# Weird Night Behaviour



## inksmear (May 7, 2011)

My Chihuahua is almost 8 months old. He is full of energy, which is to be expected. He's still a puppy! However, nearly every night between 10:30 and midnight, he goes a little...crazy. I have no idea why! 

First he will insist on chewing on everything he isn't suppose to. He will not leave me alone - usually bugging me to play with him or give him my complete attention. If I don't do that, he'll start trying to hump me. He's neutered, if that matters at all. He is never this needy during the day. It's like he gets a crazy burst of energy at night and just doesn't know what to do with himself. 

Any suggestions? I've tried: giving him attention in small bursts and giving him an interactive toy to play with (he'll lose interest fairly quickly, even when treats are involved). I can't sit and pet him or play fetch for 2 hours every night, so I need another solution. The only thing that ever seems to work is putting him to bed. He'll just go right to sleep. So weird.


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## LostLakeLua (Sep 6, 2009)

Well if by 'putting him to bed' you mean putting him in his crate, I guess I'd just continue doing that then if I were you. Dogs thrive on routine; so in your case what I'd do is just have one last playtime with him around 10 or so to wear him out; take him out for his last potty and then put him in the crate until morning.

Edit to add: By the way the humping thing is a dominance thing, it sounds like he's trying to demand your attention especially since you mentioned that he does it when you ignore him. Just make sure you're being firm and correct him (a loud "NO!" or whatever method you choose that gets his attention and stops the behavior). Once you establish your spot as being the pack leader he should learn that he can't demand attention from you; it's gotta be the other way around.


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## inksmear (May 7, 2011)

Yes, by putting him to bed, I mean putting him in his crate. He sleep their every night. 

I assumed the humping thing was a dominance issue. It's really frustrating, but even when given a firm, "No!" he doesn't listen to me very well. My fiancé on the other hand...as soon as he steps into a room, the dog is calmer, and nicer. Obviously he's established dominance, but I'm not quite sure how. I'm with the dog more often, perhaps I'm just not firm enough with him.


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## Rocky (Jan 25, 2010)

My only suggestion is that you have a play hour with him earlier. So maybe something like between 6-8. So that he has his attention already where he can get rid of his energy during play. And hopefully by 10:30, he will be already tired and out of energy. So you could play with him, you could keep him busy hiding treats everywhere (while he is not watching) which he has to find, or you could give him a filled Kong. 

Rocky had a time like that and I felt that it really helped as he was already dead tired before he could go crazy again at night


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## michele (Jan 12, 2009)

Does he get a long walk pm ? that will tire him out


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## omguthrie (Oct 13, 2009)

Most puppies I've seen get the "puppy zoomies" like that at night. They go a little nuts, running around like crazy, grabbing toys, and playing; ears pinned back, tails tucked and dashing around. It's perfectly normal and will fade away as they get older. You'll find that you'll miss the zoomies as they grow into adults. Though occasionally all my dogs, even the 11 year old, will get them and run around like crazy. I think it's funny and love it.

Here is a video of a puppy getting the zoomies. Start watching around 0:30 mark. Notice the pups tucked tail and and slicked back ears. She's having a blast! 




I've also had puppies that do something similar that isn't the zoomies. I equate it to a 4 year old child who is tired but doesn't want to go to sleep and is getting naughtier and naughtier. Starting to do things just to get attention. We know if she would lie down for 5 minutes she would be asleep but she is fighting it so hard it's making her obnoxious. Same with puppies. The fact that your pup goes right to sleep when you put him in his crate makes me think that this is his problem. He's just tired and is fighting it because he doesn't want to miss anything. 

When he starts to get obnoxious and you think he's had enough play time during the day and it's time for him to relax then go ahead and crate him for bed. However, if it seems to be the zoomies I'd let him run them out, they don't normally last long and it's one of the fun parts of having a puppy!


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## Yoshismom (Jul 6, 2005)

Love the video!


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## Rocky (Jan 25, 2010)

Haha, love the video. Rocky still sometimes goes crazy and runs around uncontrollably  Its so funny.


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## svdreamer (Feb 20, 2010)

Mine all still do this. As soon as I tell them it's time to go pee at night, they all run outside to go, then they come in and play like crazy and run around because they know it's time for bed and they just get so excited. It's about the only time they get to go through the rest of the house.


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## 20887 (Mar 16, 2011)

Lion gets the "zoomies" too! Especially after baths. 
I have a video :


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