When will your poodle finally calm down? It’s something most poodle owners soon start asking! This article explains when poodles typically calm down, and practical tips to help settle a hyperactive poodle.
Poodles typically calm down between 1-3 years old. Toy, miniature, and standard poodles all have varying energy levels and mature at different stages.
The good news is that hyperactive behavior can be avoided/resolved when owners are proactive in managing their poodle’s energy.
When Do Poodles Calm Down?
Let’s explain when toy, miniature, and standard poodles calm down, as each has different maturity stages.
Toy poodles
Toy poodles typically mature the quickest out of all poodle varieties. Most toy poodles will calm down from as early as 1 year old.
Miniature poodles
Miniature poodles take a little longer to mature than toy poodles but still sooner than standard poodles. Owners report that miniature poodles calm down between 12 to 16 months old.
Standard poodles
Standard poodles take the longest to mature compared to toy and miniature poodles. Standard poodles typically calm down between 16-24 months.
When Will YOUR Poodle Calm Down…
Although the time frames given above are generally accurate, it’s crucial for owners to know that age alone isn’t the answer for a calm poodle.
The truth is that all poodles calm down at different stages, regardless of whether they are toy, miniature, or standard.
And this is mostly affected by how they are raised, not how old they are…
Owners don’t actually need to wait in order to have a calm and sensible poodle.
If owners are proactive in managing their poodle’s energy and ensure they receive sufficient stimulation throughout the day, their behavior will be calm and controllable right from puppyhood.
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6 Ways To Calm Down Any Poodle
Keeping your poodle sufficiently stimulated, both physically and mentally, is the key to calm behavior.
Your poodle will have energy every single day, and that’ll never change. This is why your poodle must have a great daily routine with plenty of outlets to expend their energy in appropriate ways.
1. Exercise at the start of the day
When it comes to exercising your poodle, most owners consider how much they should be giving, but few think about when to give it.
Studies show that over 60% of dog owners walk their dog towards the end of the day in the evening.
If you’re able to exercise your poodle first thing in the morning (even if it means waking up earlier) then this should be at the top of the list!
By exercising your poodle first thing in the morning you’ll instantly expend all their pent up energy they’ve accumulated after a long restful sleep.
If poodles are left for hours on end right from when they wake up with no outlet for their energy, hyperactivity will always be the result.
2. Provide enough exercise
Although most owners already know this, it’s important to clarify just how much exercise all types of poodles really need.
How much daily exercise each poodle should receive:
- Standard: 60-90 minutes
- Miniature: 45-60 minutes
- Toy: 30-60 minutes
Ideally, as well as exercising in the morning, you’ll also provide a light session in the evening too.
After working with many poodles, I found that splitting up their exercise in half (one session in the morning and another at night) always worked the best.
If you follow a routine like this, you can rest assured your poodle is receiving all the physical stimulation they need.
3. Increase socialization!
In addition to physical stimulation (exercise), we also have mental stimulation. Mental stimulation is just as important as physical stimulation, if not more!
Poodles are one of the smartest breeds in the world, which means they really need their minds put to work on a daily basis!
The truth is that regardless of how much physical exercise you provide if your poodle isn’t tired mentally, they’ll never truly be worn out!
Socialization is perhaps the most potent form of mental stimulation we can provide for our dogs. This means interacting with new dogs and people on a daily basis.
This can be achieved by spending extra time at the dog park encouraging interactions or even inviting friends and family over with their dogs…
Anything you can do to increase your poodle’s socialization will dramatically improve their behavior, training, overall happiness, and will ultimately lead to a calmer, more stable poodle.
4. Use puppy pens effectively
Puppy pens are essentially like crates, but much more liberating and comfortable.
Puppy pens can be a useful tool to help calm down your poodle by limiting their movement in the house.
For this to work as intended, it’s crucial that your first build a positive relationship between your poodle and their puppy pen. This is to ensure your poodle doesn’t view the pen as a punishment, but rather a happy place they can relax.
You can do this by spending time with your puppy by the pen, playing with them in it, as well as throwing new treats and toys in there.
Why does this work?
By limiting your poodles movement, it will naturally calm her down. Not being able to do the zoomies around the room will automatically encourage her to lay down and calm down.
Of course, to make this easier you can throw in her favorite toys and a chew treat for extra effect.
Once again, this is an awesome way to encourage your poodle to take a time out, but she must first view the pen as somewhere she likes to be.
5. Basic command training
A huge mistake most owners make is that they quickly stop basic command training shortly after their poodle learns the command.
Commands like “sit, stay, down, come, drop, and paw” are all important and somewhat easy to train.
But once your poodle learns them, its crucial to keep going with them every single day.
Not only will this provide valuable mental stimulation and get her mind working, but it will reinforce good behavior and her ability to follow your commands when you say them.
You can make basic commands more interesting by asking her to sit and wait, while you leave the room. You can get creative with this, but the most important thing is to continue with this kind of training every single day.
6. Interactive puzzle toys
Puzzle toys are great at keeping your poodle entertained and focused.
From slow feeder type toys to snuffle mats and more, puzzle toys are a must for any poodle owner.
The StarMark toy is excellent at keeping your poodle busy for 30-45 minutes. It’s a hollow ball that’s filled with treats or kibble, that has a small hole. Your poodle needs to roll the ball in the correct direction for a treat to come out.
It’s one of the simplest kinds of puzzle toy, but if there’s a tasty treat inside, they work wonders.
You can also opt snuffle mats or complex toys that require your assistance like the Nina Ottoson.
These toys are also excellent for when you need to leave the house… This will at least give your poodle something to do for the first hour.
7. Increase general interaction
Last but certainly not least, is to simply interact with your poodle more.
Increasing general engagement with your poodle will satisfy their need for attention (which if already lacking could be the cause of hyperactive behavior).
By taking more time to train, play, bond, and engage with your poodle you should definitely see an improvement in their hyper behavior.
It’s necessary to take a step back and really consider how much time you spend focusing solely on your poodle.
The Key To a Calm Poodle: Explained
The reason why all of the above work, is because they are all stimulating.
Stimulation is the key to a calm poodle.
A sufficiently stimulated poodle (both physically and mentally) will not act up or demonstrate hyperactivity.
Hyperactivity in dogs nearly always comes from an insufficient daily routine that doesn’t meet their daily needs.
As long as a poodle receive enough physical and mental stimulation as well as outlets to release their energy, they’ll be a calm and sensible dog.
This is why being proactive in managing your poodles daily routine is so important. We don’t have to wait years just to get a calm poodle, it can be achieved much sooner.