Almost all of us guardians have seen our dog suddenly and euphorically start running, jump on the sofas at home practically without looking where he is stepping or completely lose control in what seems to be a real attack of madness.
Although they seem strange to us, these unexpected episodes of "explosion" of activity have their own name and, as long as they do not appear too frequently, they are not indicative of any type of significant problem. If your dog has bouts of madness from time to time, in this article on our site we will tell you about the possible causes that can explain why your dog is suddenly very nervousand how you should act.
Why is my puppy going crazy?
The spontaneous attack of madness in the dog is called "zoomie" or "FRAP " (Frenetic Random Activity Period) which in Spanish would be translated as "random period of frenetic activity". These episodes of lack of control are more frequent in puppies and young dogs than in adults and their objective is to release the excess energy that they may have accumulated during the day.
Identifying a "FRAP" is very simple since, when it occurs, the dog begins to run at high speed and adopts a curious posture, flexing its hind legs, almost completely hiding its tail between them and lowering his butt, as if he were hunched over. In addition, unlike what happens in a normal race, during the "zoomie" we can see that the dog always follows the same path, makes changes of clumsy and jerky senses and dodge or jump over obstacles with virtually no slowing down.
Why does my puppy go crazy at night?
The "zoomies" can also occur at night, especially if the dog has spent much of the day inactive or resting, but, in addition, there are other causes that explain why our puppy gets bouts of madness while we sleep.
The circadian rhythm is defined as a series of physical, mental, and behavioral changes that occur over a 24-hour period and that includes the wake and sleep cycle. As with humans, the circadian rhythm of dogs is different depending on their age and that is why puppies sleep more hours, but they do so differently from adults, generally through small distributed naps throughout the day and night. This, together with the fact that they are hardly able to endure many hours at a time without relieving themselves, explains why their sleep is interrupted several times during the night.
Furthermore, while humans decrease our energy level as the hours go by, dogs are animals with twilight habits, which means that their peaks of maximum activity occur at both sunrise and sunset.
All of this gives us a better understanding of why puppies go crazy at home and wake up in the middle of the night wanting to run and play with everything they find.
Now, it is important to differentiate this situation from the one that involves crying, moaning or barking typical of the adaptation period. For this case, we recommend you consult our article on What to do if a puppy cries at night.
Why does my adult dog have fits of madness?
Although it may seem so, "FRAP" do not occur exclusively in puppies. Although it is true that it is much more common to see them in young animals, adult dogs can also experience them from time to time, and it is completely normal.
This is so because, in addition to age, the frequency of appearance of these sudden attacks of madness depends on other factors such as the character of the dog, its breed, its routines or its average level of activity. The most common thing is that the adult dog starts running like crazy at home if his daily requirements of physical and/or mental activity are not adequately covered, which causes stress peaksand an excessive accumulation of energy In this other post we explain how much exercise a dog should do a day, don't miss it to see if, indeed, this It is the cause that causes your dog to suddenly get very nervous and run like crazy.
What to do if my dog suddenly goes crazy?
Sudden bouts of activity, no matter how intense, usually last only a few seconds and then go away on their own. As they are not something negative but a simple way to release energy, we should not try to stop the dog with our body or our voice while it is running, ideally we should simply Let's wait for the episode to end and the dog to relax on his own. The most common thing is that, once they stop running, our furry sits or lies down and begins to pant as a result of the fatigue that the race has caused. At this time we can offer you some water.
It is important to know that, during the "zoomie", the dog enters a state of lack of control, so both its motor coordination and its attention span are affected and it is easy for it to trip or hit something. If this happens inside the house, we will try to remove the furniture or objects that are in the path of the dog to avoid any type of injury. Similarly, if the episode occurs in an outdoor area, we must check carefully that the environment is safe and that there is no danger to the animal (for example, that there are no roads or unevenness nearby).
Although a "FRAP" is not in itself something negative or worrying, if you consider that your furry suffers episodes of frenetic activity too often (every day or even several times a day), the ideal would be to consult your case with an ethologist who will help you to establish a routine adapted to the needs and optimal level of activity of your dog As we have mentioned, between The most frequent causes are lack of activity, so it is important to check if your dog does all the exercise he needs or not to provide him with more activity if necessary. Likewise, keep in mind that a good environmental enrichment at home is also a relevant factor, since we must not only stimulate the dog outdoors, but also inside through games of intelligence, smell, etc. To do this, don't miss our article on Environmental enrichment for dogs.
You can also learn more about mental stimulation in dogs in this video:
