Puppy advice before I lose my mind!!!!

[WelshieBach]

We've got a King Charles cavalier spaniel puppy and he is adorable and funny and full of character but sometimes.. (a lot of the time) that character is SATAN.

I feel like I'm a nervous first time parent and have rang the vets too many times so just wanted to see if anyone here could offer some advice with a few things.

1. He's been so good sleeping through the night for weeks, but the last 2 nights at 3.30 he's woken us up absolutely howling the house down, the 1st night we'd never known him to do this so went to check he was ok, he just wanted attention so my OH gave him a cuddle in case something had scared him and back to sleep he went until morning. Last night he started again and we thought, he just wants attention, let him cry it out.. over an hour later he was still crying so I caved, and again it was go downstairs give him a cuddle for 5 minutes and back to sleep he goes until morning. I really don't want to reward this behaviour but what can I do? We have neighbours and he can't scream all night

1. He won't eat out his bowl, he will eat his food out our hands, off the floor.. but he will not eat out his bowl. He was happy to for a week or so, but since then he point blank refuses. Don't want to encourage him to eat off the floor as he's chewing/eating anything he can get his hands on and I'm worried it'll add to that problem??

1. Biting!! He won't stop biting us, which I know is very common for puppies, but nothing I say stops him, only way to stop him is to put a chew toy in his mouth instead. This might be ok but I'm worried it won't train him that biting isn't allowed? I am shouting ouch and no everytime he bites as well. Have also resorted to putting him in the utility room with his crate and bowls but away from us if he bites hard. Is this right??

And finally 4. He can't go outside yet, still another 13 days until he's fully protected and we just moved into this house and the previous owners had dogs so our vet said not to let him out in garden. But how do I tire him out?? He was a very sleepy pup at first but the last 4 days he is hyper from morning through to night and has his last really hyper burst at about 11pm when we want to go to bed. How can I tire out a puppy without going outside? We try running around living room with him but he could do it for hours and hours 😂 I have tried to start training but think he might be too little, he's only 11 weeks and his attention span is very very short.

Sorry for the long post but if someone could please advise me I would be so so grateful.

Have you got any friends who have a garden without dogs that you could use?

You could also take the puppy out in a sling so he can see the world (lots of mental exercise) without touching the ground.

Try fetch. This was our pups first command and he was only tiny but he grasped a bit of the ball.

All sounds perfectly normal I'm afraid!

We never feed ours out of a bowl - we feed him through training and scent games as a) it takes him longer to eat and b) it tires him out! Being able to feed him out of your hands is a really good thing so I wouldn't stop doing it. But maybe you could start some basic training with him? Sit, lie down and stay - use positive rewards - "yes!" when he does the right thing, then treat. When you say yes, you need to treat even if he didn't do the action required. The idea is he associates "yes!" with doing the right thing.

Biting - again, normal. We stop play as soon as ours bites and he's slowly learning that biting means the fun stops. Folding your arms and looking away from him will also discourage bitey jumping behaviour.

The getting up in the night thing - where is he sleeping? Not all dogs like being alone - maybe he wakes up and is lonely. Or it could be the light mornings - blackout blinds worked a treat for ours.

It will get better - you just need to be consistent and constantly praise the good things. He'll get it eventually!

Thanks all 

@adaline he sleeps downstairs in the utility room in his crate, but we leave the door open. His water bowl and some toys are in the room and some pee pads. He's been so good, quiet all night, come down in the morning and he's used the pads but not these last 2 nights. My OH is not willing to move his crate upstairs or let him get used to being in our room at night and says he must stay downstairs but I'm pretty sure it must be loneliness

Ok there are many different ways to bring up a puppy so firstly don't worry as he is still very young and puppies are bloody hard work.

1. My dog has had several moments in his life when waking up at 'stupid oclock' seems a good thing to do. Make sure he isn't being woken up by anything such as the light (black out curtains) or noises outside (white noise machine). You will be surprised what they hear in the night which can disturb them. When mine went through a must get up and play in the night period I would get up and take him outside without saying a word to him in case he wanted to pee then straight back to bed. I repeated this as often as needed so he eventually got the message that it was bed or pee but nothing more exciting was going to happen. You could also start using an alarm clock so when it goes off it's morning and playtime so he starts to associate and wait for that.

1. Maybe look at different bowls. Some don't like metal ones, plastic ones, deep, shallow etc. You could always feed from something like a kong wobbler which will help with tiring him out as he will have to work for the food.

1. Ignoring, redirecting to toys or yelping did absolutely nothing for my puppy. I used brief timeouts behind baby gates or in his crate to calm him down. Watch out for triggers such as being over stimulated or over tired when biting will be worse and try to minimise it.

1. A puppy doesn't recognise when it needs to sleep so whilst it may look like he is hyper and full of energy it is probably because he is overstimulated and over tired and needs a forced sleep, a bit like an over tired toddler. It is important that you get him to settle and relax rather than 'tiring him out'. They are also never too young (or old) to do short (few minutes at a time) training so teach sit, stay, paw etc. Also look at toys where you hide food so they have to work to get at it.

Thank you so much @BiteyShark really appreciate such a detailed answer!! I do love him so much and I know pups will be pups. I think it's just getting me down being on my own with him all day everyday and not being able to even take him outside and I feel like all I do is shout "no!" "Ouch!' And "give!" And I'm worried I'm being so negative with him.

1. Sleep - Our puppy regressed like this, we just set an alarm (very quietly - phone on vibrate under your pillow) about 1/2 before his new wake up (so 3am for you...sorry!!!) and went down, woke him, let him out and resettled him whilst he was in a sleepy state. We then gradually crept this time later and later by 15 minutes at a time.

1. Eating. Are you sure he likes his food, if he is a bit 'blah!' about it, maybe being fed by hand turns it into a game rather than just a meal that he isn't really in to. When we got our puppy, using online growth charts his weight at 9 weeks indicated he would be a 6.5kg adult, he just wasn't into the food he had been having at his breeders (and we had carried on with) and was distracted by pretty much anything else. We changed his food, and he loved it, would scoff it all down, and has done since, he is now a lean 12kg+ (really need to weigh him) adult dog.

1. We didn't do particularly well with this problem, so I'm not going to try and give any tips.

1. My DH works (graphic designer) for a Vet Education company, he printed me off there dog behaviour modules. One point that is made is that "the biggest reason for euthanasia before 2 years of age is for behavioural issues due to inadequate socialisation". The key window for socialisation is the period when they are not fully vaccinated (up to 13 weeks or there abouts), therefore it is important to balance the need to protect your dog from diseases (which can be potential very dangerous) and their need for socialisation (which if missed can be disastrous). We took our puppy to dog friendly restaurants, round to friends houses with vaccinated dogs and to very low dog traffic outside areas. The Guide dogs for the blind, recommend a similar approach for their puppies during the socialisation window. I think stopping him going out into the garden (which presumably you have cleaned up since moving in), is detrimentally over cautious.

Do you think he's crying because he needs the toilet? Have you tried taking him out to do his business instead of making him use the pads?

@adaline we haven't taken him outside to do his business yet as the vet advised us not to risk letting him go on the floor outside until he was fully vaccinated

@RIPWalter Thank you for the advice! We've only kept him in because the vet advised us to do so. We've taken him to meet friends and family who don't have dogs and round my OHs work because his staff all wanted to see the cute puppy, he's met our nieces and nephews so he's been around kids so he hasn't not left the house at all, it's just he's not been allowed outside on the floor, always being held. The vet said for the sake of two weeks it's not worth the risk, just keep him away from risk. I really don't want to have a detrimental affect to him though??

I don't want to go against any vet advice but is there any possibility of fencing off a section of the garden temporarily and 'cleaning it' so he can go there. For example you could disinfect a part of the patio and then place some artificial grass mat down to use until he has had his jabs. Do you think your vet would be happy with that approach?

i'd have him out in the garden, previous dogs or no. Unless you are certain the dog were infested with hugely infectious dog illness the changes of your pup catching much would be astonishingly low imo

and never too young to start training...first easy one is to teach is "SIT" . Watch pup like a hawk and as soon as his behind lowers to the floor say "sit", and depending on his nature, either fuss like crazy, coo and adore him or give a teeny bit of food....in a very short space of time you will be able to swap the timing and say "sit" and get a sit.

same with recall... as he is running towards you, clap, whistle, cavort, make kissy noises, make yourself as irresistible and fun as possible and as he is on his way then call him in

ideally you never give them the chance to not do something, this doesn't mean making them do what you say, it means not saying it UNLESS they are about to do it, it's all about the timing!

It can be hard to time it right, but it is way easier to reinforce and treat for something they want to do/are already doing than to try and make them and then treat.

Sounds like your puppy has had too many overwhelming and stimulating experiences in his short life.
He's not a toy to be passed round. You've made his 'normal' to be having constant attention. At this age he needs lots of sleep and rest.

He should have access to his crate at all times and that should be his safe place. Put a soft toy in it. No-one drags him out of it, everyone leaves him alone.
At night you shut the crate door and cover it with a dark sheet. Close all connecting doors and ignore his howling. He will soon realise it will not bring you running to fuss him.
He won't stave so continue with putting his kibble in a bowl next to his water.
Stop making him overexcited and buy a 'How to Look After a Puppy' book.

I've had various Cavaliers for over 40 years. Two at the moment.

You are obviously making an effort with the socialisation...Well done. But, it is really important to find a way to socialise him to other dogs and situations he may encounter out and about at this stage

There are some really good online tick lists of things to socialise him to, and it really does work. We covered nearly everything on the extensive list, except introducing him to people with different coloured skin which didn't happen due to where we live lacking ethnic minorities, and he is a very well rounded dog. One of the cafes we visit regularly now has a black chef...Our dog is fine with all the other staff there, but gets alarmed and barks at the black chef...it is very embarrassing having a racist dog, but proves that making an effort with socialisation is worth it!!

I bought a second hand Babasling from ebay, and took him everywhere with me as a puppy. Would you consider doing that?

The Happy Puppy Handbook is brilliant.

www.amazon.co.uk/Happy-Puppy-Handbook-Definitive-Training/dp/0091957265/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=happy+puppy+handbook&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1532166492&sr=8-1

Very sensible advice (although my puppy tore the cover off)

I’d try to get hold of your house’s previous owners and ask if their dogs had been vaccinated.
As a pp has said, Guide Dogs balance risk vs benefit and their puppies go out before they are fully protected, just no pavements, lamp posts or areas of high dog traffic.
I used to go down to the local supermarket and just sit wth her on a bench, ditto the local small railway station, etc, to observe as many new experiences as possible.
Visiting friends with vaccinated dogs, in their garden, saved my sanity.

Hi. I can understand your reluctance to let him out in your garden but I wonder just how high the risk is balanced against trying to house train him.

I can only speak from my experience, I;ve had my puppy for 9 weeks. I started training as soon as she came home, not in a formal way, but huge praise and a treat for following me about, coming when called, and doing sits and lie downs. I was told that mental exercise is good for them and it's never too early to start. If you can work 'training' into things so they seem normal, like sitting before they eat etc, it's training so tiring and it gets them into good habits.

As to the biting, I do what you do, distract with something that can be chewed (I have such items about my person at all times!), and play stops when biting starts. I also tried to teach paws on the floor from the start to stop her jumping.

The only thing that struck me re the waking was maybe he needs to wee and has worked out that outside is better than inside?

Mine is my first dog, and I find I am really quite anxious to do it all right. My children are in their twenties now, and I honestly think I'm more worried abut the dog.....

Mine went in the garden before he'd had his jabs and so do most dogs I know. He needs to learn to toilet outside and most don't want to go near their sleeping area. All you're teaching him at the moment is that it's okay to mess in the house!

I'm sorry but I would be ignoring your vet on this one and taking him outside to do his business.

I agree about the vets advice not being very practical. Ask the previous owners if their dogs were vaccinated ( most people do don't they?) and take him to other 'safe' places to mix. Find a puppy party. How old is he? When is final jab due! I have a 13week old puppy and got different advice from 2different vets in the same practice! So I went with what seems sensible ( this isn't my first puppy). Socialisation is really important puppies have to learn so many thungs to be good sociable well behaved adult dogs. Start training, play games ( like hide and seek, fetch with soft cat ball, ) anything to mentally stimulate and then exhaust the puppy. As a former fostered of dogs I can say that many dogs are given up by owners because the didn't realise how important training and socialisation was and just didn't do it consistently. You obviously care about your puppy and I'm sure it will be a gorgeous adult dog

The infectious diseases which almost dogs are vaccinated against are now rare. It’s crazily over cautious to say keep your puppy inside until he’s thirteen weeks old.
I’d think he needs to go out for a wee if he cries in the night. Another reason to let him use your garden.

How much crate training have you done? Badlypup was an arse over night until properly crate trained. She now knows and is happy with the fact that when she’s in the crate she is quiet until she is let out. It took a whole farm full of chicken and hours and hours of training to get to this point but we’ll worth it.

I'd spend sometime checking the garden over very carefully...remove any waste, hose down anything remotely dodgy, check all fencing and holes, any poisonous plants and let the pup in the garden.