Evening crazy hour

[MsMarvellous]

Can some of you experienced puppy owners hit me up with some tips for management of the evening mad hour. Our Dalmatian pup, 3 months, doesn't just get zoomy he goes crazy. Chewing, nipping, jumping, growling and generally being a loon.

Otherwise he's actually doing great and listens nicely though the day and is distractable.

But at about 8pm/8:30pm he loses it. I know he's probably overtired after his day. We're walking him twice a day (but can't go too far yet) feeding 3 times, have toys, playtime, training time all built in.

Management tips and experience would be gratefully received. I know it won't last forever but reducing the pain would be great.

We called it the witching hour with ours! And noticed it was far worse if she got over tired. Try to keep early evenings calm, and do some scent based training ie hiding treats under the sofa, under rugs etc. Ours also loves being brushed with a soft bristle brush and that calmed her down too.

It does pass, honest.

our dog is 6 months now and still does this but much much less, maybe once a week.
Ours was definately over tired. we used to put him in his bed for 10 mins (in a separate room to where we were sitting) and he would have time out and calm right down.

Thanks @PeoniesarePink I'll try those things and see. I sort of feel that just trying something will improve my take on it all . It will probably make time feel like it's passing faster.

My pup was around that age last year. I used to water the garden around 8pm every night, which she loved playing with the water & chasing the hose. So any crazy behaviour was outside, but was all focused on the water play. Having a pup in the summer made it easier to direct any crazy play outside & more calm controlled play inside.

@BlackDogWhiteCat I can try that too. His crate is in the kitchen so can do some calm settling in there earlier in the evening even if it's not bedtime. Worth an attempt!

good luck!

Ohh I remember this well our Dalmatian pup is 10 months now and I'm pleased to say it's passed 😀.
What got us through was a kong stuffed with dried biscuits and Philadelphia which had been frozen 😂

I used to put mine back in his crate at the start of his witching hour which meant he would crash out to sleep and then wake up a nicer puppy again.

This also had the benefit that he learnt that when he is feeling wired he needs to calm down and sleep so when he grew up and still had the zoomie feeling he would eventually take himself off to bed to have a snooze

Ours still goes mad every evening but then sleeps for twelve hours, with a break for a snack and a pee when we go to bed. He’s eighteen months old, I’m sorry to tell you!

I had a bash at teaching him to settle tonight when he got crazy. 30 mins enforced concentration has made him conk out. night 1 of many.

Maybe if you post pics of your supposed dpuppy you may get more advice op!!!

Crate him! Ours has thankfully just stopped this at almost 14 months. Hell but once you know it's coming you can plan

Sorry @Yellowweatherwarning. How short sighted of me!

Ah worth the wait!

That's his side eye at the cat. Curious but not wanting to be hissed at

He's had a good night tonight. I'm not sure it's anything I've done though. He did have ten mins down time in his crate ahead of doing some training so that and brain work seems to have helped.

It just means that I don't get any downtime!

Yes ours does this, though a bit less now (5 months).

My dog is 5 and still does this at exactly this time! So I walk him between 8-9pm to take his mind off if