5 Signs Your Puppy Is Overtired (And What To Do About It)

Is your puppy suddenly biting more, zooming around in the evening, or refusing to settle during the day?

It can feel like their behaviour changes overnight.

One minute things are manageable…
the next, everything feels harder.

In most cases, this isn’t a training problem.

It’s overtiredness.

Overtired puppies don’t slow down.
They speed up.

And if you don’t recognise it early, it can quickly turn into:

• more biting
• more chaos
• disrupted sleep (for both of you)

Let’s look at how to tell if your puppy is overtired — and what to do about it.

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How to tell if your puppy is overtired

The most common overtired puppy symptoms include:

• evening zoomies or “crazy” behaviour
• biting that gets more intense
• struggling to settle during the day
• ignoring cues they usually respond to
• waking more at night or early morning

If you’re seeing two or more of these, overtiredness is very likely affecting your puppy’s behaviour.

 

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Sign 1: Why does my puppy go crazy in the evening?

This is one of the clearest signs of an overtired puppy.

After being awake too long, your puppy’s body doesn’t wind down — it goes into overdrive.

You might see:

• zoomies around the house
• grabbing clothes, hands, ankles
• barking or frantic energy
• an inability to switch off

This isn’t extra energy that needs burning off.

It’s a nervous system that’s struggling to regulate.

What to do:

• Stop adding stimulation (no extra walks or play)
• Guide your puppy to a safe, calm space (pen or crate)
• Keep things quiet and predictable
• Use something calming like a scatter feed or lick

If your evenings regularly feel like this, it’s usually a sign your puppy doesn’t know how to switch off yet.

 The Calm Puppy Reset walks you through exactly how to reduce evening chaos and help your puppy settle — without adding more to your plate.

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Sign 2: Why is my puppy biting more and more?

Many puppies sleep well at night but struggle to settle in the day.

That doesn’t mean they don’t need sleep.

It usually means:

• they’ve had too much freedom
• there’s too much going on around them
• they don’t yet know how to switch off

So they keep going… until they tip into overtired behaviour.

What to do:

• Use a pen or crate as a calm sleep space
• Build short, regular rest periods into your day
• Don’t wait for your puppy to choose sleep — guide it

This is covered step-by-step in:
The Cockapoo Puppy Sleep Guide

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Sign 4: Why is my puppy not listening anymore?

A tired puppy can look like a stubborn puppy.

You might notice:

• ignoring cues they knew earlier
• struggling to focus
• seeming hyper or distracted

This is often the point where owners try to do more training.

But this is exactly when training becomes ineffective.

What to do:

• End what you’re doing
• Reduce interaction
• Prioritise rest instead of repetition

A tired brain can’t learn — it can only react.

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Sign 5: Why is my puppy waking up at night again?

Overtiredness doesn’t just show up in the evening.

It often shows up overnight too.

You might see:

• more frequent waking
• restlessness in the crate
• early morning starts

This happens because overtiredness increases stress levels, which disrupt sleep.

What to do:

• Look at your puppy’s whole day, not just bedtime
• Add more structured rest earlier
• Keep evenings calm and predictable

If night waking is creeping in, this will help:
How to Stop Your Cockapoo Puppy Waking at 3am

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Overtiredness isn’t a behaviour problem

This is something I say a lot in sessions:

Your puppy isn’t trying to be difficult.
They’re showing you they’re struggling.

And when you respond by adding more:

• more exercise
• more play
• more training

…it often makes things worse.

Because what they actually need is:

• rest
• predictability
• and calm, consistent responses from you

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Where to start (without overthinking it)

If you’re reading this and thinking
“this is exactly my puppy” — start simple.

Today:

• add one planned rest period
• use a safe space instead of constant supervision
• pause instead of pushing through chaos

You don’t need to fix everything at once.

One small change is enough to start shifting things.

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Need more support?

If things still feel full-on or confusing, you don’t have to figure it out on your own.

👉 The Calm Puppy Reset gives you a clear, step-by-step way to reduce chaos and help your puppy settle

👉 Or you can book a 1:1 Puppy Session, where we look at your puppy, your routine, and what’s actually happening day-to-day — so you leave with simple, practical next steps

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Final thought

Puppies aren’t born knowing how to switch off.

Calm is something we help them learn.

And often, the biggest change doesn’t come from doing more…

…but from knowing when to do less.