Going insane in the evening!

TonkaTruck28

New member
Mar 19, 2012
401
21
Alberta, Canada
Bulldog(s) Names
Tonka
So, over the last 2 weeks we've noticed that during the day Tonka is his normal puppy self however around 7-8 he turns into a nightmare! He barks at us and jumps at us trying to bite us and when he does it tears skin and draws blood. We try downing him an saying no sternly, redirecting with toys, taking him out to the washroom, and nothing works he just keeps coming at us until we have to put him in his cage to stop it. I have been taking him to the dog park and walking him for 30-60 min one to two times per day in an attempt to tire him out so he won't do this but it doesn't seem to be helping. Does anyone have any ideas? Maybe there's something to the time of day he's doing it? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
 

LaurenA

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Nov 17, 2011
1,061
46
Elgin, Illinois
Bulldog(s) Names
Rook
Hey there, when Rook was a pup he used to get really bitey and crazy when he got tired. Telling him no just seemed to rile him up more. We would have to put him in his crate for a time out and he would immediately fall asleep. I'm not sure if this is what Tonka is doing, but I'm sure others will be along with better advice and suggestions!
 

Corlando465

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Feb 16, 2012
365
23
Lexington, KY
Bulldog(s) Names
Tank
My 6 month old pup does this, too, and has ever since we got him at 8 weeks. At first, we were alarmed thinking something was wrong. After we determined he wasn't in pain, we kinda thought it funny but continued to redirect his behavior. We call it "crazy dog" time and like you, it starts between 7-8 at night. He gets this crazy look in his eyes, starts barking, runs around, pounces on us and will " play" bite, if we are not paying attention. It reminds me of my kids when they were little, right before bedtime they'd get active and silly just to stay awake. I think it is the same with the pup. After his outburst, he will fall asleep and will be out for the night. Now that he is older, his nightly craziness is more controlled and he understands that there are limits to his behavior and that he must stop when mom and dad say so or they won't play anymore. And like your pup, all the rest of the time he is almost perfectly behaved. I have read other similar post from bully owners, which reassured my that my guy is a perfectly normal bully ;) and your pup is, too.


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Vicaroo1000

"Slug Assassin" and PBS Gardening Dweeb
Jun 23, 2011
5,775
389
Mukilteo, Washington State
Bulldog(s) Names
Beefeater's Buxom Beatrice and Lord Harrington's Bodacious Beauregaard
Bo had is crazy dog time this morning for some reason. FIRST THING. I get up early sure but grandma doesn't and he was running thru the house like a maniac. Now he's chewing on a nylabone. It's pretty funny to watch and I try NOT to react (laughing gets Bo going even more and it's hard for me to contain). Get it on video now because they don't do that a whole bunch later on in life, it seems. I kinda miss it.

[MENTION=4325]Corlando465[/MENTION] gave some great advice on redirecting.
 

bubbaisapig

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Apr 30, 2011
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Littleton, CO
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United States
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bubba
Yep..Bubba does the same thing. He doesn't nip but when he gets tired and needs a nap, while go spastic! I have posted a couple videos of him doing that. I aways know when he needs to go to bed! lol!
 

Maife

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Apr 8, 2012
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16
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Germany
Bulldog(s) Names
Ulysses
Ulysses goes insane when he is tired. He tries to bite us, he humps everything, jumps, runs,... we finally realized that these are all signs that it is time for him to go to his crate. After 3min he is fast asleep and snoring like a bear :yes:
 
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TonkaTruck28

TonkaTruck28

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Mar 19, 2012
401
21
Alberta, Canada
Bulldog(s) Names
Tonka
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Thanks so much for sharing and for the advice everyone! We figured he was just fighting going to sleep but the biting was kind of scaring us, after all he's 33lbs at 4.5 months and only getting bigger! From now on bed time it is! Thanks again.
 

RaRett

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Apr 15, 2012
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Missi -- With Gizmo and Hershey never far from my heart
Ya gotta break that biting habit *NOW* if he is breaking skin an drawing blood -
Hershey is 14 weeks, and when he mouths us, we do like a litter mate would do - a loud *OUCH* so he knows 'Ok I can't play that hard'- unfortuately one day, something is going to happend, and a bite will occur (we pray not) but at least the pup knows his limits this way, and hopefully it will be ingrained 'I only bite this hard because . . . .' and then it wont be as bad (at least this is the philosophy)

secondly - as soon as he starts to act that way, I would IMMEDIATELY put him in the pen, away from the family - so he gets the idea 'Hey what did I do, that I can not be with my pack right now?' and repeat it as necessary (Yes this would be considered using the pen as punishment in some peoples eyes) but he needs to get the idea, that this behavior is unacceptable. If its not stopped now, and gets more out of hand, something horrible is going to happen, and if he is a Biter, he would be really hard to rehome - I think you can understand where I am going with this thought.
 

Meggs19

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Oct 14, 2011
290
16
Madison, WI
Bulldog(s) Names
Tonka
[MENTION=4533]TonkaTruck28[/MENTION], I had to just laugh a little reading your post because it reminds me of my bully boy. We have a Tonka too which we call Tonka T for Tonka Truck :). He's now 11 months and STILL gets crazy like you described. He has toned it down somewhat but he will still go nuts at night and run around the living room in circles repeatedly, then fly halfway up the stairs and come running back down, ricochet off the back of the couch and sometime even "supermans" it from one couch over to us on the other couch haha. It cracks me up but yes, his biting hurts an I have had many a cut and bruise (and bitten ankle/toes) from his sassy little puppy teeth. :) Sometimes he would randomly just jump up and nip us for no reason when he got feisty.

We tried EVERYTHING! We yelped and turned our back to him like another dog would which confused him for a minute and then he would just keep at it. We tried saying no and grabbing his mouth etc. and this all resulted in "negative attention is still attention" type of behavior from him.

What finally worked for us is similar to what a couple others have mentioned. We keep Tonka baby-gated in the kitchen when we are not home (his kennel/food/water are in there too) and so we started gating him there for "time outs" when he got too sassy and wouldn't listen. We said "you are going in the kitchen." We didn't need to keep him in there long. Now when he gets rough we just have to say "do you wanna go in the kitchen?" and he will stop what he's doing and look at us--he just knows what that means and will behave haha. It's so cute! I do think it's being in there when he knows you are home that bothers him because he doesn't view it as a punishment at all when we have to leave for the day and he will even go in his bed and what not when we are home but the gates are down.

Good luck to you!!
 
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TonkaTruck28

TonkaTruck28

New member
Mar 19, 2012
401
21
Alberta, Canada
Bulldog(s) Names
Tonka
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Omg maybe they're channelling each other! Lol. That's exactly it! Any sort of discipline or saying ouch or yiping and trying to do what another dog does makes him come back at you 10 times worse! I'm definitely going to start putting him in his crate as soon as he starts now an stick with that. He's gotta get the idea soon. That's so much everyone!
 

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