Did humans, and specifically the modern training industry, create hyperactivity in dogs by giving them too much enrichment and exciting training?

I’m a science based dog trainer, and I specialise in high intensity sporting/gun dogs. This means I get a lot of hyperactivity cases. It’s a majority of my caseload. We’re going to define hyperactivity as dogs who are seemingly constantly active, frenetic, and/or disruptive. They might struggle to sleep and rest, to learn, and to focus.

The argument is usually laid out thusly: dog trainers and guardians, specifically in North America, are too focused on entertaining the dogs. We take them to daycare, give them loads of enrichment, and never teach them to be bored. And the result of this is an overabundance of hyperactivity cases. (Often there is lip service paid to dopamine, but we don’t have any research to give us any insight on this)

(A quick note about enrichment: it is defined by it’s result. If an activity does not improve quality of life, it is not enrichment. If going to daycare is stressing the dog and making it very hard for them to settle, it’s not enriching. Activities and enrichment are not synonymous.)

This idea that behaviour problems are human created in general is a moot point, they’re all human influenced because dogs are a product of domestication and are all, to varying levels, living lives that are heavily influenced by human society. This includes both their genetic makeup and their lived experiences. Any time we draw a line between what is natural and what is human created, we are saying more about ourselves than we are about dog behaviour. Those lines are dictated by our own values and ideologies. It’s a social question, not a scientific one.

But is this issue that we label hyperactivity caused by giving them lots of exciting and interesting things to do all the time, and our human desire to constantly do more stuff? In my experience, not in the majority of cases.

This hypothesis overlooks the fact that there is more than one thing we are labeling hyperactivity, and doesn’t account for the many different reasons dogs may be considered hyperactive. Hyperactivity is an umbrella term, not a diagnosis.

In my office, I see a wide variety of issues resulting in dogs struggling to settle. This can include dogs who are woefully under-enriched, and need significantly more to do. It also includes dogs who are in pain and are dealing with that by being frenetic and erratic. There are dogs who have clinical behaviour problems, which in humans we would call mental illnesses. Often with those dogs, when we are able to speak with the guardians of their close relatives there seems to be a genetic component to their behaviour.

I get a lot of dogs who are designed to be working really hard jobs, and are instead living in the suburbs. There is no nosework class or stuffed kong that can replace a season of pheasant hunting. And I see a lot of dogs who are doing a lot of activity, but the wrong kind. They’re doing things that aren’t actually engaging their brain at all, or are frustrating, worrying, or overwhelming for them.

Interestingly, the dog who comes to my mind as a classic hyperactivity case was neglected as a puppy. He was kept in a very barren environment, his movement was restricted, and the training he did experience was heavy handed. Definitely not a case of too many exciting and enriching activities.

Often, when we find ways to truly meet the dog’s needs, we don’t need to worry about teaching them to calm down and settle. They do it on their own.

One of the questions we need to ask when we’re engaging in these kinds of debates is “who does this serve?” If we look around at the majority of dogs in North America, they do not need less access to species appropriate activity. Guardians who are struggling with a major behaviour problem (which hyperactivity can definitely be) do not need to be told it is their fault. Individual blame is rarely helpful. I struggle to understand in what context this argument is helpful.
Training and behaviour interventions for hyperactivity are, by necessity, individualized and complex. It’s not something guardians can just fix by taking the dog out of agility class or spending less money on toys.

Ultimately, the idea that hyperactivity in dogs is created by humans wanting to do all the things, and our industry’s focus on enrichment and training activities, oversimplifies a very complex topic. It is not supported by research, or my experience as someone who specialises in these cases.