs, etc. We addressed this issue from multiple perspectives. Calling her away from the trigger (the person or dog she was barking toward) definitely helped.

Doug used her name and “mark” to move her away. “Mark” was Doug’s word for “target”. You can learn more about target here. Basically, it is a command where the dog learns to touch his / her muzzle to your hand. Then you can hold your hand in a certain location and say the command “target” or “mark.” Your dog will run to touch your hand. As a result, you can move your dog away from other people or dogs.

Doug also learned about LAT (look at that). When Amran was barking at the neighbor’s dogs. Doug could C/T (click and treat) when Amran looked at the neighbor’s dogs and was NOT barking. As a result, Doug had to be far enough away that Amran could look at the dogs and just be on alert instead of immediately wanting to bark.

The farther away from the dogs Amran was positioned, the less stress she was and the less likely she was going to immediately bark when she looked at them. By being farther away she could look at the dogs, with his ears up and be quiet for a few seconds so that Doug could click BEFORE Amran would bark.

Amran learned that she could look at the dogs and get a treat for being quiet. The click occurs when the dog is looking at the trigger, NOT when the dog looks away from the trigger. “Good job for being quiet AND looking at the trigger.”

Also rewarding Amran for NOT barking worked great too. Rewarding the absence of barking when the trigger (person or dog) was around. If Amran could remain quiet or was quiet for bit she received a C/T. She realized that being quiet paid off. This worked great when she would run at the window barking.

Doug would redirect her with her name or “mark.” Then he would C/T BEFORE Amran barked again. Amran learned it paid at times to just stay near his owner or just move towards the window and NOT bark.

One day, when I came for our training session, Amran was outside in his fenced area with Doug. Amran ran to the fence and wanted to bark. Since she is a hyper herding breed, her energy level was high. We addressed this issue by channeling her hyper energy into play. Doug would click as Amran was running towards me and was QUIET. Then he would redirect her to play with her flirt pool.

This method worked wonders because eating a treat was not channeling her hyper energy out of her system. Amran wanted to run and be hyper. Eating a treat for being quiet was not meeting that need for hyperactivity. However, playing with a flirt pool was meeting that need. So Doug redirected her hyper energy onto the flirt pool. Check out the video below to see this in action.

Ringing a Potty Bell

We also wanted Amran to notify Doug when she had to go potty. We took a bell and on a string and taught her ring that bell. She learned this one very quickly. You can easily teach this by holding the bell on a string and clicking and treating as soon as your dog moves toward the bell or hits the bell with his or her nose. Then hang the bell on the door. This resolved their potty issues quickly.

Give Your Hyper Herding Breed a Job

Giving a hyper herding breed a job to do can make a huge difference. Doug wanted to teach Amran to put sticks in a wood pile. Because Amran already liked to pick up sticks this was a great task to teach her. She is still learning this and these intricate tricks are great to teach herding breeds.

It gives them mental stimulation and can take a few weeks or months to train the full behavior. This also gives you something to do with your dog on a daily basis. We worked on teaching Amran to pick up the stick, hold the stick, and to carrying the stick. Eventually, she will learn to carry it to the wood pile and drop it there. You can see a start of this process in the video below.

Successful Come

Come was also a command that we spent time training. First, we started in the house within sight. Then we progressed with the owners being out of sight and hiding. This was very fun. Amran mastered come super well. We also worked on come with distractions in the house and outside in the yard.

How did we train her to come so well? We gave her 20-30 seconds of special treat that she didn’t get all of the time. She was given a small amount of treats. However, the small amount was given during a longer duration of time (20-30 sec). This tricked her brain into thinking that she was getting a large mount of high level treats.

Click here to watch a past Facebook Live on This.

Doug also ran to encourage Amran to follow him. Outside in the yard, she is coming very well with minor distractions. In the group course, she came with flying colors until she got tired…lol.

You Can Create Successful Dog Training with Your Hyper Herding Breed Too

The biggest challenge with a hyper dog is obviously their energy level. Remember to listen to your dog’s need for exercise and mental stimulation from a place of positivity. If you do this, you can have a wonderful and vibrant life with your crazy hyper dog. When you meet your dog’s needs with positivity, you will also have times to relish in relaxation and connection with your dog.

Are You Wanting to Train Your Hyper Herding Breed?

We have quite a few options to help you!!

• Elementary Obedience Course held at the Geauga YMCA and Other Group Courses
• A free event at the Burton Library on “Positive Methods to Calm Your Hyper Dog.” You must pre-register for this event.
• Private Dog Training Live In Person and Live Personalized Online Dog Training Through Zoom.