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a person and a dog

Hyperarousal is a case of too much excitement. It manifests in a number of ways, such as:

  • Constant jumping

  • Excessive mouthiness

  • Leash biting

  • Spinning

  • Non-stop barking

  • Snatching treats

  • Frenzied behavior

  • Zoomies

  • Overly focused

  • Intensely scanning the environment 

  • Excessive panting when not hot

  • Tense body posture

Hyperarousal

Leash biting, crazy play, hyperfocus & more

a closer look

Hyperarousal occurs when a dog reaches a threshold (the black vertical lines) of exposure to scary or exciting things then flips into a mode where energy can't be contained.  Your dog goes from thinking mode to reacting mode. This "over threshold" behavior can happen when your dog is highly anticipating something wonderful, like playing ball with you. It can also happen when your dog has been exposed to a number of stimuli that verge on scary. I have even seen it happen when training an adolescent dog named Spots. Spots got so very excited by my presence and anticipation of training that he lost all control, mounting my leg and clenching really hard. 

the hyperarousal scale for dog behavior

Here is the hyperarousal line turned into a circle. This view shows how sometimes it is difficult to tell if your dog is reacting to scary stuff or good stuff because the behaviors start looking the same in the red/dark green zone. 

The graphics on this page are (c) Wiggle Butt Academy and may be used with permission and reference to the author.

Key Points

Too much arousal, or arousal of the anxious brain, can be bad. It has the effect of dulling down the logical, rational part of the cerebral cortex whilst at the sale time ramping up the survival response (fight, flight, freeze and fidget behaviors).

Aroused animals are reactive to their environment; reaching their threshold in response to a stimulus more easily. This means that they are more likely to continue to perform the very behavioural problems we are trying to change.

Dr. Emma Hughes

Neural pathways in the brain strengthen with repeated use; so the more times a behaviour is performed, the ‘better’ the animal gets at it. Strong neural pathways form an animals'

default response to a given situation and are much harder to change.

Another Look

dog body language of hyperarousal
Dr. Sophia Yin

These are some behaviors you may see that indicare hyperarousal. As you learn more about dog body language, you will be able to see your dog's communication that s/he's approaching threshold before it flips into hyperarousal. 

What to Do?

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2
3
4

Prevent Rehearsal

Back to the neural pathways thing - we don't want neural pathways of unwanted behavior strengthened. This will take some keen body language insight, because understanding what your dog is saying will help you know when the signs are pointing to hyperarousal. Look for an increase in fear, anxiety or stress signals (more about these on our body language 2 page). When you get the hint that it's coming, redirect right away to a lower intensity location or activity. 

Identify Triggers

Sometimes it's hard to see the body language - so, knowing what triggers your dog will help. For example if grabbing the leash leads to frantic leash biting, the leash is the trigger (go to step 3). If cumulatively seeing 5 dogs during a walk prompts craziness, go home after three. If you aren't sure what the trigger is, if hyperarousal occurs, make note of the day, time, and what happened immediately before. Watch for patterns.

Desensitize Triggers

Let's get your dog so used to the trigger that s/he doesn't react to them. Start slowly at a level at which your dog doesn't react. Let's use the leash as an example. If going for a walk prompts crazed leash biting at the door, start by picking up and putting down the leash several times throughout the day. Progress to taking the leash to the front door and then putting it up. Do this for a few days. Then put the leash on your pup, leave it a few seconds, then take it off and put it up. No walks needed. Mix it all up, making sure you don't create any patterns. In this example, we are removing the leash as a predictor of walks to bring down the arousal associated with the beginning of the walk.

Teach What to Do Instead

Let your dog know what you'd like him/her to do instead of the hyperarousal behavior of the past - for example, sitting patiently at the door, keeping four feet on the ground, etc. Let these new replacement behaviors predict treats and great things.

needs met sign

Visit our Page: Behavior Change in the Context of Meeting Needs

Resources and References

Farricelli, A. (2014, June 09). Understanding Dog Arousal Problems - PetHelpful - By fellow animal lovers and experts. Retrieved from https://pethelpful.com/dogs/Understanding-Dog-Arousal-Problems

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Hughes, D. (2018, March 03). Understanding Canine Arousal. Retrieved from http://www.bbvs.com.au/canine-arousal/understanding-canine-arousal/

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Too Much of a Good Thing: Overexcitement in Exercise. (2012, May 02). Retrieved from https://paws4udogs.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/too-much-of-a-good-thing/

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