Evening zoomies

A
Aussie63 Icon representing the flag French
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Hi everyone,

Our puppy is now 3 1/2 months old and for the last few days, he’s been getting really worked up every evening and struggling to settle down. Every morning and late afternoon, we take him for a 20–30 minute walk, both on and off-lead, with a few training exercises too. At lunchtime, we often have several short play and training sessions. We try to keep things as varied as possible.

But when evening comes, he starts growling loudly and either grabs a toy that he 'attacks', or he goes for his tail or a paw and gets agitated very quickly. This often ends in an excitement pee, lots of panting, and general restlessness...

Sometimes we manage to calm him down, either by taking him outside to break the cycle of over-excitement, or by giving him a buffalo skin chew to gnaw on, but occasionally the madness starts all over again 10 minutes later.

I completely understand that he’s a puppy and needs to play and let off steam... but it’s this state of intense over-excitement that’s bothering me, and it seems to be escalating more and more.

I’ve read in several articles not to play ball with puppies because it winds them up more than anything else. Fair enough, but do you have any games to suggest? We do our best to let him burn off energy, whether on walks or during play, without letting the pressure build too much. I’m open to any advice on how to get back to a bit of peace and quiet!

I must admit, I’m feeling a bit lost...

Thanks!

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35 answers
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    • A
    Adb têtes de cailloux Icon representing the flag French
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    Well, in terms of walks, she gets out quite a lot already I think—a 30 to 40-minute walk first thing when we wake up at 6:45–7 am, a 30-minute walk at lunchtime after her meal, a 20 to 30-minute walk around 5 pm followed by a bit of play and training, a 30 to 40-minute walk around 7 pm after her 6:45 pm dinner, and two final toilet breaks in the evening before bed.

    Hi there,

    She’s getting plenty of walks! Perhaps try combining two of them into one longer walk in the afternoon or early evening. To help her settle at night, you could try holding her close against your leg (without hurting her) and wait for her to sit or lie down... essentially, gently guiding her towards a calm state. She’s still young, so take your time. Hang in there!

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    F
    Fastball83 Icon representing the flag French
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    Unfortunately, I’m already playing with her 😳

    I play 'which hand' with her by hiding a piece of dry food and showing her my hands so she can find it, I play with a rope toy, I throw the ball for her a bit (but that’s not really her thing)... so if you have any other ideas for games to play in the living room, I’m all ears.

    The only thing that settles her down is when we give her something to chew (cheese chews, stuffed Kongs, bull pizzles), but as soon as we take it away, ten minutes later she’s back at it again.

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    Kikaah
    Kikaah Icon representing the flag French
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    Otherwise, when she’s like that, how about having a proper play session with her to help her burn off some energy a bit quicker? ^^
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    F
    Fastball83 Icon representing the flag French
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    Well, in terms of walks, I think she’s already getting out quite a bit.

    30 to 40-minute walk in the morning when we get up at 6.45am-7am after her food.

    30-minute walk at lunchtime.

    20 to 30-minute walk around 5pm, followed by a bit of play and training.

    30 to 40-minute walk around 7pm, after her dinner at 6.45pm.

    And then two final toilet breaks in the evening before bed.

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    Kikaah
    Kikaah Icon representing the flag French
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    A good walk? :)

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    F
    Fastball83 Icon representing the flag French
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    Hi everyone, I’m bumping this thread because my 8-month-old puppy is behaving exactly the same way in the evening between 9 and 10 pm. She’s so calm and affectionate all day (always giving licks and coming for cuddles), but then she goes absolutely mental, shaking her soft toys, t-shirts, blankets, and her bed all over the place – she even starts biting the sofa... and there’s just no way of calming her down. After about 15 to 20 minutes... she lies down and bang, she’s out like a light. Does anyone have any other ideas besides the ones already mentioned? Nothing has worked so far.
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    ?
    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    🙂

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    A
    Aussie63 Icon representing the flag French
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    Yeah, he already knows 'stay' and 'heel', to be fair. I’m definitely overthinking it.

    We’ll work on that then.

    The thing is, in my mind, 'stay' means he’s completely still, whereas when I say 'wait', it just means he needs to stay calm nearby. Not jumping up to grab the toy out of my hands, and not pulling like mad on the lead because he’s fed up with me chatting to someone for five minutes...

    It’s a tough one. But thanks a lot for all your advice! 🙂

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    ?
    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Where I’d really like to make a distinction is between 'stay', which he has mastered and involves me actually walking away from him, and 'wait', where I’d like him to stay by my side while I’m talking to someone, for example. Because at the moment, and I think it’s only natural given his age, he can’t settle for more than a few minutes.

    If he’s already mastered 'stay', why do you want to teach him 'wait', which is actually two commands in one:

    -stay

    -heel

    It would be enough to simply tell him to 'heel' (if you’ve taught him that?) and then 'stay'.

    As soon as he starts fidgeting, tell him 'stay' again and then praise him, and if he wanders off, tell him to 'heel' again, and once he’s done it, tell him to stay...

    It’s not easy training him while you're trying to talk to someone, but there isn't much else to do but let him learn at his own pace. :)

    As for playing, I throw the toy, he fetches it and brings it back, then he either gives it to me or plays a bit of tug; I get the toy back and then I ask him to wait before throwing it again... and so on for several throws. I hope I’m not doing it all wrong...

    It seems a bit like 'stay' to me, but why not? It’s up to you if you want to keep teaching him two different commands for something that is more or less the same thing.

    I think our words have meaning for us, but for them, 'stay' or 'wait' both just mean staying put; I’m not sure they make the same distinction we do.

    I’m sure there are dogs that can do both commands well, but in my mind, they’re just synonyms to them.

    I see it with my dog’s name and his nickname. He responds to both in the same way. I don't think he says to himself, 'that's my name and that’s my nickname'.

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    A
    Aussie63 Icon representing the flag French
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    I think his evening madness is just to get our attention because it’s roughly around the time we eat, so we aren’t focusing on him as much, if at all. So, I’ve started playing with him beforehand, and for the last few days, dinner time has been much calmer. Regarding the "stop" command, I’d seen and read about play sessions where owners would pause the game for a moment while saying "stop", then start playing again. Based on what you’ve explained, maybe "stop" isn't the right word after all... As you mentioned, I might be going about it the wrong way. I’m definitely keen to learn. It’s actually working quite well, in the sense that he doesn't jump up at us like he used to, there’s no more biting—or he nips much more gently when he gets overexcited... and we haven't had any more accidents in the evening. To end the game for good, I just stop playing and say "all finished". Where I’d really like to make a distinction is between "stay", which he’s mastered and involves me walking away from him, and "wait", where I’d like him to stay by my side while I’m chatting to someone, for example. At the moment, he can’t settle for more than a few minutes, though I suppose that’s normal given his age. As for playing, I throw the toy, he fetches it and brings it back; then he either gives it to me or we have a bit of a tug-of-war, I take the toy back and then ask him to wait a moment before I throw it again... and so on for a few goes. I really hope I’m not doing it all wrong...
    Translated from French

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