Why Is My Puppy So Wild In The Evening?

How to get your puppy settled in the evening when they are completely wild

And relax…that lovely time in the evening when you’ve had a long day, want to put your feet up, switch off and do nothing. But you have a puppy…

…and that isn’t in their plans for the evening, right?

Let me guess, it probably starts from anywhere around 6pm and doesn’t end until your puppy completely crashes. Yes, we are talking about what is known as the ‘witching hour’, where your puppy turns completely and utterly wild. Sometimes funny yes, but generally a thoroughly exhausting and often miserable experience. Don’t worry, the witching hour is a very common occurrence in puppies and the great news is that there are things you can do to help.

What does it look like?

It’s almost as if they have a timer set to ‘go crazy’ mode and wham, you find yourself in the full swing of your puppy’s witching hour, which includes:

  • Zoomies; where your puppy is frantic, running, spinning and pumped full of adrenaline. Zoomies are pretty harmless in dogs and, really, quite funny. But not at 6pm in the evening.

  • Excessive nipping, quite often diving for your ankles and legs as you’re sitting down relentlessly

  • Constant biting/chewing at clothing and/or furniture or soft furnishings

  • Stealing things

  • Inability to stay still and settle

  • Increased barking

  • Tormenting the other pets or children

  • …to name but a few behaviours. It nearly always happens at a time when you are feeling tired and need to relax and it can feel relentless; nothing you do stops this uncontrollable behaviour from happening.

Why does it happen?

There are a few reasons as to why the puppy witching hour occurs. Firstly though, be assured that this is a very common puppy behaviour and your puppy is not doing it purposely to you. That said, if you feel that your puppy is showing signs of extreme aggression and it doesn’t feel like ‘normal’ witching hour behaviour, seek advice from a professional.

So why do most puppy owners experience this with their puppies?

The most common reason for the witching hour occurring is the fact that your puppy is overtired.

The second reason is that your puppy is overstimulated.

The third reason is that your puppy is mentally bored.

Puppies are terrible at regulating their own feelings and so the result of any one of the above usually comes out in the form of witching hour behaviours. They do grow out of it, but there are things you can do right now to minimise any of these behaviours occurring and start to relax in the evenings.

What to do

  • Sleep: an overtired dog makes poor decisions, an overtired puppy makes terrible decisions. If your puppy has not slept properly throughout the day, you can put money on the fact that you will experience the witching hour. When puppies are overtired, they are restless, irritable and frankly, quite annoying. Most often, you’ll see a lot more biting behaviour from your puppy if they are tired. You do want to make sure that they are sleeping anywhere between 16-18 hours per day on average. I promise you, more sleep does not mean more energy when awake from your puppy. More sleep will result in better behaviour overall. Ensure that your puppy has a quiet, undisturbed area that they can rest in during the day. Puppy pens can be fantastic for this, as long as they are introduced properly so that your puppy learns to love it.

  • Overstimulation: a puppy who is pumped full of adrenaline is not going to be able to chill. If your puppy has had a very stimulating day full of exercise, chasing balls and toys or just constantly running around, then you are likely going to experience the witching hour. Try and ensure that your puppy has a mixture of activities throughout the day which includes training for mental stimulation, enrichment for calming activities as well as a little play and their usual walks. Don’t be fooled into thinking that a wild puppy needs another walk. That’s usually the last thing they actually need. You’re far better off planning their day with activities that meet both their physical and mental needs so that they are calmer in general and less likely to become the devil in the evenings.

  • Prepare For The Time It Usually Starts: fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Never has a saying been so apt than with puppies. The witching hour usually happens at a time when you want to settle down. Helping your puppy do the same is key and for this you want to be prepared. Firstly, just before the witching hour usually begins, engage them in a calming 5 minute training exercise to work their brains. Then, give them the opportunity to go to the toilet and wander around the garden to stretch their legs, but don’t encourage them to zoom around. To do this, I like to save a small handful of their meal and sprinkle it around the garden so that after they have toileted, they can go and sniff out their food. Encouraging puppies to use their noses properly is a lovely calming exercise. After this, bring them inside and give them a calming enrichment activity to do; a stuffed Kong, a lickimat or perhaps a new chew that they love. Always make sure that your Kongs and lickimats are prepared in advance of the witching hour so that they are always on hand. Take the time to chill out whilst your puppy is doing the same. If the above doesn’t work, getting them involved in another calm training session can be as good as an enrichment feeder for helping them settle nicely.

  • Mental activities: make sure that you are working both your puppy’s body as well as their brain every day. Dogs are incredibly intelligent beings and puppies’ brains want to soak up new things in order to develop properly. A puppy who is not mentally stimulated will find ‘jobs’ to do of their own and, usually, those jobs aren’t anything we want them to do. A puppy who is properly mentally stimulated is a much calmer puppy all round. The best way to do this? Training!

  • Enrichment: provide your puppy with various enrichment activities throughout the day. As well as ensuring that you are working their brains, give them opportunities to lick, sniff and chew appropriate items throughout the day. These are nice calming activities for most puppies.

  • Teach settle: you can teach your puppy to settle on cue which is a really useful skill for them to learn and can work for the witching hour. I do find, though, that if all of the above isn’t in place as well, your settle training is unlikely to work on its own to tackle the dreaded witching hour. It would be a skill I would work on alongside all of the appropriate physical and mental activities to help with evening wildness.

I always ask my clients what the context is of any behaviour they are describing to me. Context is always so important. If your puppy is displaying behaviour that you feel is out of context of any of the above, get help from a professional puppy trainer.

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Happy training and enjoy your puppy, they don’t stay so little for long xx