Why does my puppy go crazy in the evenings?!
My sweet, little puppy becomes a complete psycho around 7 p.m.
We know to start watching for “the demon” to come out around this time every night.
Typical behaviors from my Demon Puppy during the “witching hour” include barking, growling, biting and frantically looking for things to shred.
He torments the cats, bites the leash and is just a complete terror.
He forgets all training and chases “imaginary friends.” My puppy goes completely nuts, running around with “the zoomies.”
Does this sound familiar? (Please say yes!)
Why does my puppy go crazy in the evenings?
I hear it’s normal for puppies to become downright WILD at night as I’ve read person after person explaining the exact same thing. Some people are very concerned about this puppy madness! No one warned them about it!
So, is the puppy’s evening WILDNESS from being overly tired or is it from not enough exercise?
I think, usually, it’s a little of both.
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Why does my puppy go nuts before bed?
Why does my puppy go crazy in the evenings?
One of my readers said the wild puppy behavior at night happens because the puppy is actually overly tired. Instead of needing more exercise he is ready for bed. (Think of little kids throwing tantrums in the evenings when they’re tired.)
In our case, I think this is true. Remy is acting wild from being overly tired.
Remy falls asleep as soon as I put him in his kennel. He does get plenty of exercise and interaction, play and training throughout each day so I do not feel bad about putting him to bed in his kennel at 9 p.m. every night.
On the other hand, you do want to make sure your puppy or young dog is getting the exercise he needs earlier in the day. That way, when he gets his evening “crazies” you know you’ve done your part and don’t have to feel guilty about crating him!
How to manage your crazy puppy in the evenings
Why does my puppy go crazy in the evenings?
Clearly I could use some tips myself, but here are my suggestions. Can’t wait to read yours too. Please add them in the comments (we could all use the help!).
1. Stay calm when your puppy gets wild!
Oh my God, this is my biggest challenges as I can lose my patience pretty quickly when my puppy goes mad.
As reader Jessi said recently in the comments of this post:
“I got so frustrated with him (my puppy) on Friday night that I yelled at him and stuffed him in his crate, because apparently I am about as mature as my 4-month-old puppy.”
Yep, me too … me too.
I try not to get mad and yell at my puppy. Yelling is not really going to help. It’s also not the best time to engage in exciting games like fetch or tug. If I do play these games in the evenings, I keep the play to just a few minutes so it’s controlled.
2. Go for a relaxing walk to calm your wild puppy
I’ve recently moved Remy’s walk from 5 p.m. to about 7:30 p.m. This helps manage the craziness. We get back at 8:15 or 8:30 and I only have to put up with him for another 40 minutes or so before I put him to bed. Done.
Since most puppies can’t go running yet or on really long walks, it can help to have them on a longer leash to give them a bit more freedom to run and move around. Rotate between structured, training walks and “fun” walks where they can sniff and explore.
See my posts:
3. A note on night time puppy zoomies!
If you have a fenced yard, the evening might be a good time to just let your puppy zoom around the yard for 15 minutes like a mad man. Then he might be able to calm down afterwards!
4. Don’t expect your wild puppy to focus on training
You’d think working on some calming training exercises like down/stay would be helpful during this time. If that works for you, great! Definitely do that.
In our case, Remy seems to forget everything he’s learned and it doesn’t work well for me to practice basic training at this time. We just get frustrated with each other and he ends up biting and flailing around while I wrangle him. Just not worth it.
What does work is to practice more training during the middle of the day when he’s able to focus.
I use a treat bag on walks to reward him for paying attention or doing basic obedience. That way, come evening, I don’t have to feel guilty about not spending quality training time with him. Using high-valued treats your puppy loves makes a big difference with focus, too.
5. Give the crazy puppy something to chew
It can really help if you give your hyper puppy something to chew on in the evenings. Some good options include:
If you freeze the Kong, the cold sensation might feel good on his teeth and gums if he’s teething. Plus, this makes the treat last longer.
You can put a leash on your puppy if that helps him settle down. For example, if you’re sitting on the couch watching TV. Although, some will just freak out and chew the leash, right Remy?
This would be a good time to get out any of your puzzle toys or interactive toys. A Kong Wobbler is another good puzzle option. The puppy has to push it around to get dry food or treats to fall out.
For more ideas, see the best puzzle toys for dogs.
6. Tether the puppy when he’s wild
You could simply try leashing your puppy up and stepping on the leash to help settle him down.
If that doesn’t work, you can also try tethering the pup to something heavy, assuming he won’t chew whatever he’s tethered too. I recommend a chew proof leash or a chain leash. And of course you should still be in the room to supervise your puppy.
Confession: sometimes we tether Remy to our two 30-pound dumbbells and set him across the room for us while we watch TV.
Some will think this looks like dog abuse. I call it puppy management. 🙂
I don’t recommend this if your puppy is getting frustrated and barking or pulling, but it can work well if he’s able to stay on a blanket chewing a bully stick.
*If you just got a new puppy, download my free puppy training guide. Click Here
7. Put the puppy in his crate when he’s too wild
As I’ve said, the routine that works for us is to feed Remy around 6:45 p.m., walk him from 7:30 to 8:15 p.m. and then in the crate he goes at 9 p.m. every night (weekends too).
I simply can’t take it anymore by 9 and we all need some time to relax without the puppy. (Pretty sure myself, my husband and our 3 senior animals all let out a huge sigh of relief once Remy goes to bed.)
I do let him out again for a quick potty break before I go to bed around 10 or 10:30.
If you don’t have a crate for your puppy, I recommend a fold-up wire crate. You could also consider an ex-pen or puppy play pen when you need a break, especially if you have a smaller breed.
8. Plenty of walks and play for your puppy during the day
If you provide your puppy with at least an hour or so of walks, play and training throughout the day then he should have less pent-up energy at night.
Or, if your puppy is still going nuts in the evenings, at least you know you’ve done your part! If he’s still going MAD in the evenings, he’s not acting out due to lack of exercise. He’s just a growing pup who is overly tired or overly stimulated.
Again, a long leash is really helpful for letting your pup run around and explore during the day.
When do puppies grow out of the witching hour? When will my puppy calm down?
You may be wondering, when will my 12 week old puppy calm down? Good question! I’d love to hear your answers to that one in the comments!
I think so much depends on the individual puppy and things like breed, personality, daily activities, etc.
Larger breeds – especially sporting breeds like Labs, weimaraners, German shorthairs and golden retrievers – do tend to mentally “mature” a little slower.
The same might be true with higher-energy working breeds in general. So much just depends on the individual dog, however.
With my weimaraner, he was pretty wild in the evenings until he was about a year and a half old.
At that time, we did notice a significant difference. Instead of a full evening of puppy shenanigans, he was only wild for about 20 minutes after he ate dinner.
Now my dog is 4 years old and we do not have to deal with this witching hour anymore, thank goodness.
Sometimes we think back on it and laugh, saying, “Remember when he became a psycho every single evening?” Haha! So … there’s hope for you too!
Weimaraners are known for being pretty immature until they are at least 2 years old though. Some breeds mature much faster!
What else would you add to this list? Why does my puppy go crazy in the evenings?
In the comment section below, I would love to hear what breed of dog you have and how old your puppy is.
It does seem like all breeds and types of dogs have a “witching hour” where they go completely nuts. So, for what it’s worth, you are not alone! GOOD LUCK!
Please tell me some of you have dealt with this kind of behavior! 🙂
*If you just got a new puppy, download my free puppy training guide. Click Here
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Other resources:
- When you regret getting a puppy
- Help! I’m doing everything wrong with my puppy!
- Puppy crate training tips
- How long do puppies cry at night?
- How to stop a puppy’s jumping
- Stop puppy biting and nipping
- 5 tips to survive puppy adolescence (My GBGV Life)
Get all of our puppy training tips HERE.
Lindsay Stordahl is the founder of That Mutt. She writes about dog training, dog exercise and feeding a healthy raw diet.
Jenny Tomkins
Thursday 13th of June 2024
I have a 4 year old cross labradoodle, cavalier who still goes crazy around 5:00 after her meal. She gets an hour walk daily and often plays with my grandchildren as well. She gets lots of attention. Her routine is to annoy my husband, barking and rough play and look for something lying on the floor to destroy. As soon as I get her two balls she knows it is run time up and down my hallway returning the balls. It goes on for about 5-10 mins then over. Thank goodness. Now she is happy to curl up on the lounge and rest until bed time.
Bob Douglas
Thursday 13th of June 2024
Our Harley had several times, but the wors was 5 to 8 pm
Sandy B
Monday 16th of October 2023
I have a 5 yr old chocolate lab and now a crazy and aggressive 1 yr old cocker spaniel. She’s been turned down by groomers. She torments my lab. It’s very hard.
Janis Fritsch
Sunday 5th of March 2023
After dinner Andy gets walked and he is good for an hour and the starts biting --- normally it means he has to go out. Then before bed he is taken out again. Since he sleeps on the bed I wipe him down and clear his feet and he gets a treat. Then he goes crazy --- zoomies and trying to get into EVERYTHING. When we try to take something away that he should not have he starts biting. My husband is afraid to do anything and the other night I actually hid under the covers because he was trying to bit. During the daytime he is great being with me! He is the worst when my husband is around. Help!
Amy K
Tuesday 15th of February 2022
We were just talking about this at home. Teagan, our 4 month old Mini Aussie acts like she is on puppy crack around 7 or 8 pm each evening. Don’t know who it aggravates more, the 17 yr old senior Puggle, the 7 year old Aussie or my husband. The rest of us find it amusing as speeds through the house at warp speed. And then just as quick as it starts , she’s done. Funny how you correlated it to over-tired kids, never thought of it like that. We let her get most of it out of her system (10 minutes or so) and then in a firm voice , and a firm bark from the Aussie she settles down.