Why is My Dog Suddenly Naughty?

My “adult” weimaraner went through a two-week period recently where he was very … “asshole-ish.” More so than normal for him! Haha.

How do I explain?

In those two weeks, he did things he normally wouldn’t do. For example:

• He swallowed a sock! (he’s fine)
• He chewed on our wooden TV stand. (He’s never chewed furniture in his life.)
• He got brief “zoomies” where he tore through the hall, barked and jumped up and bit at me, like a puppy.
• He played more rough than usual with our cat – mouthing him and “grabbing” at him.
• At agility, he barked at me in a deep, demanding tone while waiting our turn. He normally doesn’t bark.

Why is my dog misbehaving all of a sudden?

Whenever someone tells me their adult dog is “suddenly” naughty it almost always comes down to:

• Some sort of change has occurred in their life/routine

It doesn’t have to be a dramatic change like having a baby or getting a new roommate. Did your kid just start spring soccer practice? Did you start a new work project that’s taking more time than you realized?

The good news is you can almost always help your dog get back to “normal” by making sure you’re doing these four things:

1. Truly providing enough physical exercise
2. Daily mental challenges (like training or puzzle toys)
3. Enforcing your rules and structure
4. Providing the dog with downtime to decompress

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In most cases if you simply increase your dog’s exercise, spend 15 minutes a day on training and enforce your rules, you’ll get these “sudden” behavioral issues under control.

See my post: Exercise ideas for dogs

Why is my dog suddenly naughty? Sometimes there are other factors, such as:

• You are stressed. Or sick?
• Could your dog be in pain?
• Your dog is overly tired or sore
• Is something scaring your dog?
• Is your cute puppy hitting “adolescence”?
• Your dog is hitting his senior years

Why is my dog acting so wild and crazy suddenly?

My dog Remy will definitely act up if he hasn’t had enough physical exercise. He’s a weimaraner, after all. Weimaraners are bred to run hard all day, every day.

But on the other hand, Remy also acts up even more so if he’s overly tired!

It’s a difficult balance. The overly tired Remy is much more of a hellion than the Remy who hasn’t had enough exercise. Think, tired 3-year-old throwing a tantrum while leaving Disney Land.

Why is my dog suddenly naughty?

Changes in a dog’s routine affect his behavior.

After overthinking this, I realized my dog’s recent behavioral issues are related to our busy schedule. We’ve had a busier month than usual in April as far as his little dog brain was concerned.

• My parents visited for a long weekend (mentally tired)
• We took Remy on a road trip 3 days later (mentally tired)
• On our road trip, we ran 18 miles on a trail (physical and mental)
• We increased our running miles in general that month
• On top of this we still did weekly agility and dog daycare

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An overly tired dog and behavior problems

Remy felt mentally worn out in April. This caused his sudden behavioral issues. Family visiting followed by a weekend road trip with a LONG run followed by agility on Monday is a lot, even for a dog who can go, go, go!

Oh, and by the way, we stayed at a dog friendly casino of all places during our roadtrip (Deadwood, S.D.).

I’ve written about puppies turning into little demons in the evenings because they need to go to bed sooner! This is what happens to my adult dog as well. (Heck, this is what happens to ME! Most of us also “act out” if we’re tired.

Not enough exercise and a dog’s behavior problems

On the other hand, sometimes Remy doesn’t get enough exercise on our lighter running days mid-week. When I only run 2-3 miles, I need to give him more off-leash time to get the “zoomies” out.

A weekend long run does not make up for less exercise in the middle of the week for my particular dog anyway. Welcome to owning a fit bird dog.

Like I said, it’s a fine balance between under-exercised and overly tired! Both result in a crazy Weimaraner! God help me …

Other reasons a dog could be in a naughty phase

Lack of rules: I’ve been laid-back with rules lately. Little things like allowing Remy to beg or letting him be pushy when asking for attention. So, I’m making a point not to tolerate these things and his behavior has improved.

Not enough real downtime: I set Remy’s kennel up again. It was folded up in the closet for months. I will send him to his kennel when he’s home alone (which is hardly ever) and at night.

Dogs that chew furniture lose their privileges! Haha. He doesn’t mind his kennel, and it’s a good place for him to truly “turn off” and relax.

See my post: My dog is kennel trained.

Not enough things to chew: Chewing helps a dog relax, so I’m making a point to provide Remy with plenty of his own things to chew – Kongs, bully sticks and Nylabone toys.

Older dog’s change in behavior due to age

Who knows, my dog just turned 3 in February. Weimaraners are slow to mature mentally. Maybe he hit some sort of “maturity” milestone where he’s finally an adult and challenging me. I have no idea! Haha.

Age is definitely a factor in a dog’s behavior. Some dogs turn uncontrollable when they reach “adolescence” which could be anywhere from 6 months to 12 months depending on the individual dog or breed.

If your dog is heading towards the “senior” years, changes in his behavior could be due to not feeling good. Maybe he has arthritis or he’s losing his hearing. Some dogs will start to show signs of dementia as they age, and different medications can also affect each dog’s behavior differently.

Why is my older dog misbehaving all of a sudden?

Dog’s aggression with old age

If your dog is showing increased aggression “all of a sudden” or just seems “off,” it’s always a good idea to talk with your vet. Your dog might be in pain or acting out because of an ear infection or arthritis or something more serious.

My senior dog Ace got noticeably grumpier as he got older. He was always tolerant and friendly with other dogs but as he aged he did not hesitate to snarl out a ferocious “back off!”

See my post: My dog growls at other dogs

If you’re having behavioral issues with your dog that don’t seem to be improving, it’s helpful to consult with a local trainer who can observe you and your dog and offer some suggestions.

People are emotional over their dogs (myself included). A good trainer can take a step back and make suggestions in a non-emotional way. It might be something simple like increasing his exercise or providing him more downtime in his crate.

A dog’s aggression due to being tired

Also, like I said earlier, think about if your dog could be overly tired. My pup Remy is crabby and nippy when he comes home from dog daycare. He’s mentally exhausted. He has no frustration tolerance left.

Your dog might be tired and crabby after an all-day family picnic or from your friend’s dog visiting or whatever it might be.

Older dog aggressive to new puppy

And finally, if you recently added a puppy to your family it’s normal for some older dogs to show aggression around the puppy. A good trainer can help you work through those issues, too.

Puppy naughty phase

One final thought, sometimes puppies just go through various “naughty phases” with age. That will vary from puppy to puppy, but you might notice your puppy acting up when he reaches 6 months or so.

This is a time when puppies might have more energy but they are still puppies in an adult dog body.

If your puppy is suddenly acting naughtier, I would think about how you might change your routine to accommodate. For example, maybe you need to add an extra midday walk to your puppy’s schedule.

Or maybe you need to re-visit kennel training. Or adding a day of dog daycare each week might help.

When do puppies stop being naughty?

So much depends on the actual puppy as well as the puppy’s breed. I will say that I did notice some maturing in my weimaraner puppy once he reached 1 year old. And again at 18 months and again at 2 years old.

Then, every year since he seems to get slightly more mature and less naughty! Haha. He’s now almost 5 and still has his moments but it’s so much easier now!

So, to summarize, why is my dog suddenly naughty?:

If your dog is acting up lately, try to figure out what might have changed in your life/routine recently and then just make sure to provide daily:

• Exercise
• Mental challenges
• Rules/Structure
• Down time

Most likely, your dog will adjust just fine and be back to normal in no time!

Now I’d like to hear from you!

Has your dog ever become suddenly naughty?

What did you do to help your dog?

Let me know in the comments!

As for Remy, he seems like his usual self again. It was just that odd 2-3 weeks where he was acting like more of a psycho than usual! Dogs …

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Related articles:

• Does my dog need a rest day?
• Help! My dog is out of control!
• Ultramarathon training with dogs
• Inside the mind of a naughty dog (My GBGV Life)

Lindsay Stordahl is the founder of That Mutt. She writes about dog training, dog exercise and feeding a healthy raw diet.