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

Posted on 3rd May 2026

Black and white cockapoo lying down under her blue blanket on the sofa

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.

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.

Sign 1: Why does my Cockapoo 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.

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

Biting is often blamed on teething.

But when it starts to feel more intense — especially later in the day — overtiredness is usually underneath it.

You’ll notice:

biting feels more frantic
harder to redirect onto toys
they keep coming back even when you disengage

At this point, your puppy isn’t learning.

They’re overwhelmed.

What to do:

Stop trying to “train through” the biting
Pause the interaction
Create space and allow your puppy to rest

If the biting feels like it’s getting worse rather than better, this will help you understand why:

Read: How to Stop Your Cockapoo Puppy Biting

Still dealing with the biting?
If you're here, chances are it's still happening. Take the free Puppy Biting Quiz to find out exactly where your puppy sits — and what actually helps next.

Take the Quiz Results in 2 mins

Sign 3: Puppy won’t settle during the day

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

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.

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

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

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.

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