excitment problem

[policeman06]

I have a 4 year old male shep/mal mix. My problem is he is so hyper that he will whine and pace back and fourth in the car for 12 hrs straight. He gets so worked up that when its time for a vehicle sniff, his tongues dragging and hes wore out.

I excercise him 45 minutes before we go on shift, but it's still not enough. Any suggestions would be apprecoated.

[RPD13]

How long has he been out with you? If he is new, you may just need to give him time to adjust to driving around and waiting for play time.

You could work on training a quiet command, works good in conjuncton with a down command. If trained to do this you could have him lay down and be quiet for a moment while you are doing a certain task (phone, contact, or whatever) and give him a break from working around.

Some have also allowed their dog to have a kong to chew during patrol, it helps keep some dogs calm and occupied. This does depend on the dog though, you need to be able to get this away from him and still have him word for you. NOT recommended for all dogs.