What does it look like when a dog is overstimulated?
Cheyanne Schimmel
2025-05-24 05:15:51
Count answers: 2
Socialization is crucial for dogs who get overstimulated around other pets. However, pet parents should be cautious when socializing a dog prone to sensory overload — especially if the dog becomes reactive when they feel overwhelmed. It's important to keep interactions calm and low-key since high-energy interactions can cause can intensify a dog's response and increase the likelihood of sensory overload. A simple way pet parents can reduce the chances of sensory overload is to ensure their dog gets plenty of exercise and mental stimulation throughout the day. Mental and physical stimulation help dogs relax and may make them less likely to become overstimulated when exposed to external stimuli. Dogs with severe reactivity or very low thresholds for external stimuli may benefit from Behavioral Adjustment Training (BAT), a more advanced behavior modification method. BAT encourages dogs to ignore sensory information that typically elicits a negative response. BAT is a good option for dogs triggered by specific stimuli, such as being around strangers.
Alex Wolf
2025-05-24 04:13:21
Count answers: 5
If you are struggling with their behaviour, consider what an average day consists of for your dog. How much repetitive ball chasing is your dog doing? How much rough-housing and playing with other dogs is he doing? How busy and noisy is your household? Does he practice barking and ‘seeing off’ postal workers and passers-by? Essentially, how much of the average day does your dog spend being active, alert and over-excited? We commonly associate stress with negative things that occur in our lives. However, over-excitement, high levels of stimulation and endurance exercise can have the same physiological effects, owing to the stress hormones being released into our brains. If they are not getting close to this amount of sleep due to an over-stimulating lifestyle, then you may start to see some behavioural issues. When we are stressed, stress hormones are released into our brains, our tolerance levels drop, and our sleep is affected, as is our behaviour. This is exactly the same for dogs.
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