Overwhelmed

[Namechanged454]

I've got a 4 month old cocker spaniel and my god I feel overwhelmed! I think the new puppy bubble has popped so I've lost some patience. It feels like she's constantly crated because if she's not, I have to have eyes on her alllllll the time because she will chew/destroy anything and everything she finds. I've got two children so there's always something of theirs laying around no matter how much I ask them to make sure their stuff stays upstairs. She's started peeing in her crate again after being fully trained which is obviously frustrating... especially now it's colder so I can't get through washing as quickly. We spend alot of time in the garden with her so she can run off some energy but no matter how much we play....she would rather chew the garden bench or dig holes/eat random shit she finds in said holes. And don't get me started on the biting! Everyone warned me about puppy biting but my god it's constant - and it hurts!
Dont even want answers or advice I just needed to rant before I go to work 🤣

Mine was a lab puppy ( now 8 years ).
Try scanning games with her, hide and seek, finding treats ect, that really tries them out.

@Ivedonethisthreetimesalready what do you mean you'd get struck off for four hours exercise per day?

I often wonder what is optimal exercise.

My dogs (Labrador and 3 mixed breed) get 6kms every morning (1hr 20 mins) and then another 20 mins stroll in the evening. I hope that's enough for them.

The wcs are working detection dogs who have hours they are allowed to work . 4 hours everyday would be way outside that. Thats why I have 3 - they can be rotated to work while the others rest.

Overstimulated and bored signs are similar but require different actions, op will know which is more likely from the routine of pup and then could make changes accordingly

WCS here too and remember that stage well.
Do you do slow, sniffy walks? These tire my girl out more than anything else. She gets a 45 minute walk in the morning, but it's at her pace and I stop as many times as she wants to sniff. She then needs a 2 minute play with me when we get home - tug toy - and then will mostly rest/sleep while I work.

Slow sniffy walks definitely work better than a run around in terms of tiring her out, buttttttt she's sniffing out stuff she wants to eat! I had to retrieve a (thankfully unused!!!) Tampon out of her mouth the other day 🤣 countless cans, fag buts, wrappers etc! She's a rebel

Oh🤦‍♀️ They are little buggers! Mine is 4 and a dream, so hang on in there.

Do you give her things she can chew? There are so many things you can get for her to chew on.

Oh OP, the puppy stage is so hard! It does get a bit easier when their baby teeth fall out and for my Labrador, he turned into a dream at exactly 1 year old but I think my mum’s spaniels stayed crazy for a lot longer sorry!

Hi OP, you might want to join the Puppy Survival thread! I posted about having puppy regret/blues and had some lovely reassuring responses (like some of the ones in here!).
my pup is 15 weeks and we are very up and down too! It’s bloody hard!