# What to do with Pyr. puppy energy?



## libbypayne8 (Sep 17, 2008)

Hello everyone. I am generally a lurker on here and have learned so much from all of you! I do sometimes comment in the other sections of HT when I feel qualified, but I definitely don't feel qualified yet in this section. I do have a question for all you smart people though. First I'll set the stage. I hope this isn't too long.
I raise dairy goats and have a small herd of four adult does, two doelings from this year and a buck with companion whether. We moved to a more rural area in late August and with the knowledge that there would be more preditor problems at our new home I purchased a male Pyr pup at the end of July. I had wanted him to begin bonding to the herd before we moved, which is why I purchased then. He was 16 weeks at that time and was goat savy, so he has lived with the goats exclusively since arrival. He is never really unsupervised as we can see and hear the goats from our house. He has been wonderful and protective of my herd since day one. My does and bucks have been seperate since the move and he has been with the does only since then. 
So, now he is reaching that stupid adolecent stage (seven months) and this morning I caught him trying to play with one of the doe kids (five months) I immediately went in and alpha rolled him telling him that wasn't OK. I then threw him in with the bucks because I know they won't tollerate him trying to play with them. He is getting along well with the bucks and they did put him in his place almost immediately, he is also very sad not to be with his girls. I would just leave him in there for a while, but my does are really the ones that need the protection, so this is a little counter productive. 
I guess what my real question is; what do you do with all this puppy playfulness? I know I'm not supposed to play with him like that, and I shouldn't let him interact with our house dog, and of course he shoudn't play with the goats. So how is he supposed to burn off his playfulness? I would love to get another LGD for him to play with, but that just isn't possible right now. I also know that this may be an uphill battle for a while until he matures. I am willing and able to have this battle, I just want it to be as easy for everyone as possible.
So, thanks in advance for any ideas and advice! I look forward to hearing from you great people. Thanks!


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

He needs a kong with some food in it, or a few raw bones to chew on for a while. Deer bones are good and beef, but they need to be raw. A rough toy with some food in it is even better.


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## libbypayne8 (Sep 17, 2008)

Thanks for the quick reply! My dad is our local small town butcher, so Apollo (the dog) has been getting two or three nice, fresh, raw bones a week. I'll get him a kong the next time I'm in town though and give that a try. Thanks again for the quick reply and the idea!


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## Goatress (Feb 4, 2011)

Put that energy in a can and send me some I need it, LOL! No honestly its part of being a pup, get some toys and chews like meka says....make sure he has room and time to go blow off some steam and run run run so he does not take all his playfulness out on your stock, grin..... All my dogs, early in the am and at sundown, they have their 20 minutes of flame...lol...they race around the yard and chase each other and play fight and I've even videoed it - its hysterical. You would not believe how fast a 200 pd dog can run if he puts his mind to it! After that they settle down, drink, eat, and then they want to go to work and go on guard. And these are adult dogs too not just pups. They are happy and are blowing off some extra energy, and its normal and it tells me my dogs are healthy and in shape, too. Enjoy your puppy they grow up too soon!!!!


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## Wolf Flower (Dec 21, 2005)

Goatress said:


> All my dogs, early in the am and at sundown, they have their 20 minutes of flame...lol...they race around the yard and chase each other and play fight and I've even videoed it - its hysterical.


I would love to see this video, have you uploaded it anywhere?? Watching a huge LGD run at full-bore is an amazing thing to see--from a safe distance!  When Whaley and Luka get the "zoomies", I tend to run inside and watch from out the window.


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## equinecpa (Mar 21, 2011)

I too would love to see more suggestions on what to do with puppy energy. My pyr/retreiver mix is about 10 months old. He just got neutered so I have to keep him either stalled or tied to keep him out of the water. I gave him a puzzler jug which dribbles food out for him to play with but would love to find something else to occupy him. I hope to get some deer legs this week but I'd love to know of what things you can do with these dogs while they're growing up.

He tends to want to play with everything, horses, cats and sheep. He listens well when told "no" but he's just a happy guy. I'd like to find a way to get some of the excess energy off so he can go back to doing what he's supposed to be doing and that's keeping coyotes away from here!


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## westbrook (May 10, 2002)

obedience train. It keeps his mind and body busy. put on a leash and take him for a ride then a walk..continue the obedience training on a leash.

on a leash, pet stores are a great place to walk dogs up and down isles...rain or shine. - they learn, on a leash they must behave, of course people want to put them so if you don't want them pet be sure to let them know. I loved people to touch my dogs -- ON A LEASH! at home off leash things are different.

When you go get dog food take the dog. I would wear a belt, put the leash loop through my belt and the dog on the leash...though I started this early on. Where I went the dog went. Having the dog attached allowed me to have two hands free. 

Take the dog to the feed store, most of the time they will let you bring your dog in.

all of the time he dog is in training. And you can also use hand signals. If your dog is within site but too far to hear, hand signals come in handy.

"Dog Obedience Training



Hand Signals
Dogs often learn hand signals easier than words. Our language is not natural to dogs. Dogs are very observant of body language, stance and movements. They communicate with each other using body language and gestures; so it makes sense that they understand hand signals better than our language. Another benefit - hand signals work in noisy locations and work well when your dog is in view, but at a distance and verbal commands become impractical.

Training with hand signals starts with combining your verbal command with the hand signal. Your dog will soon learn to associate your hand signal with the desired action and will respond to either verbal or hand signal. There are no official hand signals for dog training. There are some commonly used signals." from: http://www.mendocinohumane.org/html/ob3.html

videos on obedience training with emphasis on hand training and youtube is a great resource 
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dog+training+hand+signals&aq=f

hth


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

equinecpa said:


> I too would love to see more suggestions on what to do with puppy energy. My pyr/retreiver mix is about 10 months old. He just got neutered so I have to keep him either stalled or tied to keep him out of the water. I gave him a puzzler jug which dribbles food out for him to play with but would love to find something else to occupy him. I hope to get some deer legs this week but I'd love to know of what things you can do with these dogs while they're growing up.
> 
> He tends to want to play with everything, horses, cats and sheep. He listens well when told "no" but he's just a happy guy. I'd like to find a way to get some of the excess energy off so he can go back to doing what he's supposed to be doing and that's keeping coyotes away from here!


Your dog is a prime example of why you don't cross two dissimilar breeds. Pyrs (LGDs in general) are very laid back. Even as pups, they play different from regular dogs. I watch my two anatolians play and it's just so different. There is none of this extended chasing each other around. They chase for a moment, then just tumble around on the grass biting each other. They go back to resting in the sun for a while. Retrievers, on the other hand, NEVER run out of energy. They play long and hard. I guess your pup took after the retriever side of the family and is just going to take a long time to mature and stop the silly puppy stuff. In the mean time, exercise him a lot and supervise him around stock.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

BarbadosSheep said:


> Your dog is a prime example of why you don't cross two dissimilar breeds. Pyrs (LGDs in general) are very laid back.


I have to agree with you totally. Labs are so hyper, and pyrs are so not hyper. It seems kind of silly to cross those two particular breeds. I have no problem with crossing working dogs, but they have to be the same types of working dogs.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

mekasmom said:


> I have to agree with you totally. Labs are so hyper, and pyrs are so not hyper. It seems kind of silly to cross those two particular breeds. I have no problem with crossing working dogs, but they have to be the same types of working dogs.


yep...exactly! I see lots of herding dogs crossed with livestock guardian dogs too. One parent wants to round up and chase the stock, the other wants to watch it. what's the poor pup supposed to do!


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## Goatress (Feb 4, 2011)

_I watch my two anatolians play and it's just so different. There is none of this extended chasing each other around. They chase for a moment, then just tumble around on the grass biting each other. They go back to resting in the sun for a while._

Grin...wait until they grow up. They are just babies. And wait until the fights start..oh yah, that's definitely on the menu with sibling males or females...the day will come. But they get over it and life goes on. LGDs will fight each other over what ever gets their dander up, you just be sure to be the Alpha and get in there and stop it.... 

I got a kick out of one day, my two Anatolian / Maremma brothers got into it when the fencing crew was here redoing my ranch. You're talking two 130 pd males on their hind feet in the air, blood and fur flying....

...so Kate, the Mod/owner of www.livestockguardiandogs.com and Coban Collars, she is there, and she and I just get in the middle of these two males and the whole fencing crew (all guys of course) just stops mouth agape looking at these two frazzled middle aged ranch women tearing apart two giant white dogs and breaking up this fight....and they were stunned speechless! But you know what? You gotta be prepared to do that. And...there's the times when you let them duke it out (to a degree, I always intervene eventually) because they'll have to establish who is the top dog. Xanto and Troy are going through this right now. Each is trying to see who will be over the other. Fun! (lol, not - but part of owning several LGD's....like it or leave it...). For every spat there is here, there are days on end of peace and tranquility, its not like it happens every hour, every day. Part of doing business and part of what LGD's are all about....strong, powerful, energetic dogs.....!

With my pack its like I said before, they are full of energy and powerful happy athletic dogs....after they blow off that steam, its back to work.

Wolffeather that video can be seen on my Facebook page for Cinco Deseos Ranch LGD's which is public. You have to hunt for it in the videos section, but it is there, that actually is not the front yard tear up, its them running the back fence line when the neighbor came out with her Yorkie and Husky. Still pretty cool to see, it has most of my dogs but not all of them in it.


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## libbypayne8 (Sep 17, 2008)

Thanks for all the ideas and support everybody! It's really nice to hear that this is so normal, even in adults. I have noticed that he seems to only be doing it first thing in the morning before I get out and do chores. It must just be that morning steam that needs to burn off. I will start doing more training sessions with him, just to use some of that energy. He knows the basics, but it's always good to put them through their paces. Thanks again!


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## Fowler (Jul 8, 2008)

When my boys are chasing and ruff housing I just stay at a distance. They tumble and growl and chase tail to nip at each other's but. Yesterday was the worst, it was muddy and my bright white boys was muddy from the neck down. The only spot I could pet was the top of their heads...LOL Then they want to jump and rub all that mud on me!!

I give them big ropes to play with and a big rubber toy tire, but they like socks...yes socks...LOL Boomer is a sock thief. They mostly play with each other though. Like Goatress said early morning they run and play like banshee's.
And it's like watching gazelles in flight....LOL very graceful and swift.


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## Wolf Flower (Dec 21, 2005)

Goatress said:


> And...there's the times when you let them duke it out (to a degree, I always intervene eventually) because they'll have to establish who is the top dog. Xanto and Troy are going through this right now. Each is trying to see who will be over the other. Fun! (lol, not - but part of owning several LGD's....like it or leave it...). For every spat there is here, there are days on end of peace and tranquility, its not like it happens every hour, every day. Part of doing business and part of what LGD's are all about....strong, powerful, energetic dogs.....!


Do they ever do serious harm to each other, requiring vet visits or stitches? Or is it mostly a lot of roaring and spit flying around?



> Wolffeather that video can be seen on my Facebook page for Cinco Deseos Ranch LGD's which is public. You have to hunt for it in the videos section, but it is there, that actually is not the front yard tear up, its them running the back fence line when the neighbor came out with her Yorkie and Husky. Still pretty cool to see, it has most of my dogs but not all of them in it.


Can you give me a link to the video? I'm having a hard time finding it...


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## Goatress (Feb 4, 2011)

No its 90% bravado, no vet calls....no major injuries...(at least to me). I am realizing more and more that what I consider minor wounds could be interpreted as major catastrophes somewhere else, LMAO!!!! 

If I kept them separate all the time then I'd have issues because each male (or female for that matter) would treat one another like a strange dog off the street and THEN I'd have big problems. I have dog fights like wolf packs have fights...strictly dominance, there isn't hatred its a pack hierarchy process.
Frankly, if my LGD's were lethargic? And didn't show bursts of energy and vigor...and occasional aggression?

I'd have them to the vet ASAP because something would be wrong....

I can't find that link either I'll try to post a link to it up here.


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