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Not sure if you noticed the weather change. For most people, myself included this is my favorite time of the year. The weather gets cooler and makes me want to be outside more. For most of us who have dogs may see a change in the dog’s behavior. This will be the topic of conversation. Why do those young dogs seem to get unlimited energy during this time of month? Why do we get a sudden sense of having more energy? Again, I’m not a scientist. I can only explain in my 36 times of watching the seasons change and about the 14th fall with owning dogs.
Dogs or wild dogs have a natural time to hunt. Where their senses are at its peak. The twilight hours of morning and dusk make your dog or any wild dog most active. This is the time where the sun is either rising or setting. This is why most young dogs get you up at the moment the sun hits through the shades. It brings a level of energy that most can’t control. Usually, after you get home from work and let them out for their walk or run. Even though you may have just come home from that run there’s a great possibility that the dog acts like you didn’t run them at all. Instincts have told the dog that this is the best times of the day for you to catch food. There eyes have a special layer that causes them to cut light. We don’t have that layer and any other time of the day our eyes are way better than theirs. Our eyes have pixels that catch light and make color. Your dog is absolutely color blind. During these times of the day our eyes play tricks on us. Dogs don’t have that problem. They can see better. This also helps with exhaustion. During the summer months, a dog does not have the stamina to stand up to the heat do its non-ability to cool itself as well as we do. They only have sweat glands in certain areas and they’re not used to help the dog cool down. The dog cools it’s body by panting. We cool by sweating. Sweating is a much better way to get the bodies core temp down as when water hits the skin mixed with wind can changed the body temp rapidly. I’ve said before that dogs don’t necessarily have a clear understanding of why they have this energy. That’s why they’ll run laps in the house or chew on something forever. Wolves organize a hunt. There’s a direction for the energy and an organization for that energy. That’s not always the case with our pet dogs.
I’ve talked a lot about in the past about your behavior and how that influences your puppy. It seems that more and more every year with the people that I talk to they seem to love Spring and Fall. Fall because of the cooler weather especially throughout the day. Your general excitement for the fall or spring can influence your pup’s energy level. When they see you excited or motivated to work outside this will spark energy. Same way as your mind switches when you’re getting ready to walk your dog. You see the dog’s energy level go up. I also believe in the Fall the energy level goes up for the pup because it’s cooler and with the sun never really reaching high noon anymore constantly tricks the dog’s biology on the two times of day with dawn or dusk. Recovery also plays a role. Dog’s react to things around them. Like I said they may not understand why they behave a certain way. Sometimes it’s chemical related like us. We, in the winter months produce less of chemical that can makes us more lethargic do to lack of sunlight. This is also true with dogs.
In the spring time you may initially see an increase in energy level to a point then as it heats up you will see a decrease but those two times a day with dawn and dusk will usually see and increase of energy regardless. Wolves in-between dawn and dusk tend to conserve their energy throughout the day sleeping or traveling light with the herds. You probably notice your dog sleeping on the couch.
All I can say is yes, your dog and mine have certain times of the day where they’re just full of energy. Partly do to routine and partly do to instincts. It’s always better to understand the why they do something. If you know your pup can be like this then I would set up my walks around these urges, so they can have time to get it all out. We as dog owners must give back. One way is recognizing needs in them. If we can give enrichment at the times their body is saying they need it. We can help fulfill them and make them a happier more loving and complete dog.