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Words by Sue Alexander, CBCC-KA

“My high-energy dog is driving me up the wall! How do I tire him out?” a frustrated owner asks.

I hear this a lot when clients’ young dogs hit adolescence. That sweet puppy who slept through the night with two short block walks has suddenly become an exercise-devouring monster! It can feel like we just can’t wear them out. If your couch buddy is tearing around the living room like a Tasmanian Devil, here’s what to do.

How to Exhaust a High-Energy Dog

Step One: Is Your Dog Really Over-Tired?

Before adding another walk or dog-run trip, take stock. Many ‘high-energy’ dogs are actually overtired, so make sure yours gets enough daily and overnight rest before piling on exercise. The easy test: give him a one-to-three-hour crate or quiet-space nap daily for two weeks and see if it helps. The first days may be rough, but plenty of people find their energizer puppy settles once a daily nap kicks in.

How to what exercise is your dog actually getting?

Next, look at what you already do. Leash walks give most dogs essentially no aerobic workout. Dog sports like agility or disc dog build real aerobic capacity and burn the edge. Both weave in fetch and tug as part of the game—great a couple of days a week. (Used as the only exercise, they can spawn a fetch or tug monster who demands the game whenever bored, but vigorous play every other day can stand in for a real run a few times weekly.)

A simple leashed walk provides zero aerobic exercise for most dogs.

A Guide to how to tire out your dog: your new morning routine

A Guide to don’t reward jumping around

Frantic racing around the house isn’t the same as excess energy. Dogs learn that zoomies earn more fun with you, which fuels more zoomies. Before exercise, I have clients teach a ten-minute down stay: tether him to something solid, tell him down, and treat him one at a time while he stays down. Between treats you can step away, whistle, even clean the kitchen. I know my dogs want walks when they flop on their mats and relax deeply—because they never get vigorous exercise while bouncing off the walls. Dogs exercised mid-zoomie quickly learn that barking, table-jumping, and general chaos = fun outings. If that’s yours, take the edge off with a little exercise, then do a down stay before the main event!

A dog exercised while already racing through the house learns fast that barking, running, table-jumping, and chaos = fun activities.

Starting and finishing with quiet time is key to avoiding the exercise monster! Over 90% of the over-energetic dogs in my practice are operantly energetic—they never learned to be calm unless physically spent. That’s why rest matters so much.

Also, what looks like excess energy can be an attention issue—the dog hasn’t learned to self-regulate. Enforced rest before and after exercise helps.

Check out the 10 Most Energetic Dog Breeds, per the AKC.

Training Approaches That Actually Work

Aerobic work matters, but we neglect strength and stretching. Tricks like sit-pretty and high-five keep dogs limber—an important piece. Other stretches: weaving around trees, hydrants, cones; high-stepping slowly over playground gear; creeping and crawling under obstacles.

How to tire out your dog inside the house with these exercises:

Core challenges like sit/down/stand/stand-on-hind-legs/down/sit/stand reps build strength. Do them in your den, no outing needed. Once he hits 25 reps easily, cut the count and raise difficulty with an unstable surface—a Fit Paws pad or even an old couch cushion.

Stairs are an incredibly energy-consuming exercise. Ten minutes up and down and the dogs are wiped.

Another great strength game is stair training. Ten minutes of up and down and they’re wiped. (Skip slippery stairs!) Here’s how: dog sits and waits at the bottom; take a treat off the first step. Call him off, then put the treat on step two. Add one step at a time until he takes two-plus at once. Then start at the top and go down. Change the start point whenever he stops climbing and starts bounding.

A Guide to have a high-energy dog? hit the water!

Maybe my all-time favourite dog exercise blends aerobic, strength, and flexibility: swimming! It’s low-impact, high-output. A natural body of water where he learns to swim burns energy fast and safely, and leads to all kinds of fun—dock diving (formal or not; just a dock and a fetch toy), SUP-pulling, shore throws, or swimming together.

The Truth About 5 quick tips for high-energy dogs

Quickly Tire Out Your Dog: Cycle With Your Dog!

Cycling (and blading!) can tire a dog fast. I cycle on cool days with non-blistering pavement, at a trot. Safety for both of you comes first—build up slowly to avoid injury. I start dogs at five minutes trot, one minute walk, times four, three times a week, then progress. Dogs are ‘blood doped’—more red cells per blood unit than us—so they can do weekend-warrior bursts easily, but that won’t prep muscles and joints for zero-to-full.

Shot by courtesy of Bike Tow Leash

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