Whatever you want to call it, be it a dog zoomy, a sudden burst of energy, or a post-bath frenzy, we’re 100% sure that your dog acts around like ‘crazy’ – running around the yard or inside the house, giving speedy Gonzales a run for his money.
It’s amusing to watch, but do you have any idea why your dog goes crazy after a bath? For one, getting nuts after a bath is a sigh of relief, ‘boy, am I glad that bath is over!’
Yes, many dogs are not fond of getting a good scrub. Once it’s finished, there’s nothing in this world that can make them happier than running around and getting crazy. It’s like shouting for joy, except that our dogs do it differently, and running around like crazy is pretty normal for them.
Today we’d discover the different reasons why you see your dog acting a bit weird or in a zoomy zone after every bath. Is there something that you can do to calm down your dog after its bath time? How come a lot of dogs do not enjoy being bathed and cleaned?
Why Does My Dog Get Crazy After A Bath?
Apart from the sigh of relief, the other reasons why your pooch acts crazy after a bath are: your dog wants to reclaim its old and ‘stinky’ smell back, to remove excess moisture, and lastly, your dog is trying to remove water from its ears.
I’m So Glad It’s So Over!
Even if you are caring for a water-loving dog like a Golden Retriever, still, you cannot expect it to enjoy getting bathed. Most dogs just don’t like it; thus, there’s such a thing as bath anxiety.
For one, your dog isn’t happy at all getting confined in a bathtub with its movements being restricted. That’s just too stressful and a nerve-wracking activity for your dog.
Second, the sound of the water from the showerhead can be a frightening experience for your dog.
Third, you may be handling your dog the wrong way. A lot of dogs simply do not enjoy being handled, more so during bath time when they are forced down while being lathered up. And once it’s all over, it feels elated, joyous.
The moment your dog jumps out from the bathtub, it feels liberated, and so, it ‘zooms’ and goes running or circling like a crazy little pooch.
You can compare to our dental visits, nervous and tense before the treatment but happy and relieved afterward.
What An Awful Smell!
If fur parents go crazy over the nice and sweet-smelling scents of shampoos and conditioners, our fur babies are not.
Oh yes, that vanilla or pomegranate smell on your dog is lovely, but you must have forgotten that your dog’s sense of smell is much stronger and sharper than yours.
And, when it comes to scent, your pooch has a different opinion from yours. For your dog, nothing beats the nice and lovely smell of grass, dirt, and even poop!
How many times have you seen your dog roll on the grass and even on dead things or fecal matter like poop and worms? The smell may be disgusting for you but for your dog, it smells wonderful. This behavior can be traced back to your dog’s ancestors in the wild called scent rolling.
In the wild, it was through scent rolling that wolves brought back vital information to their pack members. They rolled on novel scents so that the smells stuck on their bodies.
This allowed the pack members to investigate new discoveries and places the pack leader encountered.
Thus, rolling around like crazy after a bath is your dog’s way of getting rid of that nice and strong scent that you want for it. All your dog wants is to bring back and reclaim its favorite scent on its body, and that is the smell of grass, dirt, and poop!
I’m Wet!
Unless you are using a professional dog dryer at home, chances are your dog is still damp even if you’ve towel-dried its coat. And depending on the size and the coat type of your dog, the wet coat adds extra weight, making its movement a bit difficult.
So, when your dog goes crazy and zoomy after a bath, what it is trying to do is to get rid of excess moisture.
It runs around, rubs its wet body on the sofa, on its bed, and on the carpet to dry itself.
Plus, your dog may also feel cold after a bath, so it runs crazily around to raise its body temperature to a comfortable level.
Can’t Hear You Well!
Another normal reason why your dog gets crazy after a bath is because it’s trying to drain water from its ears.
Your dog’s ears have vertical canals, making it easier for water to get trapped. If the ear canals are filled with water, it becomes uncomfortable.
And, the only way your dog knows how to drain water from the ears is by running around like crazy. You may be asking what do we mean by ‘zoomy’? This is not the video conferencing we are all familiar with. Rather zoomy or FRAP is the sudden display of frantic behavior that only lasts for a few minutes. Let’s talk more about zoomy.
Why Do Dogs Get Zoomies After Bath?
Also known as frenetic random activity period, FRAP, in short, consists of short, repetitive, and high-spirited running and playing around.
Running around in circles or at full speed like a maniac is just some of the common manifestations of dog zoomies.
No worries because these behaviors are normal and nothing to worry about. One of the common causes of dog zoomies is right after taking a bath.
That said, let’s now get into the different ways you can calm your dog down after being scrubbed and cleaned up.
How Can I Calm My Dog Down After A Bath?
Though acting like crazies after a bath is normal, there are some things that you can do to help minimize these acts.
For a lot of dogs, bath time can be stressful. In that case, you can take your dog’s favorite toy to the tub to reduce its anxiety. Plus, take the time to test the water temperature; it should be warm to your touch.
Ditch those heavily-scented dog shampoos and conditioners. Instead, go for the mildly or, better yet, unscented dog shampoos.
Have you tried dry shampoos? If it’s not available, you may also use cornstarch to absorb excess oil on your pooch’s fur and skin.
It’s also a good idea to invest in quick-drying absorbent dog towels. These are the ones made from microfiber that absorbs 20 times more compared to the regular bath towels that we humans use.
Lastly, don’t forget to place some cotton balls in the ears to lessen the water coming into your dog’s ear canals.
