# Puppy getting uncontrollable in the evening



## LudoMom (Sep 8, 2014)

I'm just wondering if this is normal puppy behavior. For most part our Little Ludo is a well behaved little pup. During the day he isn't any more needy or hard to manage than the average 10 week old puppy. As long as he is getting pets, and walks, and toys, and treats, or whatever it is he needs in that moment he's easy to appease. But around 7pm every night the Demon Puppy appears. He becomes an ankle biting, leash attacking, barking little nightmare! NOTHING makes him happy, he bites and barks and for the life of me I can't figure out what it is he needs. I've been taking him out to run around and burn some energy during this time and sometimes he'll seem like he's calming down, and then all of sudden, crazy again! Usually around 8 he starts to settle down, sometimes will go to sleep. Tonight from 8 to 9 he wasn't quite as insane as he had been earlier in the evening but he was still impossible to please. I took him out a couple times, I did a few rounds of "sit" and "down" with him so he could get a couple treats and he still just walked around whining. Now he's finally asleep. I know that human babies can be super fussy and angry when they're tired, is this something that puppies do as well? If so, will he grow out of this. It's an exhausting hour and usually I'm the only one who is home witnessing this behavior so my boyfriend thinks I'm over-reacting.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

He'll grow out of it, and it's normal baby behavior.

When he starts getting wild, odds are not small that he is overtired and overstimulated. From the time Molly came home to *now* (at 16 weeks) that sort of behavior means it's bed or naptime.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Totally normal. My dog is 2 and still gets crazy late in the evening, though he grew out of the demon puppy thing and now we play or train during this time to burn some energy,

You're right on that puppies can get overtired. Sometimes they just need to be put in their crate and forced to settle and they will go to sleep.


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## LudoMom (Sep 8, 2014)

Thank you so much! I'm so happy to hear this. My mother asked her trainer about this, and the trainer confirmed the same thing. I think I've felt bad about putting him to bed in his crate when I'm not going to bed as well, because he always wants to be with us, and gets upset if I'm not in the room with him at bedtime. I think I'll give it a shot though, put him to bed an hour early and see if that forces him to actually go to sleep, instead of fighting it like he does. I've seen my niece fight sleep (dozing off and then immediately waking up, crying and mad about being sleeply) so I thought it was entirely possible that puppies do it as well.


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

Sounds like "I'm getting overtired but still have this surge of energy to burn!!" puppy zoomies to me. My dog did it around 8 pm every night as a pup. I started heading him off by giving him a chewie around that time, and he'd sit and chew instead of be insane, then he'd crash out for the night.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

Shep used to fall asleep at 8pm, then wake up at 10 -11pm and get the zoomies .... He grew out of it.


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## Kyle071785 (Nov 28, 2013)

Hambonez said:


> Sounds like "I'm getting overtired but still have this surge of energy to burn!!" puppy zoomies to me. My dog did it around 8 pm every night as a pup. I started heading him off by giving him a chewie around that time, and he'd sit and chew instead of be insane, then he'd crash out for the night.


Ditto. Jax had a case of the "bats*** crazies" (as I liked to call them) every evening when he was younger. Right as he got to that stage we'd give him a chew for 20 minutes to settle down. Now at 11months he's settled a lot but still gets them maybe once per week


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## Mr Fritz (Sep 11, 2014)

My puppy is exactly the same, full of piss and vinegar at around 7:00 pm, so I plan a play date with my neighbour. She has an older dog, we throw her dog a ball, stick, anything, the puppy follows, and voila, apx 1/2 hoir of this, maybe more, plus a short walk to and from her house, sleeping........ My favorite saying 'Ahh, quiet, the puppy is sleeping!!!'


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## OwnedbyACDs (Jun 22, 2013)

Yeah, just like young kids cry when they are overly tired, this is a puppy's version of "crying" so to speak. When young puppies get overly tired, they get very agitated and zoomy for some reason LOL. 

When your puppy starts doing that it usually means he needs to be put into a quiet place, like his crate or where ever his quiet place is, he might fuss for a bit (tantrum, you know LOL) but he will settle down for a nap.


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## MRVivekB (Jun 21, 2014)

OwnedbyACDs said:


> Yeah, just like young kids cry when they are overly tired, this is a puppy's version of "crying" so to speak. When young puppies get overly tired, they get very agitated and zoomy for some reason LOL.
> 
> When your puppy starts doing that it usually means he needs to be put into a quiet place, like his crate or where ever his quiet place is, he might fuss for a bit (tantrum, you know LOL) but he will settle down for a nap.


Just curious as I don't personally have this issue but you nevver know: With my kids, when they didn't want to settle down, I'd lie down with them and make them put their head on my chest or arm. Even if they were still in a crib, although I'd just have them fall asleep on me. How does one calm a dog down who has no desire to settle but is clearly tired? Would you pick them up and hold them/calmly talk until they spin down?


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

MRVivekB said:


> Just curious as I don't personally have this issue but you nevver know: With my kids, when they didn't want to settle down, I'd lie down with them and make them put their head on my chest or arm. Even if they were still in a crib, although I'd just have them fall asleep on me. How does one calm a dog down who has no desire to settle but is clearly tired? Would you pick them up and hold them/calmly talk until they spin down?


You pick it up, put it in a crate with a kong or something to chew, and then cover the crate and/or walk away.

Usually you get about 45 seconds of either intense chewing or screaming and then they just pass out cold.


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## MRVivekB (Jun 21, 2014)

thx. I tried the 'cry-it-out' with my kids. Utter miserable failure. Glad to hear its simpler with puppies.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

MRVivekB said:


> thx. I tried the 'cry-it-out' with my kids. Utter miserable failure. Glad to hear its simpler with puppies.


It can be or it can not be. Unfortunately, with puppies you can't do much about it. I mean my girl screamed her head off for hours at a time every night because she just didn't want to sleep or be in the crate. Unfortunately, unlike infant children, puppies are mobile and have teeth. They've GOT to be confined somehow when your'e not watching them, and if it's a crate, a tether, a room or a playpen, most puppies hate it at first.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

One difference between puppies and kids is burning off energy. If you rev up a child to burn off extra energy, especially before bedtime, you chance making the child over-tired and wide awake.

In contrast, if you anticipate when the puppy (and young adult dog) has that last bit of energy to burn off, you might go for a final evening walk about 15 minutes before the 'event'. In addition, you can try giving the puppy a frozen Kong to chew on in the crate, and sometimes that will burn off the last bit of energy and the pup falls asleep.

When you find a regimen that works, try to repeat it. Just like reading at bedtime can be the trigger for kids to fall asleep, repeat regimens (chewing a Kong?) can be the trigger resulting in a sleeping dog... sometimes


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## OwnedbyACDs (Jun 22, 2013)

Izze hated EVERYTHING, the crate, the collar, the leash, you name it, she hated it. She used to head butt the x pen I out her in when it became clear the crate wasn't going to work (with some puppies it doesnt, just an FYI). Horrible, terrible, awful puppy she was. But she became the best dog I ever had and probably will ever have.

I think it's karma kind of rewarding me for making it through her childhood lol, it was like "kay, you stuck it out, here's your reward of a grade A bad ass dog." Lol


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

LudoMom said:


> I'm just wondering if this is normal puppy behavior. For most part our Little Ludo is a well behaved little pup. *During the day he isn't any more needy or hard to manage than the average 10 week old puppy. As long as he is getting pets, and walks, and toys, and treats, or whatever it is he needs in that moment he's easy to appease. * But around 7pm every night the Demon Puppy appears. He becomes an ankle biting, leash attacking, barking little nightmare! NOTHING makes him happy, he bites and barks and for the life of me I can't figure out what it is he needs. I've been taking him out to run around and burn some energy during this time and sometimes he'll seem like he's calming down, and then all of sudden, crazy again! Usually around 8 he starts to settle down, sometimes will go to sleep. Tonight from 8 to 9 he wasn't quite as insane as he had been earlier in the evening but he was still impossible to please. I took him out a couple times, I did a few rounds of "sit" and "down" with him so he could get a couple treats and he still just walked around whining. Now he's finally asleep. I know that human babies can be super fussy and angry when they're tired, is this something that puppies do as well? If so, will he grow out of this. It's an exhausting hour and usually I'm the only one who is home witnessing this behavior so my boyfriend thinks I'm over-reacting.


I get the whole active breed puppy thing... this jumps out at me (in bold) as the puppy dictating your activity, your behaviors and accomplishing it..... the puppy is winning to repeat it.. for you to respond.

I would set a schedule of daily activities and insure they are quality activities and not quantity.. The idea that you exist to entertain and to appease your puppy at will is going to get exhausting as the pup becomes more demanding that you perform for them.
something to think about


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## LudoMom (Sep 8, 2014)

PatriciafromCO said:


> I get the whole active breed puppy thing... this jumps out at me (in bold) as the puppy dictating your activity, your behaviors and accomplishing it..... the puppy is winning to repeat it.. for you to respond.
> 
> I would set a schedule of daily activities and insure they are quality activities and not quantity.. The idea that you exist to entertain and to appease your puppy at will is going to get exhausting as the pup becomes more demanding that you perform for them.
> something to think about


I don't give in to every demand. He certainly is disciplined, put in time out, etc. I was trying to stress that he isn't being neglected and acting out as a result


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