Night time witching hour

[PAMELA MARION]

I have a Boxer puppy that is 10 months he is 75lbs of puppy, big boy!  During the day he is such a good boy loving he listens and plays!  However, nighttime comes and he turns into a terror he bites our feet hard.  If you don’t play like he wants he growls and lunges like he is going to rip you apart.  He jumps on us and he becomes very aggressive .  He becomes a bully with us and our old girl.  He is a Velcro dog to me he lays in my lap like he weighs 20 lbs. he is always beside me.  When night falls it’s like he becomes a different dog.  He acts like he wants to hurt us I don’t think that is true I just think he plays with us rough!  I don’t know how to control him I can’t get him to listen or quit lunging and biting.  It is getting where I dread the night time.  It doesn’t last all night maybe an hour of hell.  Then he settles most of the time but not always.  Sometimes he actually gets in the bed and jumps on top of me and attacks.  I just don’t understand and I don’t know what to do.  He is the sweetest boy until the witching hour.  Help!!!!

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi Pamela,

Welcome to the forums!

At 10 months old and 75 lbs., your pup's behavior can surely feel overwhelming! I am sure it feels like a bull in a China shop! What's likely going on is that your puppy is in the full teenager stage, and with this stage comes loads of energy, plus couple that with the fact that dogs are by nature more active in the evening, especially after they have enjoyed their dinner,  and you have a recipe for a dog bouncing off the walls. 

To better understand this behavior, let's take a closer look at what may be going and then we'll take a look at some solutions. 

Energy Bursts in Adolescent Dogs

Dogs, typically go through the adolescent stage (teenager stage) from the ages of 6 and 18 months on average. During this time, there are significant  neurobiological, hormonal, and behavioral changes. Some of the most common problems encountered during this stage are a dog's heightened energy levels coupled with increased impulsivity. This can lead to erratic behaviors that can lead to intense surges of activity. 

What's happening at a neurological level is that their prefrontal cortex (the area responsible for a dog's impulse control) is still developing, which means that dogs during this time struggle with self-regulation and may therefore be prone to impulsive, high-energy outbursts. This hyperarousal may be difficult to manage because it's so out of control.

Not coincidentally, it is during the adolescent stage that many dog owners struggle the most. Statistics show us that dogs are surrendered to shelters the most when they're going through this stage. 

Dogs as Crepuscular Beings

Dogs, just like their wild ancestors (wolves), have natural activity peaks during dawn and dusk which makes them crepuscular animals. These times coincide with when most prey animals are active. These evolutionary patterns therefore drive increased playfulness and exploratory behaviors during these times.

Build-Up of Energy 

In domestic settings, dogs may often not get to engage in enough species-typical activities during the day (hunting, digging, foraging, problem-solving), potentially leading to a buildup of energy that gets released unpredictably in the evening.

Play Development 

Adolescent dogs are refining their play skills, so that they grow up to become agile successful "hunters." This, coupled with their high arousal levels, may cause them to be too rough with their mouths, especially if they weren't trained proper bite inhibition when they were younger. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/bite-inhibition-games/

If they are exposed to other young dogs, they will likely engage in juvenile play, but in a home setting, their rough mouthing coupled with their high arousal levels, may be misinterpreted as aggression rather than overstimulated play.

The Power of Reinforcement 

If rough play or biting behaviors have been unintentionally reinforced, the dog learns that their behavior gets attention, making it more likely to repeat. A dog's biting behavior may be inadvertently reinforced by our reactions such as pushing them off, running away or just the mere act of instinctively moving our arms and legs away from harms way.

This may be interpreted as engagement and interaction, therefore dogs will want to repeat this experience more and more causing it to establish and become part of their new routine. I have seen many adolescent dogs getting more and more revved up and coming back for more, the more their owners interacted with them, even if just in their attempts to stop the dog's behavior. 

The Spillover Effect 

Something else to consider it the "spillover" effect, where the excessive excitement in one context (in this case, playtime) may spill over into overarousal and frustration, leading to biting, lunging and erratic behavior. Some high-energy breeds, like Boxers, are particularly prone to frustration intolerance, meaning they escalate quickly. 

As these dogs play and get overly aroused, their sympathetic nervous system activates, while their prefrontal cortex is temporarily suppressed, making it more difficult for the dog to regulate their behaviors. This is why an overexcited dog might go from jumping to suddenly nipping and rough mouthing. This is usually not aggression, but a breakdown in self-regulation, basically it's an issue of arousal mismanagement that needs to be addressed. 

So while your sweet Boxer may seek social play and attention during the day, it looks like when he gets revved up excessively, he may lack the appropriate frustration tolerance and impulse control necessary for him to self-regulate. 

So What Can Be Done?

I often have to remind owners of adolescent dogs that they will eventually see the "light at the end of the tunnel." It's all matter of helping the dog learn how to better regulate his energy and develop better impulse control and frustration tolerance. This is not an overnight fix, but as you work on these skills, you can preempt the "witching hour" by providing more outlets for his need for exercise and mental stimulation and some tweaks in environmental management. Here are therefore some tips:

Strategically Increase Mental and Physical Stimulation

Since he is well-behaved during the day, you may need to fine-tune his activity schedule by offering some preemptive activities along with mental stimulation. Preempting activities can be a structured evening walk or controlled play session (e.g., tug with clear rules, flirt pole, or scent work) about 1-2 hours before bedtime. In particular, you may found the "jazz up and settle down" exercise particularly helpful as it teaches your dog his "off button." You can find a guide for this game here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/jazz-up-and-settle-down/

This can help drain excess energy. Avoid overstimulating activities too close to bedtime, as they may escalate arousal rather than help him settle.

You also want to work his brain during the day. Food puzzles, scent games, and short training sessions (basic obedience, trick training can help tire him out in a productive way.

Implement Impulse Control Training

Boxers are high-energy, intelligent dogs that benefit from impulse control exercises. I have compiled a nice list of impulse control games here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/10-impulse-control-games-for-dogs/

Structured tug games  and fetch games may also turn helpful. Teach him that play starts and stops on your terms. Use cues like “take it” and “drop it,” rewarding him when he releases.

Manage the Environment

If he escalates at night, temporarily managing his environment can be useful. Use a crate or gated-off area where he can’t rehearse the behavior. Pair the space with a high-value chew or stuffed Kong to create positive associations. I like to fill a dog's Kong with wet kibble and freeze it and offer it as a substitute for the food bowl. This should keep the dog occupied for some time. Here more food bowl substitutes: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/adriennes-picks/top-5-dog-feeding-toys/

Have a Plan in Place 

 If he still manages to start lunging and biting, calmly remove yourself. I have found that the best way to do this is to play a kibble toss game. Basically, I will always carry kibble in my treat bag or pocket and the moment I notice the dog approaching me with the intent to nip, I will start tossing him kibble to catch. As he gets the idea of the game, I will start asking him to "sit" before I toss each kibble.

This offers 3 main advantages: it prevents the dog from rehearsing the problematic nipping, it gives the dog a nice workout (toss the kibble far from you so that he's forced to be yo-yoing back and forth) and it reinforces the sitting behavior. So this all puts your dog's kibble to good use. 

With time, your dog will start wanting to play this game more and more rather than nipping. 

Consider Melatonin Calming Aids

Some dogs benefit from calming supplements (under veterinary guidance). Options include L-theanine or casein-based calming chews, Adaptil (dog-appeasing pheromone diffusers, sprays or collars) and other calming aids to help the dog calm down. 

Avoid Getting Angry or Frustrated

Something that I have noticed with these dogs is that the more you get frustrated or angry by the behavior, the more the dog gets rough and revved up. Most likely the dog feeds off our arousal levels which triggers them to get farther and farther from self-regulating. 

Final Thoughts

As seen, your Boxer’s nighttime outbursts are likely a combination of natural teenager energy bursts, immaturity, high arousal levels and learned rough play. By focusing on providing structured exercise and mental stimulation during the day, reinforcing calm behaviors and by managing the environment, you should see a steady and gradual improvement over time. If the issue persists or escalates however, please do not hesitate to work alongside a dog trainer using positive and human training and behavior modification techniques or a board certified veterinary behaviorist of certified applied animal behaviorist if you are lucky to have any near you. 

I hope this helps! Let me know if you’d like further guidance on specific training techniques! Happy training!

Adrienne