Excuse my ignorance, but what are zoomies?

 

I think zoomies means when they go a bit wild and start running like lunatics around the room. It sounds like he is just VERY VERY overexcited...if I were you I would just walk out of the room whenever he starts to get out of hand and he only gets attention again when he has CALMED DOWN!! How old is he?

 

He is 7 1/2 mths......when he does this I have to stop him cause he won't let go of my arm.....he clamps down so hard. Thanks...I will try to leave the room & let him do his thing.....

 

Another word for F.R.A.P. Frenetic Random Activity Periods. Shadow was never aggressive, but even with his bad hips, he'd fly around my room and across my couch!

 

I'd keep your arms folded in front of you... that way he can't grab and bite at them. And yup... just stand back out of the way.

Our 7 month old doesn't really have many zoomies anymore... except when I initiate they by running after her lol!

 

hmmm....What would happen if you had some (incredible) treats on you, do you think that could distract him? Or maybe just walk straight out the room when he starts...go to the kitchen and get something YUMMY...then call him too you and he second he stops the madness he could get the treat...STOPPING=TREAT, maybe? hmm...I have an extremely docile GR so never went through this...my year old crossbreed is quite hyper and whenever he goes a bit crazy (normally if he has managed to steal a pair of socks or something) I can normally stop the sillyness by just wandering off and looking really interested in something else, he will normally drop the socks to come and see what Im doing...he LOVES it when I get roped into it and try to catch him to get them from him, he thinks Im joining in, the little bugger.

So anyway...if it were me I would just wander right away when it starts, with a "you're boring me now Mister" attitude!

 

During the zoomies,dogs usually grumble,run like crazy and can even try to bite or more exactly play/bite.I wouldn't worry too much,unless he's actually hurting you.I would just have a spray/water bottle with water and spray him when he's coming on to fast and to roughly.you could also throw a can of stones,next to him to calm him,down and surprise him.If you find him too aggressive stop the game until he calms down.

 

During the zoomies, my two will just grab at random stuff as they run past it. It's funny to watch them fly through a room and grab a sock as they zoom by. I enjoy watching zoomies, but I suppose it wouldn't be as fun if they were latching onto my arm....

 

First step is to make sure your pup's getting enough age-appropriate exercise every day. Then whenever the 'crazies' start to get out of hand simply fold your arms and turn your back to him... and keep turning yourself when necessary to keep your back to him. Eventually he will settle down. The worse thing you can do is touch a Golden in the middle of a nutzo-episode, it just sends them up to the next level of craziness. Also, I wouldn't allow that activity in the house... open a door and let him out. We've got lots of nice breakable things in our house, so a crazy run is never allowed in the house.

And to answer one of your questions... yes, he will SLOWLY out-grow this bit of foolishness, but the bad news is: it might take another year or so.

 

No more fraps here, Daisy is 6. I totally miss them.

Protect yourself, but enjoy what you have ... believe it or not you will miss this someday

 

Jo Ellen is right -- you DO miss them! And I agree with Rick, they are funny to watch. We protected ourselves and anything that Brandy might lash out at. She lost her footing once in the middle of the zoomies and hit her chest on the coffee table. She was pretty sore and bruised for a few days. We moved the coffee table, and she eventually outgrew the zoomies. Goodbye puppyhood.

 

Now I know what those crazy hyperactive periods Micah gets are...

It's normal that a 9 week old gets zoomies yeah?

But when I think of the human equavelent... 2-3 years old getting zoomies... Hmm...

 

Thanks for all the advice. I can't let him outside during these yet cause we don't have a fence and everything breakable we had has already been broken....LOL.... I'm not worried about us during his zoomies, we just got to make sure we guard the little guys...it's so funny, somethimes they act like they hate each other but right now they are sleeping together.....

 

Two ideas:

Try handing him a toy and let him rip around with something in his mouth. If he's holding something, he'lll probably be a tad (just a tad) less crazy, plus he has a job (holding a toy) and best of all, his mouth is full so he can't grab your arm!

OR

You step in and be "fun police" before he gets to that super aroused, crazy level and teach him to self-regulate his over-the-top zoomies.

-S

 

Our 15 week old Daisy kinda does this i think. She will run like a demon possessed outside back and forth like a crazy dog. Would this be considered the zoomies (FRAP'S). Is she too young for this? Right now her favorite activity which gets her worked up is pulling the stuffing out of her dog bed and favorite squeaky toys.

 

That would be it....Mine still do it at 2yrs, 20 months and 10 months....But at least its outside in the yard....

 

Oh man.. you need that fence pronto! We shoo Griff outside for Zoomie time and chase him about - he LOVES it! My house is waaay too small for zoomies inside!

Keep an eye on the clock and try to get him out for some good play before it hits - Griff tends to get zoomies at 10:00 PM - before bedtime. I would not like it at all if he was jumping and biting at me during his crazy time - ack!

Don't forget they are still puppies at this age - even though they are almost full size - and they don't realize their own strength and bulk.

 

IMO, when a dog gets the zoomies, it is not getting enough physical and/or mental stimulation. I take advantage of all that energy to teach positive behaviours, tricks, retrieving, and other useful tasks. Also, a well-bred Golden Retriever is an active hunter. I'm helping my mom cross-train her rescued girl for freestyle (yep, she's not even a purebred, she's a very laid back couch potato). I run her 5-10 miles per day on top of strength training, freestyle itself, basic retrieving, biking, and swimming. I foster "pit bull" type dogs actively, and we rarely have zoomies (if we do, we run/play it out of the dog!). Way too many pets are fat, unhealthy, bored, etc. because of lack of both mental and physical training.

 

It sounds like Charlie needs much more exercise than he's getting. He needs some real, working exercise. Do you roller blade? Can you take him with you and give him a good workout? Everyday?

He will out grow the zoomies and as funny as they are, when they start to become a problem, you do need to step in.

He's just working out his pent up energy. If you run or rollerblade with him, he'll work it out that way instead.

I do disagree with the idea of giving him treats. Never give a positive reward for a behavior that you do not want to become permanent. That will just teach him that zoomies and biting gets a treat and he'll do it more.

 

i'm not sold on it always being about exercise. Faith will get her zoomies on while we are at the park and she's running around. we'll be there for 30-45 minutes of her running, and suddenly a leaf will move or whatever (or mommy stomps her feet at her ) and off she goes. zoomie craziness for 2-3 minutes.

i think the best suggestion so far was the toy idea - if he starts up, give him a toy to hold in his mouth instead of your arm. if he persists with jumping on you, go to a room he can't get in and i think he'll learn fairly quickly that the game isn't fun if i jump on mom.

good luck either way - and, enjoy all the puppy stuff while you can. sometimes i miss dealing with hiccups 5 times a day.

 

I agree about the exercise, because we can have him out playing for an hour and he's really tired and comes in and still has them. We started putting the other dogs in another room when we get back and guess what?....no zoomies.....I think the little dogs trigger him. And they have gotten better, he not longer bites us or the dogs. I think he just needed to grow up a little. Oh and about the roller blading......if I'd try that I think I'd break a hip or something. 15 years ago yes....but there's NO WAY I'd let Charlie lead me on roller blades......that would definately spell DISASTER....lol

 

It's definitely not just due to lack of exercise. In fact, over-stimulation and too much exercise can be cause for a zoomie, too -- it's a sort of "short circuit" in the dog!

My dogs get PLENTY of physical and mental stimulation and exercise and Quiz will still get the zoomies from time to time. It's such a wonderful display of unequivocal joy!

-Stephanie