@isabelle_88 Our puppy is the same. She is well behaved but around 8-9pm she is clearly too tired to behave well. She runs around making noise, anoyes her big sister and is a pain in general. We take her for a pee and put her in the crate to sleep.
To be fair my sister used to be the same as a baby xD
@isabelle_88 We found that crate training and sticking to a regular nap schedule helped a lot. It sounds to me like your pup is overly tired. Our puppy would'nt turn off on her own. We had to physically put her into her crate to nap. If she became bitey or aggressive, she was usually tired and putting her in her crate put her to sleep in minutes.
@isabelle_88 Yup. My puppy does this right before bedtime. He'll go manic at around 8-9pm, trying to bite my arms or legs. I've now started to leave him alone in his room now. He barks for a bit, bites up some toys, and eventually gets too tired and gives up.
@isabelle_88 Maybe you’ve tried this but my pup was immediately on a strict routine. She never liked the kennel and I gave up on that. 430 done work and she gets a snack, 5 pm dog park 6-630 home and dinner. 630-7 quiet time or self stimulate while I clean. We play for a bit, outside break attention until 8/830. Then at 9 I start getting ready for bed and she usually follows me around. 930 were in bed and she gets one cookie. Now she struggles of I ever happen to stay up past 10, she’s out.
@isabelle_88 I can't remember if our "evil hour" was 8pm or 9pm but it was the same as you.
We would always watch the clock then as soon as our corgi turned into a literal demon, me and my girlfriend would say "El diabloooooo" while making crosses with our fingers and act like our puppy was possessed by the devil.
It was actually kinda fun.
Edit : there's been a lot of useful info in this thread but here's my two cents: we didn't crate train our puppy (not very common in the country I live in) but did something very similar : for a long time during her puppyhood, our dog slept in the entrance of our apartment, in a rather small area (a few square feet) and she was indeed very tired and ready to sleep after her transformation into a demon. We did not put her in the entrance right away but instead let her run around and tire herself out for a few minutes, then we walked her for 2 minutes in case she needed to go pee, and then put her in her sleeping area where she usually crashed and slept like a baby.
@isabelle_88 My now 1.5 yr old pup did this from 6-10 months old. It was essentially a last burst of energy before he would pass out for the night. He would become a tornado doing gymnastics off the bed, zipping up and down the stairs, being a jerk to our other dog. It would last 10-20 minutes and then suddenly he would become a sleepy snuggly lump. He thankfully grew out of it. I suppose kids do this too where they get a little crazy when they first get tired.
@isabelle_88 Ours (now 10 months) does this, and it was driving us insane. A combination of settle training and moving him to the crate at a set time worked for us.
@isabelle_88 My dog was the exact same way. We used to call 7:00-8:00 terrorism time. Probably not okay but it did feel like a targeted attack. We went to appropriate play or soothing toys (licky mats, kong stuff) but sometimes she'd just bark in our face for the entire hour. Then 8:01 she'd pass out.
I have absolute no advice-- only condolences and anecdotal evidence that mine did get over it.
@isabelle_88 We have a 3.5 month old and call 5pm-8pm her “witching hour” she is an absolute lunatic during that time biting, barking, and being crazy, then she sleeps from 8pm-6pm.
@isabelle_88 I'm a Mini-Dachshund breeder of 20 years. I can tell you time outs do not work. You need re-direction. Always make sure you have a toy close by. When he tries to nip you..shove the toy in his mouth. Also, having a strict schedule will help him know when it is bed time. My dogs know they get their chew treat at 9:30pm. They know that is the time we wind down, calm down, self entertain and get ready for bed. I would recommend revamping your puppy schedule and getting back on it.
@frederic12 Putting myself in a timeout when he bites too hard works really well the rest of the day, but clearly not in this mood I’m going to reassess my schedule after all the wonderful advice I’ve received. I will also stress my redirection more, thank you!
@isabelle_88 Seriously... puppies can be assholes...I feel that in my soul. You want to strangle them sometimes and cuddle them others. You're not alone. They have coined it "The Puppy Blues" (Google it). Please believe me. The schedule and following it strictly will help greatly. The first 3-4 days will suck as he is figuring out the schedule..but they really do well with it.
@isabelle_88 May I suggest a crate? My dogs always knew that crate meant bedtime, never a form of punishment. When it was time for bed for the puppy we’d just put him in the crate in a comfy bed, with a blanket over the crate so it felt more like their little room, and a toy or treat in there. Once they were older we kept the crate open but they’d just stay in there until we woke up.
@isabelle_88 My guy does this. Like a toddler who doesn’t understand the feeling is tiredness so gets out of control. Maybe a quite time mental stimulation.
A Kong in a crate with dim lighting to get him ready for bed.
Good luck !
@isabelle_88 Ours goes psycho around 8/8.30pm. We live in an apartment but the other night we decided to take him to the garden and let him run around without us holding onto the lead and it was amazing, he just ran and ran and ran instead of doing it on our couch, he would still aim for our legs but we controlled him with the lead and he would then just keep running. His worst part is when we come back inside he just wants to attack our shoes as we are trying to walk him back in but last night each time he would try we would stop, get him to sit and give him a treat. We continued to hold the lead and walked him to his water then walked him to his crate, the other night I let go of the lead once we were inside and he punctured a hole in my leg lol. The more control we have over our 13 week old is the best outcome at the moment. And that control is the lead lol.
I’m going to reassess my schedule after all the wonderful advice I’ve received. I will also stress my redirection more, thank you!