What to Do with Your High-Energy Dog?🐾

Chewed up furnitures, non-stop barking, practically exploding with energy. 

If this sounds all too familiar, you might be dealing with a case of high-energy dog. So what should you do? To answer that, let’s first understand why your dog would behave in this way.

Two leading theories persist today: selective breeding and self-domestication. For our purposes, let’s stick to the former. 

Our modern dogs are descendants of wolves specifically bred for traits like tameness and utility. Over generations, different breeds evolved, each with its own, unique job, but all driven to be busy and productive. 

Problem is: dogs have lost their jobs. No more sheep to herd. No more deers to hunt. Ever wonder why your dog “needlessly” barks at passersby or absolutely obliterates your sofa “on a whim?” It’s because they’re bored, so they engage in activities that mimic their biologically programmed jobs.

Understanding this, we can channel your dog’s energy into make-shift “work” that help satisfy their need for physical and mental stimulation. It’s a nod to their history, ensuring they’re happy, working, and adjusted to hooman life. 

With that, here are Plume Care’s favourite tips & tricks to tire out your high-energy dog.

1. Make your dog work for it

“It” can be anything. Example. Your dog’s bounding with energy per usual and begging for those liver treats on the counter. Throw some bits into a snuffle mat or even better, Plume Care’s packaging for some much-needed mental stimulation. Durable and FSC certified, our box and info card make for an easy, fun & sustainable enrichment exercise.

Watch Kuji going at it here

What’s the only thing more exhausting than physical activity? Mental exercise. So the next time you order from our gentle Fur Baby Collection, consider keeping the packaging for a little something fun (and tiring) with your dog. 

2. Walkies—then cool down

It goes without saying that high-energy dogs need a lot of exercise. Walkies can take on many shapes and forms: the good ol’ walk, frisbee, tug-of-war, fetch, bikejoring, or some urban parkour/agility training if you get creative. 

Make sure you take our 2 IN 1 Duo Holder along. Our patented design carries both waste bags and wet wipes for when your dog rolls in something questionable.

When you return home, it’s time for cool off—and practicing “place” command, which teaches dogs to relax and do nothing while remaining in a specific place (like their beds). Need help with training? Watch this. 

Cool off is absolutely vital since high-energy dogs stay high-energy without a calm, focused task to keep them occupied. This is also the perfect time for grooming with our favourite Everyday Brush. Palm-sized and gentle, it removes dirt & debris from walkies like a dream. 

Awww…Snowball.

3. Find your dog a job

No, you don’t need to ship your australian shepherd to a sheep farm far away from home. Simply engage your dog in regular, consistent activity. That’s the “job.”

So how do you know which “job” is best for your dog? While breed will give you some indication (not many poms enjoy a three-foot high jump), bad behavior is usually a better hint.

A dog that terrorizes other organic creatures might take to lure coursing and other “predatory” activities. The dog that rikashades off walls from dawn till dusk might like agility, treiball, bikejoiking, or all of the above. A dog that barks incessantly at the window is likely just bored, literally anything would suffice. 

Disclaimer: finding your dog the job, not just any job, will take trial and error. So have patience, be creative, and, most importantly, have fun with your dog. Isn’t that the whole point?