If your dog is hyper in the evening, you’re likely desperate for some solutions. I recently had a dog owner contact me about her 10-month old dog being overall “chill” during the day, and then, transforming into a crazy monster at night. Of course, she was really fed up by this behavior, because her definition of biting monster meant that he would start jumping and nipping, and some bites really hurt, making her even wonder whether he was acting aggressive.
So What’s Up With Dogs Acting Hyper in the Evening?
Well, let’s start by giving you all my empathy. If you own a juvenile dog who is quite large, your pup’s behavior can surely feel overwhelming! I am sure it feels like a bull in a China shop! In most cases, in my experience, dogs who act this way are usually dogs between the ages of 8 months to 2 years.
What’s likely going on is that your puppy is in the full teenager stage, and with this stage comes loads of energy. Plus, couple that with the fact that dogs are by nature more active in the evening, especially after they have enjoyed their dinner, and you have the perfect recipe for a dog bouncing off the walls.
To better understand this behavior, let’s take a closer look at what may be going on and then we’ll take a look at some solutions.
Energy Bursts in Adolescent Dogs
Dogs typically go through the adolescent stage (teenager stage) from the ages of 6 and 18 months on average. During this time, there are significant neurobiological, hormonal, and behavioral changes.
Some of the most common problems encountered during this stage are a dog’s heightened energy levels coupled with increased impulsivity. This can lead to erratic behaviors that can lead to intense surges of activity.
What’s happening at a neurological level is that their prefrontal cortex (the area responsible for a dog’s impulse control) is still developing, which means that dogs during this time struggle with self-regulation and may therefore be prone to impulsive, high-energy outbursts.
This hyperarousal may be difficult to manage because it’s so out of control.
Not coincidentally, it is during the adolescent stage that many dog owners struggle the most. Statistics show us that dogs are surrendered to shelters the most when they’re going through this stage.
Dogs as Crepuscular Beings
Dogs, just like their wild ancestors (wolves), have natural activity peaks during dawn and dusk which makes them crepuscular animals. These times coincide with when most prey animals are active. These evolutionary patterns therefore drive increased playfulness and exploratory behaviors during these times.
Build-Up of Energy
In domestic settings, dogs may often not get to engage in enough species-typical activities during the day (hunting, digging, foraging, problem-solving), potentially leading to a buildup of energy that gets released unpredictably in the evening.
Play Development
Adolescent dogs are refining their play skills, so that they grow up to become agile successful “hunters.” This, coupled with their high arousal levels, may cause them to be too rough with their mouths, especially if they weren’t trained proper bite inhibition when they were younger.
If they are exposed to other young dogs, they will likely engage in juvenile rough-and-tumble play, but in a home setting, when they interact with us, their rough mouthing coupled with their high arousal levels, may be misinterpreted as aggression rather than overstimulated play.
The Power of Reinforcement
If rough play or biting behaviors have been unintentionally reinforced, the dog learns that their behavior gets attention, making it more likely to repeat. A dog’s biting behavior may be therefore inadvertently reinforced by our reactions. Pushing them off, running away or just the mere act of instinctively moving our arms and legs away from harm’s way may be perceived as being part of play.
Because our reactions may be interpreted as engagement and interaction, dogs will want to repeat this experience more and more causing it to establish and become part of their new routine.
I have seen many adolescent dogs getting more and more revved up and coming back for more, the more their owners interacted with them, even if just in their attempts to stop the dog’s behavior.
The “Spillover Effect”
Something else to consider is the “spillover” effect, where the excessive excitement in one context (in this case, playtime) may spill over into overarousal and frustration, leading to biting, lunging and erratic behavior. Some high-energy breeds, are particularly prone to frustration intolerance, meaning they escalate quickly.
As these dogs play and get overly aroused, their sympathetic nervous system activates, while their prefrontal cortex is temporarily suppressed, making it more difficult for the dog to regulate their behaviors.
This is why an overexcited dog might go from jumping to suddenly nipping and rough mouthing. This is usually not aggression, but a breakdown in self-regulation. Basically it’s an issue of arousal mismanagement that needs to be addressed.
So while your sweet dog may seek social play and attention during the day, it looks like when he gets revved up excessively, he may lack the appropriate frustration tolerance and impulse control necessary for him to self-regulate.
My Dog’s Hyper in the Evening, What Can I Do?
I often have to remind owners of adolescent dogs that they will eventually see the “light at the end of the tunnel.” It’s all a matter of helping the dog learn how to better regulate his energy and develop better impulse control and frustration tolerance.
This is not an overnight fix, but as you work on these skills, you can preempt the “witching hour” by providing more outlets for your dog’s need for exercise and mental stimulation and some tweaks in environmental management. Here are therefore some tips.
Strategically Increase Mental and Physical Stimulation
Since your dog is well-behaved during the day, you may need to fine-tune his activity schedule by offering some preemptive activities along with mental stimulation.
Preempting activities can be a structured evening walk or controlled play session (e.g., tug with clear rules, flirt pole, or scent work) about 1-2 hours before bedtime. In particular, you may find a “jazz up and settle down” exercise particularly helpful as it teaches your dog his “off button.” This can help drain excess energy.
Avoid over stimulating activities too close to bedtime, as they may escalate arousal rather than help your dog settle.
You also want to work his brain during the day. Food puzzles, scent games, and short training sessions (basic obedience, trick training can help tire him out in a productive way.
Implement Impulse Control Training
For dogs who are high-energy, they benefit from impulse control exercises (sitting before being fed, before being let out of the door, before clipping on the leash etc.). Structured tug games and fetch games may also turn helpful. Teach your dog that play starts and stops on your terms. Use cues like “take it” and “drop it,” rewarding him when he releases.
Manage the Environment
If your is hyper at night, temporarily managing his environment can be useful. Use a crate or gated-off area where he can’t rehearse the problem behavior. Pair the space with a high-value chew or stuffed Kong to create positive associations. I like to fill a dog’s Kong with wet kibble and freeze it and offer it as a substitute for the food bowl. This should keep the dog occupied for some time.
Have a Plan in Place
If your dog still manages to start lunging and biting, calmly remove yourself. from the equation of “human=a target for biting.” I have found that the best way to do this is to play a kibble toss game. Basically, I will always carry kibble in my treat bag or pocket and the moment I notice the dog approaching me with the intent to nip, I will start tossing him kibble to catch. As he gets the idea of the game, I will start asking him to “sit” before I toss each kibble.
This offers 3 main advantages: it prevents the dog from rehearsing the problematic nipping, it gives the dog a nice workout (toss the kibble far from you so that he’s forced to be yo-yoing back and forth) and it reinforces the sitting behavior. So this all puts your dog’s kibble to good use.
With time, your dog will start wanting to play this game more and more rather than nipping.
Consider Calming Aids
Some dogs benefit from calming supplements (under veterinary guidance). Options include L-theanine or casein-based calming chews, Adaptil (dog-appeasing pheromone diffusers, sprays or collars) and other calming aids can help the dog calm down.
Avoid Getting Angry/Frustrated
Something that I have noticed with these dogs is that the more you get frustrated or angry by the behavior, the more the dog gets rough and revved up. Most likely the dog feeds off our arousal levels which triggers them to get farther and farther from self-regulating.
Final Thoughts
As seen, your dog’s nighttime outbursts are likely a combination of natural teenager energy bursts, immaturity, high arousal levels and learned rough play. By focusing on providing structured exercise and mental stimulation during the day, reinforcing calm behaviors and by managing the environment, you should see a steady and gradual improvement over time. This combination of strategies may provide the winning combo to stop bad dog behaviors.
If the issue persists or escalates however, please do not hesitate to work alongside a dog trainer using positive and human training and behavior modification techniques or a board certified veterinary behaviorist of certified applied animal behaviorist if you are lucky to have any near you.