# Major puppy zoomies



## awesomesauce (Nov 15, 2010)

My dog still does this about one to two times per day and he's now a bit over 8 months old. If we're inside the house I'll just watch him and laugh and let him get it out of his system (he doesn't attack me... he just runs around as fast as he can and growls). He will usually stop on his own and lay down after about 5 minutes. If I want his attention he can be lured out of his zoomie fit with food treats.

If we're outside or he's doing it somewhere or sometime that's inappropriate, I will physically hold him down and not let him move much until he settles down, which can sometimes take 5 minutes or more of him struggling. If you do this, it's important not to let her go until she is calm ... and especially don't let her go on her terms ... or you're just reinforcing that she is the boss of you.

With regard to the biting, you need to find something that your puppy doesn't like. Ignoring her isn't enough of a punishment, it seems. We went through the same problem with Wrigley up until he was about 10 weeks old. He is a determined little guy and there's not much that upsets him. He has an incredible pain tolerance, too. When we felt hopeless we actually took him to our breeder for advice and when he bit her she quickly grabbed his muzzle and folded his top lip inside his jaw over his teeth and squeezed, effectively making him bite his lip. He yelped and whined and she let him go after a few seconds. He didn't bite us again for about a week and the first time he tried again to test us we did that to him again and he didn't try biting again for a month. After that he seemed to realize that biting us or any people equals undesirable attention.

Good luck!


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## wmag (Mar 17, 2011)

My pup Kasey is 14 weeks old and she still gets the zoomies at night! This is my first golden also so I am still learning! The only way I can get her to stop biting is to say ouch and leave the room! I wait a minute or two and come back. Sometimes I have to do it a couple times but it seems to be working. I didn't have much luck with the leash and walking at 9 weeks. Kasey hates it outside most of the time! She will go potty and run back inside. I try to walk her in the morning and late evening. Sometimes she still attacks the leash. I gave up trying to walk her in the beginning! I just let her walk round the yard at her own pace. Once she got used to the leash we started short walks maybe just down the driveway. Then I increased it a little every few days. Now we usually walk a half hour in the morning and evening. Not sure if this is the correct way but it works for us! Oh yeah my 13 year old daughter can't stand that I wear the same 2 outfits all the time! Tired of all the holes!


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

Hank is 2 y.o. and still gets the zoomies. He doesn't do the bitey thing but we need to stand back because he can take a person out at ground level!


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## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

I love when my dogs get the zoomies. It is fun to watch. BaWaaJige is a crazy pup when he is all done with his zoomies he lays down tried to make himself flat with the ground and laughs. It sure makes my day brighter.


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## rhondas (Sep 10, 2010)

My golden just turned 4 and still gets the zoomies twice a day. The zoomies usually happen after other exercise has completed - like one hour of swimming. At this age it lasts about 5 minutes but when it does (and it's always in the backyard) I get out of the way.


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## Limerick Main (Sep 17, 2010)

Limerick mostly gets his zoomies outside in teh yard. There is a section of yard where grass used to be that has been torn up and worn down by this. We call it the Racetrack. He actualy kicks up rooster tails of dirt.


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## baumgartml16 (Jun 19, 2011)

Our puppy is 13 1/2 weeks and gets the zoomies at night especially. On occasion she will get them in the morning. We just stand there and let her go..we don't touch her or leave our hands hanging and she will leave us alone. Keep a toy near you so that maybe she will go for the toy instaed of you while she is on the rampage! We just stand by and laugh at her wishing we could understand what is going on in her head at that time...


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## dexter0125 (Mar 20, 2011)

Sounds like my boy, but he's 6 months. Glad I'm not the only one! He will not stop. I get so mad sometimes, but then I look at his little face and wonder how I can get so mad..then I feel bad. Lol


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## GinnyinPA (Oct 31, 2010)

Ben is 3 1/2 and still gets the zoomies. For him, it's generally tied to either excitement or frustration. i.e. after he jumps in the creek on a hike, he'll frequently go bonkers and race around like mad because he feels so good. Or frequently in the evening, after a long post dinner snooze, he'll decide to burn some excess energy by racing around the living room. One day when we went out and left him behind he got frustrated, so when I took him out back he got the zoomies, raced in a large circle twice and then headed back to the door. When I was working on his loose leash walking and was stopping and turning erratically, he got really frustrated and attacked the leash, telling me essentially, "What are you doing? I want to go home!"

Outside, he has learned how long the leash is (we use a 25' lead) and how far he can run before he needs to circle around so he doesn't choke himself or wrap his leash around us. We just stand back, let him do his thing and laugh. I'm sure our living room carpet will need to be replaced a bit sooner than we expected, but it's worth it to see him work off the energy.


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## Stressedgoldenmom (Aug 2, 2011)

We have a 13 week old golden ...so gosh darned cute. We brought him home at 8 weeks. I don't mind the zoomies so much, but it seems like his zoomies combined with my kids in proximity equals major disaster. They do nothing to provoke him .. They are great at being trees, but that just makes him bite their clothes or jump them. Then I get in between and tell him "NO!!!"and he gets down on his haunches and air nips me or barks ... 

I know some may find this endearing, but I don't. My kids spend their days in the basement or in their rooms because they don't like being jumped or nipped. believe it or not, they are counting down the days for school to start!! That's sad, IMO. 

I think him zooming around the house doing laps is hilarious and I let him go go go ... Get those ya yas out!! but when he starts nipping, barking and jumping all over the furniture knocking stuff over and then becoming a petulant little brat who scares my children When I correct him... Sigh ... how much of this is immature puppy crap?

he's 20 pounds now ... Will he ever chill out so my kids will be able to love him? I know he sees them as litter mates, but my kids are getting frustrated and so am I. he's in puppy school and of course he's a perfect ANGEL!!! This is our first ever dog.


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## berggred (Aug 1, 2011)

Our golden is 10 weeks and also gets the zoomies, especially at night! So glad to see this post and replies because we just weren't sure how normal this was... Not sure where I read this, but we've taken an empty plastic milk jug and sort of squashed it up to let her play with. It moves around on the carpet really easily and the odd shape of it keeps her busy for awhile. It's hilarious to watch and it keeps her from jumping all over us!


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## MrsLB (Feb 28, 2011)

Bailey is just shy of 8 months and still gets zoomies. I was so thankful in finding this site and seeing that we were not the only one with a "crazy puppy"! In fact, had never heard of it being called zoomies before, so it helped me realize that it was just in fact excess energy that needed burned. Bailey only gets zoomed up in the evenings mostly now. Like others have said, after a nice post dinner snooze, she'll head outside and run laps around our yard. We are lucky to have close to an acre of fenced yard that she can go for it! So, if she gets to be "too much to handle" in the house, we can just put her outside and observe the chaos. 
From the day we brought her home, we have a big shrub in the yard that she would get running full speed and jump right in the middle of it and bounce around on the branches! This thing is about 4 feet tall and about 8 foot across. We call it her "bouncy house"! When we can't see her, all you have to do is look and see if the branches are wiggling and at some point she'll fly out of there like a bird! Or maybe better called a flying tree squirell!

I feel your pain, it can be frustrating, but I promise it will pass. Or at least get to be shorter in duration!!! The best advice I got... grab a cold beer and sit back and try to enjoy...


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## Stressedgoldenmom (Aug 2, 2011)

You guys are so lucky! Mine gets the Mazda zoom zooms at6am!!!!


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## Serawyn (May 23, 2011)

I love the zoomies!!! They make my day because there is pure joy on her face when Ellie runs around. She normally does this if she is excited about something. After a long walk, training session, or when my husband comes home from work. She just runs in her "race track" (aka, our fenced in back yard) for about 2 minutes. Then she flops down and waits for belly rubs. I look forward to this every day! 

But, fortunately, she has stopped charging at us and biting/nipping our clothes. She does it very rarely now (knock on wood!!!!), but it was frustrating at first. 

Even though it's summer, I've learned to just wear thick jeans and shirts that can't hang. When she charged at me, I turned my back and stood like a tree. She sometimes bit my butt to pull the jean's pocket, but I stood still and gave out a big yelp. I didn't move as it made her more excited. After about a week, she stopped trying to run and nip at me. I think if you're okay with trying this, maybe your puppy will learn biting you means no play time.


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## Deb_Bayne (Mar 18, 2011)

awesomesauce said:


> *grabbed his muzzle and folded his top lip inside his jaw over his teeth and squeezed, effectively making him bite his lip. He yelped and whined and she let him go after a few seconds.*
> 
> Good luck!


oh.... I cried reading this, how cruel. 

Bayne also went through the zoomies, jumping and biting and still does, I just leave the room he is in and let him get it out of his system. He will settle and then we are good to go. I would never, never inflict this type of pain on him. I have held him in a lie down position just to give myself time to get away from him when he is in the bitey, jumpy, playful mood. I remember he is just a puppy and has built up energy.


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## Serawyn (May 23, 2011)

Deb_Bayne said:


> oh.... I cried reading this, how cruel.
> 
> Bayne also went through the zoomies, jumping and biting and still does, I just leave the room he is in and let him get it out of his system. He will settle and then we are good to go. I would never, never inflict this type of pain on him. I have held him in a lie down position just to give myself time to get away from him when he is in the bitey, jumpy, playful mood. I remember he is just a puppy and has built up energy.


I agree with Deb-Bayne!!! 

Awesomesauce, when we first got our puppy, a friend of ours taught us this method as well. We didn't know better so we implemented it and it did seem to work for the most part. Then we met with our dog behaviorist and his biggest rule is to train without pain. This only taught the dog to be fearful and your hand will equal pain. He showed us the effect it had on our little girl and I was shocked! When she ate, she kept looking at us and at our hands to see if we'd take away her food. When we were playing, if she got bity, she was so upset and would tuck her tail between her leg and nip. We never noticed she was scared of us until someone pointed it out. We immediately stopped doing that and is now building trust again. Our hands are always, always used for positive things. 

Please don't do this with your dog. It may work, but may also give you a fearful dog.


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