What Makes A Dog Run Around The House Like Mad?

[arwalden]

Around and around and around the coffee table... off to the dining room. Around and around and through and under the dining room table/chairs... off to the bedroom. Up on the bed, off the bed, circle the foot-board, up on the bed again... back to the living room. Around the sofa, navigating the crawl space between the sofa and the wall.

She sure looks like she's having fun doing it! She's got this little grunt/growl with every step that tells me she's really giving it her all.

Whenever it happens (at least 3 times a week) we still get a good laugh out of it.

-- Allen

P.S. She's learned to NOT do that in the kitchen else her feet slide out from under her.

[SoCalDem]

1. Sometimes dogs (and cats) remember an important appointment

in another room, and they must hurry :)

[Loonman]

2. Excess energy

Burning off excess energy.

Dogs gotta run.

[camero]

30. Yep, that's it.

My dog likes to play like that but only when I'm alone with her.
Dogs are wolve's cousins and most have the capability to go 40 miles a day.

[Cronus Protagonist]

3. Worms

Worms can do that. Itchy butt. Even if it's not that, I'd take the dog to the vet before she suffers any more.

"ANYBODY BUT BUSH" Buttons, Stickers & Magnets

[Loonman]

6. Dogs get listless and lazy with worms

If their butt is itchy, they scoot along the floor and just need their glands expressed.

[arwalden]

31. Gland Expressing... Blech! Yuk! Nasty!

But I do it for her every bathtime... it keeps things nice and clean. Just part of the routine.

-- Allen

[terrya]

4. It's the same behavior as cats.

My cat, Chess, does that. She'll start zipping around the house...running at what seems like breakneck speed. Up on the top of the sofa...then jumping off and racing into my bedroom...and then running into the living room again.

It's funny to watch. She's having a great time. It only lasts for a couple of minutes or so.

Terry

[afraid_of_the_dark]

14. My cat does this as well.

We just attributed it to weather patterns - animals are sensitive to that, and if the weather gets bad, they go nuts.

But this doesn't explain all of the instances of this behavior...

[disgruntled_goat]

5. two words: poopoo sass!

when my little Boston Terrier comes back from doing her business outside, she often runs around the house all crazy for a few minutes.

"i'm big, Pa. look how fast I run around the house for no reason!"

[A HERETIC I AM]

13. Another Boston Terrier owning DU'er?!?!?!?!?!?! YAY!!!

If i could only figure out how to cut and paste a pic off my laptop to this board (i have tried, many times to no avail) I would show you several hundred pics of my Mr BB!
I have had Bostons all my life and i LOVE THEM! I want a French Bulldog also, but they tend to be rather pricey.

Regarding the running around, Brian Kilcommon ( a student of the late Barbara Woodhouse) calls it "Frap" or Frapping" for Frenetic Random Activity Period. I like that. All dogs do it and many cats also. I think it is just an expression of overwhelming joy at being able to run fast!

[Robb]

7. A breeder I know

...calls it "FRAP", the Frenetic Random Activity Period. Quite normal. Not to be confused with the Ferric Reducing Ability of Plasma, which is another matter. ;)

[arwalden]

10. You And Terrya Used Two Adjectives I Couldn't Think Of...

"Random" and "Breakneck"... it is quite energetic and I often fear that she might injur herself if she ever mis-steps and hits a wall or the corner of something hard.

Then... just as suddenly as the onset, she stops, collapses on the floor. She looks up at us (tongue hanging out, panting) as if to say "that was fun!". She seems quite proud at what she just did... and we all laugh!

-- Allen

[A HERETIC I AM]

16. I didn't read the whole thread before i saw your post.....

Frap...i believe coined by Brian Kilcommon. If you haven't read his book, "Good owners, Great Dogs" i HIGHLY recommend it to any dog owner and particularly those looking for their first dog. His techniques WORK. I have used them and i can walk with my Boston through a crowd of thousands with no leash and him heeling perfectly by my left side.

[bowens43]

8. For my dog, it's turning on the vacuum cleaner.

She freaks out. I have to put her outside. I'm not sure why she's so afraid of it.....she's definitely NOT having fun. Poor girl.

[FlaGranny]

29. My dog attacks the vacuum.

She barks and growls and bites it. She doesn't seem frightened of it, just aggravated. The only things she has EVER bitten are the vacuum cleaner and her toys.

[xultar]

9. Call of the wild, and it depends on the breed but most of the time

it is the call of the wild.

[TrogL]

11. There's an equivalent cat methodology

...the "cat stampede", which is often done by one cat, or two cats side-by-side. It involves rousing out of an apparent sound nap to go barrelling up and down the hall a couple of times, have a frenetic bath, then go back to sleep.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

17. I always say my cats...

have "The Runs" when they do that. :) I love it when it does happen, they seem to be getting such a BIG kick out of it! :)

I sleep downstairs and wake to hear my three guys running the length of the house just about every morning. Our family likens them to a "six-pack of elephants" racing around.

[DuctapeFatwa]

12. A pet human with shampoo in hand and determination in eye

will cause many dogs and cats alike to run very fast.

[nickinSTL]

15. The 'rips'

If you ever read Garfield, it was referred to as the 'rips'. I think Garfield described it as(approximately), "when your pets race through the house for no reason..."(then Odie ran over Garfield, and he finished with"...other than to mangle the family cat")

I think it's a natural thing for animals who spend a lot of time inside. Helps burn off energy, and it's probably fun, too! :D

[1monster]

18. I've got a Sheltie... she runs circles in patterns, as will all Shelties..

They are sheep herders and instinctively run the patterns that are best suited for herding sheep.

You should see the ruts in her play yard! Big circle, little circle, and figure eight. :)

[arwalden]

19. My Dog Is A Shi-Tzu... I Don't Know If She's Got A Herding Gene

in her or not. They were pretty much bred to be lap and pillow dogs. Chinese royalty's living ornaments.

The long hair flowing as she runs gives one the impression that her speed is greater than it really is.

-- Allen

[ScreamingMeemie]

35. That's what we've got going on with our Sheltie...The breeder calls it

the Sheltie spin.

We bought her a bunch of playballs to "herd" and she really has a blast. She will also tear around the garage at break neck speed. A border collie just came to live behind us...so I expect to be seeing a worn path along the back fence.

Here is Jessie:

[arwalden]

36. Jessie Is Pretty!!

-- Allen

[radwriter0555]

20. We call that "The Wild Hair" as in, "the dog has a wild hair up her/his

butt..."

How about when ALL THREE of our dogs get it?

We just "git out' the way" and laugh OUR butts off!

[chookie]

21. Joy

Some breeds are famous for this behavior, like Schipperkes.

My Skip used to do this at least one time a day -- go totally insane, running around the house in circles -- and it was a real howl.

My sister has a pomeranian puppy who does this, runs around in large circles, with our two other poms following behind -- and its a real gut buster. We scream "MAD DOG!" and it makes them run even faster!

The long winter days just fly by with this sort of things going on.

[arwalden]

23. We Encourage It Too... Once She Gets Going And

growling at her own joy... we "bark" back at her whenever she crosses in front of us. It seems to give her just a bit more energy as she heads around for the next pass.

-- Allen

[TXlib]

22. It's the space-based canine mind control lasers.

You know, the ones Ronnie Raygun had sent up in the 80s...

[NicoleM]

24. Crack.

Or maybe meth.

[arwalden]

25. LOL! --- I *Knew* My Stash Was Disappearing Too Quickly...

so that explains it.

-- Allen

[chemenger]

26. The RIPS

As far back as I can recall we referred to it as the rips. Possibly we learned the term from Garfield. Years ago we had a mixed breed female who used to run figure 8s around the dining room table into the living room, do a 180 and then around the dining room table. All the while she would have one of her squeeky toys in her mouth tooting it as she ripped around the livingroom/dining room.

God, it was funny.

[geniph]

27. Ever lived with a toddler?

they do it too, get a wild hair and start running around like their ass was on fire. I can always tell when one of the cats went psycho and did the Herd of Wildebeest thing in the night, because every throw rug in the house is crumpled up. That's presuming that the Herd of Wildebeest didn't wake me - anyone who talks about soft little cat feet never heard three 20-pound Maine Coons stampeding at top speed up and down the stairs at 3 a.m.

[FlaGranny]

28. Exuberance and excess energy!

Makes us laugh when our dog does it too. She has a grand time and gets pooped out and then lies down and goes to sleep. Sometimes she'll grab one of her toys and toss it around while she's on one of those rampages, the whole time growling and really acting silly.

Edit: I also had a cat that did the same time, but without the growling.

[Awsi Dooger]

32. Rampage, that's exactly what my family calls it!

In fact, almost identical to what FlaGranny described.

Each of my poodles since childhood has thrived on the rampage, almost daily. In particular they dash from the living room couch to the Florida room couch, bouncing off the pillows and heading in the opposite direction.

[blindpig]

33. deer in the yard

and if those hooved vermin don't ease off the shrubbery you'll know who let the dogs out. I don't mind sharing but enough is enuogh!

[Cadfael]

34. When our cats do this we call it the "cat crazies"

The dog invariably wants to join in, but since he's an order of magnitude greater in weight the cats are understandably dubious about this...

[philosophie_en_rose]

37. Energy or Weather.

My dog runs around like an idiot for hours and hours, sometimes it's just because she's happy and wants to run. Sometimes, she's cold and likes to run until she's dry -- she's her own blowdryer.

It's very cute.

[ScreamingMeemie]

38. Jessie does that too, after a bath...she will also rub up against

walls, chairs, legs, drying herself off. It takes her a lonnnngg time to dry off.:)

[arwalden]

39. I Blow-Dry our Mitzi (a Shi-Tzu) after her bath...

am I being "mean" by forcing her to sit there for an extra 20 minutes while I dry her and fluff her until she's "show quality" coiffed?

It's not exactly her favorite thing to do. But if I only towel-dry her and send her away damp, she gets chilled. Then she tries to find a warm spot to curl up... which makes her coat stay damp even longer, especially on the underside.

-- Allen

[Ellen Forradalom]

40. When our puppy does it we call him The Doggie Spaz

We egg him on by tossing dog toys and shouting "MAD DOG!".

BTW rabbits do this too. They frolic, leap and twist. It's a delight to behold.