I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve heard “A tired dog is a good dog.” We all know the point is that under-exercised dogs often get themselves into trouble… chewing, pacing, or pondering ways to get online and order dog toys with your credit card. True, as far as it goes (except perhaps the online part). However, I also can’t count the number of times a client came in with a tragic story about the “best dog in the world” who snarled/lunged/bit at a child/neighbor/other dog after a long day at the dog park/picnic/family reunion.
The fact is that dogs can become over tired, just as we can. And just like us, dogs can lose their ability to be their “best self” when that happens. There’s no reason we should be surprised at this, but the concept often seems to surprise people, even those who deeply love their dogs and care for them in a multitude of ways.
Some situations seem obvious, once we acknowledge that even the best dog can lose patience if it is tired enough. For example, say a dog has been at a family picnic for three hours. Imagine lots of little children playing, screaming with joy and excitement, uncles who throw the ball five times longer than the dog is used to, lots of petting, requests for tricks, etc. Dinner is over, everyone is talking and enjoying the sunset. . . This is when I want someone to take that dear, patient dog and put her into a back room to sleep, or into the crate in the car, or wherever she will get some quiet time, BEFORE the three-year old crawls under the picnic table and grabs her head in his hands.
This knowledge that dogs too lose patience and self control when tired is more than common sense. There is some solid research to back up our experiences with over tired dogs: See, for example, the research on Self control depletion that shows both people and dogs have a limited amount of energy to control their impulses.
Other situations are not always so obvious. Here’s an example from my own dogs: Recently I was working Maggie at a friend’s, and after just a few minutes of work she began mixing up her “go right” and “go left” whistle signals. I said “She does that when she’s tired,” and my friend and sheepdog trainer, someone with lots of experience, said “But she hasn’t worked that long, she couldn’t be tired.” At first I answered that she’d lost condition when I was away, but it’s not just being physically tired that depletes Maggie’s ability to simultaneously focus on the sheep and respond and respond to my signals. That’s a kind of multi-tasking that all sheepdogs have to learn to do, but it takes a lot of mental energy when you’re throwing signals at them every few seconds, when a dog can tire out quickly. Maggie has improved a great deal, but she still gets confused on her whistles after practicing precision driving for awhile (and thus lots of directional signals, or “flanks” as they are called), and I’m learning to switch to verbal signals when I think she might be mentally overwhelmed. (Whistle signals are easier to hear from a distance, but have been harder for Maggie to learn than verbal ones. That’s not true for all dogs, it’s just true for her.)
I gave that example because I think there are many situations in which dogs don’t behave up to our expectations because they are over tired–whether physically or mentally. Many examples are obvious once one learns to consider the dog’s energy level, like a dog at a noisy, busy picnic. But others are not so clear, and I suspect that the more we all read about contexts in which a dog’s energy level interfered with being his or her “best self,” the better we’ll be at sympathizing and helping the dog through it, rather than getting angry because the dog was “disobedient.” Or heaven forbid, “being dominant.” Please add in your stories and examples from your own dogs–the more the better. I look forward to hearing from you about your own experiences. (Hey, why limit yourself to dogs? How about times you were over tired and. . . )
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Back again from being away at Maggie’s last sheepdog trial of the summer. And my how timely, given the topic of the post above–Is my being tired from my nasty chest cold a good excuse for sending Maggie through the WRONG panels on the first leg of her drive after a darned near perfect outrun, lift and gather (47/50 points)? Ah, my, well, let’s use that as an excuse. Once I realized my mistake, we both were discombobulated, but I was pleased that the two of us eventually managed to pull ourselves together and she did a pretty nice cross drive and was finishing the drive when we ran out of time. The good news is that I know we have to work on this winter: My brain being engaged while running the course, Maggie listening under pressure on the drive, and learning that she can shift rude, pushy sheep.
One of the reasons I trial is because it forces me to get better at doing something I love, but another reason is because it’s often just so flat out beautiful. Here’s one of the competitors moving sheep back onto the main part of the course. It was a tad chilly, but overall it was a gorgeous fall weekend. Thank you Margaret, Pattie, Gordon and all for putting on another great trial.
Here’s from the farm this afternoon–look how big the lambs are! That’s Lady Baa Baa on the left, and her two lambs in her right. The handsome lunker in the middle is her ram lamb.
Crystal says
My Jazzy (3 yo boxer mix) does a great job of letting me know when she’s hit her limit during agility: she lies down and rolls around on the floor. We haven’t gotten to that point too often, once during our early days (Tunnel! Her: I don’t know how! *dog equivalent to a giggle* *throws herself down and rolls around on the floor*) and a few weeks ago when we had the place to ourselves for a practice outside of class. Usually we practice in class so she gets lots of breaks. First we practiced starts, which requires a lot of tense patience, waiting to get released, then we worked through a sticky spot where I had to figure out the best way to signal her. We ran the first half a few times, did the second half, and then I tried the weaves in the middle, and she just didn’t have it. No focus. I tried a jump to the weaves, and she just wandered out. I tried to set a simple sequence, to end on a high note, when she did the roll on the floor thing. Oh, right. Silly human, listen to your dog. I told her she was amazing and we finished for the day.
As for me, I was at a conference a few weeks ago. After a full 2 days of activities, I went to a Sunday morning session. I was trying to concentrate and listen and they wanted participation and were asking lots of questions, but my brain just wouldn’t fire. It’s like words didn’t have meaning anymore, they just floated by. I skipped the next session and went for a hike with a friend.
dawn says
I have to remind people that puppies, when they get over tired, can behave like human toddlers. Cranky and barky and nippy. So often it is not that they have a naughty pup, but a pup that needs a nap.
My boy spent a morning at the Farmer’s Market. He merely walked with us and rested in the shade. He took a nice nap and we expected him to be able to train later in the afternoon. But he was flat and slow moving. Our training director told us it takes longer for some dogs to recover than we think they should.
Kat says
Ranger just refuses to engage or snarks and walks away when overtired. Finna behaves badly. It’s all about finding the right balance, especially with her, not enough mental and physical exercise and she’s a badly behaved pain in the posterior, too much mental and physical exercise and she’s an overtired monster but when I get it just right she is quite a pleasant companion.
Ranger loves working as a therapy dog. Show him his bandanna and he bounds to the car eager to get to work but, especially now that he’s 10, sometimes he gets tired while working the longer events like my husband’s 2 hour diversity fair at work or the 2 hour shift at the university providing students stress relief. He’s learned how to give himself the breaks he needs and that I will always back him up. At the diversity fair, for example, he would lie on his rug at the front of the booth then when he needed a break he’d move to under the table. A few people who know him from past events wondered where he was. I told them he was taking a break and asked him if he wanted to come out and say hi. If he did he came out and engaged with the person if he didn’t want to say hi he just put his head back down on his paws and I explained that he’s getting older and needed the break to try back later. One very loud day at the library he went behind my chair and settled next to the wall. He didn’t seem to mind the kids reading but he’d had enough of the general noise and removed himself as much as he could from that. I gave him the option of leaving but he didn’t take it so I figured letting kids continue to read but preventing them from pawing him was what he wanted and enforced that until he was ready to come back out and engage again. By listening to what he’s telling me, giving him choices and honoring those I help Ranger to not get overtired doing what he loves. I don’t always get it right, it took me rather longer than it should have to realized Ranger wasn’t saying his first day back at school was too loud but instead saying he needed a potty break but I did get there eventually and he was patient in explaining it to me.
I guess what I’m saying is Ranger balances his own needs for work and rest. Finna still needs me to manage that balance for her. Dogs need something to do but we need to remember that sometimes what they need to do is rest.
Frances says
I remember being struck by paired photos of fresh dog/tired dog in (I think) one of your books, and it made me much more aware of the changes in my dogs’ behaviour when they are worn out. Poppy is a velcro poodle, rarely far from my side especially when we are away from home, but if there are lots of people and stuff happening she will take herself off to a quiet spot on or under a bed for some downtime. Sophy gets decidedly grumpy if she is pushed too far, and both get that tight, tired look around the eyes. I have learned that after a busy few days away or with lots of vsitors they need several days of quiet routine and time to catch up on sleep!
Long walks leave them pleasantly tired and relaxed; it is the high stimulation of lots of people, busyness, constant comings and goings, new places and smells that seem to leave them exhausted to the point of crabbiness. At home we live a rather quiet and ordered life, just me, the dogs and the cats, so they are simply not used to living in a crowd!
Jill says
Thank you for this post. The only time Lucy nipped someone, was after a long walks, when she was laying down and the woman came to pet her by leaning over her and patting her head. This happened twice with the same woman. Now, I know to protect Lucy in these situations.
Jill says
P.S. i also get cranky when over tired or over stimulated.
Karen Gerbig says
We often see this in our doggie daycare. There are a few dogs who put themselves on naps. We create a much more harmonious pack environment when we know our younger dogs’ limits and give them rests throughout the day.
lee says
Excellent information (as always) that many dog parents need to hear and apply. If only you had a TV show on NatGeo….
I remember your TV show in the late 90s! Was it on the animal planet? Who was your co-host?
Years ago I had a fellow dog training friend with a new high energy/low impulse herding breed rescue who wanted help with training, but before training she wanted the little girl to play and run in the dog park. I suggested skipping the physical exercise and teach her to relax. The friend disagreed and said it was necessary to “run off” energy before a training session. This was the mindset of almost every one (dog trainer/pet parent) around me.
A horror story that still lurks in my mind and upsets me to this day:
A BC rescue pal invited me for lunch and herding. We visited and ate while it was cool and cloudy in the morning, and the whole time I’m ansy, thinking, “shouldn’t the dogs be working while it’s cool?” (We were in the south in the early summer). Once it was afternoon and sunny and warm, we finally went to the field. She started working her dog who wasn’t “getting” a behavior and was being made to do it over and over until she left the sheep and found relief from shade under a building, with tongue hanging big and bright red. I was horrified! The handler told me to grab her and pull her out, and I refused.
Maybe it’s time to revive your show! I know there are some dog parents who want educated-based information rather than opinions based in myth that’s harmful to dogs and potentially humans.
Andrea says
Heh heh, good article. I’m often at 3-day dog shows and by Sunday my older boy gets a bit grouchy. I was lucky to recognize this as fatigue right away, and give him all the down time he wants in his crate, and not in the pen with the other two younger dogs. Makes a huge difference in his enjoyment of the show and what he’s doing.
Bruce says
Trisha, thank you for reminding us that dogs can lose their normal patience and self-control when over-tired or overstimulated. Forewarned is forearmed, and we all want to avoid potential tragic outcomes.
Fortunately, in a quarter-century with dogs I have found that “tired dog = good dog” is true more often than not. My experience probably relates to the type of dogs we have had – lots of high energy but socially mellow houndy/sporty mixed breeds that are much more likely to get in trouble (however inadvertently) when they are wound up from lack of exercise.
Of course every dog is different, and (for me, anyway) much of the joy of having dogs is trying to figure out what makes them tick.
Trisha says
Lee: Such important comments here, thanks for chiming in. It’s so interesting that trainers would argue that a dog needs to “run off energy” before a training session. I’m on your side: I’d say, do the training first, then let the dog run AFTER the mental work of learning something new. (Even when training sessions are fun, it’s still ‘work’ to learn.) I know there was a study that showed dogs really do “process” new things after learning, and what better way than letting a dog romp and play for awhile after a fun training session. I expect the “run off energy” related to techniques that used force and aversives rather than positive reinforcement.
And as to the sad story of your BC made to try something over and over until giving up and quitting, yay on you for refusing to force the dog back into a hot, exhausting and confusing situation. I suspect that your friend felt that s/he just couldn’t end the session without the dog showing some improvement, when actually the dog would have been learning to hate to work sheep. So many lessons here, including: If a dog is doing s/t wrong over and over, then for the love of all that’s canine, please stop what YOU are doing so that the dog has a chance of doing it right!
Mireille says
We are on holliday and yesterday we had a long long walk. Somewhat longer than planned. With wild boar along the wat. Lots of smells and distractions along the wat. Ween we tot back to the house we rented, Shadow went to sleep, but Spot kept pacing along the fence, trying to see if he could get through or over it. Since no femce is really Spot proof and the neighbours here have a cat, I decided to put him on leash. Within minutes he was fast asleep…
On the other hand: there are times when Spot really needs to run, sometimes a short time is enough. The behaviour I see is similar; pulling frantically on his leash, difficult to steer, unrest, reactive towards other dogs and cyclists etc. Even more confusing; he behaves in the same when he is sufferig from a relapse from huis colitis.
So at times I have taken a dog for a scooter run who needed to poop every five minutes, got cranky and irritable with a dog that should have had a much shorter walk or tried to do self Control exercities with a dog bursting with energy that needed to be spent in zoomies.
On top of this; he mirrors me perfectly; I have a burn-out (on the mend now!) but when I was at my lowest, tired, depressed and cranky, he was at his worst. When I needed a nice quiet walk, he almost pulled me in two. I admit there were moments I got very angry and yelled at him and yanked at the leash. But I also noticed how much better he responded when I did not feel al tensed up. So he became my geigerteller for my own mood as well. He made me more aware of my body. And we seem to be getting there – together. If I open myself up I van feel what he needs pretty accurately, I start to sense when he is not well, or juist tired or needs exercise. And he starts to trust me more. His reactivity towards other dogs has greatly decreased and – with your training method- he is even able to heel at times ??
Did I ever mention he is the dog of my heart? ??
Mireille says
Sorry for al the misspelling; autocorrection on Dutch & typing on iPad
Tired caregiver says
As always, responding with a kitty story instead…
Just yesterday my one year old was acting terribly out of sorts. I can only describe it as cranky. He wasn’t seeking attention like he normally does, for one. He’s fairly new to the house, so we still keep him separated from the others when he’s not supervised. I had him downstairs for several hours, which he spent bolting from window to window to watch the birds. Then we had some play time and practiced his clicker training. He was slow to respond to commands and just seemed ‘off.’ He always gets upset when it’s time to go back to his room…but this time he hissed when I picked him up. When I set him down in his room he turned and lunged at me, something he’s never done before.
It was only after all this that I saw the vomit in the corner and realized the poor little tyke had thrown up at some point that morning. Then I put him in a novel environment with distractions where he couldn’t relax, made him run around, and asked him to do tricks. I’d be cranky too! It isn’t just being overtired…any pet can have a day where they just aren’t feeling well. This morning he’s back to his usual purry, happy self. I should have listened to his signals better.
Sue says
Really interesting. I’ve come to understand that when my greyhound becomes unresponsive she really needs a rest.
Also a couple of times after an intense training session (actually it was TTouch training for me and she was ‘just’ there with me, so had lots of down time in between me practicing touches and groundwork etc.) she went into silly mood and just had to let off steam.
However, I also realised that she needs a good walk (certainly more than the 2x 20 minutes that one hears about so often in the context of exercising greyhounds) in order to be able to relax and enjoy the quiet. We normally do a proper walk first thing in the morning and if on a weekend or on holiday that doesn’t happen she is certainly much more excitable and jumps up every time I move to remind me that she hasn’t had her walk yet… As she is getting older I need to get the balance right between a good walk and too much exercise…
Sarah says
Our girl does a great job of giving herself space when she’s overtired. When our guests have overstayed their welcome (in her opinion), she’ll go into the other room and put herself to bed. Similarly, we got married a couple of weeks ago and included her in the ceremony and reception (as the vide-dog-grapher–she got some amazing footage!). She mingled with the guests for awhile, and then as soon as the ceremony was over, she curled up in the shade of the tent and slept the evening away. Though I have to say, if I could do it all over again, I’d have had someone put her in the house for the reception so that she could’ve slept more soundly. It took her days of snoozing afterwards to get back to her normally exuberant self.
Debbie says
Our 19 month large breed rescue dog is just getting through the stage of not being able to settle after having exercise. Sometimes it would be no problem – he’d go to his bed and have a sleep and we’d all have some peace! Other times, if the walk had been too long or he’d been on a long line for too much of the walk then he’d keep going when we got home – chewing, romping, etc etc. Nothing seemed to work to get him to calm down until I discovered sitting with him on the floor and massaging his tummy and back feet! He’d be asleep within 2 minutes. It doesn’t happen so often now – maybe we’ve worked out how much is the right amount or maybe he’s learned to be able to accept he’s tired and it’s safe to lie down and sleep.
Pat says
I don’t have a specific comment about my dog, but I was wondering if dogs react to the environment as extroverts/introverts. A busy social event such as a picnic (as you stated above) would stress out an introverted human if they were there very long. I’m thinking this would have the same effect on an introverted dog. Not so much physically tire the dog but mentally? I have a shy dog that would hate that type of environment. I’m wondering if people just don’t take this into account when they participate in events with their dogs and, therefore, bad behavior can result.
Jann Becker says
I went through something like this as a tired young music student: there comes a point when you’re only practicing your own mistakes. Where our dogs are concerned, when they’re too tired to do something right it’s time to stop. We don’t want to be reinforcing either a meltdown or a half-a**ed attempt with lousy form.
Do the sheep get tired and crabby from being bossed around all day?
Debbie says
Omg! Sue. Our dog is a greyhound pointer border collie cross (we think – rescue dogs don’t come with a label) and your description is exactly spot on of what we see. Do you have any ideas why massaging his back feet would help him settle?
Trisha says
Jann: “… only practicing your own mistakes…” Brilliant.
And yes, the sheep DO get crabby after being herded around for awhile, especially at the end of a three day trial. They are much more likely to turn on a dog and challenge it. Can’t really blame them!
Diane says
I have noticed in the last year or so that my 9 year old dog, who is the perfect dog, started to moan/growl when I attempted to play with him after he had had a long busy day running playing swimming etc. I felt really bad at first because he had never acted that way before. I had vet check him and all X-rays etc are fine. I came to believe he is simply tired and needs to be left to rest. Now I am conscious of it and keep an eye out for when he is simply done. Recently after a full day outdoors playing at a friend’s home with small children running, which he is not used to, I noticed he chose to sit behind a chair. A clear sign to me he was tired of playing and needed to go to a quiet room to rest. Frankly so did I! I had trouble accepting this at first because I didn’t want to believe he would rebuff attention. I know him well and learned to accept that even a perfect dog has limits. In fact, I came to recognize and appreciate our shared lack of perfection. Thanks for writing about this. It may save a dog’s life.
Lori Wade says
Thanks for the good article. My Labrador, Orson, is eleven years old, which I constantly have to remind myself. While I appreciate taking a long walk in the morning, it may over tire him. Sometimes it is difficult to know just how much is too much, but often times he picks the route and heads back home when he is ready.
Lan Hoang says
When my dog is really really tired, he hides under my bed, which is his shelter, I think. Now that I know this, I won’t get him out of there unless he wants to. Thank you.
Karen Anja says
I find this to be the for our dog and also our three toddler children. I aim for the middle window of not too much and not too little stimulation (which is different for each child, even the twins), and, if I get it right, they are happy, go lucky. If I miss it for one of them, they show it in completely different ways – wanting to be held, nothing being right, annoying a sibling etc. I am also aware of this with the teams of young people I lead at work. In order to be happy and engaged, they need not too much and not too little work. And too much and too
little depends on personality, goals and life events (i.e. Mom is sick etc). Keeps me on my toes!
BusyVP says
So glad youwrote about this. We recently rescued a 8 mo German Shorthaired Pointer. We were his 4th home in 30 days -folks could not handle him. He paced all night and drove folks crazy. We agreed to give it a try. We have a largeyard and are experienced dog owners so the Rescue thought we could be right for him. Our first GSP (we always had Eng Springers) their advice was to run him all day and make sure he was tired. Following that advice for the first 3 days I had a very cranky – very aggressive dog from 7 pm – bedtime. Frustrated that I had to crate him most of the evening for being nippy and rough, I decided to try something else. I changed to a few short exercise sessions through out the day with more mental games and wow what a difference. He quickly became a more pleasant dog who could socialize with the family at night. Overtired is not always the answer. Pay attention to the dog – they really do show you what they need if you are paying attention. The Rescue is now rethinking their general advice to over-exercise GSPs and suggesting adopted families try different exercise plans to see what works best. He is 11 mos old now and has his forever home with us.
Bruce says
@BusyVP: I am very glad that your rescue GSP has settled in so nicely. I do think that your story is an excellent illustration of the point I tried to make: every dog is different, so there is no substitute for each of us learning to understand our individual dog(s).
Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to contradict Trisha’s excellent advice.
For example, I apparently have a dog that is impervious to being over-tired. Last July I took Red Dog on a two-day expedition. After 12 hours of mostly off-leash hiking over hilly terrain, Red Dog got a serious case of “the zoomies.” Crazy dog was running full-speed circles up and down a huge hill after a 12-hour day on the trail.
No problems afterwards and Red Dog was raring and ready to go again the next morning.
In contrast, Red Dog can get crabby after a lot of mental exercise or when other dogs behave rudely. With regard to physical exercise, on the other hand, the more (exercise) the merrier (dog).
Every dog is different, which is part of what makes dogs so darned interesting.
Sally says
Thanks so much for this great article.
My Springer was hyper for the first few months. She would just keep running (in the house and gardens) all day if we didn’t “force” her to stop! We could always tell when she’d reached the point of no return because she used to get really nippy and growly, but she didn’t have an internal “off switch” even when her eyelids were drooping and she bumped into things! So then we’d give her a kong in her cage and she’d fall asleep whilst chewing it. We learned to recognise the signs before they got too extreme so we could ensure she had enough rest; she soon learned that “cage” meant “sleep” and she would go there on her own when we stopped “playing”.
This has paid dividends as she has grown and is now in training for Search and Rescue, aged 2. She certainly has plenty of exercise and a very high prey drive but is able to chill out instantly when I say “game over”. Also it is really helpful to know her signals so well when at PR events for the team… we can spend all day meeting people / children, with sirens and gunfire around and she copes extremely well but as soon as I see her eyes starting to “go” and she gets fidgety when being petted, it’s time for a rest (normally in her crate in the car but sometimes just behind our marquee, for some downtime away from fussing) so she can switch off and sleep.
To me, learning to “read” your dog in all these ways is part of what makes them such fun to have (and be) around. I just wish more people could (be bothered to?) do it!
Natalie says
1. I took my 3 year old Vizsla, Bela, to a TDI therapy evaluation. We normally did 3-5 mile bike rides, but I wanted her tired out for this evaluation. She often refuses to lie down on hard surfaces, and I was hoping if she was tired, she’d have no problem lying down anywhere, and would just be overall a better dog. So we did 9 miles that morning. Big mistake. She had been doing very well until the “leave it” test – in fact, I was having trouble keeping her standing. They were testing about 10 dog/handler pairs at once in the same room and we were all in a circle with a hot dog in the middle. We hadn’t gone yet, but one woman was testing two Labs at once. She was stationed directly across from us. Her dogs did not think “leave it” pertained to hot dogs on the floor and they lunged for it. Poor Bela must’ve thought they were lunging straight at her and she lost her cool, barking very aggressively at them (not something I ever would’ve expected at her to do, and had never seen her do prior to that). Needless to say, we failed that evaluation and it was quiet embarrassing watching them have a little conference about whether or not we should be asked to leave before they had a kid run around the room (we were allowed to stay, and she slept through it). I had never thought about dogs being overtired before that, but as soon as I got over my disappointment as we were driving home, “overtired” was the first word that came to my mind.
2. It’s been a few years since that evaluation, and I now have a therapy dogging English shepherd. It’s funny how 1 to 2 hours of belly rubs, even in a low key environment, can over tire him. If we go to agility after a therapy event, he is quite playful, slow, and distracted. It doesn’t stop me from doing it because he still has fun, I just lower my expectations and we have a good time, no matter what he wants to do in the ring.
Mary Beth Stevens says
Thanks so much for this posting! I have returned to it all week so that I can continue to learn from other poster’s experiences. Very timely for us as our little Suzie is at the very beginning of her therapy dog work with TDI, and since she is by nature an introvert (albeit a very sweet one,) I will be extra-aware of honoring her limits.
Elizabeth says
Our Bullmastiff is very susceptible to this, hardly surprising! Unfortunately in small-town Canada our training options are limited and the only positive trainer we coukd find gives hour-long lessons. It was just too long for Rosa (I think too long for any puppy, honestly) and she and my husband would both come home out of sorts! (Clearly an hour was too long for him as well). We’ve always been careful not to walk her in the heat or for longer than she can cope with, so have fortunately not had any unpleasant incidents as a result of her getting overtired, but I know it would be a real possibility. Our standard poodle mix, on the other hand, feels that a half-hour of solid running is just a warmup for the real exercise to begin!
LisaH says
My two are good examples of how it depends on the dog. I need to exercise Java before agility or other activities/company visiting otherwise he’s just wound up. A friend refers to him having crazy eyes then & he’s visually darting all over, ready to launch at any move I make. Physical exercise literally calms him down. He will run our trails full speed, looping back & forth, until I stop him. And I know I feel calmer & more energized myself after a good long walk. But I learned that exercising Lola before an activity had the opposite effect & left her unable to focus. When tired, she tends to be more clingy and/or will go off to the bedroom by herself. Java, who is almost 10, is still a “busy BC”. When at home & tired, he simply goes downstairs by himself (and his toys).
Kat says
@Mary Beth Stevens: Bless you for honoring the abilities and limitations of your dog when doing Therapy work. As a Chapter Director for TDI one of my responsibilities is monitoring new teams on group visits Not all dogs are the same. Just because my dog will do an hour of visiting, take a five minute break and ask for more doesn’t mean another team needs to be able to do the same thing. It’s not uncommon for me to send a new team home after half an hour because the dog is tired. The dog is ready to quit for the day but the handler sees that the rest of the group will be going on and wants to push the dog to continue. There is no faster way to burn out a Therapy dog than by overworking them. I continually stress to the handlers that their job is NOT to make sure everyone gets a visit or see that they’re there for an hour or… Their One and Only job is to look after their partner and make sure the dog is comfortable, safe, and happy. Even knowing my dog well and after six years on the job I still ask him at natural break points (moving from one wing to another for example) if he’s up for more. Once in a great while he’ll indicate he’s done early but usually given the choice between heading to the lobby and heading into the next wing he chooses the next wing. He knows he always has a choice and I never insist he go on when he’s tired. Later this afternoon he’ll document his 350th visit. Or to put it another way I’m apparently doing something right or he wouldn’t have this many visits under his collar.
TP says
I have 4 dogs but my problem child is the youngest, 3 yo Doberman. At 110lbs he’s also the biggest of the pack. Unfortunately he has confidence issues, which is why he goes to Tuesday daycare – where he completed all obedience classes. I’ve noticed on Tuesdays he’s extra grumpy, growling at all the others if they dare to walk in his eyesight or even move to adjust positions. He is reprimanded but that hasn’t solved the problem. He’ll also try hiding his face in avoidance but ultimately just knowing they are in the same room will have him growling (sometimes its a full on snarl) and running to a different spot.
Alot of issues seem to present inside the house – he seems to have a bit more confidence and looks like he feels better when outside –
I would really like some advise on how to build confidence and eliminate what seems to be overtired tantrums.
Trisha says
Dear TP: Of course it’s impossible to know without meeting your Dobbie, but I’m wondering if being overtired is only part of the problem. You might want to talk to the daycare staff about how he is doing during the day. I’m not sure what you mean by “confidence issues,” but daycare isn’t a good idea for a nervous or anxious dog. It can decrease confidence rather than build it up. Have you talked to the staff about how he behaves during the day? How he interacts with the other dogs? How they behave toward him? How many staff they have per dog, etc? I’d be very cautious about sending him to daycare give his behavior in the evening… he’s telling you pretty clearly that he isn’t coming back relaxed, he’s coming back at least over tired, if not also even more nervous and insecure.
Tabitha Thompson says
I really appreciate the point of view being shared here. I’m a vet, not a dog sports enthusiast, but I do worry about the accepted mantra, “A tired dog is a good dog.” In addition to physical stress, mental stress from fatigue can add to chronic disease. Thanks for writing this article. I will share it with my clients who have very active dogs!
Tabitha (http://naturalalternativesvet.com)
Carol Clark says
Gus, my hyper colllie, will run around barking at planes or even con trails when mentally tired. I used to think it was just naughtiness (and there are times when it is, due to boredom – can be difficult to get the balance!) but more often than not he uses it as a stress release mechanism. I stop and we go in and rest and everything’s fine again. It can be difficult to realise what the cause is – we are much better, I think, at recognising when our dogs are physically tired and we sometimes don’t recognise mental tiredness for what it is.
Isabel says
Ember, my Siberian Husky is still just a puppy. She is 4 months old. However, knowin when she is tired is obvious. She doesn’t like to sleep during the day, my guess is she thinks she’ll miss something. But after about 2 hours of being awake turns into a different dog. She bites, barks, runs around like crazy. You basically are forced to leave the room. I find if I take her to her crate, she will immediately go in and lay down. After a nap, she goes back to her normal self until she gets tired again. Sometimes it’s physical tired like after a walk, or mental tired after tricks. Other times I don’t know what made her so tired but whenever she gets really bad — sleep is always the solution!
Sarah says
We have a 6mth old border collie cross. Because everyone talks about BCs and their high energy levels I used to try and physically tire her out but over the 3 months we have had her have realised she needs a mix of exercise and training and other games plus lots of sleep!
During the week it’s just her and me and we have a nice routine where we walk, she sleeps, she plays, we have a short sniffy walk and training round the garden, she plays or sleeps and usually she’s pretty relaxed in the evenings (for a puppy anyway).
But in the weekends there’s tbe excitement of my 2 sons being home and on Saturday’s watching one of them play rugby or soccer (which she loves, I think it makes sense to her from a herding perspective!). She definitely doesn’t get enough sleep in the weekends and as a result by Sunday can turn into a barking mess! The crate is our saviour as it forces her to rest.
Lyndi says
I have a 6-month old mini schnauzer mix puppy (he’s a rescue, so while Dachsund has been suggested as the other breed, we don’t really know). He has many of the typical mini schnauzer characteristics – high energy, and quite barky! He alerts us to every noise that happens outside our apartment door, but can typically be called back, and moves on after practicing a couple commands. A couple times, he’s gone crazy with the barking – barking non-stop at the door even though there are zero noises. I’ve typically assumed that means he’s bored and will take him for a bathroom break or a short walk or try to do some training in the park across the street, but today, when he was disobedient/distracted to any commands and clearly didn’t need to use the bathroom, I had the thought that maybe he was just overtired and cranky like my toddler nephews get. I scooped him up and put him in his crate with a bone, a blanket over it for darkness, and some nature sounds playing, and I haven’t heard a peep from him since! I realized while on our long walk this morning, we did some practice with treats and approaching things that scare him (he missed out on a lot of key socialization in his first 3 months, and we adopted him when he was 4 months so we’ve been playing a lot of catch up). He is scared of a lot of things and doesn’t have a lot of confidence, so I’ve been working with him with treats to help him learn that the world (and other dogs, and manhole covers, and doors, and lake docks, etc. etc.) aren’t so scary. I think I’m realizing that kind of training is exhausting and needs to be kept separate from longer walks! I had never thought about the mental taxation of that being so exhausting, especially since he typically has endless amounts of energy for purely physical activity and takes long, relaxed naps on his own around the living room afterwards. I’ll be interested to see what I can learn by keeping those things separate and by paying more attention to how he’s feeling! Thanks for your article and giving me some good ideas of how to be more mindful of his limits!
Jordan says
I have just come across this article after my ‘perfect dog’ (and she truly is) growled at me, then spent the next minutes looking for reassurance and being generally very sorry.
She is three now and a Staffy x Border Collie. We have seen this once or twice before, always when completely wiped out, and after rest she is back to herself.
Even knowing this, I suppose there is always that flash of worry that the worst could happen. As always in that flash I began searching the internet for reassurance in that sensible way people will, expecting my worry would be blown out of all proportion.
Luckily I happened across this first. I have spent a lovely 40mins reading about all of your stories and imagining your pets faces. I feel comfortably reassured and in the meantime Daisy is happily snoring away!
I must say that I completely agree with the article above. Knowing my dog, and having been prompted to look back over time, I would say every occasion of ‘bad behaviour’ of note has been in situations where she has been completely exhausted. Either mentally overstimulated or physically.
I will take the lesson with me. 😊
Kirsty Reid says
Hi folks,
Looks like I might have come across this article just at the right moment!
I have a 4 year old deaf boston terrier and he has a lot of energy. He’s usually a very good boy, gets a long with every dog and knows a lot of sign language so I have no worries about taking him to our local dog park. Today however, he simply would not leave a male lab alone, it was only 8 months but easily 4 times my dogs size. My BT kept humping him relentlessly no matter how many times I told him to stop, put him in time out and reinforced his good behaviour. It wasn’t a big deal, the lab didn’t care, he simply batted my BT off with one paw. The problem really occurred when the lab left and a corgi arrived. He tried to do the same with him, just once and before I knew it, the corgi had him by the throat and was NOT letting go! Thankfully i was able to curl the corgis lips under themselves and he let go. It looked worse than it was, no blood was drawn but it definitely left me a bit shook up. In 4 years it’s the first fight my dogs been in and he has never humped anything or anyone in our house……I’m now thinking we simply stayed too long at the dog park and he was simply over tired?
Liz says
Like everyone else, I’m so glad to have found this article in my worried Googling. I have a foster dog that we are considering adopting as he and our current dog get along so well. However, today our dog was not having anything to do with our foster – growling at any movement, hard eyes, etc. This clearly got me very worried, so I’m happy to have found this article. I should have been reading his signs better and know him better as a dog. There were so many stressful things going on! We were at my parents for Christmas so a totally new environment, 3 days of visiting and attention, a change to his routine, and everything was done together with our foster (i.e., no individual one-on-one time with him). I was getting grumpy, so I’m not surprised he was either! I’m glad to know it’s not just my dude who needs some time to recharge and others dogs react uncharacteristically after a period of stress/over-stimulation. He is now passed out on the couch in our silent house! Thank you so much for this article and the reminder to honour my dog’s limits.
Trisha says
I’m so glad this was helpful! I’m always interested in how often it is hard to put ourselves in a dog’s place until, well, we do!
Nsncy says
I have a 1 year old bulloxer who goes to work with me. He has started growling at people who come in or near my cube. I’ve been getting reports of him being nasty at daycare and I understand that is from being over tired because when he comes home he goes to bed and doesn’t want to be touched. I just let him rest and he is a happy boy the next morning. I need some advice on the growling at work. If he is out of the cube he loves on everyone .
Trisha says
Nsncy: First, poor boy! Sounds to me like daycare is honestly not a good fit right now if he comes home so exhausted he doesn’t want to be touched. I’d ask lots of questions of the day care about how much rest the dogs get, how many dogs, how many staff per dog, etc… It’s hard to say why he is growling at people at work-could be he’s nervous about them or could be he’s “possessing” you like the world’s best bone. I’d definitely find a good progressive trainer or behaviorist who could help you. I’d want you to talk to your vet too… “doesn’t want to be touched” often = “in pain”.
Laura says
Hi all!! I have a 2 year old Australian cattle dog and he is by far the most high energy and intelligent dog I have ever owned. Now if you know anything about ACD’s or ‘velcro dogs’ you know that they are intensely loyal and a bit obsessed with one person. That person is not me haha it is my husband. We first noticed about a month ago after a really long hike he was laying down by our feet and I wanted him to come lay with us and I said “Lobo come”. (he understands and obeys every command I even joke he knows English. Even numbers!!!). He immediately looked at me and growled. I saw his eyes were red and he looked tired but I got worried and wondered if he was just disobeying because it was me, not my hubby. But recently we took him on a road trip to Arizona and camped for four days. On the way home we stopped and got food really quick (leaving him in the car for a nap) and when we got back in the car we said Lobo!! Come here buddy! He instantly responded with a low growl and my husband tried to relax him and say ‘it’s okay buddy lay down’ to which he growled again hahaha. I then knew it’s just him bring cranky and exhausted (like we all get) and it’s nothing to get insecure or worried about. He’s a very good boy and he does ‘talk’ a lot so that’s his way of saying I’m tired and cranky and I need a little space right now. And that’s okay! So please everyone be understanding of your pups and try to give them the rest they need. (especially working dogs)
Laura
Andy Morgan says
Our 1.5 year old mini golden doodle Rosie will sometimes growl or snarl when she’s tired at our older son, who’s 6 now. Sometimes this happened when she’s overtired due to too much exercise or play, but not always. Sometimes it’s just when she’s having her morning nap time. Very concerning. Thoughts anyone?
Trisha says
Can’t say much until we know more about the context: What elicits the growl? An approach from your son? A attempt to pet? Also, one would need to know more about the relationship between the dog and your child–six year old boys can be frightening to dogs, and vice versa. Best advice is to have a professional come in and do a house call. Check out Living with Kids and Dogs for some great advice. Growls can be truly useful–your dog is telling you something is upsetting, but isn’t harming anyone. Good for her. But you are right to look into it, manage it and do all you can to eliminate the motivation.
Laura says
Oh boy, has this article ever been helpful!
We have a new puppy, 9 week old Standard Poodle, who is an absolute sweetheart 80% of the time. I was going along with that myth and trying to tire him out on purpose, especially after dinner. We took a little walk, let him play in the kiddy pool, etc., then stood by and watched him grow increasingly crazy! I then went in and started researching what causes puppies to act like that, and first thing that came up was the over tired bit. Finding your article today just clinched the deal! I will need to figure out a happy medium with him, as I am trying to train him on a daily basis.
Laura D. says
Tricia, your articles always pop up when I have specific questions about my dog’s behavior and each time you help put my mind at ease. This article is no different!
Our practically perfect pup spent the day in daycare and got some melatonin treats that help her relax/sleep, all in prep for a cabin trip with a baby, 2 y.o. and a 6 y.o. (She adores kids!) along with 4 adults. At the end of the night, past her normal bedtime, she snapped at one of our other dogs when he came too close to her bed, which she has never done…then today snapped again when one came too close to her under the outside table she’d chosen to sleep under. I couldn’t get her to relax and stay put in a quiet place to sleep (this dog has crazy FOMO!) so she just wore on in overtired mode…thankfully I realized that’s what it was so I laid down with her and took a nice long uninterrupted nap—she was back to her cheerful self again afterwards. Your article confirmed this is her just being overtired and stressed, and not some behavior she’s been hiding all these months.
I was a student of yours several years back, and I still draw on so much of what I learned on a frequent basis. My calm, happy house full of pets and I are forever grateful!
Jennifer says
This article and discussion was very helpful.
We recently adopted a medium sized mutt puppy, now 11 weeks (what type of mutt we think varies by the day, as she barks like a terrier, snorts like a pug, eats like a lab, and prowls like a cat). She has serious FOMO, so she’s a sweet velcro dog that wears herself out into what we call “crazy puppy mode” almost daily from following us around constantly. In this mode she tries to nip everything in site (including her tail), barks excitedly (she’s never barked outside of crazy puppy mode), and even once went out of the way to pee on her bed (???). If you let her sit on your lap in this mode, she falls asleep instantly but wakes back up when you leave.
Any advice on how to help this velcro dog break away and take a nap? We’ve started putting her in the crate sporadically for progressively longer periods with her kong. This was originally to work on separation anxiety but soon realized this may also help her nap. However, she doesn’t seem to be completely falling asleep there (though she is relaxing at least), and we’ve noticed that her cranky period is starting earlier in the day so we’re concerned she’s just not getting enough rest to recover. We work from home in a small apartment, so she never really gets a break from us.
Does this get better with age?
Lyndsey says
I have a 7mth old border collie (a rescue we acquired at 3 month after 3 homes) he never wants to settle. We have daily walks, games and training but still he wants more always. I have to shut him in the kitchen to make him switch of and have a nap. He tries to stop us doing that by scratching at the back door to be let out for as wee (which really means wondering around the garden and possibly digging it up) My whole life is thinking how i will wear him out that day. Will we ever get a day off? Will he ever just relax and chill like other dogs? Its frightening to think about the future. I’d love him to just sit and snuggle at night but when we let him in our lounge he gets busy trying to find mischief so he has to go in the kitchen again. We were training him to lay on a dog bed by giving treats and asking him to stay and a couple of times he relaxed after but he tries to stay alert for more treats. Its so tiring for us 🙁
Cath salt says
I have read tonnes of dog behaviour books, Evan ones on dog dog aggression say “a tired dog is a good dog “ this is the total opposite for our 8 year old spaniel a beautiful loyal loving dog .Wakes up happy and wagging, then gathers stresses throughout the day , excersise being the biggest contributor ,an off lead run involving a dip in the river can make her vile for days , she would be aggressive towards our other sweet submissive dachshund when they return , we call it her walk hangover !! She will lie and stalk our dachshund for the rest of the day and if not watched will attack her ! As a consequence she has to have time on her own on return to rest but if we take her for a walk everyday the tension just stacks up . A lead walk is tricky as she gets overstimulated if she sees people , dogs kids and the same thing can happen . As a youngster she was happily off lead in public places but now she will attack other dogs . The things that stress her are endless , I feel very sad that I can’t excercise her normally or let her chase a ball or let her get wet , ( she’s very cross when she’s wet ) as she adores those things as they are happening but it’s not worth the days of anger we get from her . So now she lives a very calm life , with few walks just to keep her mentally stable and she is happier that way with no highs and lows , she has been checked by the vet and is healthy , I wonder if anyone else has had a dog like this . Your books have helped so much , but I do feel guilty for limiting her enjoyment and for my dachshund to live with the tension . They play lovely together in the mornings but by the end of the day my spaniel has gone grumpy again and staring meanly at her . It’s daily management . Love some advice, many thanks .
Kaylee says
Hello,
All these comments have been really helpful. I recently adopted a puppy and now at 5 months old, he has been reliably ringing a bell to go outside. Today was a nice warm spring day, so we took a long walk along the lake (about 1.5 hours with plenty of breaks). He then spent a long while tooling around the yard while my husband did work in the garden. He slept quite a bit in the afternoon, but when I got home from work, he had the roomies, so I took him outside to at for a bit. Bring him back inside and he rings the bell ( he has started doing this to go out and play, which isn’t good) I was in the middle of something, so I didn’t immediately react, and he peed on the floor. So I take him back outside while my husband cleans up the mess. He pees and poops. Starts zooming around again. Bring him back in and he is super naughty, try I g to steal coasters, not settling. Next thing I know he is peeing on the carpet. I stop him and take him out while my husband cleans up again. He pees outside. I bring him back in and put him in his kennel and he immediately lays down and settles. I am hoping this behavior is just him being over tired.
Trisha says
To Kaylee: Yup, classic overtired pup (and the reason I advise not teaching a dog to ring a bell to go outside!). All will be well, kennel was the right decision!
John says
I have a Standard Schnauzer pup who is now ten months old. Early on in our life together, I could not figure out why she would play so rough, growl, get the zoombies. I thought is was something she would grow out of. It dawned on me that she might be overstimulated. She reacts to everything. I started controlling the amount and length of stimulation and what a difference. She is good for about 1.5 to 2 hours and then needs to nap in her den (crate) for a couple of hours (or more) then some more awake time, then another nap. She has turned into an absolutely wonderful dog. Obeys her commands, loves to train, loves to walk, loves to keep tabs on what is going on in the house and the yard, and loves her naps. You are the first person I have come across that recommends paying attention to the amount of ‘down time’ your dog is getting. Everyone else says to wear them out, give them tons of exercise, that a tired dog is a good dog. That approach was turning my dog into a monster. No, a tired dog is worn out and worn down, and definitely not a good dog. A calm dog is a good dog and a happy dog. Oddly, I took my dog to day care last week and mid afternoon I got a text saying she was acting up, playing rough, getting vocal. When I enrolled her in daycare, I was told that she would be in a room that provides downtime for the dogs. After I got the text, I asked if she had a nap, they said they don’t like to isolate the dogs from each other because they get anxious. I guess I am going to have to limit the length of time my dog is in daycare too. I want her to socialize with other dogs, and she loves being with them, but only for a couple of hours.
Julie Kuebler says
I am so glad I googled if dogs can get over tired. My nearly 12 mth old border collie acts very strange after spending a day at doggy day care. He growls if we touch him, is very skittish and gives us the whale eye. He also skulks around looking for dark secluded areas to hide (but rest it turns out). We thought we had a dog with a screw loose but it all makes sense now as this only happens after daycare days. Don’t get me wrong he can get into day care quick enough, so he loves it but clearly isn’t getting enough down time. Thank you for everyone’s shared experiences I am so grateful.
Anne Hunter says
Anne says: we have a beautiful loving 8 month BC puppy who is so sweet but has no off switch at all. When he hit adolescence at Christmas time he began jumping up and snapping at either me or my partner. I really worried that he was being aggressive and took advice from a trainer who had helped us with a beautiful rescue BC who was fear aggressive and who we sadly lost with cancer. Blue was a loving, gorgeous boy and we missed him greatly. Dylan came into our lives as a 10 week old puppy who was and is full of energy, love and loves to play and learn. He sleeps well at night but only gets an hour or so in the morning in his crate and the same in the afternoon both after a lovely walk, sniffing time and ball time. The trainer, Neil, was very reassuring and gave us the same tips as you offer which helped me stop worrying. We also got him to puppy classes which he loved and gave us some great tips on balanced stimulation. We stayed calm when Dylan gave out cues he was tired and using strategies to get him into his bed calmly for a rest. However, I came home tonight very upset with myself. Dylan finds it difficult just to rest from 4.00-5.00pm to bedtime at 9.00 p.m. we give him calming play, things to chew and sniffing games to settle him. The class he is now attending started at 7.00pm. There was 9 puppies in the class and the trainers doing the class for the hour went at a pace with no down time. By 7.30 I indicated I thought Dylan had enough as his eyes were red, he was doing the activities brilliantly but getting very hyper and slightly agitated. I said I felt he needed to go home as he was too tired and then he snapped, jumped and growled. He had given all the signals and I didn’t act fast enough. I felt I had let him down. I said I was taking him home. Also I was worried about other people seeing him as aggressive and he isn’t. I have said I do not think a night time class is good for our little boy as it is at a time when he is tired but doesn’t give in and it is too over stimulating for him. Do you think I am right or should just try to get him to rest more before the class? I searched for advice tonight and found your story and column. Your lovely advice and stories have really helped me but I am still worried about Dylan. Do you think he is aggressive?
Jaclyn says
I had a group of friends over for Easter dinner and my 8month Rottweiler was great! But right before people started leaving I noticed he was unusually relaxed… I was worried he might have gotten into something? I’m still not 100% sure however I feel like this experience of so many people mentally drained him.
Trisha says
Jaclyn: Company can be exhausting for dogs as well as people! Unless he doesn’t perk up this morning, I’d savor what a good boy he was and remember how tiring visitors can be for dogs. (I sometimes put the dogs away after they’ve been with company for a good while, better to let them rest than get over tired.)
Carolyn says
I am so happy to have found this article and all the comments! We have adopted a wonderful medium mix of setter/pointer/hound breeds who loves to do everything and meet everyone. But we quickly noticed that some evenings after a busy day he would start playing frantically and go into “wild man” mode. Having raised two human boys, I immediately thought “overtired toddler” and got him to settle next to me on the couch. After a few minutes of massaging him he was out cold.
This is dog #9 to have shared his life with our family, and the first time I have ever seen this behavior. Not sure if it is a personality thing or if he will outgrow it as he learns more self control (he is 13 months old) but so glad to have an easy fix to a problem. Good to know to watch for it, as I am hoping to do therapy dog certification with him; he is super trainable and very sweet when not over hyped!
Trisha says
Carolyn: Good for you for doing exactly the right thing when your SPH adolescent went into wild man mode! It’s exactly like overtired kids, and massaging him to settle down was the perfect response. What a lucky boy you have!
Sue Mills says
I live alone with a twelve month old Irish Terrier. She has an hour and a half to two hours running off the lead with other dogs and she still won’t settle when we get home. If I let her into the garden she eats things that could home her and she’s still destructive if I give her the run of the house. She will settle eventually in her crate if I leave her but sometimes I would just like her to sleep/ rest at my feet whilst I work at the kitchen table. As I write this I have reluctantly shut the door of her caret and she I now sleeping. Is it just that she cot settle herself? Or does she need more exercise / stimulation? I’m at my wits end.