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The doghouse
missbattenburg ·
15/03/2018 17:14
Oh Digby that does sound tough for you.
At his age I would focus on having fun together. A good bond is priceless for training so just focus on getting that in place.
Only ever use his name for nice things - like calling him for treats. Don't use it to tell him off. Don't use it to call him over for something he won't like (use literally any other words for that or just go and get him). What you are trying to do is make a really strong link in his mind between hearing his name and something lovely happening. That way, in the future, he won't be able to resist coming over to see what lovely thing is going to happen this time. At his age it won't take very long at all before he makes that link. All you need to do is keep using his name for nice things until he is much, much older.
The biting DOES get better, I promise 
. If he bites you then he gets no attention at all. If he cannot leave you alone, despite ignoring him (some dogs seem to take it as a challenge) then pick him up and put him somewhere away from you for a minute or so. Baby gates are really useful for this because he can go the other side of the gate.
Walking on the leash takes dogs some time to get used to. In some ways you might find it easier to get rid of the leash altogether. If you have a large field or open space near you then fill your pocket full of treats, head to the middle of the field and be brave. Unclip the lead. The run off. At his age he will not let you leave him and will follow you. Just keep giving him a treat when he catches up. Make it fun and you will be instilling really good foundations for when he is older. Don't feel you have to walk him very far on the lead. At his age it is all about the experience of being outdoors.
Daily schedules are important. Pick a routine and stick to it. The puppy will fall in line. My day is not exactly the same every day but there are key points the dog can rely on knowing what to do:
- no one gets up until the alarm goes off, regardless of how awake he feels
- a walk first thing
- left alone in the kitchen to eat his breakfast
- if I am at my desk then I am not doing anything exciting so he settles down
- a walk mid afternoon
- nothing exciting happens in the evening so he has learned to play quietly
We train and play and go out in between, as I fancy, but these facts remain true for him.
All that said, the one thing that stood out for me most clearly when he was younger is that I spent too much time worrying "is this behaviour permanent?". It's easy to think the biting or the rock chewing or the lead walking will never get better. It will. It will all get better. I promise you that. Be patient and consistent. Every time you take a rock off him it will look like he is not learning anything but he is. Suddenly, one day you'll realise it's been a few days since he last ate a rock. Then, before you know it, it's just one of those things he did when he was young but grew out of.
I am not sure what other support you have but if you can find someone to puppy sit for a few hours that will also help you feel sane and help the puppy get used to being without you.
It gets better xx
BiteyShark ·
16/03/2018 07:13
DigbyCavapoo I hated the puppy months. It was hard, overwhelming and yes I had the constant regrets at turning our life upside down. I got through it by remembering that they grow up quickly. Every week that goes by they will change. I honestly didn't love my dog until he started to show his adult personality and I am completely smitten with him now (I am a dog bore at work as I talk about him all the time).
I remember the eating of stones (we have decorative stones in our garden so that was fun). Most of the time they are doing it for attention so I eventually stopped worrying and ignored it and it calmed down. He will still do it occasionally in a cheeky way but he knows I won't 'play that game anymore'
It's so hard but try not to worry to much. It's so easy to get caught up in the business of training them and everything that isn't going well feels like a failure. As missbattenburg said just try and have some fun. Don't worry about lead walking (mine hated it at first so I started to drive to places where he was safe to be off lead so both of us started to enjoy the short walks and he then started to accept the lead as being outside became fun).
Maybe give yourself a break from training (a week off is not going to make any difference, I have had to abandon training so many times when he was ill and you just pick it up again later).
MrsBobDylan ·
16/03/2018 21:34
That sounds stressful ThisisThe kind of reminds me of those early days with a new born when you are mentally willing them to sleep and fearful because you've done everything you can think of and have nothing left in the locker...arrrrrgh!
I think I have underestimated how much bobpup has managed an outside pooping. I went in the garden today and picked up 5. I have realised that dogs poop a lot
beachykeen01 ·
17/03/2018 09:32
Hi Everyone 👋 im joining in to give and get support through these puppy months... as a proper grown up person who has had two real offspring and moved countries twice I was surprised how overwhelming this puppy business is!!!
Our labradoodle pup is 12 weeks and thankfully he is mostly toilet trained, we are still on guard but only 3 wee accidents in 2 weeks and always poops outside without any input from us really. Nights are ok, managed to get him in the big crate overnight after a week of bedside sleeps.
However he gets over excited and nippy and down right PITArsey on a very regular basis.
My garden is a mess. He digs up the weedmatting and chews it ffs lol and the rocks and the plants
We are up to 20mins in the crate during the day so I'm hopeful that I can get out and about a little bit again soon... at least with a new baby you can wander the shops and chat to random people for company.
I'm a bit worried pup hasn't bonded with us, he doesn't go mad when he sees after an absence and once he calms down in an evening he parks himself in his spot in the kitchen where he can see us but is the other side of the room - all this work and no cute puppy snuggles... I'm feeling ripped off lol
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papayasareyum ·
20/03/2018 15:17
we have a 12 week old puppy. We’ve had her three weeks. We’ve got a visitor coming at the weekend for a whole week. Luckily I’m here all the time (work from home) but I hope our visitor is sympathetic to the needs, demands, smells and frequent incontinence of a small puppy!
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