Every dog owner knows that moment when your best mate either hears the lead and collar or as I say “Who Wants to Go for a Walk” how excited they get!
They make noises like you have never heard before, their whole body is wagging from side to side, and get so excited.
Basically, if they could talk human, they are saying hurry up its time to go out for a walk, it’s the best part of my day human’s let’s hurry it up!
So, why does my dog get so excited to go for a walk? Because they have learned that going crazy when it’s walk time is always a really great way to make that walk happen, in their minds anyway.
As a dog trainer, I see this behavior a lot and it usually boils down to some impulse control issues and is usually a very good sign that your dog will need more exercise than the daily walk you are giving them at the moment.
Your Dog Gets Excited to Go for a Walk Because They Are Bored and Undertrained.
The two main reasons your dog gets so excited to go for a walk is they either don’t know how to behave to get what they want and that is usually because they are undertrained, or they are telling you that they are bored and need more than just a walk every day.
As a dog trainer here is what I would be doing:
Make The Best Part of Their Day More Than Just a Walk
If the most exciting part of your dog’s day is just a single walk every day, then of course they will go crazy when that time arrives.
But imagine if that was just one of the many good things that happen to them every day, now what you are doing is taking less of the excitement out of their one and only walk.
So, by giving your dog more exercise every day, coupled with some mental stimulation activities, you can drastically reduce their excitement around going for their one walk of the day.
Don’t get me wrong, they will still show some excitement but a little more controlled than the mad crazy pup they were before!
My dogs LOVE puzzle toys and spend hours with them and for mental stimulation, I highly recommend something like this for your dogs.
Feeding Your Dog with Puzzle Toys and Long-Lasting Chews
This is a great way to mentally stimulate your dog, puzzle toys, long-lasting chews, and the hidden treat toys are a great way to wear your dog out along with helping them to recognize that good stuff happens even when it’s not a walk.
The below are what I personally use with my dogs, and I highly recommend them as will your dogs!
- PetSafe Automatic Dog Toy for Bored Dogs – HIDE & SQUEAK NOISE – The PetSafe Ricochet Electronic Dog Toy includes two coupled toys that let your dog jump back and forth by changing the sound. It is awesome because it has no stuffing or fabric to tear!
- Nina Ottosson Interactive Puzzle Game For Dogs – This one is a lot trickier than a lot of other interactive feeders on the market but it will keep your pooch amused for hours knowing that they will be rewarded with treats.
- Benebones – I have already written a review on these awesome chews which are basically a 100% real bacon or chicken flavored chew for those aggressive chewers and are guaranteed to last for up to two weeks.
- Kong Classic– This one really needs no introduction, the world-famous Kong is a durable long-lasting rubber bouncing treat-filled bundle of fun for any dog, Big or Small.
Training For Exercise and Manners
I have written a few posts previously around training
and training tips and both these articles will help you to teach your dogs to learn new skills, exercise the brain and give them plenty of physical and mental stimulation to tire your dog out.
Once you have put some of these things into place you should already start to see an improvement in their behavior when it comes to walk time!
Now I am going to show you how to stop that barking, spinning madness that always seems to happen every time you pick up the lead.
A lot of people think that they need to go out and buy specially made training treats for your dog, however, if you are already using a good quality kibble as part of their diet, I highly recommend using these as a training treat.
I use the Stella and Chewy’s Wild Red Raw Kibble for all my training as I know my dogs already love this and it is very good for them.
Another great dog training treat, especially if your dog is either the anxious type or is suffering from joint pain is Yup Pups Hemp Dog Treats
Firstly, pick up your dog’s leash, if your dog barks, spins, or goes nuts as they usually do, put the leash straight back down.
As soon as your dog stops doing the things you don’t want them doing throw them a treat and praise them.
When you do the praising be quiet and calm as we don’t want to add any extra excitement to this exercise.
Rewarding your dog with treats for good behavior is very important as dogs work best with a reward system in place.
Repeat this same process a few times over the next couple of minutes.
You may not get the behavior you are looking for straight away so instead try rewarding your dog when they are on their least bad behavior!
Dogs thrive on routine, so over time, your dog will associate not going crazy before a walk with two things, 1. They will get rewarded with their favorite treat and 2. They will actually get to go on their walk.
Over time you will be able to mold your dog’s behavior to remain calmer every time you pick up their leash.
As your dogs starts to associate a calm behavior with walks gradually raise the training criteria and make your dog work a little harder for walk time, and in no time, you will have a well-behaved and calm dog ready for each and every walk.
No type of training will work without your patience, consistency, and exercise.
If your dogs are going absolutely nuts because they are so excited, you will need to work on exercising and impulse control before you are going to see any results with other kinds of training.
As quoted in Southern States.com there are few activities that excite a dog more than the chance to go on a nice long walk, so you will need to remember this when training them to remove the craziness, to them, this is the highlight of their day, especially if you haven’t put into place any of the other things I have mentioned within this blog!
That’s a Wrap on Why My Dog Gets So Excited to Go for a Walk
Did you find this article useful? Feel free to share your thoughts. We would be happy to hear from you!
Stay tuned for more posts on dog care and much more!
“May Your Home Be Filled With Love And Dog Hair”
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Mark
Founder of Our Dogs World 101
I was also wondering why my dog liked going for a walk so much. An I guess that as domesticated pets, their natural tendency is to remain active. That explains why they are naturally excited at the opportunity to get the exercise and mental stimulation that a walk provides.
With time I have discovered that dogs are social animals. And a walk means more time to spend with us, so I feel that’s exciting too, LOL!
Great comments Ann.
Hi Mark I love this article Thankyou – as soon as we put sun cream on our dog gets so excited as she just loves the beach – I love the simple pleasures our dogs find in our world.
Hi Nicky,
That is one of the great things about owning a dog. What’s a simple pleasure to us, is sometimes the highlight of their day!
Thanks for the great comment.
You know, I sometimes wondered this absentmindedly, but never actually thought to look into the reason. Dogs need an outlet for that energy instead of just lying around the house all day! Imagine how bad it would feel to remember a really fun time and have to wait and wait for that time to (maybe) come around again, with no means or power to make it happen for oneself. I always feel bad for dogs whose owners only take them out at specific times just for them to do their business. This seems to be especially true for those in a city apartment.
Hi Dbrae,
Great comments and I love your comparison with how we would feel, it really does make a lot of sense and is so true!
Mark
It’s funny but we forget the natural place for dogs is outside. I can understand why they get so excited to get outside and be free! I never thought about the “undertrained ” part, going to start spending some more time with training my dog Rex! Maybe he will calm down a bit 🙂
Hi Jerry,
We look forward to some updates on Rex’s training!
Mark
I can definitely relate to this as hubby and I didn’t walk our dog much at the start, so at first, when I started walking him he was a bit too eager. I knew this would be the case and do blame myself for not jumping on the wall sooner. Zeus also gets highly excited each time I’m in the backyard with him because we do frisbee tosses for a good length of time. When my arms tire out, hubby takes over.
Dogs are active animals, so keeping them entertained and moving about is so essential. Just like people, an active dog that is kept busy, entertained, and in shape is typically healthier and happier. The walks with the dog, plus other activities where you’re both fully engaged in something bring the bond closer. For man’s best friend, it’s highly suggested we return the favor.
Great comments thanks Millie.
Hi Mark. Thank you for another interesting post. We have house with large garden and to be fair my dog is spending most time there. But looking on your article Im starting to think that maybe it would be better to take him for a walk more often. He would have less opportunities to get bored, not mentioning that it would be also beneficial for my health. Looking forward to use your advices in practice.
Glad we could help Cogito.
Thank you for the valuable information provided in your article, which I will certainly take into account. I have two super active dogs and, no matter how many hours I go for a walk with them, when they return home they continue to play. My dogs are tireless, not to mention that I have to wait almost half an hour for them to calm down before we go out.
What do you recommend me to do in this situation? Any further recommendations are welcome. Keep up the good work. Definitely I will come back for more tips.
Hi Diana,
What kind of dogs do you own?
If I know this I would be able to help as some breeds need more than others. Are they a working dog breed?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Mark
Hi Mark,
Thank you for your answer. My dogs do not belong to any breed. I adopted them both when they were about 3 months old, and now they are 6 and 8 years old.
Hi Diana,
There are a few things you could try.
1. Have a little playtime before your walk, One of the most common reasons for overly excited dogs is not enough daily exercise. Playing with your dog for 15 minutes before going out, will tire them a bit and therefore, reduce their energy level.
2. You could practice some basic obedience commands. If your dogs are treat orientated you could ask them to sit before putting on the leash, remembering to reward them when they obey the command.
3. Try not to encourage unwanted behavior. If your dogs are over excited when you pick up the lead, stay calm and don’t engage with them, just put the leash down and walk away. What you are teaching them here is that getting excited makes you walk away, where staying still will be rewarded with a walk.
4. Have your dog used to seeing their leash on other occasions. Try to make the message less obvious for them by using the leash at different times during the day, not only for clipping it to the collar as a clear signal for a walk. Pick up the leash and move it to a different place, hold it for some time and walk with it throughout the house.
I hope this helps Diana.
Great tips and thoughts about getting your dog more activities than just taking them for a daily walk. I thought that was enough but found out all the different ways to keep them active and how to stimulate their brain too! I never thought about the fact that if they get so excited it is probably because they need more training. I really need to train my dog to develop good manners. Thank you for all the advice!
So glad you found this article helpful Anne.