Might have to give up puppy

[bigfootfred]

We have a 10month puppy but DH doesn't think he's getting what he needs
He's quite full on (I know he's a puppy)
Since we got him I've returned to work full time so I take him with me leaving our older dog at home (he enjoys the peace)
Not convinced older dog enjoys having puppy he's started getting quite grumpy with him is possessive over food/ toys etc
DH thinks puppy needs more attention etc & would be better in another family doesn't think us having a puppy has worked

I don't know what to do as I love puppy he's become abit like my baby but he does drive me nuts sometimes haha

Breeder agreement was always if anything happened they would have puppy back & would keep with puppy's parents

Just don't know my friends say we're over thinking dogs get attention, nice home, walks etc they are happy but I struggle how do we tell?!

Feel like giving up puppy is failing 😞

[Tronkmanton]

How about getting a dog trainer to help / advise on the situation with the older dog?

[BiteyShark]

10 months is a difficult age as I suspect it's full on teenage mode. I am really not sure where the 'not getting the attention he needs' has come from. Sorry to be blunt but are you sure that isn't an excuse for your DH to say rehome because the dog is simply being a pain in the arse normal teenage dog which is hard work?

[bigfootfred]

No I think he thinks he doesn't get enough attention

Me & DH have both been struggling health wise so they haven't always had a daily walk or we've both been resting upstairs whilst dogs down stairs

Could just be he finds pup stressful

[Vallahalagonebutnotforgotten]

Well tbh they are not getting enough attention if they are not being walked regularly.

If this is a permanent situation then it will not work. If it just because of temporary illness and things will change then the situation could be ok

[LaurieFairyCake]

If you've gone back to working full time can you now afford a dog walker? I'm in London and a group walk is only £14.

An hours walk with a few dogs will soon tire your 10 month old out.

It would be awful to give him up - you feel like his mummy, so to him you are EVERYTHING 

[BiteyShark]

Lots of things you could do before rehoming back to the breeder. Dog walker/day care in particular.

[bigfootfred]

thank you everyone for not judging.
I will talk to DH again I think we just need a better routine

Is it mean only taking one dog to work? my older dog is happy having house to himself

[shapeshifter88]

if the puppy isn't getting enough attention but comes to work with you, then how little attention is the older dog getting day to day?

[bigfootfred]

Dh has been off work so older dog spends day with him he's very laid back anyways and happy at home. He's gone to work with DH today so maybe it will be that we each take one to work.

[Floralnomad]

Being brutally honest it doesn’t sound like you should own any dogs . Perhaps your older dog is grumpy because he gets left home alone all day and then when you do get in he doesn’t always get a walk . Poor thing .

[Floralnomad]

But of a x post but probably still correct

[adaline]

I think all dogs need a minimum of one walk a day. If you can't provide that, can you hire a dog walker to come in and walk them everyday? Our local walker charges £5/hour/dog although I know some places are pricier.

Puppies are full-on. Ours is nearly nine months old and he'd be a nightmare without two walks a day. He needs to burn off energy, sniff things, meet new people and dogs and just get out of the house and have new experiences. If he's not being walked regularly he must be a real handful when you're at home. I know when mine needs his walk because he's jumpy and wants attention and chews everything!

Is the lack of daily walks going to be a permanent thing? Because you can't expect a young puppy to miss walks on a regular basis. Older dogs are probably happier with shorter walks or are happy to miss the odd day, but all dogs need daily exercise of some description.

[bigfootfred]

no lack of walks wont be permanent we just had a tough weekend crappy weather etc and toilet training isn't going well either
worse when its wet because he refuses to go outside!

Might look into dog walkers again too

[StuntNun]

My last couple of dogs were absolute nightmares at 10 months old. They're adolescents and they need lots of exercise, they're still likely to be chewing/destructive, and they aren't as obedient as they will be later on. If you can get any help with exercise at this point (my lab needed 90-120 minutes per day at this age) then I think the dog will settle down within a few months and be a lot easier for you to manage.

[adaline]

If you can't do tons of physical exercise can you manage mental stimulation instead?

Can you feed him by scattering his kibble all over the floor to find (scent work), or out of a frozen kong or snuffle mat? And what training has he done? Ours goes to classes still, but I teach him at home as well - yesterday I taught him to spin in a circle and sit after for a treat - it didn't take long but it tired him out. There are loads of great videos on YouTube for teaching your dogs tricks at home. I'm working up to teaching him roll over but he doesn't really get that one yet - I'm planning to ask our trainer for tips when we go to class on Thursday!

Ours will also do things like jumping through a series of hoops, or go around a set of cones for treats. He's learnt things like sit, paw, shake hands and high-five as well, so if I give him treats or a chew in the day, he has to perform a trick to get what he wants.

I guess what I'm getting at is you can tire dogs out more with mental training than you can with physical work sometimes. Even doing basic work like recall in the garden doesn't involve lots of exertion on your part, but will tire your pup out immensely. Or teach fetch or similar?

[Floralnomad]

At 10 months he should be toilet trained what breed is he ?

[RatherBeRiding]

He needs more exercise - a LOT more exercise. If this is something you can't manage on a daily basis then you should look into dog walkers. An hour's walk/play in the middle of the day should help enormously.

[Wolfiefan]

You can’t not walk a dog because it’s raining
You need to get them out each day. What age is older dog. What breed are they both?

[adaline]

I know it's miserable walking the dog when it's raining, but they need to go out regardless of the weather. Get a coat if they don't like the wet but you can't just not walk the dog because you're under the weather or it's raining. If you're too ill to take them out, then you need to get a dog walker for them - ideally twice a day. Dogs need exercise and it will massively help with your pups behaviour. A good dog is a tired dog!

At ten months he'll still need a lot of attention. Ours gets two walks a day plus 2-3 training sessions - I teach him tricks, reinforce old tricks or do scent-work with him. He also gets a session of tug everyday and fetch once or twice a week too (not too often as his joints are still forming properly). He loves playing find-it - so we hide treats/kibble around the house and he has to sniff them out, for example. Or we use snuffle/lick mats/frozen kongs for his meals or as treats. He has lots of chews dotted around the house that he can have too - he loves paddy whack, for example, and there are often several bits dotted around the living room at any one time!

[bigfootfred]

I am going to do more to keep them occupied, its not not wanting to walk in the rain just that I wasn't well this weekend
We need to learn to incorporate the dogs into our days

Old one is 11 years, he's very laid back. likes long walks etc but also likes just lying around the house sleeping :)

[bigfootfred]

puppy is mostly toilet trained, will go to the door etc but if i'm not in the room doesn't really hold it.
often accidents at night. I am thinking of trying to crate train again?
Started re pee'ing in the same spot even though I have cleaned it etc

He's quite active today which had made work hard to focus on. I've taken him for a good run at lunch and put him in his bed for a rest :) hopefully can get more done now

[Villanellesproudmum]

Agree with the hiding treats, scent work for a puppy, I do this and the dog walker also does it after our dog has been out, I 90% of the time work from home but this morning I wrapped up a pigs ear in boxes, kept her busy for ages.

[Wolfiefan]

“They haven’t always had a daily walk”
My dog missed a single day when I had a serious asthma attack. But this suggests it’s more than the odd day. There are two adults. Somebody needs to walk both dogs. Every day.

[adaline]

He's a teenager, they're designed to be energetic and to drive you insane! Mine needs a lot more input in the day than he did when he was younger. So far today he's done the following:

Breakfast out of a slow feeder.
Hour long walk (on lead) - he's gone through town and through the woods, met other dogs and people, practiced sitting, staying and walking nicely to heel.
Then he slept for maybe 3 hours.
Toilet break, then we did some training - we went over some old tricks and carried on teaching a new one. He's currently learning how to jump over objects/through hoops so we did a bit of that.
He then had a bit of a chew on some paddy whack and terrorised the cats.
He's now asleep on the sofa next to me but my husband will take him off-lead to the beach later for a run-around, then he'll have dinner (ideally out of frozen kongs and the slow-feeder), before (hopefully) crashing for the night!

[BiteyShark]

If peeing in same spot try a different (enzyme) cleaner.

If he is peeing when out of the room he may not understand that he needs to get your attention. Mine didn't initially so I trained him to bash training bells against a wall so I could hear him (took less than 2 days to train and you just bash them when he is at the door before you open it). Once he was older I removed them as he now knows to bark if I am not in the room or he comes looking for me. At night you can use a baby monitor so you can hear (and see) when he rouses to toilet and can then take him out before he has an accident. Also make sure you don't leave him too long to hold it. Mine can only really go 6-7 hours before he needs a pee overnight.

As for the walking whilst mine can tolerate several days with no walks (had to be inside for a few weeks at a time due to health reasons), at your dogs age he needed to walk or be mentally exercised twice a day. This is where daycare or dog walkers are great if you haven't got the time on certain days.