Help, I can't go on.

[Sadnlow]

NC for this.

Puppy is 20 weeks & over the last 3-4 weeks I've started to hate her. She's a massive bundle of mad puppy energy in a big dogs body. I'm her main carer, I come home at lunch & spend all my days off/free time cleaning up after her. I dread getting up in the mornings now as I just can't face the day ahead. Already today she's scratched me to pieces & biten my arm. She's currently exiled to the garden, but keeps scratching the door to be let in. DH has started sharing the lunchtime duty with me but it's hard as he's often away. He sorts her & does all of the cleaning etc when he gets in from work.

Her good points are:
She's good off the lead & she's housetrained.
She's well socialised & loves other dogs.
She likes her crate & has successfully completed puppy classes.

Her bad points are:
She bites & scratches me a lot.
She is destructive & chews a lot.
She can't settle inside the house apart from at night if the fire is on.
She jumps up a lot, putting her paws on the kitchen work surfaces, table etc.
She won't let me dry or clean her without it being a massive wrestling game.

I am literally at my wits end. What can I do? I can't crate her/put her in the garden everyday. We used to walk her together, but I've stopped going as I need to be away from her. I've told DH 3 times I want to rehome her. My last dog who I had from 8 weeks until he died aged 10 was nothing like this.

Advice?

[Peaceandloveeveryone]

The Weimaraner is one of the sub-group known as the Hunt Point & Retrieve breeds, within the Gundog group. He is an all purpose gundog but his character and temperament is quite dissimilar to that of other gundogs.

He was originally bred to be the tool for the foresters who worked him. He had to be capable of tracking and holding at bay such game as boar and deer. He had to have the ability to find, flush and retrieve fur & feathered game for the pot. He had to catch and kill predators that deprived his master of sport and also defend him and his property. He was intended to be a powerful hunting dog with a strong protective instinct.

What he is not
He is not the wisest choice for a completely novice dog owner. Of course there are the exceptions. People do buy him as a first dog and succeed admirably in his care and training. These are the people who have energy to match the Weimaraner’s own, who are possessed of patience, perseverance, and a certain amount of gritty determination. He must know from an early age exactly what position he holds in the family pecking order and if you are wise that will be at the bottom of the heap.

He does not take kindly to being left alone all day and every day and can show his disapproval by being noisy (very), destructive, or both. He needs free running exercise as well as disciplined walking and also to have his mind occupied. With correct training the Weimaraner will make a good family dog but he will never make an easy pet

From the club breed website ^

[TrionicLettuce]

Presuming she's not from a puppy farm/BYB have you spoken to the breeder about how much you're struggling?

Every decent breeder I know would absolutely want to know if things weren't going well with one of their pups so they could offer assistance, whether that's offering advice, recommending a trainer/behaviourist or taking the pup back if a new owner really can't cope.

If you do decide you want to rehome and the breeder isn't interested then the breed club run their own breed specific rescue.

It sounds like your puppy is pretty typical of the breed. I don't know if you've already seen it during your research but the breed rescue page has a link to this article about living with a weim.

If you want to persevere with her then I'd focus on making sure she's not left alone as much and increase the amount of mental stimulation she's getting. Training classes would be a great idea, as would something like puppy agility where they start learning the foundation skills necessary to start proper agility when they're old enough. Have a look at YouTube videos for ideas of new things you could teach her, Kikopup is excellent for this. Do you do clicker training? If so then I've always found "101 things to do with a box" excellent for wearing a dog out mentally, plus it's hugely fun for both dog and owner.

[Wolfiefan]

Do you have anyone who could pop in?
Could you try puppy day care?
Friend with a dog to play with?
Training classes again?
Is the dog too young to try a bit of agility?
Vary walks? Try different places?

[snowymountaintops]

Agree that your friend leaving their puppy for much longer is cruel, I can't bear the idea of a dog stuck inside a tiny space when it's desperate to move around and then being in the flippin thing all night too

[snowymountaintops]

OP I do feel for you and think it will get better eventually if you can stick with it.

I do think though that she's probably in the crate for too long during the day. I have used a crate for house training before and then got rid of it and yes it can be very useful but not for many hours in a day, where does all that pent up energy go?

Agree you can't walk her too much at such a young age, but yes playing with other pups/dogs would be a great way to tire her out.

I have a similar breed energy wise and they do calm down when they get a bit older if you can make it through the first couple of years!

[Peaceandloveeveryone]

I am judging your friends sad for leaving a puppy alone for a long time every day. That's just cruel.

[Roseberrry]

I feel for you op. I thought my puppy was hard work but yours sounds really intelligent, eg very hard work.

If you really want to rehome then that is your choice to make, I would just say please do so responsibly.
It does sound as if you could make a great team if you could get your head in the right place though and persevere with training and puppy years.

Have a good think about what you truly want this weekend because if you are going to rehome it needs to be done sooner rather than later.

[Sadnlow]

To answer a few questions. She has 2 walks a day. First one for 15 minutes off lead & second 30 minutes off lead. Wolfie is right we can't over walk her due to causing joint issues later in life.

Secondly, no my last breed was a sharpei. He was very active when young, but trained very quickly & was only crate trained for a short time. I left him alone much the same & have friends who leave their puppy every day for much longer.

I did research this breed & actually wanted a more energetic breed. However, I didn't think it'd be this hard. I hold my hands up & say I didn't realise how much mental stimulation she'd need. I do have puzzles & antlers & I freeze kongs.

I guess she is alone too much & I will address this.

[pigsDOfly]

At 20 weeks she shouldn't be left alone for such long periods. I'm not surprised she's hard to deal with. She's bored and lonely and is therefore becoming difficult and destructive. It will only get worse.

Doesn't sound like this dog is for you. Dogs don't train themselves and you clearly don't have the time needed to ensure successful training. Added to that the situation is making you unhappy.

Sounds like the best thing all round would be to rehome her.

[Wolfiefan]

Harry I'm talking snoring most of the day. Even at her most bloody annoying she was a soppy cuddle monster who made us laugh though!

[Bubble2bubble]

It doesn't sound like she is coping very well being in her own ( hence the 'desperate for attention' behaviour when you are there. Would doggy day care be an option?

[harryhausen]

Wolfiefan, that's good to know! I do secretly love him being a bit bonkers though, however that may he because he's currently snoozing next to me after hours in the woods and a pond this morning!

[MimsyBorogroves]

Frozen kongs, antlers, stag bars, raw bones. Redirect the chewing. Possibly still teething.

[Wolfiefan]

Harry my mum has a border terrier. Total nutter as a puppy. Full on. Exhausting.
The dog is now older. And a bit of a couch potato!

[harryhausen]

Fog not dog sorry.

[harryhausen]

Oh OP. I can feel your unhappiness.

I'm no expert as I'm a first time dog owner with a 10 month old Border Terrier. However, I go out everyday with him at least an hour and half every morning mainly off-lead, different terrain, lots of playing and running with other dogs. I'm lucky as I work from home. However, he still will destroy things he can get hold of - shoes, knitting, cardboard, plastic. I'm utterly knackered and it's affecting my work because I'm giving him so much time, however I tell myself that he's just a pup! He's like a ball of energy. We researched well and went to a breed club. I really really wanted a BT. I yes I'm tired, but I'm enjoying it!

You sound like your so miserable and I honestly think your dog isn't getting enough exercise or mental stimulation.

Look into puzzle balls and kongs. We just started dying these and they're great - however I would really recommend you finding a dog boarder/walker that can help you at least a few days a week. I met a lady on a walk who has a regular little group if dogs. My BT went to her recently for an overnight stay and he had an amazing time. A long walk but mainly the mental energy of bring with a group of dogs. He slept loads!

Please don't give up yet. Your dog needs you. It can be hard to see through the dog sometimes though.

[DianaTrent]

A good dog is a tired, stimulated dog. You're describing one walk a day? That's not a lot for such an active breed. I'd recommend lots of puzzle type toys and some dog friends for her. Look on Facebook for local dog groups. She'll be much more tired after playing with another dog for an hour than a couple of hours walking. Invite someone over for coffee with their dog for an hour on your day off and I guarantee she'll give you a decent amount of peace afterwards. When she's old enough to exercise her harder a bit of canicross and serious ball chasing would help a lot. It's about the hardest age, though, don't forget - they're full of beans but too young to run their wee legs off. It will get better.

[LeaLeander]

She's just a baby. Your expectations are too high. All the downsides you mentioned will go away in time.

She needs more loving attention and play, not harsh discipline or boot camp with strangers.

[LyndaNotLinda]

Ha - x-posted! :o

Like insanity, I don't leave my puppy for long at all. I can count on one hand the number of times he's been left alone for more than 2 hours and he's 9 months.

OP - I don't think this is the right dog for you. She's too big and needs more time and attention than you are able to give her

[LyndaNotLinda]

You can't have a puppy and leave them alone all day long, in a crate or not. I think you can do what you're doing with an older dog but not a puppy.

Incidentally, not all people who use crates keep their dogs in them all day and all night. I don't put my puppy in his crate - he goes in there of his own volition.

[Floralnomad]

No doubt the pro crate brigade will be along in a minute to tell me how I'm wrong - that's what usually happens .

[insan1tyscartching]

Would agree with Floral tbh, Eric has never been crated he would have been loopy if he had been confined for any sort of length of time. He did get a time out in the kitchen for five minutes when he nipped dd (because yelping made him worse) and he hated it,he wanted and needed attention (and still does to some extent) in order to feel happy and settled. If we leave him now he has the run of the downstairs and is relaxed and happy when we are not there (for three to four hours) but it's not something I do regularly tbh.

[Floralnomad]

So 3-4 days a week she is crated for 6 hours during the day and presumably 8 hours overnight so 14 out of 24 , I'm sorry but that is too long and that's the problem with crates , I don't care if she is sleeping all that time it's simply not right that a dog is caged for the majority of a day . Why did you choose such a large ,lively breed ?

[miserablemoo]

You have a very intelligent breed. She needs more mental stimulation. She hasn't hit her teenage phase yet either. You either need to commit to more training now (and it will pay off when she is older) or re home to someone that understands the breed.

Good luck.

[ceres]

I think you should remove her for her sake. She is only 20 weeks old and is being left alone much, much too often. On your days off she isn't getting enough stimulation by the sounds of it either.

Weimarener's are an energetic breed originally bred for hunting. They need a significant amount of exercise and to be honest it sounds as if you didn't research the breed when choosing a dog.