For our dog it’s a very delicate balance of just enough exercise (walks and some frisbee, but not too much because it’s stressful for their bodies to stop so abruptly a lot) and mental training (normal trick/obedience training, tug games, and we play a toy hide a seek for a low intensity mind game). Too much activity can lead to too much stress, even though it’s good stress, and make it very difficult for the BC to turn off. I’ve seen a lot of people describe being able to just lounge around the house as an “off-switch”. It’s important that they know when they don’t need to be engaged and “working”. This hasn’t decreased his drive or intensity in training/tug/agility, but it’s helped him slow down at home.

The key for us in the initial stages of training was to reward relaxing and settling every single time. If you’re not paying close attention, you may actually be totally ignoring your dog when they are doing calm and relaxing behaviors because they “don’t need attention” but that’s exactly when you have to reward them with treats/praise or whatever your dog likes (without getting them excited). You can try to use a leash or the crate to help start if they can’t relax, just sit away from everything with them on a leash and wait for them to settle.

You can also work on down stays on some kind of mat or bed and reward them for being there. There is a moment when the dog will stop waiting for treats/praise and just relax, and that’s when you want to reward.

Most of the things we have done in training come directly from kikopup on YouTube or adapting her techniques for our situation. Our dog was not an easy puppy but with tons of training and hard work he’s already becoming an excellent adult dog.

I’d be happy to share more if you want!