2 year old hyper Chiweenie

[Gypsy86]

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Hi all,

Haven’t posted on here in a while but was after some advice.

I last posted about getting a Chiweenie puppy as a surprise for Christmas 2 years ago and I reached out for some guidance.

My doggy is now 2 and I know that can still be an age for some dogs where they’re acting more teenager if you like. My doggy is very hyper which is her breed characteristics but I am quite mentally burned out! She gets plenty of exercise but she pulls on the leash a lot. So I stop when she pulls and then carry on when she is level with me and waiting. I think this is something that will take a while but I’ve been sticking with it. She shows signs of perhaps adhd as even after lots of exercise and mental stimuli she cannot let herself rest it seems. She has chew toys and I hide treats in her toys, she has a kong and we play tug and fetch a lot. She is also very vocal if we are doing something and leaving her be. She still goes to nip my partners hands and she barks all the way down the stairs if I’m going down and she goes for my feet. I work from home but I do get out and she is still crate trained. She is good at night and in the crate. She doesn’t stay in there long, just bursts at a time and when she is quiet so she knows it isn’t a naughty corner!

Does anyone have any advice on maybe something I can do, add or improve my training? I know 2 years old is still young but you also can’t pour from an empty cup. My family love her but she is so hyper that they find her difficult to watch if I wanted a day off!

I am open to constructive criticism and I am doing the best I can. Thank you for reading

 

[JudyN]

Can you remind me what you feed her - including treats, etc. Are you 100% sure she's getting the right amount?

We might have already mentioned this video, but just in case:

This one may also be useful:

I'm thinking that rather than trying to tire her out physically and mentally, it might be better to aim for calm activities - say walks in quieter areas, encouraging her to explore and sniff. Even just trying to use a calm voice and calm body language round her might help. Raw bones might also keep her occupied for a good time, and chewing can be calming in itself.

 

[Gypsy86]

Hi Judy,

Thanks for reply. We feed her kibble and sometimes she has a little wet food. Treats she has a few a day, the pedigree ones. I’m not 100% no so I will check the videos, thank you!

Yes good idea and I have been doing the calming thing - stroking her belly and speaking in a softer voice, smiling etc to make her feel more at ease. She does calm a little but fights it if that makes sense lol. Yeh we do go on quiet walks as it’s a village we live but she is very pully. I do let her sniff a lot as it’s enrichment but maybe I could take her to an even more secluded area, it is worth a try thank you

She seems to be more hyper since she was spayed 6 months ago, I don’t know if there is any correlation there

 

[Gypsy86]

And yes she is a big chewer!!! She has her fave bone which does keep her occupied for a short while

 

[JudyN]

What exact brand & variety of kibble, wet & treats? Food can influence a dog's behaviour, and high carbs (often in the form of grain, rice or potato) or sugar can cause sugar spikes that lead to hyperactivity. I would look for grain & sugar-free food and treats, and see if that makes a difference. A raw diet would be well worth considering - it's much easier than many think and is just as safe as other foods as long as you pay attention to basic hygeine. We can give you all the info you need if interested.

 

[Gypsy86]

She has this brand as she’s quite fussy and lots of brands she won’t eat. This has rice so it’s a good point you’ve made! I never even thought it could perhaps be the food. She doesn’t have loads of treats but she has one of these a day and the small pedigree treats she has a few of. She does sometimes have a tiny bit of cat food in with her kibble as she’s fussy.

Yes please, defo interested, thank you.

 

[JudyN]

This is the ingredients for the kibble: Chicken Meat Meal* (min. 18%), Rice (min. 18%), Maize, Poultry Fat (min. 6%), Corn Protein, Fresh Salmon** (min. 5%), Peas (min. 3%), Hydrolyzed Animal Proteins, Beet Pulp (min. 1%), Minerals, Dried Carrot (min. 1%), Brewer’s Yeast, Sunflower Oil (min. 0.7%), FOS (min. 0.7%), Yeast Cell Walls (0,05%) Source of MOS and B-glucans, Yucca schidigera (0,027%), Glucosamine Hydrochloride (0,02%), Chondroitin Sulphate (0,01%).* Meat and animal derivatives: ca. 27%. Derived from animals fit for human consumption.** Fish and fish derivatives: ca. 5%. Derived from animals fit for human consumption.No added Soya, Wheat, Barley or DairyVitamin A 22000 UI Vitamin D 1150 UI Vitamin E 350 mg Vitamin C 150 mg Biotin 10 mg Taurine 1300 mg Fe (Ferrous sulphate (II) monohydrate) 90 mg Zn (Zinc chelate of amino acids hydrate): 90 mg Mn (Manganese sulphate monohydrate) 36 mg Cu (Cupric sulphate pentahydrate) 10 mg I (Calcium iodate anhydrous) 1.9 mg Se (Sodium selenite) 0.05 mg Vitamin B1: 10 mg/kg Vitamin B2: 14 mg/kg Vitamin B6: 8 mg/kg Vitamin B12: 100 μg/kg ANALYTICAL CONSTITUENTS: Protein 27% Crude Fibres 3% Fat Content 16% Inorganic matter 7.5% Energy: 406 kcal per 100g

There's a lot of carbs in there - these would be broken down into sugars so could contribute to hyper behaviour. Although it is called salmon, there's possibly no more than 5% salmon in there. The main ingredient is chicken meat meal, and meat meal can be of low quality. (@JoanneF might be about to give a better analysis - she's done courses and stuff!)

I've not checked out the ingredients of the treats, but Pedigree aren't known for good quality.

You could just try replacing this with a better-quality kibble - one with good-quality meat and no fillers. If so, we can suggest ways of making it tastier for her. But if you want to investigate raw, and it would be worth doing, have a read of this: Raw feeding

Of course, her behaviour might be totally unrelated to her diet, but a good diet will bring all sorts of benefits so is definitely worth a try.

 

[Gypsy86]

Yeh I see this now but went on the good reviews on there. Is there any kibble you would recommend? Pooch and Mutt is grain free and she has had that before as a puppy (a puppy mix). Ok thank you for the heads up about Pedigree - her nan buys bags of the stuff and we didn’t realise it wasn’t the best.

Yes defo worth a try! If nothing else it will be healthier and rule out any issues caused by sugar.

 

[JoanneF]

Eek, no pressure then @JudyN!

It is a bit on the high side for carbs, you are buying a lot of chicken flavoured rice in that food. I'm honestly not sure how much that would convert to sugars, but personally I'd look for something with more meat and less filler - fillers are cheap ingredients that make your dog feel full but have little nutritional benefits; so in this food, that would include the rice, maize (which is hard to digest too), the corn protein and the peas.

If there was more meat protein, they wouldn't need to add back taurine because dogs can make their own taurine from meat in their diet. That doesn't mean dog food with added taurine is necessarily bad, but it's an indicator that there's less proper meat In the food.

I also prefer to see fewer ingredients listed, and I don't like seeing 'derivatives' because that could be pretty much anything; again it doesn't mean the food is poor, but it could in theory be the bits they just have scraped off the floor.

At the end of the day, food is a very subjective choice and the best food for your dog is basically the one they do well on. But at the age of two, I'd expect her to be past the worst of her adolescent sillies, so you might want to experiment with a lower carb diet; along with training the calm settle, and possibly some impulse control exercises like this -

 

[JoanneF]

@Gypsy86 you replied while I was typing the above, so regarding your question about kibble, I feed Platinum

If you look at the ingredients, you will see how it ticks the boxes I like. But it still contains some rice and has a carbohydrate content higher than you might like (my dog needs all the energy he can get, he's 14½)

 

[excuseme]

Any flavor "Meat meal" is un - described, and will be pure waste and rubbish
although for a wild creature will be part of their "complete" natural rations.
Wheat, RICE, Maize/Corn protien, and Barley are all grains, (although Oats appear to be a healthier option)!
Pedigree products are again made from poor quality products/ingredients, you are just buying the "Pedigree" name.
Kibbles;
The "Millies Wolfheart" products are a very nice product, with a choice of protien levels, I find their lowest protien products 40/60 are very good and never cause any problems.
Raw ready made products are a good choice, they are easy to to purchase and are clean to use, (don't forget your normal raw meat hygiene)
Raw ready made meals are a good choice and convenient. "Natures Menu" their grain free Country Hunter products are very popular.
Diet can help tremendously with calming and over excitement.
Too much time in a cage/crate can cause over excitement when aloud out. (keep the cage to a minimum)
Our lot are fed on a Raw meat and veg diet ( I have used this for over 40 years) they have loads of spare energy without any unhealthy grains.

I notice you have used "Pooch and Mutt". a grain free product which appears to be at a quick glance, quiet a decent product. If your girl likes the product and if it appears to suit her then maybe stick with it!
Sometimes changing food around too much does no good and helps no one.

 

[JudyN]

There's a website, AllAboutDogFood, that is good for finding good dog food - you can put in your dog's breed and weight and your daily budget. I tried it, specifying a dachsund of 4kg, and listing grain-free kibbles - this is the result: Dog Food Reviews | Find the Best Dog Food - All About Dog Food

To make kibble more tempting, you could put a little warm water on it to release the flavour, or pour some of the water from a tin of tuna in spring water over it.

 

[JudyN]

Oh I meant to add - highest-rated foods are listed first, but I was a bit shocked at the daily cost of some for a 4kg dog! There's more reasonable ones if you scroll down.

 

[JoanneF]

I notice Gentle features in that list several times - @arealhuman was feeding that, I'm not sure whether he still does, and could comment?

On another point, many manufacturers will be able to send you sample packs, either free or for a low cost. So if you decide to change, it will let you see whether your dog likes a new food.

 

[JoanneF]

"Meat meal" is un - described, and will be pure waste and rubbish

To be fair, while it might be rubbish, the definition of 'meal' in dog food is just that it includes parts of the animal that aren't suitable for human consumption - and a raw diet, which I know you rate highly, will also include a fair amount of the same stuff.

 

[arealhuman]

I notice Gentle features in that list several times - @arealhuman was feeding that, I'm not sure whether he still does, and could comment?

I did feed that to our previous dog, Jimmy (on @JoanneF's recommendation) , and I think he got on well with it. Our current dog Rusty, is on a Honey's Real Dog Food raw diet, although might need to change as he has had several bouts of upset stomach and needing to go out several times at night (in the howling wind/rain/hail/thunder!). Blood sample taken yesterday to see if we can find a cause. Sorry, hijacked the thread a bit.... When we first got Rusty, food was trial and error, so maybe experimentation is one route to take, but I guess trying lots of foods in short order can also cause problems. Sorry, not much help!

 

[JoanneF]

I forgot you had changed. I did feed it but stopped five years ago after a bit of a problem with a batch I'd received, but the ratings for it look good.

 

[Gypsy86]

Any flavor "Meat meal" is un - described, and will be pure waste and rubbish
although for a wild creature will be part of their "complete" natural rations.
Wheat, RICE, Maize/Corn protien, and Barley are all grains, (although Oats appear to be a healthier option)!
Pedigree products are again made from poor quality products/ingredients, you are just buying the "Pedigree" name.
Kibbles;
The "Millies Wolfheart" products are a very nice product, with a choice of protien levels, I find their lowest protien products 40/60 are very good and never cause any problems.
Raw ready made products are a good choice, they are easy to to purchase and are clean to use, (don't forget your normal raw meat hygiene)
Raw ready made meals are a good choice and convenient. "Natures Menu" their grain free Country Hunter products are very popular.
Diet can help tremendously with calming and over excitement.
Too much time in a cage/crate can cause over excitement when aloud out. (keep the cage to a minimum)
Our lot are fed on a Raw meat and veg diet ( I have used this for over 40 years) they have loads of spare energy without any unhealthy grains.

I notice you have used "Pooch and Mutt". a grain free product which appears to be at a quick glance, quiet a decent product. If your girl likes the product and if it appears to suit her then maybe stick with it!
Sometimes changing food around too much does no good and helps no one.

Thank you for the info!!

Very helpful. She has short bursts in the crate. She is destructive still if left and we have a cat who she hurts with play so have been trying her with him to be more gentle, but if not in sight she will really tug at him and he’s an old boy. If she isn’t with someone she will also get hyped up and destructive.

Yeh we only moved from pooch and mutt as she did become bored with it! But it seems a good one. Her food hasn’t been changed constantly. We changed from that one when she entered teenage ville lol, but yeh I see what you mean. Thank you

 

[Gypsy86]

There's a website, AllAboutDogFood, that is good for finding good dog food - you can put in your dog's breed and weight and your daily budget. I tried it, specifying a dachsund of 4kg, and listing grain-free kibbles - this is the result: Dog Food Reviews | Find the Best Dog Food - All About Dog Food

To make kibble more tempting, you could put a little warm water on it to release the flavour, or pour some of the water from a tin of tuna in spring water over it.

Thank you Judy! That is very helpful

 

[Gypsy86]

Eek, no pressure then @JudyN!

It is a bit on the high side for carbs, you are buying a lot of chicken flavoured rice in that food. I'm honestly not sure how much that would convert to sugars, but personally I'd look for something with more meat and less filler - fillers are cheap ingredients that make your dog feel full but have little nutritional benefits; so in this food, that would include the rice, maize (which is hard to digest too), the corn protein and the peas.

If there was more meat protein, they wouldn't need to add back taurine because dogs can make their own taurine from meat in their diet. That doesn't mean dog food with added taurine is necessarily bad, but it's an indicator that there's less proper meat In the food.

I also prefer to see fewer ingredients listed, and I don't like seeing 'derivatives' because that could be pretty much anything; again it doesn't mean the food is poor, but it could in theory be the bits they just have scraped off the floor.

At the end of the day, food is a very subjective choice and the best food for your dog is basically the one they do well on. But at the age of two, I'd expect her to be past the worst of her adolescent sillies, so you might want to experiment with a lower carb diet; along with training the calm settle, and possibly some impulse control exercises like this -

Hi Joanne,

Thank you for your helpful reply. I’m defo changing up the food for one listed on the link that Judy provided. It’s nice to have some advice as I don’t know loads concerning food etc as my dog was bought as a surprise, yes that was two years ago but always stuff to learn lol

Yes she is more energetic than ever lol, so defo going to see if the change of food and diet has an effect. Her breed is a more challenging one to listen and to train, they’re a head strong bunch! Her little character isn’t so little! Lol. I think she could possibly be a little adhd so I may enquire about this at the vets if there isn’t much change with the food. Thank you so much for your help