When does it get better? help please.

[miserablemoo]

Hello
I have had a couple of bad days with our puppy. He seemed to be improving and settling down but yesterday and today have been a nightmare and I have been in tears tonight and wondering what the hell have I done.

For those of you who have been there and done that could you please tell me when it got better. Feel so guilty. Feels like I must be doing everything wrong for him to be getting worse, not better.

Anyone else out there with a puppy and struggling feel free to join in!

Thank you.

I need to share this about the crate - if you think it's mean it isn't. If I'm out for 3 hours plus I don't feel comfy leaving wotsit pup in the crate so I shut him in the kitchen. When u get back he is overjoyed to see me and quite manic. If it's up to 3 hours I will crate him after I've taken him for a wee. I return often to a fast asleep puppy who wakes slowly and is really chilled and relaxed. It goes right against my instinct but he's happier in it.

Also I'm noticing he really needs his lengthy naps. We were home with him all day yesterday and had a beach walk which he loved but he never settled. Today took kids to an event for 3 hours - he slept in his crate - much calmer this afternoon and not manic at all. Guess they need their sleep!

You are not alone!!!

I have a ten month old cocker spaniel and it has been such hard work, but incredibly rewarding, all in equal measures.

Its hard to describe just how much I love him and how I miss him if he is not under my feet! But, the first few weeks were hell, but he improved slowly and steadily, and looking back all the hiccups / issues were actually my fault!

I am a supporter of crates, and would recommend them for all puppies, LizzardDog loves his, both at home and in the car - he feels safe, comfy and secure.

Looking back, the best two pieces of advice I received were - Socialisation and Training Classes. I met with my trainer when he was 8 weeks old and she gave me a check list, a sort of doggy challenge to introduce him to as many different situations, dogs, people, environments as possible - and I now have a very chilled dog who is phased by (practically) nothing.

We still do our weekly puppy classes, and I intend to continue well into his adulthood. A good trainer will ensure the classes train the humans as much as, if not more than the dogs! I have learnt so much about doggy behaviour, and how they learn. I genuinely believe this has allowed me to make a happy home environment for my pup and to set his boundaries in a firm yet fair way.

It does get better, and before long those nightmare first few weeks will vanish as a distant memory and you will love your pup more than you can ever imagine. Mine certainly isn't perfect, we still find chewed shoes and clothes, he will still steal food given the chance, he will still run and hide in the undergrowth if the mood takes him!!

They are like toddlers in that manner, they need their naps or they get over tired and start being hyper and doing all manner of silly and highly annoying behaviours! Put them in their beds for naps and they will wake calmer and better able to be calm and more trainable

When I've little puppies on foster, I still need to walk the bigger dogs, so I pop the pup in a sling for some of the walk, they still get socialisation benefits but aren't over exercised. I also have a dog buggy from my elderly girl, so can take that too

am just reading this thread and quaking in my boots - we are about to get a puppy! is it really going to be terrible?

All I can say is that the hard work is worth it. We are the proud owners of a lovely 10 month old, calm pup. Gorgeous and affectionate all of the time.

Well, on the bright side, at least you have been warned!

Today wotsitpup spent the whole day with my god daughter (15) who is in love with him and helpfully available whilst it's school holidays. He has been socialising all day with lots of people, children and other dog and coo'd and fussed over. He was quite tired when I fetched him and took him to our second puppy training class. My god what an improvement from last week! He was focussed and on it all the way through and let dd1 do the commands with him as well as me. I am so super proud of him and feeling very positive - though I know he will eat a plant tomorrow just wanted to share

Morning all! Plumpup not doing too bad here although not really eating much - how much do all yours eat? Had her jabs tues and vet has her booked in in another 4 weeks for her 2nd set and then a week after that she can go out - seems like ages!!!!!

Can I join in. Standard poodle pup - 16 weeks on Monday and mad as a box of frogs. He's mostly house trained (a couple of wees on kitchen floor every now and again) and sleeps fine downstairs over night (in an open crate). We can even turn the lights off now without him howling (only took two weeks).
Today he has dug up another section of garden and then walked back through the house leaving huge muddy footprints. My lovely sweet kittens (1 year old) delighted him this morning by catching and killing a large wood pigeon and then playing with in his sight but out of his reach (we've sectioned off the garden to save some of it from his digging) and so he spent most of the morning barking at them if outside and the kids if inside.
Due to take him out shortly. He walks fine for the first part of the walk and then goes mad. Bouncing at me. barking and nipping. He doesn't really look like a puppy so most people seem to think I'm walking a really badly behaved dog. If he spots anyone out on his walk he is desperate to get to them - and most people do not appreciate being bounded on by a large muddy nippy puppy. When I let him off the lead he runs off at first (not too far) but then turns and runs straight at me and either runs straight into me or leaps up. He then continues to bounce next to me biting at my hand.
At puppy class he's an angel. At the groomers they thought he was adorable. When he's calm and clean he is lovely, and I wouldn't swap him for the world.. But he is such hard work at the moment.
It will get better - I hope!!

Hi negrill the fact that you woukdnt swap him fills we with some hope!
Peanuts - whAt is tge secret of your success?
Im struggling with the crate. Pup seems to sleep ok in there at night - she is shut in though and there is always poo on her blankets or bed in the morninh where she has walked/ sat in it. I wonder if i should leave the door open so she can go to the back door to poo on a mat which she does during the day? I cant keep washing her bed everyday it wont dry.

Hi all, so good to read some of these comments! We have a 10 week old springer pup who is just gorgeous although she absolutely hates her crate and will not spend any time in it of her own volition. We also wake up to poo smeared all round her crate (and her) and sometimes I even get to clean up the poo at the 3am toilet break (lucky me). She is absolutely nowhere near house trained either. I did nearly break down last week and really felt like I couldn't enjoy her as I was so miserable but somehow I feel better today. Am sure that won't last for long though....

Anyone got any tips/ideas for how to get her to stop pooing at night? I don't feed her after 4pm and she still manages to save something for night time...

Oh I'm so glad everyone else feels like I did. After a couple of days I had to be put to bed crying that we had made a mistake. Was so tired and stressed out. We have a 2 and a half year old Irish Water Spaniel and she was very hard work as a puppy. Still is to be honest but wouldn't be without her. Crate training is a must. We have a pen round it to give her more room. Give them meals in it then they are less likely to go to the toilet in it. She actually was a bit of a godsend as I was diagnosed with breast cancer 2 months after getting her and it really gave me something else to think about and got me up and about during treatment and after operations. Stick in there it really does get easier.

I'm still struggling with our nipping, biting Labrador pup. After a few days of feeling he was improving, today he has been horrible. He ripped my trousers again and tore a hole in my DH jeans, he's been on and off the sofa all day (where he's not allowed), and he's growled and bitten us when we've removed him. He's started barking whenever we try to put his lead on and throwing himself about so we can't clip it on him.

DH has been totally wound up by it all so I took Dpup out in the car to the park but even there he was throwing himself about and then standing still and refusing to move.

Now he's had his dinner and is lying in his crate with a frozen kong - hope he's better tomorrow, I'm not sure we can cope with many days like this.

I am an idiot. I left wotsitpup in the kitchen and not in the crate locked in for all of an hour before exh went to fetch him and he tore his bed to pieces. I am not learning am I?! I felt bad because I wasn't sure how long he would be there but he wouldn't have been totally calm in the crate. It was a six quid crate cushion but still!!

He was good as gold at exh house. Meh. Also whilst mouthing my arm last night he ripped a hole in the arm of my one court worthy blazer. Feck.

Re the manic lab puppy couple of posts down are you training to sit? Ours was v irritating trying to get the lead on him until we could get him to sit down and behave himself!

What a pain wotsits , I've got so many clothes with holes or rips that I must look like a tramp when I go out .
What's really annoying is that Dpup is really good at all the training, can sit, down, stand, show tummy - also learning 'leave it' (Kikopup on YouTube); and has done really well at his Puppy classes. But trying to apply it when you want him to do anything- hopeless.
I'm feeling frustrated and useless at the moment.

Ah thanks it's alright. The jacket was a low point but in general he has improved massively

We've had ours 48 hours and she has turned from a quiet little angel into a whirling dervish. Our other dog was so cuddly and just wanted to sleep on us when she was a puppy - this one doesn't want cuddles at all, so it's all go until she collapses.

She seems to recognise her name, and toilet training is going well (nothing in the house so far, touch wood) but I can't see how I'll ever be able to do anything ever again .

Hi

How is everyone and puppies getting on? Having another few bad days here. He is being so hard work. I thought it should get better over time but he really isn't. Walks are a nightmare as he picks up everything and lunges at everything. He stops and refuses to move everytime he sees another person or dog. In the garden he eats stones, bark, grass. He runs off like it's a game when you try to get the stuff out of his mouth. He refuses to come in the house. No treats work. He's jumping up all the time. Still biting and nipping and chewing. There is no enjoyment at all the moment. Only thing he does well is sleep in his crate at night. Is this normal at his age? He is 15 nearly 16 weeks old. I am so not looking forward to going away with him next week. I'm so stressed out!

Hi mis, ups and downs really with wotsitpup. I am still an idiot - left in crate he sleeps like a baby - left in kitchen he destroys anything soft. I had to buy him a reinforced crate cushion! He likes it though

We are back to our craven later on. My routine will be this; let out in the morning for a bounce around on the grass with me, 2 hour sleep in crate when I take the dc to the site activities about 11-1, lunch and short walk then he comes to the beach in the afternoon with us. I might try an evening walk letting him off the lead before evening activities where he will be in the crate about 2 hours then it's last wee and bedtime for him. I dreaded taking him the first time but planning the routine ahead works for me plus I know I get a break from him twice a day!

Miserable is your pup getting enough nap time it sounds manic? Are you taking the crate?

Hi all, oh mis your post is filling me with dread!
We have put a pen area outside plumpup crate so he has a bit more space. Seems ok at night - well dont hear her anyway. Shes 10 weeks atm, so are just trying to focus on toileting and name recognition. She still sleeps ever so much. I am strugfling with her bed. If its in her crate she poos at night and then normally walks or sits in it and some goes on her bed, so ive taken it out and replaced with a blanket. But then i feel mean as she doesnt have somewhere cosy - she never goes in her crate to sleep - always wants to be close to us. Any ideas?

tried to put together a few helpful tips for you:
at 14 weeks 15 mins walking is all that he needs
Try restricting your walks to a place you can go where you get the least distractions/temptations/naughtiness
Try to tackle and master any/all training at home before trying it out in the middle of a busy world! (which includes lead training/recall, etc - get it all nailed indoors first... then garden.. then outside)
don't get up to your pup in the night, put them to bed (having lfited water some hours before) and leave paper for wees/poos by an outside door and leave cardboard boxes for chewing etc also
You are doing the rights things by immediatley taking him out as soon as he wakes/eats/or has been playing for more than 20 mins indoors.
I never used a crate, but i use teatree oil liberally on anything i don't want chewing!
Don't leave him indoors alone until he's older, but do get him used to sleeping during the day on his own away from distractions.
have you tried the rolling ball that you can put bits of cheese/treats into to keep him occupied and busy with his mouth?
whenever he 'uses' his teeth on you/anyone have lots of toys handy to grab and replace your hand with toy. He will get used to whats his and what isn't

Please try to remember that a dog does try so very hard to please you and if they know how you want them to behave they will try to do that, because its in their nature to follow the pack leader, don't fall into the trap of thinking the poor puppy is too young. They learn most of these things very early on and it will set them up for life.

So jealous of you having a pup I miss mine and loved those days, but believe it or not, they are gone so soon and all those gorgeous puppy antics disappear into a more sedate version of themselves.

.. and the night-time pooing /weeing, tummy upsets, are all too common with young ones, they just can't hold themselves long enough and pups all produce a vast array of consistency and colour of poos depending on what things they've tried out for themselves that day as well as the things you carefully try to restrict them to!

Good luck x

Dear Plum
its very unusual for a pup to poop anywhere near where she sleeps unless she's been raised in the litter this way which is very unhygenic obvs! her bed should be very small and the rest covered in paper, then reduce the size of paper coverage and move it closer to the door of the crate.

If you want to insist on a crate for her, then put her in it during the day aswell. Little pups do walk in their poo and don't care so much but she won't always maybe tie things around her bed end of the crate to keep her up that end away from the poo. tie cuddly toy to crate etc.

Put the blanket over the bed so that you have a cover that you can easily wash that protects the bed.

Please don't take your pups water away from them 'some hours before bed' . 24 hour access to water is a basic need, and few dogs drink more than they need.

oh dear Eliptic lab pups renowned for being extremely bitey and nipping.. they are absolute terrors for it, but then when grown have the softest gentlest mouths to carry an egg without breaking it.

Don't ever leave them alone with any DC they will rip and tear at anything. loads and loads of things to chew on needed (safe things/their things) and always carrying something to put in their mouths, don't be tempted to do tug with a lab it will toughen their mouth up.

Even till they are 'teens' they will snap at clothes and feet and ankles, and faces. Even very early on be very clear and stern voice.

not the cute and cuddly andrex would have you believe are they, especially the working lines.