Hello, can I jump in? Sorry for the long post but I need to vent. Some advice would be good too!
We have a 3 month old Cockapoo called Bertie, he's a very cute pup but the last week has seen a deterioration in his behaviour. There are a number of possible factors. I don't think he's getting enough sleep; he started walking on Friday, the same day the bad behaviour ramped up; he seems to be biting more and I'm wondering if he's teething?
At night he's a complete superstar – he goes into his crate without a single complaint and sleeps from 10pm to 7am when our alarm goes off and he's allowed out. During the day, it's another matter. He is extremely clingy and follows me everywhere. I give him two sessions in the crate during the day – a morning session lasting an hour and a half and a shorter afternoon session lasting maybe 30 minutes. He goes in happily (because of the kong) but once that's finished (within minutes) he'll cry for a good 10 minutes before going quiet for half an hour and then will cry again non-stop until we let him out. When he's not in the crate, he's glued to my side and will only rest if I stay still (he's at my feet as I write). So all in all, I reckon a generous estimate would be 11–12 hours sleep a day. I read somewhere that puppies should be getting 18–20 hours – clearly Bertie didn't get that memo.
I'm sure the lack of sleep is making him cranky. He scratches, digs, bites and charges around like a lunatic and it's like a red rag to a bull whenever we open up the door to let him into the front room. I've tried playing with him to tire him out but it only makes him more insane.
Obedience training (working on 'sit' and 'down' – ''come is effin pointless cause he's never far enough away) can settle him sometimes but not always. I do my best with positive re-inforcement and will praise him if I see him being a good pup. I also try not to tell him off, distract him with other toys and don't interact with him when he's biting me (easier said than done).
He was properly house trained after maybe three weeks but lately has been getting lazy and/stressed and frequently wees on the floor without asking to go out. Talking of which, I'm up and down like a bloody yo-yo because the majority of the time he just wants to go out to dig up a stone to chew on and then wants to come straight back in to bite my ankles.
I wonder if he's bored and needs more stimulation but there is a limit to how much time I can dedicate.
The walking is slightly baffling. He loves it when I get the lead out but as soon as I open the door, he just roots to the spot – it can't be the weather because he's out in it all the time. We shuffle along at a snail's pace and then an invisible line will be crossed and he'll belt off all of a sudden before grinding to a halt again almost as quickly. I know spaniels are tricky to lead train so I'm being patient/gritting my teeth on that front.
Wondering if I should invest in a playpen or get a clicker and try training him with that. Or maybe stick him in the crate for a good two-three hours and let him cry? It's interesting that the overnight crating quickly became a positive thing after maybe two nights of just leaving him to cry. Why is it so much harder during the day?