Puppy becomes VERY active in the evening

Our 11 week old cockapoo is wonderful during the day but in the evening 8pm and later he becomes super active. Runs around, on his leash, playing roughly with his chew toys. When we bring him in after taking him out to pee he growls and nips at our hands and feet. He just will not settle down. :cry:

Has anyone seen this type of super activity? and how do we go about calming him down?

Dick

 

Do you play with him during the day? If not, you should. Play games with him, chase him around and/or take him for a long walk. A tired puppy is a well behaved puppy.

 

My shih tzu mix pup used to get very hyper--by hyper I mean extra nippy and jumpy and completely oblivious to any direction--I eventually came to the conclusion that he acted like that when he was overtired so I would put him in his crate-every time he would fall asleep within 5 minutes. I could differentiate the over tired behavior from the nomal energetic puppy behavior.

 

my puppy acts like that when she's overtired too.....i usually try to lay down with her and rub her tummy and before i know it she's out like a light

 

Cameron also has a little "burst" right before she goes to bed, running around our house like a madwoman. However, also make sure you are giving your pup enough exercise during the day. Do you take it for a least 2 walks? Are you home all day? I know Cameron is extra hyper in the evenings during the week, but that is because we work during the day so I don't think she does much except lay around and bark out the window :? Good luck with your new puppy

 

Thanks everyone for your input.

We are home all day, we're retired, with Rocky. We do play with him but I suspect it is not enough / long enough. We don't take him for walks as he hasn't finished getting all of his shots.

Yesterday we let him follow us around the yard as we worked in the garden for about 3 hours. He played with the garden tools, empty flower pots etc. and had a good old time. We brought him in the house and he went into his crate and slept from 5:30 till 7pm. He awoke and we took him to the potty then fed him and he became the dog from hell.

He started nipping at my wife's PJ bottoms and would not listen to any commands. I put him in his crate for 15 minutes to settle down. I brought him out and he was OK for awhile and then started misbehaving again.

I put him in his crate at 9pm and he slept till 5am - his usual get up time.

We'll keep trying.

Another question: We understand we are not to use the crate as a punishment only for positive actions. When he misbehaves we've read you should use social isolation to show your displeasure. If you can't use the crate at a time like this how do you isolate him?

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

Dick

 

It sounds like "normal" puppy energy to me. He should outgrow it, but in the meantime, trying to tire him out is the only solution I have found. They say that mental activities work better to tire them out than physical ones - are you training him? Try teaching him some tricks. Play hide-and-go-seek with him - either hide yourself or hide treats. Start easy and make it more difficult as he gets better at it. Look into a Kong or other "interactive" toy for him to play with.

As far as isolating him goes, some people tether the dog to a chair or a doorknob and leave the room. Others use a different crate than the one the pup sleeps in. Still others use the regular crate. I think the trick to using the regular crate is not to let the dog know he is being "punished". Just be really happy and pop him in the crate and give him something to chew on, rather than scolding him and putting him in angrily.


Jamiya

 

>Look into a Kong or other "interactive" toy for him to play with.

I'll check this out. It sounds like something he needs.

>I think the trick to using the regular crate is not to let the dog know he >is being "punished". Just be really happy and pop him in the crate and >give him something to chew on, rather than scolding him and putting >him in angrily.

Thanks - this is what we did last night but we wern't sure if it was the proper way to handle the situation.

Dick