When Do Goldendoodles Calm Down? [2024 Full Guide]

You don’t need to own a Goldendoodle to know that they’re excellent and joyful companions; however, you’re lucky if you do! These cute pups are known for their energy and excitable nature, this is a perfect addition to your family, but you need to know how to manage the excitable moods.

I’ve been lucky enough to work with many Goldendoodles over my years as a dog trainer, so if you’re struggling to control bouts of madness from your dog, I understand. While they’re always friendly and happy to see you, sometimes it can be too much – especially when they’re a puppy. If you’re wondering when your Goldendoodle will calm down, read on for some tips, tricks, and helpful information!

My Goldendoodle Puppy Has So Much Energy!

Goldendoodles’ excitable nature is often a selling point when adopting one; having a happy and healthy dog around the house can bring joy like no other. However, in the first few years of the puppy’s life, they tend to be more energetic, which usually does pass. Like most breeds of puppies, as they age, they will become calmer.

Most Goldendoodles will start to calm around 12-18 months of age. This is where they’re past the puppy stage and moving forward into adulthood. People can sometimes feel confused as puppy teeth are lost at 6-8 months, but you can still expect excitable behavior for months after this.

When doodles are less than a year old, they generally have surplus energy, leading to intense periods of play and longer naps. It can help to embrace the play throughout puppyhood, but you may need to try other tricks if this doesn’t help.

Why Is My Puppy Being So Naughty?

When they’re puppies, you can expect licking, zoomies, and all-around hyperactive behavior, but this extra energy and curiosity can often lead the kindest doodles to be naughty. Younger Goldendoodles often become overexcited and frantic, which leads to them forgetting their ‘manners’ – so to speak.

This can be more noticeable if your dog is larger; size doesn’t determine whether your pup is old or not. So, if your doodle is larger, their puppy behavior can be harder to deal with as they have more strength; this can be difficult for an owner.

While this energy won’t disappear completely when adulthood arrives, it is expected to lessen. Slow training processes can start to prepare doodles for adult life, but you can’t expect them to be 100% calm after a year or so – they’ll always be fun-loving!

Three Stages Of Aging

There is a general three-stage experience that most Goldendoodles progress through. This will occur in most Goldendoodles but can vary. Do note that if your Goldendoodle is quiet and tired, this could signal something is wrong; always consult a professional opinion if this is the case.

Puppy stage (expect constantly high energy)
Adult stage (still high energy, but gradually lessening)
Senior stage (more restful)

These dogs tend to spend most of their lives in the second adult phase, but the most energetic stage is the first one.

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Tips And Tricks

Even though crazy energy is expected from your pup, you may want to find some resources or games that can help manage this behavior. Over excitement is expected from Goldendoodles, so these tips will not get rid of it. These are great ways to stop the energy from becoming undesirable behavior, though. In the early stage (puppyhood), diversion and prevention are the best ways to minimize overexcitement.

Time To Get Active

If one of the ways your dog’s energy manifests is running around the house, they may benefit from more exercise.

Most dog breeds need a healthy walk or play daily to tire themselves out; in this case, Goldendoodles have so much energy that this is one of the most important aspects of caring for one.

If your doodle is overactive, it can help to take an hour of walk time daily to burn some of that energy. It’s not the end of the world if you’re busy and you miss a day of walks. However, you may see an energy spike from just one missed session. A bonus tip for a good walk is to go somewhere where they can run around off-leash; this is great for an energy-filled doodle.

Other good active alternatives are bringing your dog to a social outing, playing fetch, taking your doodle on a run/jog, and letting your doodle play with kids while you’re watching. Getting your dog active is the first step to take if you want to manage their behavior. Remember not to overdo it though, watch for signs that they can’t keep up.

Toys Can Be Helpful

Playing fetch with sticks is a classic game and can help with overactive doodles, but consider investing in some specialized toys.

Dog toys can provide intellectual stimulation and benefit from being ‘self exercise’ for a dog. If doodles are bored, they can become excited when something unusual happens, resulting in a crazy episode. Mental stimulation through toys can result in fewer overreactions and seemingly calmer behavior. Boredom reportedly hurts dog’s feelings, too, so make sure they’re happy!

Even a simple chew toy can help relieve stress, helping to reduce barking and overstressed out behaviors. Indoor dog games and toys are great, allowing doodles to play without the hassle of scheduling outside time.

Good toys are rubber chew toys, tennis balls, stuffed animals, flavored toys, ropes, treat dispensers, puzzles, and squeaky toys. Note that squeaky toys are a favorite – so if you buy one, you will be putting up with additional noise!

Scent Training

Scent training (or nose work) is a simple pastime for Goldendoodles and can wear them out mentally and physically. This is also a great indoor activity. Inability to focus and lack of concentration are standard crazy doodle behavior. Scent training can be done at home to engage their attention and promote calmness.

Start by playing hide and seek with your doodles favorite treats – these are called ‘hides.’ You can start with empty cardboard boxes and progress onto other areas of the house, be as creative as you want here!

Good hides for Goldendoodles are boiled chicken, dried liver snacks, or even grated cheese; see what your dog reacts best with.

Once your dog has found the hide, reward them with an extra set of treats. As you play, progressively make each hide more challenging to engage them. This could be done by placing hides in a plastic container that makes an interesting noise, getting your dog to reach into boxes with their nose, or reducing the number of hides but putting out extra boxes to search through.

The increase in difficulty will help boost self-assuredness; while doodles often have self-confidence, this is still an excellent exercise for them. Sniffing is mentally and physically tiring for a Goldendoodle, which can help use up their crazy energy.

Train Yourself

If you have an excitable dog, all the focus goes to what they’re doing and how to control it. However, it can help assess how you and your family react to their bouts of energy.

When your doodle is acting up, you mustn’t praise them or give them treats. This can reinforce the behavior, and the cycle repeats. Try to make a habit of ignoring your dog when they’re acting over the top; bring the energy level down to calm them.

Some even suggest practicing bringing the energy level down during playtimes. Try playing for a couple of minutes and then being calm for one. This shows your doodle the difference between play and calm and can help them get used to both.

Consider Getting Walking Help

I’ve already suggested walking and how important exercise is for dogs in this article, but another great tip for Goldendoodle owners is to consider getting a dog walker.

We can all be so busy with work and our lives, so scheduling in walkies can be difficult. However, doodles need their walks, and this doesn’t go away if you’re busy.

Dog walkers are easy to find these days; thanks to the internet, try some helpful dog-walking apps, such as Rover, to connect with trusted walkers. This can take some of the pressure off of you and can keep your doodle active.

A bonus to getting some help with walking is that if your doodle is extra active, you also have extra energy to play with them if someone has helped you walk them!

Remember To Be Calm

Sometimes if we are stressed, dogs can sense this and become anxious too. This can then lead to over-excitement, and undesirable behavior, which in turn stresses us again, and the cycle keeps escalating.

Calm yourself and then calm your dog; practice just relaxing sitting around your dog. This is a great way to teach them patience and to help you not react to their energy. When your doodle sits calmly, remember to praise them for being good.

Practicing a sit command is always a good way to train your dog; it helps create patience and be easy going about things that excite them.

Overactive Behavior When A Goldendoodle Is Older

Once the puppy stage is over, a reduction in energy levels and manic behavior is expected. It’s important to remember that it won’t disappear completely, though. Goldendoodles are fun and excitable for life!

Excessive Barking

Sometimes learned behaviors from puppyhood will continue later on in their lives, for example, problem chewing or excessive barking. This needs to be dealt with earlier to nip them in the bud.

Barking is natural to dogs; you can’t stop a doodle from barking. The issue arises when barking becomes ‘problem barking.’ This is when it becomes a general nuisance; for example, neighbors become annoyed, e.t.c.

There are strategies and training to curb this problem, and it can be linked to learned puppy behaviors. Strategies include playing tricks and babying the doodle; you may also have to block out windows to stop excessive barking.

Why Is My Older Goldendoodle Biting?

It’s usual for puppies to bite; these are soft and non harming nips that don’t pierce the skin.

If this action becomes painful, biting, or continues after 12 months of age, it can be time to seek advice from a professional or start at-home training.

Play biting should stop significantly when the puppy teeth have been replaced; this should be at approx 8 months of age. It’s important not to put up with biting; if the problem arises, make sure to deal with it as soon as possible.

When Will My Goldendoodle Be Calm?

Goldendoodles are excitable by nature, so expecting them to wake up one day completely tranquil isn’t possible. However, the general rule of thumb is that by 3 years of age, they should not be hyper or crazy anymore.

If you’re still experiencing over-the-top crazy behavior by 2.5 years of age, you can expect a lifetime of it. This shows that the doodle isn’t successfully growing out of it, and you may need a professional dog trainer or some intense obedience lessons to help the problem.

Conclusion

If you’re experiencing hyper-active Goldendoodle behavior, you should address it through this article’s tips and tricks. If these don’t show much progress and your dog is older, it could be time to find a good dog trainer to help.

The key to addressing crazy doodles is to redirect the problem behaviors and to use positive reinforcement. Tackle each problem (e.g., problem barking or excessive licking) separately to solve them.

Key activities to help Goldendoodles are:

Exercise daily; make sure to tire them out.
Mental stimulation through games
Time passing and aging
Socialization in a calm way
Scent training

Try to follow the five steps above and see how it affects your doodle’s energy levels. Don’t worry; overactive behavior is normal for Goldendoodles – it just needs to be managed well!

When Do Goldendoodles Calm Down? [Our Complete Guide]