Curbing The Zoomies

[Guest Nevermore67]

We have had our big lad now for around two and a half months. He has settled in really well and in the last couple of weeks we have observed a phenomenon I have heard described at the zoomies.

 

It started as a bit of paw thumping and tail wagging but in the last few nights it has accelerated in to racing down the hallway, doing circuits of the lounge room, grunting, barking and throwing his bed around.

 

It is hilarious to watch and only seems to last for a couple of minutes at the most, although the faster he gets, the more concerned I become that he is going to crash in to something and hurt himself.

 

I am not really sure what drives this behaviour - presumably the need to expend energy, as it does seem more common when the weather prevents us from playing in the garden or going for longer walks. I am all for joy and exuberance but if he is going to zoom in the house I would like to be able to chill him out of he starts getting out of control and risking injury.

 

Does anyone have any advice on the best way to make him slow down if he is losing control - or whether we are best to stand back and let him get it out!

 

Thanks

Tom

[BatterseaBrindl]

Get out of the way!

 

In my experience these sessions only last a short time and they will slow down all on their own.

Of course if he's at risk of impaling himself on something then you should probably take him outside and encourage the zoomies out there.

If you really feel the need to stop him try distracting him with a delicious cookie

[JohnF]

Drop down to ground level, yawn widely and look away. (The last thing a dog in a zoomie state wants to see)

 

When you have a greyhound you learn to greyhound-proof the house.

[Guest Nevermore67]

Ha ha! Thanks, I will give it a try. I have already managed to provoke zoomies by play-bowing at my hound so I guess it could work the other way too!

 

We have already moved furniture about to give him more space and relocated the breakables but there are a few corners here and there that we can't do much about. For the most part I think he's safe on carpeted areas as he seems to land his jumps with pin point accuracy but I do worry about him sliding across the kitchen laminate...

[GeorgeofNE]

What's the WORST thing that will happen if he does slip? He'll do the greyhound scream of death (GSOD) and shake himself off and get up!

 

Although unless you live in a desert wasteland or the arctic, there really shouldn't be any "weather" you can't go out in for exercise. If you don't exercise him enough, he's got to do it himself!

[ambpersand]

We noticed our grey will give us signs when she's getting in the mood to do zoomies which is helpful to get it stopped if we don't want her running- first she gets a little more ornery than usual like getting in our way and totally stopping, shoving her snout into what we're doing or our faces, then if that doesn't work, she begins jumping up/hopping in the air towards us and spinning in circles. At this point, her tail starts to go into full windmill mode. She's good about telling us what she wants, and if we can, we'll take her outside to get the zoomies out of her system. If not, we stop acknowledging her actions and guide her to something else like a toy or a snack in the kitchen. Usually she's getting ramped up because shes got some excess energy or she's bored, so recently (since she dislocated her toe a few weeks ago) we've herded her out to the car for a quick ride around the block or to the store. That seems to be enough stimulation to satisfy her for a little while, but we did have to pay attention to her behavioral queues before we learned what she was telling us. But that type of stuff is only helpful if you manage to catch it before he starts... if he's already in full zoomie mode its best just to stand back and let him get it out of his system!

 

As for the kitchen laminate- Pearl took one slide across ours through our kitchen and living room and slammed into a doorway before she learned on her own that downstairs was not the greatest location for running. As long as there's nothing sharp or dangerous that could fall on him if he does end up crashing, you should be fine.

[XTRAWLD]

Become one with the zoomie.

[locket]

Become one with the zoomie.

 

Honestly, I just open the door and let the zoomie happen, they gotta do, what they gotta do!

[PrairieProf]

More opportunities for outdoor running may be needed -- the more he gets his energy out outside, the less he'll be compelled to zoom outdoors. But I have a very high-energy young greyhound, and yeah, that's part of the fun. Her indoor zoomies have moderated a good deal from when I got her at two (she's four now), although she still does them.

[Dave_P]

Any dedicated indoor dog lover should have no problem cutting a few strategic holes in yer walls, that allows the beast more paths and shortcuts to take, in his quest to elude his invisible chasers.

[Zoomdoggie]

More opportunities for outdoor running may be needed -- the more he gets his energy out outside, the less he'll be compelled to zoom outdoors.

This ^

I don't think most dogs get enough REAL exercise, whether it be physical or mental. Even the old dogs thrive on it if given the opportunity. Sure, our couch potatoes will lie around all day if that's what we let them do, but sooner or later, the zoomies come to surface and the demon must be released!😨

Edited October 18, 2017 by Zoomdoggie

[NeylasMom]

What's the WORST thing that will happen if he does slip? He'll do the greyhound scream of death (GSOD) and shake himself off and get up!

Hmm, let's see - Neyla slipped while playing and pulled her ileopsoas. 8 months until she was recovered, which was a lot of aggravation and expense. And is still not the worst that could happen. So doesn't seem all the outlandish that the OP would ask.

 

To the OP, I do agree with letting it go provided it's safe. A baby gate to block off the non-carpeted area could be a good idea. Or if you have a fenced yard, like someone else said just open the door and let him rip outside. There's always risk versus reward, but if he's in a familiar environment on a non-slippery floor the likelihood of him really crashing into something isn't great.

[KickReturn]

I have had a few experiences both indoors and outside where a grey has decided to run in the wrong place. You can usually tell they are going to cut loose before it happens by the look in their eye - sort of an intense unfocused stare with a play bow. My response has been to run like mad to get the dog to chase me toward a safe area. Indoors it has just meant running into my yard.

 

You have to size up the situation. I would be very nervous about a large male running hard indoors. If traction is good everywhere (carpet) you might be OK. And if the dog is the sort that is "careful" to hold something back, you might also be OK. Otherwise serious injury is a real possibility.

 

Obviously the more you can drain the dogs energy outside, the better. The problem is that for some dogs walking just isn't good enough, they need to run. For many, a hard run once a week will take care of this.

[cleptogrey]

let em run! 3 min. of running is about all that you will get. as mentioned stand clear, i've been knocked over - not fun! do you have a fenced in area? that helps, i get an excited pup out very quickly. they seem to go crazy after being cooped up for a good amount of time- 10 laps around our yard and that's it!

[greysmom]

For everyone's safety it's best to just get out of their way and let it happen. There's really nothing more dangerous than getting in the way of 75 or 80 pounds of fast flying dog zoomies!

 

And, as wild as he looks, he's probably *mostly* in control of himself. I've found that if an unaccounted-for element is introduced (like a person in the way) is when many accidents happen. If the corners really bother you, cut some foam or tape some bubble wrap over them (if possible). I've even ended up cutting some of the corners off my furniture to make it safer for my dogs, zoomies or not.

 

One word of caution about indoor-to-outdoor: Especially in bad weather, rain and mud can make outdoor zoomies *more* dangerous than indoor ones. Rain can make a nice dirt track worn in the grass into an ice rink, and expose roots/sticks/rocks that can cause injuries on their own. Sometimes, getting them to play inside is safer. We play ball, tug of war, catch, search games, running up and down the hall - just about anything to get some of their yips out when the weather is bad. And whenever we *can* get outside, I try and make sure they get a good exercise session, either from the chasing each other or with the lure pole. Really tiring them out once a day, any way you can, will cut down on the indoor zoomies a lot.

[sarabz]

Any dedicated indoor dog lover should have no problem cutting a few strategic holes in yer walls, that allows the beast more paths and shortcuts to take, in his quest to elude his invisible chasers.

[turbotaina]

One of mine, when he starts getting nutty in the house, I just let him out and he'll zoom in the back yard. I have a small cape cod, so there's not a lot of zoomie room - he's been known to start in the living room, run to the bedroom, jump up and slide on the bed, spin in circles, come back through the living room, take off upstairs, slide and spin on the guest bed, then come back downstairs for another loop. So if we can get him outside it's best for everyone, including our linens. My other greyhound won't zoom outside (I'll have had him 3 years next week, and I've seen him do two actual zoomies outside). He has to act crazy inside. He'll come up to me with his blank stare and just, well, stare at me, with his tail hooked up in the air (I call it his trouble tail). Then he'll bark several times, loudly, and take off. I try to distract him with toys, but he'll toss them in the air and start spinning in circles. A few minutes of this and he's done.

[Batmom]

Maybe add a non-skid rug for the laminate? That is what we did. We added it for other reasons but it does make the zoomy loops much safer.

[sobesmom]

IMHO what drives the indoor Zoomies - is happiness and contentment! This is a GOOD THING. Please don't discourage it. Some greys never do it, no matter how happy and content they are. EMBRACE THE ZOOMIES!!!!! It's pure joy - in verb form.

 

My DH was a PRO at embracing the Zoomies with our Diana. She'd get all frisky, pound the floor, bounce, throw things. DH would get on the floor on all 4's, pound the floor with his hands, they'd lunge at each other, he'd grab at her, she'd lunge at him, run away, run back. He'd throw toys, she'd throw toys. It was crazy chaos - and they LOVED it. DH loved it because it was "dog play" not "greyhound stuff". Not all greys PLAY like "real dogs" do. It lasted 10 minutes, tops. Usually less. We live in a very small house, with very slippery floors, and there were a few slips, but NO indoor Zoomie problems. Don't worry.

 

Get into it ! Participate! Be crazy too!

[Hubcitypam]

Sounds like maybe you are in a condo or apartment. If you have a yard...We had an exterior zoomie track which I kept dry by spreading straw on it. Start polling neighbors with straw bales out for halloween free giveaway and if you have bulk trash start looking - not everyone decorates for Thanksgiving.

Haven't had many indoor zoomies, but this 892 sq. ft. house barely has room to swing a cat. My neighbor carpet taped rug runners to make a race track through the kitchen. Pergo and such can be very slippery - much more than original 65 year old hardwoods.

[kronckew]

Any dedicated indoor dog lover should have no problem cutting a few strategic holes in yer walls, that allows the beast more paths and shortcuts to take, in his quest to elude his invisible chasers.

the other solution is to buy a bigger house...

 

this one might be big enough