Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
Nighttime Crazies
Today was really, really great. Toby was well behaved, and is learning not to jump up. The mouthiness is slowly dissipating. But.....the evenings are murder. Toby gets so busy, and jumpy, and nippy, and uncontrollable. My son just held him for ten minutes to calm him down. I took him for a walk, but it didn't help. What do you guys do for the nighttime crazies???
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Eva (Lilo and Rocky) on
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We just play crazy with the dogs until they drop ;) It helps when they've had PLENTY of exercise during the day. Usually this means 2-4 hours of off-leash running/ball playing time. They just have A LOT of energy!!
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Permalink Reply by Leslie and Halas on
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I would sometimes just end up putting Halas to bed. It just depended on how late it was. In our case, nighttime crazies led to nipping. I didn't mind the doodle zooms. In fact, I like those, because he wears himself out. But he'd get really, really nippy, and the usual suggestions for stopping it just didn't work, especially at night. I think his nipping at night was mostly due to him being an overly tired, cranky toddler. So that's why I'd just put him to bed. If it's too early in the evening for you to do this, if Toby likes to play ball, you could spend some time throwing a ball to him, rolling it down the hallway, etc. He'd burn off some energy that way.
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Permalink Reply by Sandy on
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Yes - that's exactly what is happening. The nighttime playing leads to nipping, and no discipline technique we've been told to use works. I just get so tired of being angry......I am not an angry person, and I hate the constant derision in the evenings. Toby won't play ball - he'll just watch it run down the hall. We have a fenced yard, but if he won't play ball, there's a limited number of ways to burn energy out there. "sigh" All I want to do is love him......
I took him on a walk at 9:00 last night, and it just seemed to energize him.
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Permalink Reply by 1qrgkdwnfqccb on
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i believe that i have read that you have kids...have them go outside with him right after dinner and run him good...that is what we do, and right after that he comes in and flops. out for the evening i take him out several times in between...i don't want accidents (neither tuck or izzy have to be crated at night) but you could also try to stimulate him with teaching him a new trick, or command. the only time tucker gets the "zoomies" or crazies is right after i have let him out of his crate if i have been gone during the day...and i just let him run it off outside. get a rope toy and play tug...get a ball and teach him how to play fetch..have him chase it and when he brings it back reward him with a yummy treat. that will wear him out esp. if you have a long hallway at your house, that way he is kinda trapped in the hall, and will go after the bouncing ball...tennis balls are great for that!
good luck!
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I have "kids" - one is 25 and almost never here, one is 22, and married, and one is 19 and in college - so if he's not in school, he's doing homework. I actually don't know whether he needs exercise, or if he's overtired. It's a toss-up. Either way, I've GOT to figure something out.
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sorry, i thought you had younger kids... : (
you know, maybe he is thriving on the negative attention he is getting from always getting into trouble? and i don't mean negative in that you are doing wrong, i mean negative in that when he is bad you are giving him more attention to correct or scold him, than when he is being good, and he is being left alone? i know it is going to be hard, but try and ignore the bad behavior, make a point of him knowing he is being ignored, fold your arms and turn your back when he is nipping at you...but when he is being good...praise, praise, praise...it is going to be a battle of the minds!!
good luck : )
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Good ideas - I'll have to try walking away. It makes sense that he's happy with negative attention as well as positive. And I know he fed off my frustration last night. He's only 14 1/2 weeks, so I know that this too shall pass!
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i just thought of something else...have you gotten a kong yet? they are the BEST constructive toy for passing the time!! if not go get one...fill it w/ peanut butter & stick in in the freezer... or you can stuff it w/ treats if you don't want to use pb.... when he is good reward him with it, and it will keep him busy for a couple hours...that way he is out of his crate, around everyone, and behaving! the whole time he has it give him good lovin and praise him!!! this will help with the good behavior, and will help with keeping from getting any food aggression issues.it will teach him that is is ok to play and touch while he has something good.
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We do have a Kong. I have never frozen it, but I have stuffed it. I sometimes put his kibble in there, or dry cheerios, or some peanut butter, or banana chunks. I can usually buy myself 10 or 15 minute with that. Would freezing it really extend it to a couple of hours? If so, I may buy a second one and freeze it today!! Right now he's got a pig's ear - first time, and he's loving it. He's been busy with it for 25 minutes or so. :)
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it takes longer for them to get the frozen pb out....i usually put a layer of pb, then cram a treat in there sideways so it is harder to get out...another layer of pb another treat and so on until it is full. i have the large ones for both dogs....i also put the treats in there so they don't get too much pb. another time passer is those hoofs..they really stink, but izzy will go after those smelly things forever! i end up taking it off of her before she is finished chewing on it because i can't stand the smell...lol
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1 more thing...don't walk away, he will only follow & keep up the bad behavior! tell him a firm NO then fold your arms and turn your back. you may turn in circles a few times but he will get the idea! as soon as he stops give him praise and love!
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Be ready to get nipped in the butt if you turn your back. I'm not saying that will definitely happen, but when Halas was in his cranky phase, he would just nip me in the butt when I turned my back. That hurts! So I just wanted to warn you that it's a possibility. But, like Amy says, walking away is still moving, and he'll think that you're still playing. I finally resorted to a drop of lemon juice in his mouth when he nipped (combined with a firm NO BITE), but he was quite a bit older than Toby is now when I finally gave up on the other methods and tried the lemon juice.
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