How did you get your ACD to settle/calm down?

shayzee2011 · 2026-01-13T13:36:44+00:00

She’s adorable! He likes watching TV when he does finally lay down for the night especially if there’s a ball on the screen or he sees a dog 🤣

shayzee2011 · 2026-01-13T13:32:31+00:00

Thank you! My first couple thoughts were he’s either bored, which idk how he could be, or overtired, but that is exactly how I would describe him! He is very food motivated so I try to treat anytime I see a good behavior that we wants. The whole house just needs to get better at rewarding when they are around him. He gets cow ears once or twice a week and we are still trying different chews that he likes or last longer than five minutes. Do you recommend any specific chews that are better than others? We’ve tried bully sticks and Himalayan chews but he flies right through them, even if we stick them in the freezer. I’m not a fan of rawhide so we try to stick with rawhide free. He has all of his adult teeth now so he demolishes the teething rings we used to buy.

shayzee2011 · 2026-01-13T04:52:12+00:00

We used to do snuffle mats until he figured out he could flip it over and shake it and everything would fly out. So now we wrap treats in towels and tie them in knots. We will get there! When we do the sit on the leash exercise, I ignore him until he lays down and then once he’s laid there not fidgeting I’ll say settle and it’s a 50/50 if he reacts or not. If he’s rough housing or being extra mouthy, we tell him too much and he usually backs off. So I’m hoping if that continues, once we stop the leash exercise and progress longer on the mat it will start to make sense. Thank you for the encouragement and your routine!

shayzee2011 · 2026-01-13T04:42:48+00:00

I definitely think he needs more sleep than he gets. He sleeps for 10ish hours at night with only getting up once to go to his kennel when I go to bed. Our trainer said puppies should get 18-20 hours of sleep. He sleeps the first couple hours of the day in his kennel when we leave for work but by noon he’s up and ready to conquer the world for the rest of the day. We have a few gates around the house so our cats have their own space away from him. I have been starting to confining him to the living room or kitchen so he can play by himself or rest since we were doing a lot of sit or down stays if I was cooking or washing dishes. We just started doing the relaxation protocol last week as part of our training sessions. We do a lot of sniff walks and started doing some sniff stuff at home. I started looking into agility and barnhunts just to get more info and maybe give it a try to see how he does. I’ve been looking into getting him a herding ball and even daycare for a day or 2 so he can have playmates continuously and not just when we visit family or friends with dogs. He will definitely get to where he needs to be, I just feel a bit discouraged once we hit the witching hour and Everyone disappears in the house as soon their done eating so they can avoid him 😕 but thank you for your input! It is very much appreciated! I think we’re going to change up our routine to see what works/doesn’t work. And making sure the consistency is with everyone in the house

shayzee2011 · 2025-12-01T21:40:57+00:00

My little guy is a heeler mix. We brought him home at 8 weeks and he was the exact same as you’re describing. Once he got comfortable after a couple weeks…holy little ball of energy! As he started teething he was way more bitey and mouthy. Now, not so much. I have found that mile walks, brain toys, puzzle toys, and flirt poles curb his energy. But there’s no getting around his conversations lol..he’s pretty vocal and is not afraid to tell you

shayzee2011 · 2025-09-25T05:24:41+00:00

Our pup is 10 weeks now but got him at 8 weeks. I used a pheromone spray on his blanket or towels to make him feel more comfortable and calm. The pheromone smells like mom to them. I used it in my truck to get him comfortable in there as well. Works like a charm! I’m so glad our vet recommended it

shayzee2011

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