19 Cute Canine Ways to Call Your Doggo's “Zoomies” From Around the World

Author image for Blake Seidel
Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Oct 18, 2025 9:00 AM EDT

Ah, zoomies. Although our languages may be different, every dog owner knows what happens when your puppy (or dog) gets a sudden burst of energy from 6 - 8 PM. When they're puppies, we call this time the "witching hour", where your puppy becomes possessed by the Energizer Bunny and doesn't know what to do with all that energy. They sprint through the house, bite everything in sight, and push your patience to the limit. And this isn't just limited to puppies, heck, our doggo at now almost 3 years old gets the zoomies every once in a while. We'll be walking, and suddenly she'll just take off at the speed of light, running in circles, destroying any stick she can find, and then moving on to her next victim. 

Although we here in the United States know this action as "zoomies", we realized that the action is universal, but what about the word? Does every country call their pet's energy explosions zoomies, or do they have their own term for it? Well, it turns out a lot of them do! So now, when you go to another country and see a dog with the zoomies, you'll be pawfectly prepared to use the correct term for the canine's cuteness. Even if you're not much of a traveler, these facts are still just cool to know as a dog lover!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to start your Caturday with the funniest felines on the internet!

Advertisement
  • 01

    What does your country call the sudden burst of excitement that dogs get?

    Puppy running wild outside
    via Carmelka

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    In America we call it "zoomies," or "having the zoomies!" Zoom is the sound of something going very fast.
    via Pestoplasm
  • 03
    HadeswithRabies · 18h ago Rwanda . Amatsiko, which just means excitement.
    via HadeswithRabies

  • Amatsiko - it just sounds so cool! We're partial to zoomies because it really captures the silly nature of their energetic outbursts, but amatsiko is probably our favorite from this list. 

  • 04
    viipurinrinkeli Finland Hepuli.
    via viipurinrinkeli
  • 05
    Overall_Dog_6577 Scotland "Gettin aw excited"
    via Overall_Dog_6577
  • 06
    Two dogs running outside
    via Elayne Massaini

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 07
    So_Done_with_The_B_ Wales We say Zoomies too. • 18h ago I confirm your zoomies and raise you... What do you call it when dogs drag their butts across the floor? I'm my household we call that the Sheepdog bum shuffle named after our first dog.
    via So_Done_with_The_B_*
  • 08
    Arctic_HOOligan7 • 18h ago Canada Zoomies. The only viable answer.
    via Arctic_H00ligan7
  • 09
    E... 18h ago Edited 17h ago • • We don't have a word, but I call it konjisanje (something like horse around)
    via Ecstatic_Honeydew172
  • 10
    grac3ie 18h ago United Kingdom Zoomies
    via grac3ie
  • 11
    Romanista3 · 18h ago Belgium Pétage de cable ■ (FR)
    via Romanista3
  • 12
    Puppy playing with tennis ball in mouth
    via Debrock44

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 13
    FearlessVisual1 • 17h ago Belgium I don't think we have a dedicated term for it, but personally when my dog does it I call it "faire la mobylette" (doing the moped) because she runs back and forth while doing moped sounds.
    via FearlessVisual1

  • See, this totally doesn't make sense to any American because almost no one drives a moped, whereas in Europe, many do because of traffic and ease of transportation. We're not even sure what kind of sounds a moped makes, is it just cuter than a motorcycle?

  • 14
    Poussiere 13h ago . In France we can use "cacaphorie" (mix between shit and euphoria ) for cats specifically since cats have the zoomies when they shit But it's kinda niche and zoomies is a staple anyway
    via Poussiere
  • 15
    PaleontologistSea343 13h ago • United States Of America When I had a very good boy named Duke, we called it a "Duke-lear meltdown" (like a nuclear meltdown, if that isn't clear to anyone/non-native English speakers) 60
    via PaleontologistSea343
  • 16
    Feroc 9h ago Germany "Er hat seine 5 Minuten" (he has his 5 minutes)
    via Feroc
  • 17
    FewExit7745-16h ago Philippines Zoomies. Although in Tagalog, we don't. have a direct translation for it. Would just be "nababaliw na siya", "they're going insane/they're losing it"
    via FewExit7745
  • 18
    . Current Astronaut787 14h ago Sweden We often use the English term zoomies. But I use a more local word "spatt". Hundfan har fått spatt.
    via Current_Astronaut787
  • 19
    explosives ts7195 14h ago Ireland . Zoomies typically. More localised to Dublin I've heard "going Balubas". It's the name of the Congolese tribe that ambushed, killed (and reportedly ate the body parts of) a bunch of Irish UN peacekeepers back during the Katanga seccesion in the 60s.
    via explosives**ts7195
  • 20
    Silent-Laugh5679 · 12h ago Romania My Hungarian wife coined a word for it, "bolondóra" that is "crazy hour". we have no idea whether Hungarian really has an expression for it.
    via Silent-Laugh5679
  • 21
    ResiakNaroz⚫ 5h ago France << Le quart d'heure de folie >> (crazy fifteen minutes)
    via ResiakNaroz
  • 22
    SpookedBall • 16h ago Canada Capoter
    via SpookedBall

Check out our Instagram for more hilarious animal content!

Love our stuff? Shop for some of our pawsome merch here.

Tags

languages zoomies pet ownership dogs doggos doggo dog owners animals
Scroll Down For The Next Article