# How hyper are your poodles?



## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

Would you consider them "high energy" or "hyper"? I personally think there is a big difference. Are your poodles energetic? 

Riley is a very mellow, laid back sort of boy. You could take him anywhere, put him with anyone, place him anywhere and he would be Fine (some could call him more lab like then poodle like, but as i dislike labs, i dont say that )! He is for the most part lazy, but active enough. He has some back issues that i think contribute to that. He will go for walks all day, hike with me (though after awhile will lag behind instead of out in front), play, etc. He isnt a needy dog when it comes to that though. 
Our poodle friend and Rileys Bestest buddy (you cant even say Nikos name around Riley or vise versa) is HYPER! He literally cant sit still when we are there. He obcessively licks Riley Everywhere, cant stay still for petting, Super skinny, etc. I guess he is good at home, but still constantly on the move. I would not want that kind of dog.


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

Olie is a young pup but he is pretty mellow as well. 

He's the youngest of our dogs and for some reason I call him the big brother......but then again he IS growing much bigger then the Poms. If Aoki and Coco are going at it, Olie will play for a bit but then he will wonder off, go get a toy and chew or go lay down. He likes to retrieve his rope ball in the yard and when he's done he sits down. Socializing has been heaven in this area so far and wow do I appreciate that, having working so hard to NOT have the steriotypical Poms (that yap) they are learning from Olie - so kind of cool.


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## WonderPup (Oct 26, 2008)

I would consider them high energy but not hyper. When I take my girls out in public or even for a walk around the block they are faily laid back and quiet. They don't maul new people they meet and they don't jump/bark excessively. However, they DO need a fair amount of physical activity and mental stimulation or they tend to kind of go nuts. If we have a couple of days where we are really busy and they don't get as much attention as normal they start to get kind of hyper in the house, jumping over furnature is one of Saleen's favorite I didn't get my walk today and need to burn off steam activities. They'll also chase my two cats if they get bored and have energy to burn.


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## Keithsomething (Oct 31, 2009)

I'm new so I'm not sure how everything works yet, 
but my Elphie seems to be a bit more on the hyper side...we have her enrolled in an obedience training course that starts next fall to work on some of her puppy issues 
((the nibbling of things smaller and sometimes bigger (our lab mix) animals...or kids)) she doesn't bite hard but she jumps and she gets a little nibble in on my nieces when they come to visit


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

Keithsomething said:


> I'm new so I'm not sure how everything works yet,
> but my Elphie seems to be a bit more on the hyper side...we have her enrolled in an obedience training course that starts next fall to work on some of her puppy issues
> ((the nibbling of things smaller and sometimes bigger (our lab mix) animals...or kids)) she doesn't bite hard but she jumps and she gets a little nibble in on my nieces when they come to visit


Thats good, Olie is mouthing less and less as we use the spary bottle which came highly recommended, Just water for me....and it works.


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## Keithsomething (Oct 31, 2009)

The trainer we're taking her too told us to start using the spray bottle, 
but he didn't explain to me when and how to do it so I'm afraid to like...water board my dog 
so I just say NO! when she starts nibbling I dunno what else to do other than wait for the class to start


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## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

I'd like to know too. I don't like "hyper" dogs. I'm fine w/ energetic as long as it's appropriate. For example, Harley plays hard outside and loves to go walking/jogging, but he's very mellow in the house. Of couse that changes if the whether's bad and he can't go out. When I went to the breeder's house a couple weeks ago, her dogs were very excited when I first got there, but calmed down after about 5-10 minutes. That's what I would consider ideal. I think some of it's genetic and some of it's how the owner's channel it. My SIL's Spoo can be very hyper, but they don't give him enough excercise IMO. When they left him w/ me for a few days over the holidays, I took him for a long walk everyday. He spent the rest of his time curled up on the couch w/ me. My uncle has a Lab that he can take to the park or lake and the dog is still going strong when they get back. There's no tiring him out.


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## Keithsomething (Oct 31, 2009)

I have noticed when I take her on a walk she is way less jumpy
but the nibbling never ceases lol 

like just now I found her gnawing a box...just a random box and she was chewing it like a toy

I know thats a behavioral issue, is there anything that I can do to stop or decrease the times it happens before we take her to the trainer?


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

Keithsomething said:


> The trainer we're taking her too told us to start using the spray bottle,
> but he didn't explain to me when and how to do it so I'm afraid to like...water board my dog
> so I just say NO! when she starts nibbling I dunno what else to do other than wait for the class to start


How old is your dog? 

I have several of these in my house because I'm seeing results and its not mean at all, I promise. I buy the styling water bottles that you can turn the nob to a stream of water, as a mist only works if your very close. When they nip, spray them, face or body, say NO and it startles them. In no time you should see a change, and when you say NO he will listen. For a dollar, like I said I got 3 of them. 

NOW, I have 2 Poms that are one year old and I was resistant to use the water because I didnt want to mess my carpets - and it doesnt........anyway when they get into their yapping, I spray them and I am seeing slower results there but it is working. They are older and it will take some time. 

Good luck.


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

Keithsomething said:


> I have noticed when I take her on a walk she is way less jumpy
> but the nibbling never ceases lol
> 
> like just now I found her gnawing a box...just a random box and she was chewing it like a toy
> ...


I forgot Olie is 3 months. And puppies will go through a lot of this, your could be worse...IDK. OLIE being a spoodle is much bigger than I was used to with the Poms but again try the SB, take him away from the chew thing and area make him sit (submit) and give him a chew toy and walk away.

Some people put vinager in the bottle too......I have not done that. Coco, will come up and want me to spray the bottle in his mouth - so he's not as engaged with it as Olie and Aoki are.:doh:


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## Keithsomething (Oct 31, 2009)

ok, for some reason I had this image of dowsing my poor puppy xD
I actually have a few of those bottles lying around thank you so much^_^

Elphie will be 6mo on November 17th =]]
so I'm hoping its not too late to help her


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## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

Harry is pretty hyper and very high energy. The breeder is a friend of mine and she said that she didn't like how the temperaments came out of that litter and would never use that stud dog again. She doesn't breed for show quality though. She's more into the sporting side of the breed and I feel that's the type of dog she thinks is a good poodle temperament. 

Jasper is pretty mellow. He's a puppy but he's not super high energy. We'll see how he is when he's grown.


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

Paris is hyper. I'm not sure how much of it is her breeding, and how much of it was her first year of life (with an elderly lady, in a caravan. Hmmm)

At home she's fine, she knows the drill, and when I'm on the computer or something, she's crashed out behind me in her bed. Infact, much of the time when she's inside, she's fast asleep in her bed or following me whereever I am in the house. Outside she's a nutter, but that's normal and I've encouraged her to go nuts outside so she's quieter inside! lol.

Now if we go anywhere new she's hyper. We'll go stay with someone, and she'll pace about checking everything out, but after literally a half hour of non stop pacing (while we're all sitting down on the couches) and her not showing any signs of letting up, it gets a bit much! I have to physically put a lead on her and put her into a down stay to MAKE her settle. When I enforce it, she will eventually settle down, but she's alert and doesn't really relax for a long time. Every time I change position on the couch she'll pop back up incase I'm getting up to go dooooooooooooooooooo something! lol.

And if there's other dogs about at a friends house she can. not. settle. until the other dogs do. If the other dogs are older and settle down quickly then she's fine, but if I take her to mums place where she's got a 9 month old mini poodle, they will both egg each other on, and when it's in the small living room with cups of coffee etc then it's not very easy to cope with two very bouncy poodles!! lol!

And if there's a bunny in a hutch I have to get really 'mad' at her to get her to settle. She will spiral and spin around a bunny hutch for hours. and hours. and hours. she will literally wear a muddy track around a bunny hutch. Besides harrassing the poor bunny!! I'm guessing it's the prey drive thing, but the *obsessivness* of it is a little overwhelming. My mum doesn't mind her doing it to her bunny, but I'm not sure that obsessing so heavily over it like that is healthy! When I'm looking after a friends house and they have a bunny, I have made it very clear to Paris that the bunny is totally off limits to her, and she's accepted that fine and is happy to potter about in the yard and ignore the bunny now. She used to do the same with the rat cage at home too (obesses over it) but I made that another 'off limits' thing for her and she settled a lot better.

And when in a new place she gets bored very quickly. She seems to think that it's all exciting at first being somewhere new, but after a half hour it's all boring again, and she'll start acting like a bored tolder, being all fidgety and grizzling and being a general pain in the bum. lol!!

So yes, Paris is definitely a hyper dog, no doubt about it! She's a skinny minnie too. She cannot be classed as a simply high energy dog! But I know plenty of other poodles that aren't, so like I originally said, I dunno if it's her breeding, or her circumstances growing up.


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## georgiapeach (Oct 9, 2009)

Right now, Fonzie's pretty hyper. He can go on a 3 mile walk with Chipper and Duke (lab and boxer), and still want to tear around the yard when we get back. Hopefully, it's his age, and he'll settle down as he matures. He's also going through a brat stage right now, not listening when given a command - especially jumping on people who visit - time for the water bottle and some time outs!


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## taxtell (Sep 17, 2009)

Flip is definitely high energy, he loves to run and bounce in the yard and at the dog park, but he's not hyper. He's an angel on leash and at the clinic when I bring him to work. He seems to know when to behave and when to let loose. I find this amusing because he was passed up twice through the rescue for being too hyper. However, the foster owner took him to the dog park to meet potential adopters. What 5 month old dog isn't hyper at a dog park?? :doh:


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## WonderPup (Oct 26, 2008)

Just re-reading through this post and noticed the mention of the spray bottles and found it mildy annoying. To be clear, I have no problem using spray bottles in training, I have used them with my own dogs and will likely employ them again with future dogs. However, you guys using them need to make sure that your dogs aren't looking at you spraying them. I have never heard another trainer reccomend a spray bottle to stop mouthing behavior, that is almost laughable to me but to each his own. The purpose of the spray bottle is NOT punishment of any kind, it is to distract the dog from what he is doing so that YOU can redirect their behavior. If you just spritz them and then don't do anything from there you are using it as a punishment and really not giving the dog any useful information on what he IS allowed to be doing. Training is all about communication, Feel free to communicate, in any way you choose, to your dog what they are not allowed to do. However you have to also tell them what they are allowed or you really aren't accomplishing much. Telling the dog what he can do will yeild faster results than focusing on what he can't do. If you're dog is comming up to you wanting you to spray water in their mouths you have not used this method correctly. The dog isn't suppose to know where the squirt came from.


To help stop mouthing behavior I find that it is easier to behave like another puppy would and either yelp loudly or make some other startling sound and end whatever interaction was taking place. This is exactly how another puppy would react and whatever game was taking place would for the most part end. I also employ 'time outs" for dogs that don't get the loudly yeped I don't like that. I take puppy by collar without saying much at all and put them either in the kennel, pen or in another room for a minute or two. They learn that if they don't keep their teeth to themselves they don't get to play. I've had students that have used time out with great results to stop puppies chewing on various items in the household. One student taught his maltese puppy to stay away from his houseplants using time out in less than a week. Now, three years later, she still doesn't go near the plants. 

K, there is my training rant for the day, and dang I even managed to stay OUT of the general training threads :rolffleyes: Oh well. I just jumped my mother @$$ for a training malfunction so I guess maybe I'm sort of on the war path tonight?


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## Keithsomething (Oct 31, 2009)

I wasn't clear on how to use the spray bottle 
and your rant was actually very informative 

I'm going to start the time outs on Elphie as soon as possible, hopefully it has the same results as your student with the Maltese
like I said before I have her scheduled for a training class but the class doesn't start until early Spring 
so I was just wondering if there was something I could to minimize her chewing/teething/nibbling now rather than letting it continue until Spring time

and back on the hyper topic xD
I took her with my nieces trick or treating tonight and she was the calmest I have ever seen her not once did she try to jump on a person walking by, not even the ones who stopped to admire and pet her lol


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## Marian (Oct 20, 2009)

I'm finding that patience pays off when trying to stop mouthing. I sometimes yelp or squeal, or just say "ow ow ow ow ow ow" very emphatically, and he gets the message. I've also added the words "easy" (which he seemed to instinctively know what it meant) or "no bite!". The combination of the three of those words and actions have, over time, improved his bite inhibition greatly. He still sometimes gets carried away when he's overly excited, but it's a lot easier to make him stop and calm down. I think that should only continue to improve as he gets older (he's 4 months now).

The only experience I have with spray bottles was on a cat I had years ago. He actually liked it, so it was useless as a deterrent. :doh:

Teddy is somewhat hyper, but he can be equally chilled out. He's very calm when he's in the office, but when I let him off leash, he runs like a little greyhound. I think it's a good balance.


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## jak (Aug 15, 2009)

Saffy is great, if I am calm and relaxing about, she'll be doing the same. And if I'm out and about running around she'll be doing the same. She's just a really calm dog, and the vet even said she's the calmest poodle she has ever met lol I can get her all riled up and then she gets hyper, like she runs around and around and will come back and try and hold my hand by jumping all over me, but she'll stop it pretty quick if I tell her to. Yet, she has loads of energy and can go and go and go, but she'll be happy to just lie on the couch and snuggle in.


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## jester's mom (Nov 25, 2008)

Neither my three nor my sister's two are hyper at all. They LOVE to run and play when out but in the house and in the car, they lay down and chew on their chew bones or just meander around the house on and off. They have lot of energy and need their daily running, but otherwise are so calm my husband makes jokes about how "nervous" they are because when they are laying out on the floor and you step over them, they don't even move. I have had some dogs before that if you went to step over them, they would panic and jump up and trip you. AND, I can't tell you how many people that see my sister and I out with our 5 spoos in the car say "I can't believe you have 5 dogs in that car and they are all so calm!" Even my sister and I will joke as we are driving along sometimes... "are you sure we have all the dogs?" because they will all be laying down sleeping or just have their heads out the window enjoying the breeze.

From all the spoos I have met, I would say it is more common to find non-hyper ones, than hyper ones. To me there is a big difference between hyper and energy when out playing or working.


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

To: Wonderpup - I think I am seeing your warpath you mentioned and thats fine not a problem we all have grumpyhwell:

The purpose of the spray bottle is NOT punishment of any kind, it is to distract the dog from what he is doing so that YOU can redirect their behavior.

I agree with you completely and stated that in my earlier post to startle them and redirect with a no and chew toy or take them away from the area they also chew. 

If you're dog is comming up to you wanting you to spray water in their mouths you have not used this method correctly. The dog isn't suppose to know where the squirt came from.

Again, I agree which is why this has not been as effective with Coco for the yapping BUT has for Aoki AND Olies mouthing has greatly improved - this was also mentioned in the earlier post :rolffleyes:

I take puppy by collar without saying much at all and put them either in the kennel, pen or in another room for a minute or two. They learn that if they don't keep their teeth to themselves they don't get to play.

I am not _completely_ agreeing here. I see this as a punishment IMO.. Although I don't see a big issue about it, so not knocking your perspective. Any qualified trainer is going to tell you if you use a pen or crate for training and living space such as bed or while not being supervised NEVER take them to it after they have done something wrong. This somewhat takes the progerss backwards because this area is theirs to be safe and comfortable in. 

I thought most of what your reply post mentioned many things we were discussing, so I am not sure where the lost in translation happened but thats my rant back - - -


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

Revised - the qoutes did not come thru correctly 



Olie said:


> To: Wonderpup - I think I am seeing your warpath you mentioned and thats fine not a problem we all have grumpyhwell:
> 
> WP: _The purpose of the spray bottle is NOT punishment of any kind, it is to distract the dog from what he is doing so that YOU can redirect their behavior._
> I agree with you completely and stated that in my earlier post to startle them and redirect with a no and chew toy or take them away from the area they also chew.
> ...


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## Bella's Momma (Jul 26, 2009)

Well Bella is 7 months, but she's pretty hyper when new people come in or when going around children. But she will soon mellow out once she's used to it (well, unless it's out front with the kids all playing, I give up and take her in eventually b/c she won't stop barking at them!). For her it's situational, and age (I hope!).


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## Leooonie (May 30, 2009)

Well my little fella is 6months and a bit old, and he can be both hyper AND high energy.
I always tend to think of hyper as being soo excited that the dog cannot be distracted, and is lost in his own little world. High energy meaning whizzing around for a long period of time.

However, my main issue is getting him back, because he runs after people and dogs, and doesnt listen.. how on earth do you stop this behaviour, without being in ranch of a water gun etc?


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## Poodlepal (Nov 1, 2009)

Mini poodle - VERY Hyper
Standard poodle - Not hyper. Energetic when need be, but much too dignified to be hyper.


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## highhorse (Sep 17, 2008)

When Inca was 3 months old, I had to put my son and his family off from visiting from London. They had a 3 year old and a 10 year old and Inca was super hyper. I had loads of little V shapes out of my tee shirts where she had jumped and mouthed. We went to obedience and she had done her bit whilst the other dogs were thinking and was off looking for trouble. She was ace at ringcraft but when we got into the show ring, she performed on 2 legs and generally messed up as she was so eager to meet everyone and everyone. I started to find places to let her off lead, played hide and seek with her (recall carefully disguised), took her to agility classes and now doggy dancing. Aged nearly 3, she is a much more laid back dog and at times I wonder where my little tearaway disappeared to.

I found it much better to distract unwanted behaviour, rather than focus on what had gone wrong. Might have taken a long time but I feel better at using my methods.


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## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

> However, my main issue is getting him back, because he runs after people and dogs, and doesnt listen.. how on earth do you stop this behaviour, without being in ranch of a water gun etc?


Keep him on leash or on a long line. If you cant enforce the recall, dont use it. Never give them a chance to "blow you off". I cant stand it when we are out and a dog comes rushing up to us, no matter how cute and playful it is.


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## Locket (Jun 21, 2009)

I would say in general poodles are high energy dogs, but not necessarily hyper. Mitchell is high energy, meaning he NEEDS 1-2 hours of daily exercise, otherwise he can get rather hyper, ie. Launching himself up/down the stairs.
Matrix is low-meduim energy, but that's due to medical issues.


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