Peak teenage phase?!

[RachD90]

Good lord I am ready to kill my pup! I thought we were already long into teenage phase but the last week or so has been extremely trying. Shes 8.5 months old. She's chewed through 2 beds in 2 days, a rug, carpet, woodwork.. the list goes on 😥She also started waking up at 5am, will toilet her and back to bed but she just cries the place down until we get up. Won't settle down in her bed during the day and constantly getting into stuff so its very difficult to get any work done. Been exercising as much as is allowed so she is definitely tired but just refusing to sleep. Please tell me this is normal? And if anyone has any recommendations for extra durable beds please let me know! 🙄

Season? Ours is 8.5 months and is just finishing her first and it's made her very unsettled and fidgety. Maybe move her in with you at night for a bit as it's common for them to have wobbles in confidence. Ours now sleeps until we get up between 6.30 and 8 in an open crate in our bedroom.

Yes 8-9 months old was hell for us.

I still remember it even though he is now 6.

Sorry but it sounds like a lack of boundaries + boredom to be honest. What breed have you got? Adolescence is tough but usually by 6 months they should be growing out of the destructive phase unless they are bored or anxious eg separation anxiety.

A doggy camera? We have one and wouldn't be without it. It's really helped our 2 dogs. I can see what they're up to if I'm out or upstairs doing jobs etc. I also do some training in the house and ball throwing or tug alongside the walk too. The training actually tires her out more than a walk does. Mine is the same age as yours and does still have the odd accident during the night. I think they do go through a naughty stage round about now too and become quite disobedient. Set boundaries too and keep repeating. If you see pup chew something she shouldnt be, tell her firm no and pass her a toy she can chew and reward when she does. A doggy cam I really strongly recommend though if you can't watch her all the time.

I thought the teenager phase didn't start until 8mo and lasted up to 18mo

Varies by dog breed and individuals.

Our pup (malamute) was awful from about 7/8 months (perfect pup till then) it was awful TBH, he chewed everything up and being 40kg+ he could get through things very quickly. He has ruined our carpets, the door, ate the cat flap and chewed some holes in the sofa. I had many tears. He wouldn't leave our other dog alone either.

I was given a really good enrichment programme from our trainer, it completely changed our way of thinking with him and really helped. Just taking 5/10 mins to go through some things on it helped as he would settle afterwards. Also would often just take him out for a sniffy walk late at night, it did us both good actually as it was very calming and he would sleep much better.

He was neutered at just over 12 months, he's 14 months now and the difference is massive. He goes to daycare now once a week and that really seems to help as he is learning his place with other people/dogs also. He is always exhausted that evening and most of the day after.

Our pug was worse from about 5-8 months but as he's small it wasn't so bad.

He is also just starting to listen to me again and we are having more training success, it's as if he has ignored me for about 4 months and suddenly decided not to!

My understanding is that the destructive phase is mostly during adolescence, a large breed isn't close to that at 6 months. Mine definitely wasn't destructive till after that. Wouldn't make any difference how much exercise he had either, sometimes was worse when tired.

My female dog is 8.5 months and been a naughty bugger last few days. She keeps finding ways to escape the garden. She's like a ninja I swear I nearly had a heart attack from running after her. Then today she made me fall out in the street and I had to to a proper tuck and roll. I couldn't get back up because I thought I'd wet myself from laughing. She also got stuck last week on a walk being naughty so I went to help her and got my leg stuck in a barbed fence thing and I fell, my DD had to free my ankle whilst the wee sh** ran off. She's a pain xxx

Mine is 8 months working lab. He's had quite a lot of training and is doing rally and agility and still mostly listens to me - but he's very flighty, obsessed with sniffing and therefore trying to pull like a train, and shall we say , lacks focus!! Fortunately he's not a chewer, and fingers crossed is still sleeping through the night ( don't want to jinx it!!)
pity we can't put the clock forward a year ...

How much mental stimulation is she getting and are you enforcing naps?

Nope just trying to tire any dog out won't work, you have to actually teach them to settle in the house. Walks = energy, house = chill and adolescent dogs still need naps enforcing etc.
From 6 months onwards the natural instincts of a dog will come out eg prey drive for hunting dogs etc so this ie why it is vital that breed appropriate enrichment is undertaken to help them channel their energy in a positive and not destructive way. Ultimately it all comes down to training and enrichment.

Sorry I must have got confused by your post, i thought you were saying adolescence ended by 6 months but I have reread and get what you are saying now.

Mine was never destructive before 7/8 months, he went from being able to be left and would just chill to them ripping stuff up the second we left the house.

We were given a brilliant enrichment plan for him and it really worked. We were taught about identifying what he needed and giving him that and it really helped, sometimes just 5 mins of tug, or chasing a ball or cuddles and he was a completely different dog. He is a digger so we had to find something to replace that also.

Just being told very similar to what you have just said just helped it all make sense. We were looking at it too simplistically, ie take him to run around on the park to make him tired, but once we realised that whilst he needs that also there is a lot more to it.

I definitely think that's where people go wrong with some large/high energy breeds. We were told he'd need 2 hrs + of walking/running. Ours doesn't, he's actually better with about an hrs walk but with training and enrichment at home on top of that, or a half hr slow sniffy walk later in the day. Socialising with dogs/people also makes him calmer afterwards.

@PugInTheHouse exactly. High energy breeds need more brain work than physical exercise and usually need a job to do otherwise they go self employed and get frustrated. Sadly so much bad advice out there 🙄. Walking a dog for 2 hours a day will only result in a fit dog, not a tired dog! 20 mins of search + retrieve for a scent breed eg spaniel is more tiring than a 1 hour walk.

I agree mental stimulation is the key. My boy is 8 months and he could walk / run for hours and not be tired but if we do 10 minutes of hide the toy find the toy he's out for the count! Ditto his rally or agility training.
But today we met 2 lovely lab girls 2 and 4 and my pup would've gone home with them if he could. Suddenly completely deaf to whistle and his name!!

And the instant answer to dogs who chew or display tricky behaviour is to seem to tell people to walk them more, I see it on the various malamute groups I'm on all the time. These are supposedly experienced mal owners also so it surprises me they haven't figured it out by now.