• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Unleashed Potential
  • Classes
  • UPX
  • Board and Train
  • Day Train Program
  • Find a Trainer
    • Become A Trainer
  • The UPK9 Blog
  • Store

Dog trainer Summerside"

How to CALM a HYPER Puppy OR Excite a Lazy Dog Using FOOD

March 7, 2021 By Duke Ferguson 2 Comments

Watch This Video and Learn How to CALM a HYPER Puppy OR Excite a Lazy Dog Using FOOD

 

If you enjoyed this video, please Subscribe to our YouTube channel (P.S. Click the bell icon to get notifications when we post a new video).

Do you have a pushy dog, a hyper puppy, or a dog that likes to jump all over you?  Does your dog lack focus, not listen or pay attention?  If so, then this video is for you!

Two Powerful Ways to Use Food in Training

Learn How to CALM a HYPER Puppy using food.  In this video, I’m going to teach you how to take the hyper, pushy dog and get him to calm down and start using his brain. And I’m going to do that with food and the least amount of punishment possible.   You’re going to see me doing not much at all, I’ll be sitting while training and I’m going to use food as a distraction.  So, not only am I going to be getting this hyper dog to start thinking and to start doing alternate behaviors to get what he wants, but I’m going to be distracting the dog with food at the same time.  You’ll learn the whole process of how you can use food to actually calm a dog down!  I’ll also so you how you can use food to get a dog more jacked up and excited.

The main purpose of this video is to show you there are multiple uses of food.  I think you’re really going to enjoy it; especially if you have a hyper puppy or even a lazy dog.

This post may contain affiliate links.

Jumpy, Hyper Puppy – Before Our Training Session

jumpy hyper puppy

SUMMARY

How to CALM a HYPER Puppy Using Food OR Excite a Lazy Dog Using Food.

  • A lot of  people, including dog trainers say “I don’t use food in training because it makes the dog too crazy.”  This is a common misconception.  When food is used properly you can actually calm a dog down and even create a thinking dog.
  • The weak dog with a low drive must become pushier to eat and the high drive, the pushy dog must calm down to eat.  Nature teaches us this.  Puppies learn quickly that in order to eat, they must have become pushy enough to get a spot to nurse amongst the littermates. If it’s too aggressive and bites mom’s nipples, she’s going to correct that behaviour.  If a puppy is weak and unmotivated there will be no food.
  • How do you calm a dog down using food?  Make him think!
  • The dog must learn: Ignore the reward to get the reward.  What I look for is behaviour; the dog must ignore the food in my hand and look into my eyes to get the food.  Offer predictable “room service” and feed the dog for the desired behaviour of sitting and being calm.  This is referred to as a direct reward.
  • Why are dogs pushy and jumpy? It’s because you reinforce it by making a game of it by pushing them down.
  • It’s better to train a dog that is thinking not just reacting.
  • This training is not a quick fix method but it will develop a solid, strong behaviour while still maintaining a good, solid, happy dog.

Attention and Focus After 6 Minutes of Training

Calm dog paying attention

 

The Liver Bites I use and train with every day.  Freeze-dried, all-natural liver bites with no preservatives.

treats to train the hyper puppy

 

Treat pouch to train the hyper puppy
Unleashed Potential K9 Training Pouch

 

Would you like FREE  puppy training or dog training advice? OR to just learn more about Duke’s philosophy on dog training?  GET ACCESS HERE to his exclusive, FREE mini-video series.  This mini-series is not found on YouTube… Get Access Now… You will love it!

Contact us HERE

FOLLOW US!

 

 


Full Transcript-

How to CALM a HYPER Puppy Using Food OR Excite a Lazy Dog Using FOOD

[The following is the full transcript of this YouTube video. Please note that this video, features Duke speaking extemporaneously–he is unscripted and unedited. Filmed in one take].

Hey everybody, it’s Duke Ferguson, owner, CEO, and master trainer of Unleashed potential K9 and creator of Dog Training Genesis. If you have a pushy dog, a hyper dog, a dog that likes to jump all over you and steal things and not focus and not pay attention and not listen – just outright crazy. Then this video is for you! In this video, I’m going to teach you how to take that type of dog and get them to start thinking using the brain. And I’m gonna use that with food and the least amount of punishment possible. And while you watch, you’re going to see me doing not very much at all, talking to the camera and the food I’m going to use as a distraction. So not only am I going to be getting this hyper dog to start thinking and to start doing alternate behaviours, to get what they want, but I’m going to be distracting the dog with food at the same time. And I’m going to explain to you the whole process of how you can use food to actually calm a dog down. And I’ll actually explain how you can use food to get a dog more jacked up and excited. The main purpose of this video is just to show you there are multiple uses of food. And I think you’re really going to enjoy it, especially if you have one of those dogs. Alright, see in the video.

So a lot of trainers, and a lot of people, not just trainers and people may say, “I don’t use food because it makes them too crazy”. Right. And you must understand, actually, can you come over here? And we’re going to flip around for a sec for the board.

Using food. Okay. Do you have a high dog? Not a pot high but a strong pushy food-drive And this is the balanced line that you want of a medium, like level-headed or even a weak dog, right? Uh, just kind of like a low, weak, uh, this weak dog must become pushier to eat. The high crazy nutbar needs to calm down and use their brain to eat. This isn’t “bro” science. This is mother nature. If this dog comes rambunctiously in there at the little puppy age, bites mommy’s nipples. She’s going to tell him, hey, you’re not eating today. If the little one is too weak, doesn’t get in there. Maybe there’s how many nipples and how many puppies you don’t eat today ’cause you weren’t pushy enough. Does it make sense? And food works for this and works for this but some people are like, no, it makes them too hectic this dog wants food, right?

It’s begging for food. And people say, Oh, never reward begging behaviour. bull, I say reward begging don’t reward this. So what I need to do, I can do lots of stuff. Most people are going to ask, how do you correct that? How do you punish it? And you could, you can do kinds of things. It’s a nine-month-old dog, so you can do that it’s not a puppy actually. So, you see, we teach certain things. So I’m going to just try something, for example, bring him some food, right. And I’ll amp the dog up. It’s not hard. That’s what the dogs learn. But that’s a drive, and a lot of people say, how do I friggin calm him down? Right. Okay. Make him think. So he’s already kind of had a little process of thinking just with my free videos. So if I sit here and I have the food. I can make him calmer by making him think, okay. Now I can either let him do this and be pushy, pushy, pushy, pushy, pushy. Right? And he learns being pushy I’ll starve to death. So he thinks, how do I get the food, but I’m not going to let him starve to death in a sense, but he will if he’s not paying attention, this is not paying attention. This is going by all the reinforcement that he’s had. And he’s learned to do this, to get what he wants. Now, the other thing I can do is I can do what’s called negative punishment. What’s an evil thing, right? Which I just don’t pull away. Bring it back.

I can make him calmer by making him think

Until he’s calmer. If he paws at the hand, I pull it away. And I come back. What I do look for is behaviour. I want you to look into my eyes, look at him, he so focused on food, how am I going to look in my eyes? Right? This might take a while, but this dog, he’s never had any training ever in a sense. High food drive builds up. Maybe he sits there and calms down. Maybe I don’t get him so that he’s calmer. Did you see that? Break! See he looked into my eyes. I don’t have to do anything. Lazy dog training, positive training is lazy dog training. He lays down, “Break”. Get him to think, how do I get the food? Do I jump to get the food? No, I won’t go hungry by being pushy, pushy to get the food. No! So when he does that, look, he’s already learning

I’m not doing anything. I’m talking to the camera. I don’t have to punish him. If he jumped on me, I could stand up and say, don’t touch me.  So let’s do something a little deeper. This is deeper practice. Now his freaking brain is working. I’m not luring nobody needs to do that cheerleading crap. He’s all over me and I say “hey” That’s a little bit better. Nice and calm. There’s your food. There it is there. What are you going to do to get it? He’s already starting to lay down. I want him to look into my eyes. So he’s exploring options. Why are they pushy? Why are they jumpy? Because you reinforce it by pushing them down and playing games. I’m going to reward this since he’s calm. “Break” He’s calm, you see that part? his mind was thinking. I’ll up the criteria later. So you still got that emotion so that every other day that goes by. “break” Dog uses his brain and gets smart. Do nothing.

Why are they pushy? Why are they jumpy? Because you reinforce it by pushing them down and playing games.

So just sit there and do nothing. Sometimes, you get the patience to do it. I want eye contact. I don’t care if he sits or down, I want eye contact. I’m going to get them all amped up again. Right? Just to see it. See how people could be. It gets worse. If he stays crazy long-term this is what he’s used to doing. Give me that, give me that, and he gets what he wants for the most part he’s right in there. Right? Pushing. And like I said, pulling away is negative punishment. Butt on the ground gives food. Paws – pulls things away. When you go for it, you push it away. When your ass is on the ground, it comes to you. It’s just a hot coal game. Okay? So I am doing a little bit of activity saying break and releasing him. And that actually keeps them active and high sometimes. If I want him super calm, if I want him just to sit there and be calm, I will give room service, which is a direct reward. Alright?

We’ll get him to do a sit or down and then I’ll show you what I mean by direct reward. This is predictable. It will be predictable. Every time I use it to get to that safe, predictable reward will calm him down because he knows. I’m not creating a break in the activity. I want to happy high drive dog. I want a dog thinking, look he’s not jumping on me anymore. I want to throw it and have him come back for it. I just liked the activity with the dogs.

So feed, feed. “Good” means stay in behaviour. You don’t have to use that word. A lot of people are like, Oh, you’re just baiting the dog. I just want to be calm. So just pause for now. As I talk to you, let’s be calm. I’d rather that than getting raked (clawed), know good Lord. See how he’s coming around and I’ve got the food right there and he’s not even jumping for it anymore. And he’ll forget. I don’t care if he moves, I didn’t tell him to lay down. I didn’t tell him to sit. I want him to calm down and I have food. I have high-value food. Watch, I’m going to actually.  I’m going to get him going because I want him to learn every time I get crazy

I’m not asking for obedience. I’m asking to use his brain, that’s it. Negative punishment. Right there folks. if you think punishment is bad, oh, poor boy.  I don’t ask for obedience. I’m asking for him to use his brain. He’s not jumping on me anymore. Isn’t that funny? Here’s food. Here and here, and this side and this side. It’s crazy.

I’m not asking for obedience. I’m asking him to use his brain, that’s it.

Notice the pushiness is less and the wheels are turning, “Good” Predictable, direct room service calms him down. Now I’m going to do some active training. Okay, to tire him out. I’m not going to step on the leash. Now, does that make sense? Jumping on it comes back to me. Now I can start training a recall if I want to. He’s now, sees, me I like to train a dog that’s actually thinking, not just reacting. I’ll react to the dog. He thinks he’s the one in control. He’s not. “Break” And that’s the release that will keep him a little stimulated, that keeps them happy. That builds dopamine and builds a love for the behaviour. So if you want a calm dog – room service – predictable, for now. You don’t do this constantly forever. He’s going to learn to be calm. You might have to give high rates of reinforcement or else if you are too slow he will mess up like that.

Me, I like to train a dog that’s actually thinking, not just reacting. I’ll react to the dog. He thinks he’s the one in control. He’s not.

High rates, high rates, then – slow it down. Instead of every second, every two seconds, then every three seconds and every four seconds. See that? Pulling away for Sarah but the only way you eat today or tomorrow. Get his attention. He’s crazy, I love it! Just make sense. The leash is only there so he can’t get away. I just made my fish tank smaller. See this harness? Throw the thing away! That’s why he pulls like crazy on the leash. When he hit the end of the leash there with something on the neck it will give him a little bonk and gets him back to me and smartens him up to pay attention. Now I can start training him to think do whatever I want. I’m actually not training him in any obedience, I’m not giving any commands, I’m just saying use your brain. “Break” He looks in my eyes. There’s food here. If he goes after it, he doesn’t eat, he sits and thinks he looks at my eyes. Here’s the thing. Ignore reward, think about something. Do, to get the reward. Ignore reward in order to get the reward. I don’t lure a lot, you know, I lure a little bit when I need to but it’s not needed. Simple.

Ignore reward in order to get the reward.  That’s how you calm a hyper puppy using food.

Okay. I hope you enjoyed this video as much as I enjoyed making it for you. And I hope you can take something that’s relevant out of there, a nugget or two, just replay the video if you want to and start applying that to your dog right away, you will see the dog start to think and the dogs start to respond. Provided you’ve got, I’m going to give you some three extra tips here provided you have three keys that are really important and your training, your timing’s gotta be good. You gotta be very consistent in a lifestyle with this, how you live with your dog trains your dog and the dog needs to be motivated to care. It needs to be motivated by what you have. Okay. Now you don’t have to distract your dog as I did in the video. I just want to show you an example.

 

This video is not a quick fix method. Okay. But I do find that it is rooted really deep in getting a really solid, strong behaviour and still maintaining a good, solid, happy, positive attitude with your dog. And it’s less risky. Okay. There are other methods that I can apply and show you. And I will do it in other videos of how you might be able to do this a little bit quicker, but this one, this one’s hard to screw up and it’s really tough to cause problems in your training if you will. All right. So thank you for watching. And if you’re looking for a trainer to help you with your dog an Unleashed Potential trainer or trainer you can trust, just check out our website unleashedpotential.ca I have trainers in Canada, in the United States. And we would love to help you. If there’s no trainer, Unleashed Potential trainer in your area.

 

I also have an online dog training program that start to finish it’s for puppies it’s for any type of dog, with really any kind of issues, because all of the recipe of what I teach the methodologies, the foundation is the most important thing that you need to know to get success. Everything else, once you get your dog thinking a certain way in a certain state of mind, everything else is super easy. So for your convenience, what I’m going to do is I’m going to put all of the links below in the description box. So you just check out the description box, check out a link that you want to go to. And it’s all there for your convenience to get more help if you need more help and you want to go further. If you haven’t subscribed to our channel, yet, we’re going to be putting out more and more. It was this year and I don’t want you to miss out. It’s going to be a lot of teaching, a lot of education this year, more than ever before. And what I would urge you to do now is click on your notifications and subscribe to our channel. Give us a thumbs up. And if you know anybody who has a pushy dog or a dog that they need help with, feel free to share this video. As always, thanks for watching. And I’ll see you in the next video.

Filed Under: Duke Ferguson, UPK9 Main Blog

The Lazy Dog Trainer V – Shaping with Clicker & Food

May 17, 2017 By Duke Ferguson Leave a Comment

The Lazy Dog Trainer V  –  Shaping with Clicker & Food

This video shows how we can get high output from a dog while we just sit and do “NOTHING” other than mark and feed the desired behaviours.

“Lazy Dog Trainer” Gets its name form learning how to get the most from your dog while doing the least from the handler.

Check out the video

Got Dog Problems? Do you want help? No matter the size, sex, age or breed We Can Help!

Would you like  FREE dog training advice? OR to just learn more about Duke’s philosophy on dog training?  GET ACCES HEERE to his Exclusive, FREE Mini video series  Click Here!! This mini series is not found on Youtube… Get Access Now… You will love the mini series and its Free!! 🙂

To find a UPK9 Trainer near you or to Book your  FREE Demonstration and Consult Click Here

For more information on how you can  purchase Dog Training Genesis and become a member  CLICK  HERE or on the photo below of Duke and his dogs.

ARE YOU A TRAINER LOOKING TO BETTER YOUR SKILLS OR SOMEONE WANTING TO LEARN TO BECOME A DOG TRAINER or JOIN THE UPK9 TEAM ? CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN COME AND TRAIN WITH DUKE FERGUSON

Fotor111122448
Learn More About Dog Training Genesis CLICK HERE !

Follow us on FACEBOOK  and subscribe to  us on YouTube

Filed Under: Duke Ferguson, UPK9 Main Blog

Modern Day Dog Training With Unleashed Potential. NePoPo Training

October 30, 2016 By Duke Ferguson Leave a Comment

Modern Day Dog Training With Unleashed Potential. NePoPo training.

Did you know there is a terrible misconception in the dog training world that if you use E – Collars or other tools that can apply pressure or corrections then you are not a positive trainer at all…..AND… If your a user of clickers or verbal marks then your not a trainer who can stand to apply pressure or corrections in training.

This Misconception is crazy and its not true at all.

Check out this video I made for you. It has 2 key foundation training tips in it.

 

Got Dog Problems? Do you want help? No matter the size, sex, age or breed We Can Help!

Would you like  FREE dog training advice? OR to just learn more about Duke’s philosophy on dog training?  GET ACCES HEERE to his Exclusive, FREE Mini video series  Click Here!! This mini series is not found on Youtube… Get Access Now… You will love the mini series and its Free!! 🙂

To find a UPK9 Trainer near you or to Book your  FREE Demonstration and Consult Click Here

For more information on how you can  purchase Dog Training Genesis and become a member  CLICK  HERE or on the photo below of Duke and his dogs.

ARE YOU A TRAINER LOOKING TO BETTER YOUR SKILLS OR SOMEONE WANTING TO LEARN TO BECOME A DOG TRAINER or JOIN THE UPK9 TEAM ? CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN COME AND TRAIN WITH DUKE FERGUSON

Fotor111122448
Learn More About Dog Training Genesis CLICK HERE !

Follow us on FACEBOOK  and subscribe to  us on YouTube

 

Filed Under: Duke Ferguson, UPK9 Main Blog

From 8wks – 5months old Terrier UNLEASHED: Unleashed Potential PEI Dog Training

April 23, 2014 By Duke Ferguson Leave a Comment

photo 3-1I would like to take a moment to thank  Unleashed Potential in PEI for what they have done for me and my terrier pup. I must admit.  I am thrilled with our progress!
 We started with Puppy Management and have now progressed onto the  OFF LEASH Ultimate Obedience for life program! We are a couple lessons short of starting our first group session and could not be more excited to make that transition with Duke Ferguson.
The UPK9 trainers are more than willing to answer any questions I may have, and has helped us in every step with Piper. My dog Piper is only 5 months old now and I have such a great handle on this dog! It is just amazing to see what they can do if we just start them young and remain “Very Consistent” with our commands!
I highly recommend Unleashed Potential! You won’t be disappointed if you do your homework!

photo 2-1

Good luck to all in their training!

Respectfully, Wynnie and Piper

Check this video out of Piper before he even finished Puppy Classes!   Just click here

   If you want results like this make sure you sign up for Duke Ferguson’s FREE Dog Training Mini Series on the home page or by clicking HERE!!

Do you have problems training your dog or dogs? Do you want help? No matter the size, sex, age or breed We Can Help!

Want FREE dog training advice? OR to just learn more about Duke’s philosophy on dog training?  GET ACCESS to his Exclusive, FREE Mini video series  Click Here!! This mini series is not found on Youtube… Get Access Now… You will love the mini series and its Free!! 🙂

To find a UPK9 Trainer near you or to Book your  FREE Demonstration and Consult Click Here

For more information on how you can  purchase Dog Training Genesis and become a member  CLICK  HERE or on the photo of Duke and his dogs.

Fotor111122448
Learn More About Dog Training Genesis CLICK HERE !

 

Follow us on FACEBOOK  and subscribe to  us on YouTube

Filed Under: Duke Ferguson, Testimonials

Border Collie given a new lease on life!

July 10, 2013 By Duke Ferguson Leave a Comment

 Border Collie/Australian Shepherd Training PEI & NS

Memphis is a fun loving, full of life Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix. You would never know, looking at him now, that he has had a pretty complicated past. By the time Memphis was 6 months old, he was diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia. Memphis underwent two major surgeries just weeks apart followed by four months of strict recovery. By the time he was fully healed, he was just over a year old. He missed the critical stage in his life for developing social skills with other dogs. When we were finally able to walk him down our street, we noticed quite quickly that Memphis was very nervous of other dogs, becoming excessively vocal, and a true nightmare to the neighbourhood. We were extremely embarrassed passing other people and dogs as our sweet little boy would turn into a growling, barking dog. We had tried many things to get Memphis back on track with socialization, but it proved to be beyond our control. That’s when we made the phone call to Unleashed Potential in Halifax.   After a few lessons , we were making progress. We could see a huge difference in the way Memphis acted. The methods have become a daily ritual in our house. With guidance, and a lot of homework on our part, Memphis was ready to participate in semi-private lessons. Before we knew it, he had graduated to group class!  Now he’s able to play on and off leash with other dogs! We couldn’t have made it to where we are now without Unleashed Potential. It is an amazing feeling to have such control over your dog, and not worry about how he will react. Memphis has learned to focus on us and our commands instead of other distractions. We look forward to attending group class every Saturday. Memphis loves it so much. Thank you Unleashed Potential,  for everything you have done. You have given us our fun loving sweetheart back, and now he can continue living the happy and healthy life he deserves!

 Ryan, Ashley & Memphis

– –

I

Do you have problems training your dog or dogs? Do you want help? No matter the size, sex, age or breed We Can Help!

Want FREE dog training advice? OR to just learn more about Duke’s philosophy on dog training?  GET ACCESS to his Exclusive, FREE Mini video series  Click Here!! This mini series is not found on Youtube… Get Access Now… You will love the mini series and its Free!! 🙂

To find a UPK9 Trainer near you or to Book your  FREE Demonstration and Consult Click Here

For more information on how you can  purchase Dog Training Genesis and become a member  CLICK  HERE or on the photo of Duke and his dogs.

Fotor111122448
Learn More About Dog Training Genesis CLICK HERE !

 

Follow us on FACEBOOK  and subscribe to  us on YouTube

Filed Under: Testimonials, UPK9 Halifax, UPK9 Main Blog

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Go to Next Page »

Footer

RSS The Weekly Recall with Duke Ferguson

  • #28 Four Ways Your Dog Is Trying to Communicate With You
    Why does your dog ignore you sometimes? Most people think it is a training issue. In reality, it is usually a communication issue. In this episode of Weekly Recall, Duke breaks down the four ways dogs actually communicate. Dogs do not rely on words the way humans do. They pay attention to scent, body language, […]

Home | Contact | Find a Dog Trainer | Dog Trainer School | Dog Training | Store | Blog | Privacy Policy


Follow Duke Ferguson on Facebook Follow Duke on YouTube Follow Duke on Instagram


Copyright © 2026 · All Rights Reserved

Unleashed Potential - Stratford, PE, C1B 2W2, Canada
Phone: (902) 367-3647 · Toll Free: (844) 364-3647

Hours of Operation:
Unleashed Potential Main Office:
Monday - Friday: 9am-4pm | Office closed on Saturdays & Sundays
Dog Training & Coaching - By appointment only