If your Labrador is hyper at night you might be wondering why and what you can do about it. In this post, I will show you common reasons why Labradors can be hyper at night and what you can do to get it to be calm at night.
So, why is my Labrador so hyper at night? Possible reasons are that it is not eating the right foods, it is eating right before bed, it’s not getting enough exercise, separation anxiety or you might have inadvertently rewarded the behavior.
Since there are a number of possible causes of it being hyper at night, it would help to consider what would make each of them more likely. Once you have a good idea of the cause, it should become a lot easier to get it to stop doing it.
Why your Labrador is so hyper at night
Below are some common causes of Labradors being hyper at night and what would make them more likely to be the reason why yours has been being hyper.
It’s eating the wrong foods right before bed
The reason why your Labrador has been getting hyper at night could be that it has been eating the wrong foods. This would be more likely if it started getting hyper at around the same time that you changed its diet. You can look here to see what you should and should not be feeding your Labrador.
It could also be the case that it is getting fed too late in the evening. If you are currently feeding it late into the evening, try feeding it earlier in the evening instead.
It would also help to talk to your vet about its diet, how much it should be eating and what time it would be best to feed it.
It’s not getting enough exercise
Labradors are meant to get a lot of daily exercise. When they do not get enough exercise, it can cause them to become energetic and it might be a part of the reason why yours has been being hyper at night. This would be more likely if it tends to be more hyper on days when it is not able to get exercise.
It is normally recommended for them to get at least an hour of exercise per day as healthy adults.
Separation anxiety
If your Labrador does not sleep where you sleep then it could be the case that it has some separation anxiety. This is where it does not like being left alone and the prospect of being left alone causes it to become anxious. This would be more likely if it shows signs of being anxious when you are about to leave it such as by pacing or crying.
In this case, it would help to train it to get used to being left without you by leaving it for longer and longer periods. It would be important to start out by leaving it for a very short period so that it does not get anxious and then to reward it for not being anxious each time you do it.
It’s important that you leave it for a period where it will not start to get anxious so that you can reward it for not being anxious. You might find that you will have to start by not even leaving the room and by simply making it seem like you are preparing to leave.
You have been encouraging it
It could also be the case that it has learned that it gets rewards when it does it. If you tend to give it things such as toys, treats or extra attention, when it starts being hyper, it will likely do it more in order to get more rewards.
As long as it does not seem to be doing it because it needs to pee or there is something wrong, it would help to avoid rewarding it when it gets hyper so that it doesn’t learn that being hyper gets rewards.
There is a problem with its sleeping environment
It might be the case that there is a problem with its sleeping environment. It could be that it is too hot, it is not comfortable for it or that it is too bright.
Things to consider
Below are a number of things you can consider when trying to figure out why your Labrador has been doing it.
If it has always been hyper at night
If your Labrador was not always hyper at night, it would help to consider what else happened when it first started doing it since it might be the case that there was an event that caused it to start.
If it has started doing it suddenly then possible things that could have caused it to start doing it could include:
- You rewarded it for being active at night once
- It’s sleeping environment changed
- You started giving it exercise at a different time or less of it
What is different when it is less hyper
It would also help to consider the timing of when it does it and what is different when it is not hyper.
If you notice that it is not always hyper at night then it could be that:
- It is less hyper when it gets more exercise
- It is less hyper when it is fed earlier in the evening
- It’s less hyper when you have given it more attention during the day
How old it is
It would also be important to consider how old it is.
If your Labrador is still a puppy then it is likely that it will calm down as it gets older and the reason that it gets hyper could be that it is not yet able to control its bladder through the night.
How to get your Labrador to be less hyper at night
Below are a number of options you have when getting your Labrador to be less hyper at night.
Make sure that you are feeding it correctly
Since a poor diet could be causing your Labrador to become hyper at night it would help to make sure that you are feeding it correctly. You can look here to see what you should and should not be feeding it. It would also help to make sure that no one else has been feeding it and to avoid feeding it too late in the evening.
Give it lots of exercise
As mentioned above, it is important to make sure that Labradors are able to get daily exercise as healthy adults. Generally, they are meant to get an hour of exercise per day.
Consider crate training
Crate training is where you teach your Labrador to learn to be comfortable inside of a crate designed for dogs.
If you crate train your Labrador in the right way it will give it a space where it can feel safe. This will give your Labrador a space where it will be able to feel secure at night without you being around.
Avoid encouraging it
As mentioned above, it might be the case that you have encouraged it to be hyper by giving it things it wants when it does. Instead of giving it things that it wants when it gets hyper, it would help to reward it in the mornings when it is well behaved and to follow the other tips above.