# generally good puppy.... until "witching hour" ~ 9PM



## Papa Deuce (Mar 26, 2007)

So we have had our rescue puppy 2 weeks. Generally she has been OK ( I definitely have had better behaved puppies and young dogs ). She is usually sweet all day, though a bit too vocal for my liking.... but THEN 9 PM comes along.... and then, well, she becomes the dog from hell.

I realize that it probably is just that it is time for her to go to bed. But if I do that -- she sleeps in her crate - she will definitely be up at 4 AM to go out and pee. If I can keep her up til 11 PM, she can last until 6 AM - which is when my wife gets up for work. 

But as soon as 9PM hits, you would think this dog might be possessed. She runs around antagonizing our retrievers, barking at my kids, and just being a big pain in the butt... literally..... like she wanted my attention last night while I was petting one of my other dogs ( I was laying on the floor ) and she went behind me and bit me on the butt.

She's only 10 weeks old, so I can't really exercise her more than I am. 

Any thoughts on how to fix this before it becomes a real issue?


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## RaeganW (Jul 14, 2009)

Exercising her more will likely just make the issue worse, so don't feel like you need to increase your efforts in that area. (This is of course assuming she is getting adequate exercise, mental stimulation, and socialization in the first place, and based on your post I would not think this is the root of the problem)

She's basically overtired. Since you have kids, I'm sure you're familiar with how goofy and hyped up kids get when they are over tired. Try crating her at 8ish for an hour or two with some chew toys (kong, buster cube, tug a jug, etc, if you're a little crafty you can make a treat dispensing toy yourself from a shoe box or the like) so she can have some downtime BEFORE she needs it. You can let her out again for an hour or two for a last minute potty break and play/hang out time, then crate her for the night. It might be worth it to give her some crate time interspersed throughout the day, play it by ear and find out what works.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

It's counter-intuitive, but in fact, you might try exercising her, or taking her for a walk in the backyard, whatever... for 10 - 15 minutes to burn off that last bit of energy. If she were a child, this would rev her back up. But, dogs need to burn off the energy, which is what she is currently doing... but you want to exercise her before she needs it ... Like RaeganW wrote... And, as written, a Kong, Buster Cube, game of tug will also burn off that last bit of energy...


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## Papa Deuce (Mar 26, 2007)

Reagan, one thing she is, is socialized. Like yesterday, we had a party at my home... 30+ people. She walked among all of them for 4 hours and was a perfect angel... People picked her up constantly. And people could not believe she was so well behaved ( me either... she was so good I thought maybe we had the wrong dog ).... And we have a pug up the street, and they have play dates in a fenced in yard.... plus, of course, my 2 other dogs. 

I will try the last minute exercise / play time. It did seem counter intuitive, for sure.

ETA: exercise right now is ( 3 ) 10 minute walks a day, some retrieving, and some misc. play with my kids. She gets put in her crate about 5 times a day for 1 hour each time, roughly.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

It's the "zoomies"! I mean, really, that's how lots refer to this crazy nighttime behavior! And, as Raegan said, it's very similar to an overtired child who goes kinda crazy!
In our home, we'd just put them to bed if the zoomies got out of control. And, usually, within 2 minutes, they'd be asleep! But, I understand that your problem is you're trying to time it so that she can hold it til the morning. For us, we are very use to setting an alarm and taking our puppies out for a middle of the night bathroom break. For our first puppy, he only needed the middle of the night bathroom break til he was 11 weeks old, our second needed it til she was 15 weeks old, about, and the puppy we're puppy sitting for awhile is 13 weeks and still needs to go out....
So, for us, it wasn't a problem, we'd just set the alarm to get them out. It doesn't last forever, as they grow, they can hold it overnight!


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## Papa Deuce (Mar 26, 2007)

doxiemommy said:


> It's the "zoomies"! I mean, really, that's how lots refer to this crazy nighttime behavior! And, as Raegan said, it's very similar to an overtired child who goes kinda crazy!
> In our home, we'd just put them to bed if the zoomies got out of control. And, usually, within 2 minutes, they'd be asleep! But, I understand that your problem is you're trying to time it so that she can hold it til the morning. For us, we are very use to setting an alarm and taking our puppies out for a middle of the night bathroom break. For our first puppy, he only needed the middle of the night bathroom break til he was 11 weeks old, our second needed it til she was 15 weeks old, about, and the puppy we're puppy sitting for awhile is 13 weeks and still needs to go out....
> So, for us, it wasn't a problem, we'd just set the alarm to get them out. It doesn't last forever, as they grow, they can hold it overnight!


Yeah, the zoomies part is still happening, but she doesn't seem to have an issue lasting 8 hours now at night. She also goes - sometimes - and paws at the door when she needs to go out. She was definitley the slowest learning dog I have ever had as far as housebreaking. two of the last 3 days, though, no accidents...

ETA, now we do ( 3 ) 25 minutes walks a day, and maybe ( 2 ) 5 minute walks.


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## HerdersForMe (Jul 26, 2011)

This is a pretty classic example of a dog who isn't getting enough exercise.


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## lisahi (Jun 19, 2011)

HerdersForMe said:


> This is a pretty classic example of a dog who isn't getting enough exercise.


I wouldn't say that. I mean, it's possible, but from what Papa Deuce has explained, it sounds like this puppy gets plenty of exercise for her age. She's 10 weeks old, after all. It is true that if he exercises his puppy to the point of exhaustion, the zoomies won't happen. But I'm not sure it's all that healthy to do that with a 10-week-old. She needs a lot of sleep, and at that age I don't think they always choose to sleep when they actually need to sleep (hence, the zoomies when they're overtired).

I think there's a difference between a puppy getting the zoomies and an older dog acting out because they lack exercise. Sometimes the zoomies may be caused by not enough exercise, but I think for the vast majority of puppies, it's just a natural behavior that will subside as they get older.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

I've talked to so many people where 9 o'clock is the magical puppy fairy dust hour. We had the 9 o'clock zoomies around here with Squash, too. Until I caught on it was really frustrating, but eventually I realized that it was always because he was overtired... he'd be asleep in about two minutes flat once he went in the crate. If I wanted to sleep later in the mornings I'd do exactly what Raegan suggested - let him wind down in the crate between 8-9ish, then let him out for more play time. It worked fabulously. Otherwise I'd just get up when he got up (although he was never up as early as 4 am, yikes!)


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## lisahi (Jun 19, 2011)

sassafras said:


> (although he was never up as early as 4 am, yikes!)


I get tired around 9pm and I tend to go to bed around then. Unfortunately, that means Coco does too. And that means she wakes me at 4:30 am. I really need to start trying to go to bed later. lol. Her bladder is like clockwork at night -- 7 and a half hours and she needs to go. Last night I was super tired, went to bed at 8:30pm. Guess what I was doing at 4am?


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## lisaj1354 (Feb 23, 2008)

I can set the clock by Pepper. 7-9pm - playtime, 9:30 - walk, 10pm - passing out, 11pm - ZOOMIES!!!

He'll have his zoomies for about 5 minutes and then pass out again until around 7am.


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## Papa Deuce (Mar 26, 2007)

HerdersForMe said:


> This is a pretty classic example of a dog who isn't getting enough exercise.


And now, as of 2 -3 days ago... gets ( 3 ) 25 minute walks a day.


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## Mdawn (Mar 3, 2007)

Like others, I really think it sounds like the puppy is just really tired and trying to stay awake...because you know...there are all kinds of exciting things for her to do and see...at least to the puppy anyway. lol 

At my house...witching hour is 10PM. It's not the zoomies...but its constant barking....and its not a puppy but an almost 5 year old Lab....:doh:


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## kelii36 (May 7, 2011)

My puppy's the same way, lol. I make sure to take him on two good walks and a romp in the tennis court during the day to keep the night time zoomies to a minimum. if that doesn't work then we all just sit on the couch with our feet up while he zips around the apartment.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

When Jo gets the zoomies, I just let her wind herself down. I have a tether ball strung on a tree limb out back, Izze plays with that while Jo runs around her like crazy til she drops lol.


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