He’ll probably go crazy. No, seriously. There’s a real burst of activity afterwards. Dogs go crazy after a bath because of anything from relief, to shaking to dry off, to rollin’ around trying to get rid of this weird new scent. It could be a release of nervous energy, or simply joy. Whether’s you call it a FRAP, the crazies, or the zoomies, the bottom line is, post-bath hyperactivity is a thing. And we’re breaking it down.

Relief

Unless you have a dog who loves baths, you know the situation all too well. Your dog rolled in poop, or jumped in a muddy pond, or simply just hasn’t been washed in a minute, and it’s time. The paw breaks come on the minute your dog knows you’re thinking about getting them in the tub, and it’s all stress from there. When it’s *finally* over with, your dog is STOKED. The only way to really express that is to run around, well, like crazy. It’s relief: nervous energy pouring out.

Strange New Smell

A freshly washed dog makes a human very happy, but a dog? Not so much. Not only is their sense of smell stronger than ours (we’ve all seen how dogs greet one another, yes?), but they’re now coated in this weird, unfamiliar scent. The solution? Sprint around and roll in everything possible to rid self of new scent and return to old scent. Wanting to smell like poop and dirt and grass is in their DNA.

Drying Off

The answer to why dogs go crazy after a bath might be as simple as drying off. While we use towels to rub the moisture off our bodies, dogs don’t have that same luxury. So they do things like roll around on the carpet, your bed, the couch, etc., — and shake their hair in the wind. Simple as that.

FRAP

Frenetic Random Activity Periods happen to pretty much every dog, especially young ones. Everything is just SO FUN, suddenly, and they cannot possibly contain their excitement. It generally happens on a pretty regular schedule — maybe an evening wrestle is the norm at your house — which means getting that out of your dog’s system before bath is a wise choice.

Does your dog go crazy after a bath?

Bradenton Veterinary Hospital

1324 17th Avenue West

Bradenton, FL 34205

941-746-2252

www.bradentonveterinary.com