Energetic dogs

[DiegoDog]

Okay. I have this lab. He is 3 and a half in excellent physical shape and is pretty smart. The thing is...he's very...energetic. People kept says "oh he'll calm down when he's 2" then they said "oh by 3 he'll be calmer". he's not. :confused: Not really, I mean he has calmed down by like 13% since he was a puppy. If you give him the time he'll run and play for hours without quit. He'll run and swim non stop he'll play and do anything he can whenever he can. Now he doesn't get restless often. I keep him busy or he'll take a nap, which would make you think he is calmer. But soon as you give him something to do he is ready to go at 110% energy. Someone said he may never calm down. He will be a hyper dog until he get something which forces him to slow down (athritis...) Is that true? Will I have an adult dog with puppy energy for the rest of his life? Not that it is a bad thing.

[originalfatc]

I'll take a shot at this one lol.

Labs can work all day, they can be tireless, they were bred that way. They yearn to be busy and to serve. The best bet is alot of excercise and alot of mental excercise, drilling, obedience, games where he has to think as well as work physically.

He may stay this was forever, till he's old, or until he has enough to honestly keep his body and mind occupied.

This is a huge mistake alot of people make choosing a dog, like someone who works long hours and lives in apartment, choosing say, a border collie, lab, setter, husky etc.

You may say, gee, seeing dogs are calm. Yes, they are, they are mostly 2 years or older and they have a full time job!

[DiegoDog]

Actually OFC I read in an article that labs were one of the best apartment dogs becaue they can just relax and do not need constant work. This after I bought the dog not before. Maybe I better explain this better. If we are at home and he is bored, he sleeps or chews something (like a chew toy). But if we go out he is on the move. And if I stand up at home he is by my side if I play he really PLAYS. Adn dispite the fact that I can only afford an apartment right now I do not feel I made a huge mistake picking out Diego.

[originalfatc]

Heavens, I wasn't saying you made a mistake, you do more than enough to channel his energy!

Sounds like he's fine, just always ready to get busy! (on the alert, ever-ready, whatever)


you want perfectly calm, lazy, perfectly obedient and ready to work once you motivate them? A Golden Retriever like my Dusty Rose.

[DiegoDog]

yeah. That is what I was saying. I have a harness for him now. My grandfather is going to make him a pulling sled. He may not be a husky but he is strong enough to help us bring cargo to the cottage from the parking lot during the winter.

[DaisyJRT]

OK I have never heard that labs are apartment dogs. I totally disagree with that. Labs are hunters, sporting dogs. Your proof that they aren't good apartment dogs is the fact that so many labs are way too fat.

As for calming down...lol I hate to break it to you, but I highly doubt it. My mom had an Australian Shepherd....he was like 7 years old?? ish..... He was as hyper as they come. My JRT is 4....and she's not slowing down.

Personally I like energic dogs! :D

[DiegoDog]

Well my dog is NOT fat at all. He is in excellent shape. And I believe that article. If I still had it I would post it for you. I have known countless people who have labs as apartment dogs. But theirs usually calmed down. My dog will relax in an apartment I've said that. I am just saying whenever we do something he is hyper about it. Labs become fat because their owners don't exersise them enough, not because of their residence. My dog is more in shape then my uncle's farm lab. I love the fact that my dog has energy and plays like he is 6 months old. All I was asking was if it was true he wouldn't calm down. Because he is the first of a large dog that I have seen that hasn't slowed down.

[DaisyJRT]

Well all dogs are different, but like I said my JRT is 4....she's not slowing down. I should hope she wont slow down. It's hard to say, all dogs are different. But with the hyper dogs I've known...I doubt he'll slow down.

[DiegoDog]

Thats good. I would rather him life long and active then lazy and short.

[DaisyJRT]

Exactly!!!!! Some dogs just lay around. Not much fun!

[DiegoDog]

but they still deserve love

[DaisyJRT]

I didn't say they didn't. Why would you assume that's what I meant.

[carlaperson]

I had a lab named Rupert and he would play frizbee or stick for 24 hours straight if he had the chance - and in college at some of our all night parties he actually pulled that off! He NEVER slowed down until cancer took him. Boy was he a great dog. My advice is to play hard with him as ofetn as you can, and recruit neighbor kids to play with him as well. And just love him for who he is!

[DiegoDog]

Oh I love him like he is. I love his youthful energy. Although sometimes the hour strait of him droping a toy in my lap while I am working can be a pain. I am going to have to bring him to his friend Thor's place to let him burn some energy soon. Too cold out here to take him for his full half hour walks

[timtwo]

DiegoDog
This is a fun question. What I see is that you have a young dog with a ton of energy that loves to do absolutely anything with you. Right now I have a cat in my lap, my ADHD terrier under my chair, and my old lab/shepherd mix beside me, all snoozing. The quiet is nice, but if I got up and headed for the kitchen or the leashes all 3 would be rip roarin' and ready to go. Sometimes their energy is wearing. However, now that my old friend is starting to show his age-almost 13, there are times I would love to have that old energy back.
As for an apartment dog--my dog Boston and I have lived in everything from a big house on 10 acres to a 500sq ft duplex--as long as we are together, he is happy. Smaller homes just mean that Mom takes him out more often. Yes, I think your dog will slow down, but you still have a few more years of bouncing to go. I think Boston started to slow down at about age 9.
Have a good one!