It’s officially spring here now. I don’t quite feel like Mother Nature has received the memo yet, considering we still have snow on the ground. My dogs, Kitsune the papillon and Fenrir the Alaskan Klee Kai, seem to disagree with me. They have what I fondly refer to as the “spring time crazies”, aka spring fever! But is spring fever a real thing? Can dogs ‘catch’ it and, if so, what are the signs that your furry friend is suffering from a case of the spring time crazies?
Spring fever isn’t a real fever, of course. Dictinary.com defines spring fever as…
a listless, lazy, or restless feeling commonly associated with the beginning of spring.
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My Own Pets and Spring Fever
I haven’t personally experienced much of the “listless, lazy” aspects of the onset of spring. In fact, in all my years of keeping pets, I’d say my furry friends have trended much more toward the “restless” side of spring fever. My dogs, Kitsune especially, want to spend a lot more time outside in the spring. Lately, Kit has been asking to go outside much more often. When a 14-year-old dog asks to go out you let him out! But once he gets outside it becomes obvious that he didn’t really need to use the bathroom. He just wants to explore the yard and smell all the things.
My younger dog, Fenrir, likes to play outside too. But I’ve found that he’s been taking out his spring time crazies in slightly different ways. He’s been super playful lately, running zoomies around the house with toys in his mouth. It’s super cute, if not somewhat distracting. Especially when he does it while I’m trying to work.
What Causes Spring Fever?
Since it’s not really an actual disease, we don’t have definitive answers about what, exactly, causes spring fever. In their 2007 article, Scientific America states that…
Clearly, there are marked correlations between moods, behavior and the lengthening days of spring, but the precise cause for our renewed energy remains elusive.
More hours of sunlight, warming temperatures, hormonal changes, and just a general increase in mood may be to blame for the phenomenon of spring fever. I personally enjoy the winter, but even I rejoice at the coming of spring. The slowly warming weather, longer days, and regrowth of plants outside just makes me feel happy. Maybe our pets feel the same way?
Spring Time is Fun!
When it comes to dogs, the world just gets a whole lot more interesting in the spring. The snow starts to melt and suddenly things they haven’t been able to access and smell for an entire season starts to emerge. Trees grow leaves, flowers bloom, and wild animals start to become more active again.
And whether we notice it or not, our dogs often feed off of our own emotions. Perhaps humans feeling the effects of spring fever leads our furry companions to follow suite. Many owners most likely spend more time outdoors with their dogs in the spring, sometimes after a long winter of feeling cooped up inside. Spending quality time with our pups out in the great outdoors is undoubtedly mood boosting for man and beast.
Is Spring Fever Something Dog Owners Should Worry About?
Make sure not to mistake signs of real diseases for a simple case of spring fever. For example, a dog asking to go outside more often could be spring fever, but it could be a sign that your furry friend is suffering from a UTI or other illness. When in doubt, talk to your veterinarian. It’s better take your dog in and find out that nothing was wrong than to potentially allow him/her to suffer. Any super drastic changes in mood, behavior, or personality should be discussed with your vet.
Other than that the only potential issue caused by a dog with spring fever is that they just might succeed in driving their owners crazy. If your dogs, like mine, seem to act particularly restless as the weather improves, exercising them appropriately should help. When Kit and Fen get really hyped up in the spring, usually I can bring their energy levels down a few notches by walking them, working on their training, or playing a game of fetch in the case of Fenrir.
Comment Below!
Do any of your pets get spring fever? Do you!? What are the symptoms you’ve experienced and what do you do, if anything, to help mitigate them? Seeing my dogs act like fools in the spring time never ceases to put a smile on my face. Their moods seem to so closely mirror my own when the weather is nice, and luckily the spring time crazies are nothing a nice walk, play, or training session can’t usually tame.
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