It’s called puppy zoomies! My lab puppy did exactly the same. They get overexcited and overtired. The usual advice I think is to pop them in their crate/ quiet place with something nice to chew or a stuffed Kong (puppy size). Ours would then calm down and usually fall asleep. It was a bit like dealing with an overtired toddler!

 

It is typical behaviour the zoomies. Is he in the kitchen all day or just when your out sorry it wasn’t clear. I would try and settle him with a kong or chew.

 

It is typical behaviour the zoomies. Is he in the kitchen all day or just when your out sorry it wasn't clear. I would try and settle him with a kong or chew.

He has the full run of the kitchen (18ft x 10ft) while we are in the house, when we have to go out he is shut in his crate (and same overnight). The trouble is the only other rooms downstairs are the hallway and the living room, both of which can't be puppy proofed like the kitchen has been so I was scared he would hurt himself if he had the run of downstairs with no supervision.

I had considered putting him in his crate when he goes nutty but it always seems to be an hour before bed so he would technically end up going to bed an hour earlier, I guess this wouldn't be a problem if I give him a chew or a kong so he's not in there sleeping and then take it out when we go to bed.

He's got so much energy, we took him to his first puppy class last week, all the other puppies were sat calm and nicely, not mine! He was rolling around trying to get off his lead, whimpering trying to get over to the other puppies, getting his lead tangled up, it was very embarrassing!! lol
I love him to bits though, wouldn't change him for the world ... well, maybe a bit calmer!

 

I have a boxer 20 months old still nuts I know the feeling. However we have got in a good routine and the puppy zoomies they do grow out of. Kongs and chilled carrots were my friends. Try and redirect with a toy or quick training session. Is he show or working cocker? It does get easier when you can have longer walks or do something like agility to keep the brain ticking over but he needs to be older. I wouldn’t have him in the kitchen all the time I’d have him with me in the house it’s easier to toilet train then and they don’t really get playing with toys alone. Oh and a puppy picture please.

 

I actually like that mad hour in puppies and young dogs. It does get a bit wearing after a few months though when you cant watch television or do anything in peace. Ignoring it can tend to make it go away when they get a bit older.

Do you mean you shut him in the kitchen when you are in the lounge! Why dont you want him with you, it seems a bit odd to have a puppy shut in another room.

 

It can be quite fun Loki used to run jump on the sofa and we somehow ended up with footprints on the wall behind the sofa. As soon as it started sox would go to another room.

 

I would definitely settle him in his crate before 10pm if he’s getting over tired and play biting. Our 11 week old golden retriever is shattered by 8.30pm and fast asleep by 9pm. We throw a couple of her favourite treats in to her crate and say “find it”. They are quite big so take a few seconds to chew. This manages to calm her down and she goes to sleep.

She gets really crazy and bitey if she’s over tired. We try to get her to bed before she gets to this stage but sometimes ahe gets over tired earlier than other days if she’s had a busy day so we just pop her in as soon as the play biting starts to hurt.

 

I would definitely settle him in his crate before 10pm if he's getting over tired and play biting. Our 11 week old golden retriever is shattered by 8.30pm and fast asleep by 9pm. We throw a couple of her favourite treats in to her crate and say "find it". They are quite big so take a few seconds to chew. This manages to calm her down and she goes to sleep.

She gets really crazy and bitey if she's over tired. We try to get her to bed before she gets to this stage but sometimes ahe gets over tired earlier than other days if she's had a busy day so we just pop her in as soon as the play biting starts to hurt.

Thanks, I think I'll give that a go. I tend to put him to bed about 11pm and he sleeps through usually to 6am, that suits my routine and I worried if put him to bed an hour or 2 earlier he'd wake up at 4 or 5 am, not that I begrudge getting up during the night to let him out if needs be but I quite liked him being a furry alarm clock at 6am which is the time I get up anyway!
I think I'll give it a go and keep a note of what time he starts getting boisterous and I put him to bed and see if gradually it starts to get later and later each day to the point he grows out of the boisterousness and goes to bed when I do with no zoomies!

 

I am very confused by this thread. A dog should be part of the household and if you spend time in the lounge so should he. Zoomies is part of owning a puppy, seems more than unfair to lock him away so he cant behave like a puppy. Just as a warning, one of my dogs has only just stopped her mad play time, not exactly zoomies but demanding play at around 9 oclock (horrors, I have to interrupt watching television) and she is 11 years old.

 

I don't see the issue? He definitely is part of the household. We hardly ever go in the lounge and when we do watch TV it's when he has chosen to go in his crate and take himself to sleep.We don't leave him awake on his own while we sit in a different room watching TV. He gets loads of attention and playtime as well as training sessions, we take him to puppy socialisation once a week and two 15 minute walks each day.

He can't have the FULL run of the house or he would be up and down the stairs which at his age is a no go. With that in mind the only room downstairs he doesn't have access to unsupervised is the lounge, and why would we take him in there supervised if we aren't needing or wanting to go in there ourselves?! He has had chance to see it, explore it etc.

We are both currently working from home, we can't have him with us 24/7 (As much as we would love him to be) as he will struggle when we return to work, The home office we use is upstairs, it's has to be due to internet and computers so yeah he does have to stay downstairs, but yes we do go down every half hour or so to let him out, play with him, have a training session etc. When we are back at work we will be coming home at lunchtime, my sister will also pop in mid morning and mid afternoon on the school run so he will have regular company and toilet breaks/playtime.

When he is old enough to go up and downstairs then yes absolutely he can have the full run of the house, I just don't want to risk an injury or health problem by letting him use stairs too soon.

I get you think he should be allowed to go nuts and be a puppy, but there are plenty of other people saying zoomies is caused by puppies being overtired so putting them to bed is a good way to calm them, I made this thread for opinions on handling zoomies, not saying that was 100% what I was intending to do.

I don't really feel I should have to explain my full situation but you obviously don't agree with our setup, he's not being neglected in any way, far from it, any decisions we've made have been with his best interest and safety in mind.

I only posted here to get advice on the best way to handle zoomies, what a shame people try to make you feel like you're doing a bad job.

 

Hello and Welcome to PF

He sounds like a normal puppy to me, zoomies at bed time isn't uncommon, Dillon seemed to know we were getting ready to go to bed and he would go crazy for about 10 minutes then he would settle down and go to sleep.

We let both our dogs have the full run of the house from the first day they put a paw though the front door, as long as you can keep an eye on them they need to explore their new home, never had any restrictions on either of them.

 

10 minutes Loki used to go for what felt like hours

 

Enjoy it whilst you can, they grow quickly. Perhaps make a few more sacrifices (TV).

Zoomies is one of the best bits of owning puppies tbh. I do not agree with the shut them away or cage them option. Personally, i feel a crate should only be used if no one can watch the puppy and there is a safety issue, not as a method of dealing with normal behaviour. I do think crates are being massively over used these days - many dogs seem to spend more time in one than out of it..

 

I know what you mean about growing fast, we've had him 5 weeks and the difference is incredible!

When I last had a puppy about 17 years ago crates weren't that popular and I didn't bother with one at all. People I knew over the last 5-10 years that got puppies were being advised by vets and dog trainers to use crates, i was never a fan but I can see the benefits to it - den for the puppy to feel safe and secure, keeps them safe when you need to leave them (when you're in bed or out of the house) etc. My pup often takes himself off to his crate to sleep while we're pottering around cooking, cleaning or eating etc, he seems to like it and we only shut him in when it's bedtime or we're out or I'm doing something like mopping the floor and I don't want him to get the cleaning products on his paws etc. I would say excluding night when we're in bed he spends a good 95% of his time out of the crate - but with the door open so he can go in if he chooses.

 

Just let him be a puppy and let him have his zoomies as described above. Agree with what your saying about not in the front room when your not there, sounds like a very similar set up to what I had 10 months ago to start with. To much strict rules these days and a lot of pressure is put on owners to ensure they have a "perfect" puppy ( I know I was one for a bit). Let him be a puppy but control the environment. Stick the the basic foundations of obiedence and will.make a huge difference later on in the pups life.

Keep doing what your doing but just make everything a positive experience.