Witching Hour - When puppies go BANANAS! ...and how to manage it

It's maybe around 4 or 6pm. The sun is on its way down to meet the horizon, and you are looking forward to a calm and restful evening.

Then it happens.

The Witching Hour!

Your puppy goes into over-stimulated overdrive (more information about over-stimulation here), jumping all over the place, sliding around doing zoomies in your living room, attempting to tear up couch cushions or your pants, writhing on the floor, chewing on everything, and of course, not paying the slightest attention to their commands.

My boy had a particularly intense witching hour, usually right around 5pm, as a puppy. It was always right after his afternoon walk, when he was very over-stimulated and knew bedtime was coming up all too soon.

This erratic behavior at a specific time of the day is commonly called the puppy's "witching hour" and it's at a different time for every pup, but usually takes place in the evening, when they are tired from the day but know bedtime is coming. Kind of like a toddler tantrum. If you have experienced it, know that you are not alone, this is a very common occurrence in puppies, and there are ways to manage it. No need to dread the witching hour if you are prepared for it!

There is one thing to ask yourself before you approach managing this behavior: Has your pup gotten enough mental and physical stimulation that day?

If your answer is YES:

Especially if it's a very young puppy, it doesn't take a whole lot for their little brains to be full! A couple short sniffy walks, some new experiences, a few short training sessions, a bit of play and some structured naps in-between, and they should be good for the day. It's likely that the witching hour wackiness is actually just them being so tired after a full day that they get overwhelmed and explode into a chaotic mess.

My girl's brother, Hazel, had plenty of mental stimulation just exploring my back yard and sniffing flowers. He was only around 6 weeks old, and everything was new to him! His witching hour was not too bad, because he fortunately found it very easy to nap any time, which helps. He got adopted so fast!

Fortunately, if you have done your due diligence and kept their day full, you can separate them guilt free when they start acting up, and ignore them until they calm down. When they go into witching hour mode, they can be gently put into a playpen, crate, or puppy-proof, puppy-gated room to calm down. It's best if they can still see you, but they are separate and can't get to you. You can ignore them pointedly if they continue to whine and rage.

It's sometimes a bit difficult to wrangle them into their space, since they might be extra nippy and wriggly, and general advice is to not control them bodily as much as possible. But hey. Occasionally you just have to gently grab them and put them in their playpen or dedicated safe space however you can manage, and that's the best you can do. Just don't make eye contact or yell and make it dramatic, stay calm and stoic. I always scatter treats in my pups' playpen when I put them in, so they are distracted and happy for a few moments, and it doesn't seem like a punishment. It is also nice to put in a teething aid like a chew or wet frozen dish towel, in case they are in discomfort due to teething.

If their day is full of learning, new experiences and physical and mental stimulation, they will be able to calm down easily in their dedicated, separate space, maybe even pass out for a nap, and will not cause damage to themselves, you, or your home. After they "crash", they can be let out again and they should be much more calm and tired, ready to enjoy a calm evening with you. If they start going haywire again, just repeat the process.

This is also valuable starting practice in separation from you, to avoid raising a velcro dog who follows you to the bathroom and gets anxious as soon as you stand up from the couch. They are near you, but get used to not being the center of attention and not always having to be right by your side.

If your answer is NO:

Perhaps you had to work all day and the pup had to nap and chill for the majority of the time, and didn't get much stimulation. If they did not get much activity during the day, it is best to try to direct their exploding energy toward safety, but let them get it out of their system.

Even in this case, you can try to make up some mental-stimulation time and get ahead of the witching hour. It's usually pretty predictable, so you can schedule a calm but interesting sniffy walk, or play a training game with them, before they get into crazy-zoomie mode.

It's also an option to take them somewhere they can safely do zoomies, and get some wiggles out. A fenced in yard helps tremendously...before I had my yard, however, I always kept an eye out for dog parks, unused tennis courts or the like, that don't get any traffic, and take my puppies there (if they were already properly vaccinated!), and make sure they could play some fetch with me, run around alone or at most with one or two trusted and gentle playmates.

Vigorous play is really helpful in this time, but it's best when there is a bit of structure to it at least. I played a lot of structured games of tug. Teaching them self-control in this way is a great choice, so they can eventually learn to more easily snap out of this crazy overstimulated time and start listening to you again. It does take time and practice to really get it though!

Once they have had their mental and physical energy drained a bit, you can go back to the above method, and just put them safely into a separate space, and let them calm down. It's always a good idea to make sure the puppy has some time in the day to play and release some energy, and use their brains! But once you know their needs are met, there is nothing wrong with just ignoring their tantrum while they are in a separate space, and let them get used to not always being in the middle of all action. Just make sure they don't have to go potty and aren't hungry or thirsty!

This is my girl during a witching hour episode, just running around mindlessly, falling all over herself, and chasing her tail. My boy is so over this phase, haha! Fortunately, she had a huge fenced in back yard to do zoomies in, so her witching hour was never too bad.

I hope this helped give some ideas as to how you can manage an often distressing time! Of course, it can be a bit messy in practice, but that's to be expected, and the more you anticipate it, the better you can alleviate it. Now that you know what is causing it, you will be able to create your own methods, based on what your pup's schedule and day looked like, and based on their own personality!