ddansberger, First welcome to Pet Talk, I'm relatively new here myself. I normally keep my dogs in the house and I take them out three times a day. The length of time depends on the weather. If the weather is nice and not too cold I'll leave them out for almost the whole day, of course they have shelter and plenty of water. How cold does it get during the day? I live in the south so we have only a few really cold days a year. I guess you can tell by the responses that the majority of people here consider their pets as another family member. I know I do. I call my dogs "my boys" so much some people actually think I have 2 little boys. I guess that's why so much attention was made to what you said. I understand what you mean by a hyper dog. I have one. If you want to try to get your dog to calm down, this is what worked or should I say is working for me. In your home, doggie-proof it. When I first got Jeffrey, he would rip apart everything. I was told to leave him in a crate when I wasn't home. I couldn't bring myself to do it. Yes, there were a lot of mini-disasters: chewed shoes, books, fish food eaten, garbage cans knocked over with the contents spread from the kitchen to the living room. I learned to put things away. Now that I think about it, Jeffrey helped me become a better housekeeper! Anyway, these are all material things. They can be replaced and I can clean up the mess. But when I see that goofy grin (with a tiny bit of guilt mixed in) greet me at the door, the mess sorta doesn't matter. That can't be replaced. It's been three months and with patience, a lot of stern "NO, NO", and a whole lot of chew toys (kongs with peanut butter are especially great) we almost have it under control. I still make sure there is nothing left out for him to destroy when I leave home. He pretty much has the run of the house when I'm gone with the exception of the a couple of bedrooms. We keep the doors shut. My daughter's stuffed animals are too much of a temptation. We have to make sure the chairs are pushed all the way to the table because he'll use them to get on top. Can't tell you how many bowls of fruit have been toppled over by him. Next sign up for a dog obedience class. You can learn to handle your dog better and perhaps it will calm him down. Is he left alone for a long time during the day? I am lucky to live only 5 minutes from my job so I can come home during the day to take my dogs out for walks. Do you have a big yard or is there a park nearby where you can take him everyday for exercise? If so that's good for the both of you. Gives the dog some much needed exercise and helps you two to bond. Please continue to visit Pet of the Day. The people here are great. I have learned a lot. Sometimes I don't even have to ask a question because someone else is experiencing the same thing and it's already posted. Keep coming back and let us know how you and your dog are doing.