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Original poster

What did your dog do as a puppy that drove you mad but they grew out of?

27 replies

Spotty528 · 22/12/2019 10:11

We have a 15 week old terrier cross and I could really do with hearing some positive stories of all the bad behaviours that your puppies grew out of please!!! A light at the end of the puppy tunnel.

Here’s the terror:

What did your dog do as a puppy that drove you mad but they grew out of?
OP posts:
Giggorata · 22/12/2019 10:36

Biting, chewing, running round like a maniac ALL the time. She was the worst puppy in the world.. but also the cutest. (See pic)
She has grown into a lovely, mostly calm but quite quirky dog, who smiles and sings and fetches any shoes she can find.

What did your dog do as a puppy that drove you mad but they grew out of?
flippyflapper · 22/12/2019 10:38

I also have a 15 week old puppy.

Right now its the toilet trainning, we take her out and say go wee wee she is brilliant goes right away, no problems there. BUT she will not go out her self or let us no. Last night i put her outside and waited at door and she went but still i can leave the door open all day and she will not take her self out.

Any advice on that would be great.

flippyflapper · 22/12/2019 10:39

Forgot pic

What did your dog do as a puppy that drove you mad but they grew out of?

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Dogs
ParanoidGynodroid · 22/12/2019 10:53

My lovely dog (golden retriever) was very difficult to toilet train. We had wee and poo in the house every day for months. I was at my wits end and regretted getting him! He was also the mouthiest dog ever, chewing everything.
Well, he got the toileting right and turned into the most lovely dog: calm, loving, obedient and only chewing things he’s allowed to.

Hang in there... your lovely pup will improve!

DoesntLeftoverTurkeySoupDragOn · 22/12/2019 10:56

Mine hasn't grown out of anything. He's 10 🤦🏻‍♀️ Sorry!

Well, he doesn't use the house as a toilet, obviously. He grew out of that!

ScreamingValalalalahLalalalah · 22/12/2019 11:03

Chewing anything and everything (my pink 2006-style clamshell mobile phone had teeth marks in it - thank goodness mobile phones in those days were more robust than now). Needing to be let out at 2am. Then again at 6am. Barking just for the fun of it at random times.

He's 13 now and spends most of the day asleep (typical lifespan for his breed is 8 - 12 so he is geriatric in doggy terms).

Hang on in there, it will get better.

NormaLouiseBates · 22/12/2019 11:09

The biting. OMG, the biting. Those little razor sharp puppy teeth. We called him The Spotty Crocodile for several weeks. He grew out of it... they all do eventually as long as you're consistent. What worked for us was always having something else to hand to shove into his mouth when he got bitey, like a toy or ball or similar. This was him at 8 weeks. He's 8 years old now... make the most of the early days; as maddening as they are they don't last long and before you know it they're all grown up!

What did your dog do as a puppy that drove you mad but they grew out of?
Countrysidelife · 22/12/2019 11:12

My cocker nicks used to nick the post, oh that's right she does it 4 years later! Luckily the only thing that comes now is junk mail so I don't really care, she has an hour of fun ripping it all to shreds

katielilly · 22/12/2019 11:36

@flippyflapper
Your pup is gorgeous and I like her outfit!
What breed is she?

longtompot · 22/12/2019 11:52

Biting toes and stealing the socks off your feet! I'm glad the biting has stopped, I do not miss those little sharp teeth.

IckleBear · 22/12/2019 11:57

Biting your ankles on a walk.. it was constant.

KurriKurri · 22/12/2019 13:30

The biting with the sharp little teeth
the weeing and pooing inside
the massive over excitement at everything
the crying when left alone at night/ or if I went out.

He's two and a half now and has grown out of all of them, although he's still very excited to meet people, but he's learned not to jump all over them. He's very good if I go out - just curls up in his bed, not quite cracked the leaving lone at night - he sleeps with me - but I think he'd probably be fine on his own - we've just got used to him coming upstairs when I go to bed. He's utterly adorable and I love him to bits - the puppy stuff is just a distant memory now (so much so that I'm thinking of getting him a little brother or sister !)

Original poster
Spotty528 · 22/12/2019 14:45

Thanks so much for the reassuring replies!

It’s the constant biting that’s getting me down, he’s lovely when he’s calmly sitting on your lap with something to chew but when it’s play time, Christ, we just get mauled. We’re distracting him with toys and disengaging if he gets too much but I really hate it. Thank goodness our kids are old enough to understand to do the same. He also pulls like a steam train on the lead so we've got lots of work to do with that oh yeh and the barking at cars, leaves, the wind etc

Stuff he’s doing pretty ok with is toilet training, settling at night, recall off the lead and if we time it so he’s tired we can leave him for a couple of hours.

OP posts:
ScreamingValalalalahLalalalah · 22/12/2019 14:49

It sounds as though, overall, he's doing really well. The chewing phase really doesn't last that long in the scheme of a dog's life, so keep heart.

ISmellBabies · 22/12/2019 14:52

Sweet! Nipping, chewing furniture or shoes or toys or door frames or anyfuckingthing, pissing and shitting on the floor.

JulietTango · 22/12/2019 15:05

I hate puppies but love dogs. Puppies are a necessary evil.

What did your dog do as a puppy that drove you mad but they grew out of?
bornonasunday · 22/12/2019 15:08

Licking inside your slippers if you left them anywhere - horrible sensation when you put them back on... stealing and chewing socks.... the needle sharp puppy teeth that nipped as you walked past her... smuggling sticks, stones, branches etc in from the garden and all’s we found was a soggy pile of chewed wood after.
She’s 5 next summer... still a bit puppy-ish but I love her beyond all common sense - and she knows it!!

Original poster
Spotty528 · 22/12/2019 15:15

Oh and the mud!! Not pups fault at all but who knew there was so much mud out there (or in my kitchen!) and being trapped in the kitchen/diner. We’re not letting him have access to the rest of the house for a good while longer yet (carpet and cats!). This Christmas is going to be....different!

OP posts:
LaurieFairyCake · 22/12/2019 15:19

Ankle biting and chasing ankles while you walk around - those sharp teeth! Also INCREDIBLY loud bark

I remember at one point when she was about 20 weeks old her biting at DH's slipper and him standing there (almost tearful) saying he couldn't put up one more minute of this - because I always told him to stand still when she did it and turn round and ignore her

Almost the very next day she stopped and never did it again !

She is THE quietest most peaceful dog (never barks) - just the zoomies in the park and she will nudge your ankle if she wants you to move towards the kitchen in the morning

tinseltitsandlittlegits · 22/12/2019 15:20

Mine is 18 months old and he's still a dickhead!
He has to be crated at night or when we leave him as he chews everything! He steels clothes at every opportunity and we've spent hundreds of pounds replacing clothes shoes bags toys!
He also hates cats with a passion and although he walks lovely on the lead any other time if he spots a cat he turns into a bloody nightmare pulling barking and prancing like a grizzly bear!
It's a good job we love him because he's hard work.

KurriKurri · 22/12/2019 17:47

the biting stops when the lose their puppy teeth - can;tq uite remember when that happens but it should happen before long (and you will find little needle like teeth on the carpet !)
I bought mine a teething toy that you fill with water and then freeze and they can chew on it and get a bit of relief from teething - he really loved it. I also put some teething gel on his gums because I think a lot of the biting was him just trying to counteract the soreness of his wobbly teeth.

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 22/12/2019 18:05

Sorry but I only opened this thread to see all the cute puppies. Xmas Grin

flippyflapper · 22/12/2019 19:13

katielilly she is a shipoo, shitzu cross poodle.

passthebucky · 22/12/2019 19:21

Mines just over one and hasn't grown out of anything. She still doesn't let me know she wants to go outside so will do it indoors. She still chews everything. Last week she ate one of DD's new shoes, the weird to my hoover and and extension lead cable. I give up she's untrainable.

aurynne · 22/12/2019 19:55

i have a 4 month old puppy... who i am trying to train out of eating her own poo.

Apart from that, she is adorable... but oh the poopy breath! AngryAngry Angry Angry