A Dog’s Way to Tell the Difference
From your side, they both look the same.
- Wild eyes.
- Busy mouth.
- Suddenly unreachable.
From my side, overtired and overstimulated feel very different.
They just end up the same because my body has only a few ways to speak.
The First Thing Humans Usually Miss
Most humans look at energy.
I am looking at pressure.
Pressure can come from movement.
From sound.
From choice.
From being asked to stay engaged when my system is already full.
This is why the same puppy can look calm one minute and feral the next.
What Overtired Actually Feels Like to Me
Overtired feels heavy and thin at the same time.
- My muscles are done.
- My brain will not shut up.
- Every sensation lands louder because I am worn out.
Signs you usually miss:
- My bites are slower and clumsier
- I grab, then immediately release
- I flop down but pop back up
- I mouth without intensity
This is not excitement.
It is exhaustion leaking out.
What helps an overtired puppy
This is the part that humans often realise too late.
Overtired puppies do not need calming activities.
They need fewer decisions.
What actually works:
- A smaller space, not a bigger one
- One familiar chew, not a selection
- Quiet presence, not engagement
When you remove choice, my body often sleeps within minutes.
Not because I was forced.
Because my nervous system finally stopped scanning.
Many issues can cause sleep problems in young puppies.
What Overstimulation Actually Feels Like to Me
Overstimulation feels buzzy and sharp.
- My body wants to move even if I am tired.
- My mouth looks for motion.
- Stillness feels impossible.
Signs you might not recognise:
- My biting is fast and repetitive
- I grab clothing, hair, sleeves
- I cannot stay with one toy
- I zoom, then bite, then zoom again
This is not energy to burn.
It is information overload.
What helps an overstimulated puppy
Here is the counterintuitive part: I know this isn’t very clear, so listen up.
Exercise often makes this worse.
What helps instead:
- Lowering my head below my heart
- Sniffing something real
- Licking something steady
- Chewing something that resists
These actions organise my nervous system.
Fast games, training cues, and excitement push me further out.
Simple, repetitive input brings me back.
The Mouth Test (An Uncommon Clue)
Watch how I use my mouth.
- If I bite and immediately disengage, I am overtired.
- If I latch, chase, and re-engage, I am overstimulated.
Same behaviour.
Different state.
The response needs to match the state, not the bite.
Why “More Enrichment” Often Backfires
Humans love adding.
- More toys.
- More activities.
- More novelty.
From my side, novelty is work.
When I am already full, new things push me over.
Many owners realise this after removing toys instead of adding them, and seeing me settle faster.
Less input is sometimes the kindest thing you can offer.
The Evening Spike Nobody Warns You About
Most puppies unravel at night.
Not because something happened then.
Because everything happened all day.
- Smells.
- Sounds.
- Learning.
- Movement.
By evening, my system has no buffer left.
The humans who fix evenings do not “wear me out”.
They lower the house.
- Lights softer.
- Voices quieter.
- Movement slower.
When the environment exhales, I finally can.
The Human Habit That Escalates Both States
Talking.
- Explaining.
- Repeating cues.
- Reacting with words.
From my body, language during overload is just noise.
What helps more is changing the environment without commentary.
- Move me.
- Reduce space.
- Offer something regulating.
- Say very little.
Your calm is louder than your voice.
The Thing You Are Probably Worrying About
You are wondering if this means:
- I am hyper
- I am difficult
- You are doing it wrong
It does not.
It means my nervous system is still learning how to live in a human-paced world.
I will get better at it.
Especially if you respond to my state instead of my behaviour.
The Quiet Rule That Helps Most
If I cannot settle, stop asking me to.
Change the input.
Not the puppy.
- Overtired needs rest made easy.
- Overstimulated needs input made simple.
When you get that right, the biting fades on its own.
Not because I was corrected.
Because I finally felt regulated.
That is the difference I feel first.