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The doghouse

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Original poster

Three month old puppy pawing and scratching for attention

14 replies

Anna713 · 16/12/2020 09:46

My 12 week old puppy has settled in well and sleeps all night until about 8 am. The problem is that when he does wake up and after he has been fed , he goes nuts for about an hour or longer. I appreciate he's had a lot of rest and has energy to burn but he just won't leave me alone. He's constantly pawing at me and biting. I try and give him some attention and do a bit of training with him but the pawing, if I take my eyes off him and try and drink some coffee , is relentless. My legs are full of scratches. Its difficult to get dressed and tidy up let alone eat some breakfast. No amount of chews or toys will distract him. Has anyone any suggestions or will he just grow out if it?

OP posts:
Tropicalsunshine · 16/12/2020 11:55

This is so annoying but normal!
It must be so soon now that he can start going for walks? I get up and dressed before going to our dog in the morning, he has his breakfast while I grab a coffee and then it's straight out for an hour's walk.
(Actually it's not always me...Whoever's turn it is!)
The morning walk is one of the downsides and great joys of dog ownership!

Tropicalsunshine · 16/12/2020 12:06

Ps. Obviously you won't be doing a full hour straight away with a young puppy but it will make a difference!

Goneroundthetwist · 16/12/2020 12:34

I’ve got an old towel that I fold up and hide bits of kibble in for her to find. I put the towel in a storage box with her toys in and she gets in and has a good rummage... she loves it! By the time she has finished finding them she is properly worn out. I reserve this for these times and when I want a cup of tea......

Goneroundthetwist · 16/12/2020 12:35

And walks made a huge difference too... I would ignore her and turn your back when she is pawing and the moment she stops reward her... she’ll gradually learn not doing that gets attention instead.

Sprig1 · 16/12/2020 12:47

A sharp 'ah, ah', followed by asking the pup to sit and giving a quick fuss is what we have always done.

Snackasaurus · 16/12/2020 12:56

I'd definitely recommend a Kong for your puppies breakfast. Our puppy scoffs his food in 0.1 seconds but in his Kong, it lasts at least 20 minutes and usually tires him out!

We just pop the Kong in a cup (with the wider opening at the top) and pour water in but leave it soaking for a couple of hours in the cup. When it's time for his breakfast or tea, we pop some primula cheese in the opening and give him it Xmas Smile

Veterinari · 16/12/2020 13:19

He's constantly pawing at me and biting. I try and give him some attention and do a bit of training with him but the pawing, if I take my eyes off him and try and drink some coffee , is relentless.

The unfortunately it's because you'll have inadvertently reinforced this behaviour.

Animals don't give us the behaviour we want, they give us the behaviour we reward.

When he does this do you look at him? Speak to him? Touch him? These are all rewarding actions and will reinforce the behaviour. You have to absolutely ignore it.

How often do you reward calm quiet behaviour? Work on training a 'settle' the dogs trust videos on their website have a good example of this.

Also make sure you do separation training - give him something nice to tears him for time alone so that he gets used to this and you can build it up

Original poster
Anna713 · 16/12/2020 15:22

Just got back from xmas shopping. Thanks for all your replies. They are really useful. I know I should take him for a walk first thing. I'm sure it would help and I'm just being lazy on these dark mornings but I will try it. Although he is quite food orientated, he is not interested in kongs. Believe me I've tried. The towel idea sounds good. I will have a go at that. @VETERINARI - yes, I see what you mean about reinforcing unwanted behaviour. I will have another look at the 'settle' videos. He doesn't try this behaviour nearly as much with my husband so it must be something I'm doing.

Thanks again

OP posts:
vanillandhoney · 16/12/2020 17:24

I would start setting your alarm for half an hour before he gets up, so you can get showered and dressed in peace! Then get the puppy up and out to the toilet - then breakfast. If he doesn't like kongs, have you tried things like lick-e-mats or snuffle mats? If he's dry fed, you could also try scattering his breakfast in the garden for him to sniff out.

Is he old enough to go for a walk? If so, I would walk him before breakfast - let him sniff a lot (that'll help tire him out), then breakfast as above, another toilet break then encourage him to have a nap. If he can't walk, you could substitute training in there too.

Good luck, it does get easier! I have to drag mine out of bed now Grin

SpreadHummusNotHate · 17/12/2020 09:35

8am is good going! Are you making the kong too difficult if your pup is only 12 weeks old? We did this at first and our puppy wasn’t interested and gave up straight away. We then just started putting dry kibble in it so it was easier for her to work out what to do - we’re slowly increasing the difficulty now (she’s only 12 weeks old too).

Original poster
Anna713 · 17/12/2020 16:14

I put the kettle and coffee in the bedroom last night so at least I can have a coffee before he wakes up. He seems to wake up when we start moving around and go downstairs about 8ish. I know i cant complain about his sleeping. He's been really good with that ever since we brought him home at 8 weeks. I tried the towel thing goneroundthetwist suggested but with limited success and I tried making no eye contact and gently pushing him down when he paws and scratches at me. I know I will have to be consistent. I'll try again with the Kong too. I took him for a walk first thing but I think he got overexcited because he was a pain when we got back until I made him have a sleep.

Thanks again for everyone's suggestions. I have had a dog before but I had forgotten how hard the first weeks are. He's sleeping like a little angel atm after another walk. It's just the mornings I find difficult.

OP posts:
Veterinari · 17/12/2020 16:58

Well done OP. Just one comment

I tried making no eye contact and gently pushing him down when he paws and scratches at me.

You'll make both eye and tactile contact when doing this - it's rewarding. The pushing can quickly become a game. Honestly even 'telling off' will be rewarding to some extent. What you need to do is stand totally still with no tactile, verbal or eye contact when he jumps. Totally ignore him.

Then as soon as his feet are on the floor lots of eye contact and praise. He'll get excited and almost certainly jump up again so then back to being a human statue and praising when he drops down again. It's usually doesn't take long for a pup to learn that he gets lots of attention when his feet are on the floor.

Original poster
Anna713 · 17/12/2020 18:24

Thanks Veterinari. I'll definitely do that.

OP posts:
ForeverAintEnough · 17/12/2020 19:05

I highly recommend a flirt pole!!! Saved us when our pup went wild for our ankles in the garden etc

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