For the most part, excited dogs are happy dogs. If your dog has a history of being aggressive, it can be more concerning, but as long as you know your dog, you should be able to tell if his excited state is a result of aggression or just plain old excitement.
If the excitement your dog is displaying is worrying you, though, there are a few things you can do to calm him down and keep everyone safe.
Your Dog Takes Its Cues From You
If you get hyped up and get excited, your dog will feed off of that energy and he’ll get even more excited. If you start to act like something is wrong, your dog’s behavior can quickly go from happy and excited to scared or over-protective, and then you have a bigger problem.
So tip #1 is to stay calm and don’t let your dog see you get upset. You’d be surprised how much your dog picks up from you, even when you don’t realize you’re showing any emotion. Your dog can pick up on emotions you don’t even know you have yet, so keep your own feelings and behavior in check, and you can head off a situation before it even starts.
Redirect His Attention
If you see something before your dog does, and you know it’s something your dog reacts strongly to, try to head the situation off before it starts. For example, there’s a woman in my neighborhood who has mobility issues and 2 small dogs. She “walks” them every day in a motorized wheelchair. For whatever reason, this motorized wheelchair drives my dogs crazy.
If I’m out walking my dog, I’m always keeping an eye out for things that can set him off, so I usually see her coming before my dog does. I turn him around and redirect his attention somewhere else.
This way I completely avoid a situation where my dog gets super-hyper, which makes her dogs get overly excited, and then she and I are each stuck trying to control our excited dogs. If you can avoid the situation completely, that’s the best-case scenario.
You Are In Control
Remember, you are in control of your dog, not the other way around. If you know your dog is friendly, you can allow someone to approach, but be aware and don’t let the situation get out of control. If your dog is large, be very careful that his rambunctiousness doesn’t cause injury. Even the friendliest dog in the world can knock a person over if they’re allowed to get too rambunctious.
Remember – An Excited Dog Isn’t Scary
Just because a dog is excited, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s aggressive or that there’s a problem. If your dog has any history of aggression whatsoever, you absolutely must be on guard all the time, but most dogs don’t have this issue.
A dog who is excitedly jumping around is usually just happy to see the object of their excitement, but it’s up to you to control the situation and make sure that your dog doesn’t take any negative cues from you.
Stay calm, don’t act nervous, don’t let your dog think you’re upset for any reason, and remember to keep control of the situation.
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