Why Your German Shepherd Is Hyper

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If your German Shepherd has a tendency to act hyper then you’re probably wondering why and what you can do about it.

This post will give you a number of reasons why your German Shepherd might be acting that way and will give you some advice on what you can do about it.

So, why is your German Shepherd hyper? Common reasons would include not getting enough exercise, looking for attention and boredom. Other possible reasons include being in a new location, you having encouraged it inadvertently with rewards, separation anxiety, a lack of training or feeding it the wrong foods.

And, what can you do to get your German Shepherd to be less hyper? You should make sure that it is getting lots of exercise. You should also take the time to give it lots of training so that it looks for your command before it does certain things. You can also be calm yourself and avoid rewarding the behavior. In addition, you could try giving it things to be distracted with such as toys or even calming chews or bones.

It can actually help a lot to take the time to figure out why your German Shepherd might be acting hyper since it will make stopping it much easier.

Contents show

Possible reasons why your German Shepherd is hyper

There are a number of things that can cause your German Shepherd to be hyper. I will try to mention as many as I can below.

Exercise

German Shepherds are a breed that was bred to do intensive tasks for hours on a daily basis. This means that they need a lot of exercise to be properly stimulated and if they don’t get the exercise then it can cause them to become hyper.

If you think that your German Shepherd is not currently getting enough exercise then one of the first things for you to do would be to make sure that it does.

You might not think that giving your German Shepherd more exercise will make it behave more calmly but it can actually make a big difference to its behavior.

Attention

Another cause of its hyperactivity could be that it is looking for attention. If you don’t give your German Shepherd a lot of attention throughout the day but you do when it is hyper then it will likely have learned that behaving that way will get your attention so it does.

If you think that this might be the case then you could try ignoring it when it is trying to get your attention by acting hyper and then rewarding it with your attention when it is being well behaved.

Boredom

It could be that your German Shepherd is hyper because it is bored. This will likely stem from not getting enough exercise, training and attention so it’s important to make sure that it does.

Location

If your German Shepherd is not hyper in one location but it is in another then it is likely to be because it is being excited by all of the things going around it that it isn’t used to.

It’s not uncommon to be able to train a German Shepherd (or any other dog) something in one location but to not be able to get it to do it in another. This is again due to all of the new things going on around it. So, when you’re training it, it’s important to train it in multiple locations.

You have been encouraging it

It could be that you have been inadvertently encouraging the behavior by giving it things that it wants like food or attention in order to get it to calm down. An alternative option would be to ignore it when it’s being hyper if you can and then to reward it when it is being well behaved.

Separation anxiety

The cause of the hyperactivity could be due to it having separation anxiety. This is where it does not like being left without you and it can cause it to become anxious. There are a lot of other symptoms that often come with it like peeing inside or being destructive while you’re away or becoming anxious when it sees that you are about to leave.

A lack of training

If you have not been giving your German Shepherd much training then it could be the reason that it acts hyper.

If you do not train your German Shepherd then it will not understand what your commands mean so it might behave the way that you don’t want it to. This is one reason that it’s very important to give your German Shepherd regular training.

Feeding it the wrong food

It could be that you have been feeding it food that you shouldn’t. Consult with your vet if you think that this might be the cause.

How to stop it from being hyper

Below are some things you can do to get your German Shepherd to be less hyper.

Train it

To get your German Shepherd to stop being hyper you can give it lots of training.

Start by teaching it to do simple things such as to sit and stay in an environment like the home where there are not many external distractions. Once you can get it to do that you can build up to teaching it harder things such as to come to you on command.

Once you’re able to get your German Shepherd to listen to you in less distracting environments you should build it up to teaching it to do the same in more challenging environments.

If you would like some more tips on how to train your German Shepherd, take a look at the German Shepherd training book on Amazon.

You can watch the video below for advice on training hyper dogs.

Give it exercise

It’s also important to give your German Shepherd lots of exercise in order to get it to be less hyper.

You might find that walks alone aren’t enough for your high energy German Shepherd so you’ll need to find ways to wear it out even more. You could do so by walking it faster, walking it further, walking it in a hilly area or you could make it wear a weight vest weighing less than 10% of your dogs bodyweight.

Another way is to teach it to play fetch. By doing so you will be able to get your German Shepherd to do a lot of running over a short time period that will be more likely to effectively wear it out.

You could also teach it to swim. It’s a good way to give it more exercise since it can take a lot of energy for it to stay afloat. It’s also good for the summer months since it can help to keep it cool.

If you don’t have the time to exercise your German Shepherd yourself then you could consider hiring a dog walker to do it for you. There are apps that you can download now that will let you hire a dog walker in your area through the app.

Don’t reward the behavior

It’s important not to encourage its hyperactivity. So, you should be careful not to reward it when it is acting hyper. Instead, you can try ignoring the hyperactivity if you can and then reward it when it is being well behaved.

Keep it occupied

You can also try diverting your German Shepherd’s attention onto things that you don’t mind it playing with by giving it lots of toys to play with.

Calming chews

There are chews that you can buy that are designed to calm your German Shepherd down. This is something that you might want to try.

Get help

If you can’t get your German Shepherd to stop being hyper then consider getting help from a dog behaviorist who will be able to give you tailored advice on what to do.

Things to consider

It won’t be quick

Getting your German Shepherd to calm down is not something that you will be able to do with just one training session. Instead, you should train it to behave a certain way in specific situations and stick to training it over the long term.

Be consistent

It’s important that you train your German Shepherd on a consistent basis. If you just train your German Shepherd once and then stop training it for a while then it will forget its training.

Use positive reinforcement

If you punish your German Shepherd for acting hyper then it will likely think that you are punishing it for the last thing that it did which is coming to you. A better alternative would be to use positive reinforcement training where you reward your German Shepherd for behaving the way that you want it to.

How old it is

It’s important to consider the age of your German Shepherd. If it’s still a puppy then it will likely calm down as it gets older but it’s still important to take the time to train it now even if it is still young.

Why Your German Shepherd Is Hyper