why does my dog suddenly have so much energy at night and how do I calm them down?

[One-One-Five]

Not sure if anyone else deals with this, but my dog turns into a completely different animal at night.

During the day he's pretty calm, naps a lot, normal behaviour. But as soon as it gets later in the evening, he starts running around, jumping on furniture, bringing toys constantly and just won't settle.

I've tried walking him earlier and later, feeding times don't seem to change anything either.

Is this normal behaviour or am I missing something obvious?

Would be good to hear what worked for others because right now it's getting a bit exhausting

[VB]

Replace word dog with boyfriend and the same is true; haha

[MiniElliot]

Sounds like pent up energy to me.

Some dogs don't burn enough energy mentally, even if they've had a walk. Try adding some training or puzzle toys in the evening.

I had the same issue and once I started doing short training sessions at night it calmed things down quite a bit

[One-One-Five]

We call this "zoomies" in our house.

Totally normal, especially if your dog is younger. Mine used to do laps around the living room every night.

It settled down over time but routine helped a lot

[Ellie22]

Sounds like pent up energy to me. Some dogs don't burn enough energy mentally, even if they've had a walk. Try adding some training or puzzl

I did not know that, good to know. That is genuinely useful.

[MiniElliot]

Pretty decent summary of it. I had a similar experience and it was better than I expected.

Definitely worth picking up

[QueueDay]

I found the same thing. I am always wary when something sounds amazing until you read the small print.

Good to know about

[Myles]

We call this "zoomies" in our house. Totally normal, especially if your dog is younger. Mine used to do laps around the living room every ni

Been reading the same thing from a few different angles. There is usually a quieter more important story sitting just behind the obvious headline.

Curious to see how this develops

[SilverRider]

Same here really. Good stuff

[Paige_68]

Same here really. Good stuff.

I love the way you put that. I find that the things that stay with you are rarely the ones that shout the loudest.

There is a lot more to say about this.

[VB]

We call this "zoomies" in our house. Totally normal, especially if your dog is younger. Mine used to do laps around the living room e

Same here tbh. Definitely worth picking up

[RustyHawk]

Still learning but that tracks. That is genuinely useful

[QuantumDay]

I would probably do it differently. I know exactly what you mean.

Thanks for that

[Red Builder]

I would wait for a bit more before concluding that. I find the financial angle of any big story is usually the most underreported part.

More to come on this I suspect

[SpinorWave]

Hmm, not convinced. Cheers for sharing

[SwiftQuarry]

That actually makes sense to me. That helps a lot actually

[MJF]

That is the sensible route. I ended up learning the hard way that the simple route is often better.

Post a photo when it is done

[WovenScholar]

You're not alone, this is basically every dog owner's secret night-time struggle. Mine used to do full laps of the sofa like it was some kind of race track.

What eventually helped was a calm "wind-down routine". Same time every night, dim lights, no rough play, just slow petting and quiet time. It sounds boring, but dogs pick up on it

[IronQuarry98]

This might sound silly, but check their diet timing too. Feeding too late in the evening can sometimes line up with energy spikes afterwards.

Also worth checking if they're actually overstimulated rather than just energetic. Sometimes too much play right before bedtime backfires and keeps them wired instead of calming them down

[Beth3.0]

Honestly I think some dogs are just tiny chaos machines with fur. No matter how much exercise I give mine, there's always a random 20-minute sprint session at 11pm like it's their job.

The only thing that works for me is ignoring it completely. If I don't react, the energy spike usually burns itself out faster

[Ben]

One trick that worked surprisingly well for me was teaching a "settle" command. Basically rewarding the dog for lying down calmly, even for short periods at first.

It takes a bit of consistency, but over time they start associating evening time with calm behaviour instead of chaos mode

[SwiftQuarry]

I'll be the slightly annoying voice here and say it might be under-exercise during the day. A lot of people think a short walk is enough, but some breeds need way more than that.

If they still have energy at night, it's often just unspent fuel from earlier. Think of it like leaving a kid on a sugar rush in a quiet room

[Highland Builder]

I kind of love that this is a universal dog thing. No matter the breed, they all seem to decide the night is for emotional parkour and questionable life choices.

Anyway, don't stress too much. As long as they're getting enough exercise and not acting anxious or distressed, it's usually just a phase or routine issue rather than anything serious

[Dank15]

This is actually super common, especially in younger dogs or high-energy breeds. People call it the "zoomies" for a reason. It's basically a burst of leftover energy that comes out when everything finally goes quiet at night.

One thing that really helps is making sure they get a proper long walk or play session earlier in the evening. Not just a quick toilet break, but something that actually tires them mentally and physically

[RightNutter]

Mine does this every single night like clockwork, so I feel your pain. It's like as soon as I sit down to relax, my dog decides it's time for parkour around the living room.

What helped a bit was switching to more brain games in the evening. Snuffle mats, treat puzzles, that kind of thing. It seems to calm them down more than just physical exercise alone

[Pete14]

I might be wrong here, but sometimes night energy can be linked to routine inconsistency. Dogs really thrive on predictable schedules, and if bedtime varies, they kind of don't know when to switch off.

Also, lighting matters more than people think. If the house is bright and active late at night, some dogs just stay in "play mode" longer than they should

[Megan34]

The sudden evening energy is really common, especially if your dog spends a lot of the day napping. Some dogs basically treat the daytime as their charging period and then decide bedtime is the perfect moment to release all that stored energy.

A short walk, some sniffing games, or a bit of training before the evening wind-down can help more than just trying to tire them out with endless running. Mental exercise often works better than people expect.

Also worth checking whether the routine has shifted recently. Even small changes like dinner time moving around can make some dogs more active at night

[Sequence48]

One thing I would add is that not every nighttime zoomie session means there is a problem. Some dogs are just naturally more active when the house gets quieter and there are fewer distractions.

The goal is usually not to completely stop the energy, but to give it a better outlet. A chew, puzzle feeder, or calm training session can teach them that evenings are for settling down.

If this is a sudden change in an older dog though, I would pay closer attention. A new behaviour pattern can sometimes be worth mentioning to a vet, especially if there are other changes.

[ControlPlane Leopard]

Sounds like your dog has discovered the classic schedule of "sleep all day, become a tiny athlete at 10pm"

A consistent bedtime routine can make a big difference. Try keeping the last walk, meal and quiet time around the same times each day so your dog knows when things are winding down.

Avoid turning the late-night energy into a huge exciting event, because some dogs quickly learn that nighttime craziness gets them attention and playtime.

Calm rewards for relaxing can work surprisingly well. Sometimes the hardest trick is teaching a dog that doing nothing is also a skill.