Why does my dog get crazy when wet?
Dogs have nervous energy that gets pent up as well, and bath time is a common trigger. And once that stressful bath is over you’ll see it being released. Once they’re finally free from the tub they often exhibit the “zoomies” or “FRAPS” (frenetic random activity periods).
Relief
We know that dogs have several “calming signals” that they do to relieve stress. One of the common ones is “shaking it off.” You will see dogs who are dry, shake off as if they are wet. These dogs are stressed and are trying to calm themselves through the behavior.
In her book “Fired Up, Frantic, and Freaked Out,” Laura VanArendonk Baugh CPDT-KA KPACTP explains “Movement helps to relieve stress. (Anyone who had ever seen a dog get ‘the zoomies’ during agility or after a bath has seen this in action.” (p. 32)
Since most dogs are not fond of baths, they are stressed by the process. Wilhelm explains that the zoomies help them get rid of that stress:
Dogs Try to Get Their Own Scent Back After a Bath
You may love the smell of your dog’s shampoo but chances are Fido might not be so keen on it. Dogs sense of smell is way better than ours -at least 10,000 times more acute than a humans.
After your dog is bathed they’re covered in a whole new scent — one they might not be happy with. Dogs love rolling in all sorts of gross stuff, and dogs certainly don’t mind smelling like dogs.
Dogs masking their scent with dirt, carcasses, and poop is natural, and it helped their ancestors sneak up on prey for thousands of years. It’s called scent rolling and it’s also served as a way for wolves to bring back information to the pack. It’s a simple way to tell everyone “hey, look where I’ve been” or “hey, check out this awesome gnarly thing I found and rolled around in.”
Rolling around and rubbing against everything in the house is a quick way for dogs to get some of their distinctive scent back after a bath. After all it took them a while to come up with such a unique scent, and you just undid all their hard work. I mean I know love the smell of Oatmeal shampoo more than dirt, but my dog strongly disagrees.