Will it get easier? New pup woes

[Livelovelife35]

I've never owned a dog before but they were always in the family ie gran aunts etc
We grew up with cats fish guinea pigs etc
My partner on the other had grew up with 3 dogs all collies which is what we have now
10 weeks and got him last week
First few days were OK now we find hes playing and then trys to bite my partner then us then goes mental have been constantly researching how to tackle this and if this is normal behaviour for pups
Hes been to vet during the week to get a check up and due last set of jags in 2 weeks we also started de worming today so far hes been ok with the tabs as I've heard some pups and dogs get sick with certain tabs
Cause he was acting up earlier i got to the point where I wanted to cry and think what have we done should we have waited and got a older dog then we took him for a walk round the front garden and back (live in flats) and I calmed down
I'm not fussed about getting up durning the night if we hear him its the bitting I'm more concerned over
Will this get easier and anyone going through the same thing?

[StillMedusa]

I sound like a broken record... but join the Facebook 'Dog training advice and support' group and read the files..especially the puppy ones. The advice is fantastic and the group moderators are experts.

And the puppy is normal :) Puppies don't have hands so they explore with their teeth..and bite everything and everyone.
Mine made me bleed so many times with teeth and claws during the first few months, I kept a tuggy toy or dressing gown cord with me at all times so the second her teeth came at me, I offered that instead..sometimes it worked!

Have lots and lots of biteable toys. I'm not a fan of 'squeal if they bite' because that only excited mine more, I found distraction much better.

It will pass.. honestly! Puppies are land sharks. Mine is a year old now and it's really rare she will even mouth me in excitement. Hang in there!

[Shambolical1]

Pups can be whirlwinds of teeth and claws at that age; perfectly normal!

They get very excited and literally don't know what to do with the excitement; it has to come out SOMEwhere and it tends to be from one end or the other!

If he gets bitey, disengage; as a pp has said, squealing can tend to wind up pups even more. Just become suddenly very still and boring (after taking chewed body parts out of reach!). When he calms - so if he sits or lays down, or stops barking/growling) reward him with a soft toy he can grab and munch on. Getting him to use his brain will tire him without over straining him physically; throw the toy a short distance and encourage him to bring it to you for a quick game of tug, or do some basic training with him.

Some pointers here (the featured pup is the same age as yours and should be broadly at the same developmental stage). Skip in to 2min 30sec to avoid the blurb:

[DangerCake]

The happy puppy book and way Peasy puppy squeezy are both very good and the Facebook group mentioned above was a absolute saviour for me.

I would happily have given our puppy back at any time up to about 15 weeks. The teeth, the zoomies, the teeth, you can’t leave them alone...

She’s 6 months now and adorable.

What helped was the one puppy class we had before lockdown, so watch train8ng videos on line. They are much better once you can take them out, but let them off lead now and keep interest with treats.

And if they are being really awful with teeth, leave then for 10 seconds, they learn not t9 do it. Also make sure they sleep, when they are being awful they are probably tired. We’d make ours nap by sitting in a chair with them.

It does get better.

[RedRed9]

They are baby sharks for a long time. It’s normal. And hard work. But if you put in the effort and the stars align you’ll end up with a happy, well adjusted adult dog.

[Carrotgirl87]

Sounds like the zoomies and they are such hard work only thing that helped us was distraction with training.. once she learned sit, when zoomies started we tell her 'sit' which she would do immediately and then spend 10 minutes training new things. Made her little brain tired and then the zoomies got forgotten.

Either that or she coincidentally grew out of them around the time she started learning new things!

[frostedviolets]

Playing then biting then ‘going mental’ sounds to me like he may be overstimulated and/or overtired.

How much sleep is he getting?
Are you regularly putting him in his bed throughout the day to sleep if he won’t do it himself?

Biting is very normal puppy behaviour though.
I used to use a stern ‘ah’ sound and get up and leave the room each and every time pup bit.

[PuppyMonkey]

Playing, then biting, then going mental sounds like a perfectly normal puppy to me.

Sorry OP, the puppy stage is hard for some of us, and I know you’ll hate me when I say it will get better over time, because you need it to get better now. But it WILL get better.

Chew toys, licky mats, pig ears and lots of breaks away from him during the day (take it in turn with other family members) and copious amounts of wine are the only things that really help imho.

[Livelovelife35]

Thanks for all the advice
We made a schedule say every 2/3 hours he goes out the back for a walk around so he can learn that you do the toilet outside
He does regularly sleep durning the day most of it is on his bed in a quiet room or hes snuggled up beside one of us on the couch lol
Hes getting good at the sit command
As for the zoomies thats what it will be doesn't do it often but when he does he's running about reminds me of when cats have there mad moments lol
I've looked into puppy training classes and we have someone dropping off a puppy play pen they don't use anymore
Sleeping during the night is usually OK
He is mostly ok just when gets in that mood to run about or trying to bite least I know it will get better as the days and weeks go on

[Moondust001]

Not only are puppies "nippy", but collies are renowned for this - it's herding behaviour and will get worse if not trained out of it. If your partner had had three collies previously I'm amazed he doesn't know this. Moreover, and sorry but I have to say this - collies are far too active for living in a flat, and what on earth possessed him to get a dog like that when he's in a flat? He must surely have known this?

Your dog is going to need substantial amounts of both physical and mental stimulation - people think that it's "just" a lot of exercise (and that's true) but actually mental stimulation is equally if not more important. A bored collie is a collie you don't want around, and it can lead to aggressive or destructive behaviour.

All dogs need training and leadership, but the breed you have chosen is one of the most demanding - I would strongly advise you to do a lot more work about the needs and demands of collies. You will have your work cut out, if for no other reason than a flat is not a suitable environment for such an active breed.

[frostedviolets]

Ugh.
I knew it wouldn’t be long before the collies always make terrible pets parade would be along..

I would agree that they aren’t typically suited as family pets for loud, rambunctious homes with young children because the herding instinct can be pretty incompatible with loud, noisy kids but they are lovely dogs and greatly misunderstood.

Not only are puppies "nippy", but collies are renowned for this - it's herding behaviour and will get worse if not trained out of it
Collies herd primarily by ‘eye’, not nipping, it’s the droving herding dogs like heelers and corgis that are renowned for nipping.
Yes you do get ‘nippy’ collies, but they don’t primarily herd by nipping.

Moreover, and sorry but I have to say this - collies are far too active for living in a flat, and what on earth possessed him to get a dog like that when he's in a flat? He must surely have known this?
Interesting.
My collie sleeps all day.
Literally the laziest dog in the land.
Yes she can go all day outside, yes she will play all day if you let her but she really is a supremely lazy house dog.

None of the people I know who have border collies, and they are all from strong working lines, including my own, find them active in the house.
They are all lazy dogs until you get them outside.

Your dog is going to need substantial amounts of both physical and mental stimulation - people think that it's "just" a lot of exercise (and that's true) but actually mental stimulation is equally if not more important
This is not true for all collies.
A lot of them are very very quick to get overstimulated.
My collie included.
Following the whole ‘lots of exercise, lots of mental stimulation’ mantra makes her thoroughly unpleasant to be around.
Collies like peace and quiet interspersed with some quiet ‘work’, ideally herding sheep.

For my collie, ‘work’ means a nice relaxed walk and a bit of a run around, maybe with a bit of helpful fetching discarded litter and dropping them into bins.

The common activities recommended as sheep herding substitutes, of which there is no substitute! Like agility and flyball would way way overstimulate her and stress her out.

You will have your work cut out, if for no other reason than a flat is not a suitable environment for such an active breed
A flat is fine..
Collies love to sleep!
I don’t know a single collie that isn’t placid and lazy in the house.

[Polkadotpjs]

I could have written this. The biting is driving me nuts and grabbing my trousers then growling when I try to disengage him. Rah!!! I was so happy to go out to the shop!! I know it'll calm down and so am trying not to panic!!

[Livelovelife35]

@Moondust001 my partner grew up mostly in flats with collies and that was many moons ago and can't quite remember how they trained all 3 back then but they were never bored or bittey when they got older

We knew people that have collies that live in flats smaller than ours as ours its not tour typical small flat its actually quite big due to the flat on ground floor being huge for the disabled
Plus we won't be in this flat forever as getting a house so will be more bigger than we have now and a better garden

I know your trying to help but saying you can't keep certain dogs cause you don't live in a house and is a flat is wrong I know friends that live in flats and have huskys and German shepards all this talk of a dog not being suited its like going to a rehoming center and they saying the same thing
We are active and go for walks long walks at that

[Livelovelife35]

@frostedviolets I think all dog breeds are misunderstood.
Our family home is quite calm and there's no young children running about my our oldests are 21 and 16 (21 is his son from a previous relationship and mines the 16 year old)
We are active and love walking even if its raining
We know lots of dog owners that have larger dogs than collies in flats
We will get through this one step at a time so far hes been ok today gave me the sad face when I took him out back when it was raining as if to say mum really?! Its wet lol

[CollieDug]

Agree @frostedviolets! Thank you for defending border collies - they are brilliant dogs!

Our BC doesn’t nip, he will take as much exercise as you give him but will also be placid Indoors. We were advised (by v experienced breeder) to socialise ASAP (I know lockdown doesn’t help with this), NOT to get into a routine with exercise otherwise they except it every day at same times. It is fine. It to walk one day a week (for same reason as routine).

Our boy could not be more loving and soppy. He is an absolutely perfect family pet.

[Covidiot]

It is fine not to walk them one day a week (not to only walk them one day a week!)

[NoBunnyHere]

It's not about the size of the space a dog lives in - many working dogs 'live' in runs. It's about how much time and effort the owner puts into keeping the dog happy and fulfilled.

A dog in a flat may well get a better life because their owner works harder at this than a dog in a house whose owner assumes the house space is enough and so puts less time in.

Same with gardens. I sometimes think a smaller garden is better for an active dog because their owner won't assume the garden is an exercise substitute and instead make even more effort to exercise outside.

There are logistical challenges to some flats - eg toilet training on the 3rd floor is harder then on the ground. But if the owner understand, accepts and has plans to work around them then all good.

[NoBunnyHere]

Ps OP it DOES get easier as they mature. It takes time but you will get to the adult dog who is much easier to live with.

[Livelovelife35]

We are unfortunately on the the 2nd floor which is for us the top as there is no other floors just ground 1st and 2nd but we don't mind taking him down every few hours to toilet etc
We have plenty of time my partner was laid off and I can and probably will be a while work from home
It will be hard for the pup too I guess still getting used to new surroundings and faces etc but we do try and keep to a schedule with feeding naps bedtime and toilet breaks

[Reedwarbler]

You are very lucky if he goes a few hours between needing to pee and poo. My puppy was like a leaky tap and went out every 20 minutes to half an hour. Don't be tempted to use pads as you will just be encouraging him to go to the loo indoors.

[Roselilly36]

I don’t envy you OP, toilet training can be tough.

[Livelovelife35]

Tough its like letting a child run about without a nappy lol
Lucky we have had accidents but you can't tell where theve been now
Does puppy poo eventually firm up and when does that happen? The now its soft and you can pick it up but not a puddle

[frostedviolets]

I think you’d do better taking him out every 40 minutes or so for toilets.

And I’d take him to a vet if his poo doesn’t firm up

[Livelovelife35]

Just had the case of the zommies there now hes crashed out lol mental

We are wondering of the de worming tabs yesterday may caused a upset tummy or it could be the frozen carrot but will see how he goes durning the night
He's eating ok and drinking and has the vets next week also