# The Witching Hour



## Tucker2 (Mar 26, 2012)

My year old Cockapoo Tucker is such a sweet dog. During the day he cuddles, plays, kisses, sleeps - he is great. BUT around 8 pm each night (we call it the Witching hour) he becomes some other crazy dog. He barks, bites, runs around like he is obsessed and won't calm down. I have tried playing with him, telling him "no", holding him down, letting him out. The only thing that calms him down is putting him in his crate for a "time out" for about 15-20 minutes. Has anyone else had this experience and if so, any suggestions. Also, please tell me he will grow out of this someday. Here is a picture of him most of the time


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## Lynn<3 (Jul 4, 2011)

Amiee Jane's hour use to be about 4 am. She would follow after me nipping at my ankles, barking at me, and play growling. She did grow out of it (after I got her a brother). 

I don't think I handled it too well (would yell at her and place her in her crate and then she would cry, then I would cry, then my husband would let her back out).


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

LOL... you are not alone, everyone experiences this with their puppy...some call it the mad half hour....we used to call her our gremlin, its like they have a burst of energy they just cant keep inside any more.

yes it will pass, as they get older they do it a little less.


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## Nanci (Mar 1, 2012)

Tucker looks really small to be a yr old? Is that a recent picture? Your info says 6 months, but your post said 1 yr old? That makes a big difference to me. At 6 months both mine did the evening orbits!! If our grandkids were here, they would "go high" on the couch or tables to get out of the way!! At 1 yr Sami is still very playful, but he has a little sister to play with and does not ever nip at us, just is a Monkey with Carley!!


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## sugerlump (Oct 6, 2012)

ginger does the cockapoo dash,but not at the same time each night,but she does go crazy runs around jumping on and off the chairs and barking and then just as fast as it started it will stop .yes i think every one goes through it ..good luck LOL....Lumpy


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Tucker looks as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth - hard to believe he transforms into such a terror every evening!
Kiki's mad half hour is much more intense if she has had less than her usual exercise during the day. My 9 year old daughter got a pet laser toy for Christmas and Kiki loves playing with it - chasing the beam of light around and yipping with huge excitement. 
When she is very excited Lizzie turns the light off and asks her to sit - only once she has sat and stopped yipping does the light come back on and the game restart.
If she is having a mad moment and Liz picks up the laser, Kiki immediately sits waiting for her fav game to start!
Perhaps she has the mad moment to trigger a game?!!


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## lilaclynda (Jul 24, 2010)

sourpuss said:


> ginger does the cockapoo dash,but not at the same time each night,but she does go crazy runs around jumping on and off the chairs and barking and then just as fast as it started it will stop .yes i think every one goes through
> 
> ha this made me laugh cockapoo dash . Ollie used to do it every night at 6pnm for 20 mins and it did stop as quick as it started ,Millie doesnt do it only occasionaly, it will pass but time out doesnt do any harm .
> Lynda x


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## Tressa (Aug 31, 2010)

Teddy's an old fella now at 2 and 3/4 years old, and he hasn't done the dash for a while now, but does a mini version after he has been bathed, running around like a demon all over the house. 9I quite miss it actually - it was very funny to watch)


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## Tucker2 (Mar 26, 2012)

Nanci said:


> Tucker looks really small to be a yr old? Is that a recent picture? Your info says 6 months, but your post said 1 yr old? That makes a big difference to me. At 6 months both mine did the evening orbits!! If our grandkids were here, they would "go high" on the couch or tables to get out of the way!! At 1 yr Sami is still very playful, but he has a little sister to play with and does not ever nip at us, just is a Monkey with Carley!!


Yes, Tucker is a year old - not sure why my profile says 6 months - anyway, I believe he is full grown now (16lbs) and hopefully will soon out grow the witching hour. Here is a picture I took a few days ago with his favorite toy


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

Yes mine still do it, I just let them get on with it as they obviously have energy to burn! Sometimes I give them a bone or a chew to occupy them if they get too wild!


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## NikkiB (Jan 16, 2013)

Yes just as you sit down for the evening after a tough day to relax then that's when Samson decides it's time for his mad hour. There is nothing you can do apart from get up and play!!! We've tried walking him at this time but that doesn't work either! He still does it when he gets home. 
Samson is only four and half months so think i have a way to go yet before my evenings are relaxing!


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## Cat 53 (Aug 26, 2012)

Yes Max does this too. Usually about 9pm for him. It's such fun to watch.


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## JasperBlack (Sep 1, 2012)

Same here, about 8-9pm! Jasper's favourite thing is jump on the sofa climbs on my head and eats my hair or bites my nose! Always me that gets it!!! He gets one warning and then goes in his crate for time out! The only thing that works, after time out the angel persona is resumed, lol 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## dmgalley (Aug 19, 2012)

We recently found out that if we keep Jake up too long after his bed time he gets very grumpy.


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## sugerlump (Oct 6, 2012)

yes me and the wife just sit there and watch in shear amazement, at so much energy coming out of one little dog, and we laugh oh now she will sit and watch TV, our TV is very low to the floor and she will sit and look at it for a long time and even better if there is some thing that is moving really fast on there she loves it..


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## mairi1 (Mar 12, 2012)

Tucker looking gorgeous as usual 

xxxx


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## billt (Dec 30, 2012)

Our recently adopted dog Cody does this as well. But it's usually around 4:00 PM every afternoon. We were actually glad to see this because it reinforces our thinking that he is nowhere near as old as the shelter we adopted him from told us he was, (3 years).

This is all puppy behaviour. He also gently bites and chews on your fingers while rolling his eyes around like a mad dog. More puppy stuff. This, coupled with the fact that he will play feverishly for around 10 minutes, then sleep in our lap for at least an hour, reinforces the thought he is still a very young dog. His front teeth are very small, and all of them extremely white. These are all traits of a young dog.

He housebroke wonderfully, only having just a couple of "accidents". This was mostly our fault because we didn't know his personality at first. Once I get up to put the coffee on, and he gets off the bed, I have about 2 minutes tops to get him outside. He does both number 2 and number 1 within less than a minute. *He sleeps like a sack of potatoes between my wife and I in our bed all night.* I'm sure him going from living on the street, and 10 days in a animal shelter, to sleeping between us on a $5,500.00 Tempur Pedic had at least something to do with that. 

Most dogs will grow out of this quickly. Our Golden Retriever Sam took almost 2 years to pass into adulthood. But that is very common for that breed. They are born to be puppies for a *long time.* The best thing to do is play with them vigorously when this time occurs. They will "burn out" rather quickly, then be more relaxed. Puppies can be "throttled" this way, but it does take some patience, along with getting to know your dog. But that's part of the fun!


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## Tucker2 (Mar 26, 2012)

Thanks Billt - good to know that he will pass thru this stage eventually. I do enjoy every minute with him - even when he freaking out - lol. He makes me laugh everyday and is the best cuddler around.


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## Tressa (Aug 31, 2010)

Cody sounds like a much loved and spoiled young fella He certainly deserves it after what his life was until you got him - but sleeping on a five and a half grand mattress I think you should be calling him Prince Cody He certainly sounds as if he is a young dog from your description. Wonderful that he has settled so well into his new life of luxury....


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## RuthMill (Jun 30, 2012)

He has a serious case of the doodle dash! Hehe! By the way he is gorgeous!


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