Puppies, witching hour and chews!

[cheeseisthebest]

When do pups stop having a witching hour where they bark, bite and jump? Mine is 5 months old now and we do loads to wear him out but also plenty of naps. I've never managed to enforce a nap. I'm trying to get the family to ignore the barking and nipping as he does give up eventually but trying to get them to be consistent is almost impossible!
My other question is why do they get bored of chews? He likes certain chew but I have packs of 5 and he loses interest!! Should I put them all away so they have more novelty value? I have tried that but still no interest!!

Sorry by witching hour I meant the time between about 6 and 8 when he is just a pain!

We are training settle and he will go on his mat and lie down as long as he's getting treats. He's 5 months d

We have nippy o clock at around 6pm, gets very vicious! He gets put in the kitchen if he doesn't stop and just goes to sleep. Let out an hour later and he is fine again!

I've just put him in his crate with his bone and a chew. He doesn't sleep in there anyway so used it as a time out. Can't be doing with it and ignoring and walking away doesn't work.

Chews do get boring, try alternating them about so he has something different everyday.

As for the witching hour, have you tried putting him on a lead so he physically has no choice but to sit/lie down? It worked wonders with our beagle (he's three now btw and has been asleep pretty much al evening!)

I have never thought of that?!!
He doesn't wear a collar in the house just a harness when we go out so he might think he was going out?
But other than that, really good idea!

You could always try a slip lead?

Honestly it worked so well for us! My beagle was a nightmare in the evenings but we tethered him to us with a chew and a blanket and he settled so well

You've got a while til the chewing ends - at 5 months he's probably starting secondary teething so you'll probably get through more over the new few months. Bull pizzles are a big hit here. Our pup was pretty frantic in the evenings when teething. Puzzle feeder toys (we have some Nina Ottosson ones) were great for keeping his brain busy and focusing him on doing something rather than zooming.

Chewing is quite calming for dogs - AwkwardPup (just turned 1) has a chew on his bed in the living room most evenings while we watch TV/ read on the sofa. Took a while but he now settles in his bed for most of the evening.

Yeh I don't mind him chewing I just keep buying so many that he then has no interest in. The only thing that's held his interest is the ostrich bone. It must taste really good!

Also have a 5 month old teething. She’s got extra nippy lately. We have a few chew toys. Pizzles are good, yak blocks, antler (in half) a bark thing that’s digestible that we keep in kibble overnight. Antler dipped in doggy peanut butter. Try to rotate so doesn’t get bored. We also got from Amazon a tree stump with squirrels - she destroyed it fairly quickly but loved it. We have a few remaining squirrels she enjoys squeaking. Nina Ottoson toys are good but over in a flash - recommendations welcome to prolong engagement.
Pigs ears are the absolute favourite here. Smell awful but work a treat.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005VS9WO6/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_api_glt_fabc_JF5FFYSQ4X746NH0427G?psc=1&_encoding=UTF8&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

I think some dogs just aren't bothered by chews. I have a 3 year old mini poodle and a 6 month old mini.

The 3 year old never chewed. I would buy him chews but unless they were soft enough to eat normally he wouldn't be bothered.

My puppy loves a chew.

But now my 3 year old will want them. He just sits gently licking them though. He only wants one because the puppy has one. His last forever. I don't buy them for him. I just put it back in the cupboard till the pup has another.

Our puppy loves the whimzees -and yak chews. But really I think she'd have a go at anything. Apparently they shouldn't be so hard that you can't make a dent with your fingernail. If they are too hard for that, they will be too hard for teeth.

Have you tried things for your puppy to lick instead? So instead of a chew - maybe fill a kong and freeze it, or a licky mat? Takes time to create some peace for you as a chew might.

The witching hour…zoomies…is because he’s knackered. We used to do a bit of brain training…simple stuff like getting treats out of an egg box or snuffling treats out of newspaper in a cardboard box. She’d be calmer after that. Or a few minutes training earlier in the day. That kind of mental stimulation calms them and tires them out.

Frozen carrots as a chew were great too.

Yakkers are good too.

If they really bitey we found if we left the room and then came back only 30 seconds or so later it would reset her. She’d realise it wasn’t a game.

Thank you. That's all really helpful.
It's just annoying he will go mad for the chews to start with!
He's not that fussed on kongs but does like his lickimat. Lasts about 30 seconds!
I might need to be a bit more inventive with the Kong.

Have you tried things like wrapping some of his kibble in a towel etc? Also to slow things down. Or a snuffle mat?

Yeh will get the snuffle mat back out. I could try the wrapping treats up. Good idea.