A friend of mine just wrote a piece about her dog and The Madness: out of nowhere, the dog will go from inactive to active, running around in circles, making funny noises, and generally being a total goofball. Then just as suddenly, The Madness runs out and the dog is back to her usual quiet self again.
Have you experienced this in your pets?
Some of my pitbull-loving friends call this “the zoomies”. The dog will go zooming around the house or yard at top speed, often in circles. As soon as the burst of energy is used up, the dog flops down for a well-deserved nap.
My dog Moose has his crazy times, too… although he does it with less running and more sound effects. More often than not, he’ll roll over onto his back and wriggle back and forth, making all sorts of weird honking noises. If you get too close, he might grab your pants leg with his teeth and nibble (he did that to me just this morning, in fact). Then the craziness passes and he flops out for a nap.
When my other dog, Lally, gets crazy, she often goes straight for her squeaky ball — it’s her outlet for excitement!
And dogs aren’t the only ones. My roommates’ cats often get “the beans”. Sometimes the beans involve running laps around the room. Sometimes, the beans involve big grey Shiro “swimming” around the bed — he stretches out on his side and pulls himself along. Sometimes the beans involve wrestling with a toy.
I must say, I find the play madness pretty fun… it almost always draws me in to play, too! I throw the ball for Lally (or sometimes chase her around the room) and wrestle with Moose (and let him chew on my pants leg). And I think the dogs get cranked up when the other invokes The Madness. If Lally’s playing, Moose will often lumber over and make a halfhearted effort at grabbing the ball.
So the next time the zoomies, The Madness, or the beans strike in your house… take it as a great excuse to go play and blow off some steam of your own!