Understanding “The Crazies” After A Doggy Bath!

Before they are bathed, dogs are cool, calm, and communicable. Following their cleansing, they retrieve energy from heaven knows where and start running every which way, leaving everything wet in their wake.

Other than “the crazies” this sudden burst of energy is also known as “the zoomies” or a FRAP (more on that in a bit). Following is a breakdown of these post-bath episodes to bring more clarity on why they happen.

Relief

It is a universal truth that bathing is not a dog’s favorite thing to do, so after some scrubbing and rinsing, they’re more than relieved to be done. And what better way to express their joy than to be hyperactive?

Drying off

Probably the simpler and more obvious answer is that most of the hyperactivity is a way for dogs to dry themselves off. After all, towels aren’t as effective for them, so why not use the next best thing, i.e. a sofa or a bed.

Getting rid of their new smell

Most dog parents can attest that the smell of a freshly washed dog is incredibly fulfilling and must be savored because it is a dog’s sole mission to get rid of it during a post-bath episode. A dog’s sense of smell is 10,000 to 100,000 times stronger than a human and after a bath, they’re covered in an unfamiliar scent that’s magnified by their strong sense of smell. The next best thing to do is to roll around in anything that will reduce the scent or even return an old, possibly dirty, scent.

F.R.A.P.

Every dog experiences Frenetic Random Activity Periods, especially younger pups. The simplest things are fun waiting to happen for them, so to avoid a hectic post-bath activity use up some of that energy in a game of fetch ahead of the bath.