This spring, I adopted a three-month-old rescued German Shepherd mix. To say she is easily excitable is an understatement.

It is not really her fault. A puppy’s frontal cortex, the part of the brain that helps with decision-making and impulse control, is still developing. When an older dog, or a human, gets tired, we generally understand we should rest. Puppies have not quite figured that out. They often interpret tiredness as a signal something is wrong, which makes them more alert, more reactive and harder to settle.

That creates a feedback loop. The puppy gets tired, which makes her frantic, which makes her more tired, which makes her even more frantic. Eventually, this becomes what people call the “zoomies”: frantic sprinting, biting, jumping and general chaos.

From the outside, it looks like the puppy has too much energy. In reality, the opposite is true. The zoomies are not a sign of excess energy. They are a sign the puppy is overtired and does not know it yet.

If there’s one thing that we in the news business wish for any election, it’s that the campaign is competitive and voters have multiple, viable options when it comes time to cast their ballots.

That is certainly what I wished for in this year’s Winnipeg mayoral election: a ballot with two or more competent candidates — including incumbent Scott Gillingham — that offered contrasting visions for the future of the city.

Unfortunately, this time we didn’t get competent or viable. Instead, we got a clown show stuffed with candidates for mayor who have demonstrated a stunning capacity for self-inflicted wounds.

It all started when mayoral candidates Kevin Klein and Mike Vogiatzakis both alleged they had been asked by each other’s campaign to step down to give the remaining candidate a better shot at defeating Gillingham.