Will My German Shepherd Calm Down?

If you have recently got a German Shepherd and it is hyperactive you’re probably wondering if it will calm down. This post will help you to figure out if it will calm down and what you can do about it.

So, will your German Shepherd calm down? German Shepherds will generally calm down a bit as they get older. The amount that it calms down might not necessarily be as much as you want. To calm it down more you will need to make sure to give it lots of exercise and training so that it is properly stimulated. 

If your German Shepherd is currently not very calm then there are actually a number of things that you can do about it.

Ways to calm your German Shepherd down

There are a number of things that you can do to calm your German Shepherd down that I will mention below.

Give it exercise

German Shepherds are a breed that need a lot of exercise to be properly stimulated. They were bred to do energy-intensive tasks every day for hours at a time. So, if your German Shepherd is not currently getting much exercise then it will naturally seek to expend more energy causing it to be less calm.

An easy way to give your German Shepherd more exercise 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. It can be difficult to teach your German Shepherd how to do it at first but the link above will guide you through the process.

Another way to give your German Shepherd a lot of exercise in a shorter time frame is to walk it with other dogs. By walking it with other dogs your German Shepherd will play with them and expend a lot more energy in doing so.

If you don’t have the time to give your German Shepherd exercise daily then you should consider getting help from a dog walker.

Training

Another way to give your German Shepherd a lot of exercise is to give it lots of training. By doing so you will be able to teach your German Shepherd to be more responsive to your command and you will be able to get it to be better behaved when you want it to be. But, you’ll also be able to expend a lot of its energy in the process of training it itself.

If you haven’t started training your German Shepherd yet then one of the first things that you’ll want to do is to teach it to stay.  By being able to get your German Shepherd to stay when you tell it to you will be able to avoid problems in situations such as when you’re at the vets or when you have guests over. Once you have taught it to stay the next thing that you’ll want to do is to teach it to stay when you open the front door which I also talk about in the link above.

You’ll also want to teach it to come to you on command. This is particularly helpful since it will make it easier for you to manage your German Shepherd when it’s misbehaving or when you need it to come to you.

You can look at the book Training Your German Shepherd on Amazon to get more tips on how you can train your GSD.

Ignore it when it gets hyper

Since your German Shepherd might act hyper around you in order to get attention from you one option you have is to ignore it when it does so and then to reward it when it starts to behave well. By doing this you might think that you’re allowing the behavior to continue but if the reason that it’s acting hyper is to get attention from you and it doesn’t get it then it will change its behavior.

Try a calming chew

You could also consider giving your German Shepherd a calming chew or toy. By doing this you will be able to channel its attention into the toy and away from everything else.

Reasons it might not be calm

There are a number of things that might cause your German Shepherd not to be calm that I will try to mention below.

Boredom

As mentioned earlier German Shepherds require a lot of exercise to be properly stimulated if they don’t get it then they will become more hyperactive.

Related post: How to tell if your German Shepherd loves you

Separation anxiety

Another thing that can cause your German Shepherd not to be calm is separation anxiety. This is where your German Shepherd doesn’t like being left alone so it gets anxious when you are away or when you are about to leave. It can also cause it to be more hyperactive when you are around.

Attention

One reason that your German Shepherd might not act calm is because it wants to get attention from you. If you think that your German Shepherd is doing this then you can try the ignore method above when it acts hyper and you can also make sure to give it lots of attention throughout the day.

Things to consider

There are a handful of things that you should consider that I will mention below.

How old it is

The age of your German Shepherd can have an influence on how it behaves. If your German Shepherd is still young then it should calm down a bit as it gets older. Despite that, you should still make sure to give it lots of exercise and training so that you can make sure that it calms down and that it is well behaved when it’s older.

Crate training

If your German Shepherd’s behavior is causing problems then in addition to giving it lots of exercise and training you could consider crate training. When done correctly it gives your German Shepherd a secure place that it can go to and be calm.

Behaviorist

If you can’t get your German Shepherd to calm down and it is causing you problems then you should consider getting help from a dog behaviorist. They will be able to diagnose the cause of its actions and will be able to give you tailored advice to deal with it.

Punishment

It might be tempting to punish your German Shepherd for not being calm but it doesn’t normally work. When you punish it your German Shepherd will think that it is being punished for the last thing that it did which is coming to you and not the thing that you are actually punishing it for. It can cause other problems as well such as distrust, being less responsive to your command and aggression.

Related questions

Will my German Shepherd puppy ever calm down? German Shepherds and most other dogs will normally calm down as they get older. Despite that, you should still take measures to train it now so that it is well behaved and easy to manage as an adult.