Another hyeractive dog... a bit devastated

[Doggingit]

My last dog was extremely highly strung and hyperactive. I had him for 13 crazy years. I believe this was partly down to his breed. I waited 5 years for another dog and did my homework on the type of dog to have. My friend also has this breed of dog and she's extremely laid back.

So, I went to a breeder, chose the pup who basically chose me and brought her home 3 weeks ago. So far, life has been upside down since she came. She's in a great routine but she's relentless. She barely sleeps unless I put her in her crate. My evenings are absolutely awful. She runs me ragged. I have limited her space so that she's not into absolutely everything and I am tiring her out but she's relentless. My friend keeps commenting that her dog was never like this. I am putting her in her crate to nap every hour or so.

I took her to the vets yesterday for her second vaccination and the vet commented "she's a bit extra." I asked what she meant and she said "hyperactive, she's crazy."

I won't lie. I cried a bit on the way home. I really didn't want another hyperactive dog. I have enrolled her into puppy classes and I'm training her myself also but I'm exhausted by her. I find myself putting her in her crate just to have a break. She won't even sit on my lap and settle. She's just constantly on the go. I had such a stressful time with my last dog who clearly had a lot of behavioural issues, maybe doggy ADHD even and now I have another hyper dog.

Can anyone ease my stress/worry/upset? Can I make her calmer in any way? Has anyone ever had a crazy pup whose turned out to be an amazing dog once matured? I don't want to let her go as the children will be heartbroken. I wish the vet hadn't said anything 😕.

Unsure how helpful this is but when our dog was puppy I've only have him out of the crate for teaching, wed spend time teaching him commands and tricks, practicing lead walking etc etc. And as soon as he showed signs of being tired ie bitey we'd put him back in his crate and he'd sleep. Then we'd repeat. He's such a great dog now. Our dog wouldn't cuddle either he was happier in crate. Now he's one and a half and he's very affectionate and very calm. X

So she’s 12 weeks old?
All of mine have been crazy the first few years, but up to six months is the worst!

why don’t you get a behaviourist in to see what they recommend, they can see you and your dog at home and see the winder picture.

How many hours of exercise is she getting? Is it on or off lead?

It’s a 12ish week old puppy. It should be getting barely any walks!

What breed did you choose?

Sounds like a normal healthy puppy , I’d be more concerned if I had a quiet pup

i used to walk my Labrador at 12 weeks. Didn’t do him any harm. It made him much calmer.

What breed is she?

She's 13 weeks and just started having two 20 minute walks a day.

She also has a large kitchen/diningroom/lounge area to run about in to her heart's content so lots of space but not the whole house like she did at first!

Mine was a lunatic when he was a puppy but basically sleeps all day now he’s 2 😂

What breed have you got? I wanted a chilled out dog so got a proper old school lurcher who are known for loving a snooze. I’m sure he’s only awake for about 4 hours a day.

I don't want to say her breed as it could out me as they're not too common. Some poodle in there though. She will grow to a small/medium size.

If you have a cross breed this is one of the downsides- you can’t predict traits as they could inherit the best or worst of either parent. It also means just because your friends dog is the same cross they won’t necessarily have the same personality traits.

what did the breeder say? Did they attempt to match you with a quiet pup? They would be best places to know the puppies character.

having said that she is very young. Be consistent and she may settle.

Puppies can be shits, like hyperactive toddlers!

Start the brain games, look up nosework. What breed is it? Harness it's natural tendencies.

When it's a little older, there are so many things for enrichment that calm dogs down. My hyped up girl loves mantrailing. We do tracking. She is not a breed associated with scentwork, but she is a dog and has a nose.

If its your second dog and a different breed, I hate to say it but I think it might be something about how you interact with them.

I'd be doing more brain training and training to settle. Ignoring jumping up barky behaviour and rewarding quiet behaviour

This might help?
https://stacythetrainer.blogspot.com/2017/04/stop-walking-your-dog.html?m=1

Let me guess. Cockerpoo…. Cocker spaniels are known for being a bouncy breed. Not as much as springers but still, they are a working dog

Can I ask what you’re feeding her, food and treat wise? That makes a huge difference. Puppies are a pita, but they do grow out of it with a quality diet and decent training, exercise and brain work. I’ve always had border collies and they’re a massive pita!!

I think even if you are an experienced dog owner of a previously very active dog, a new puppy is a shock to the system.

Your children might be over stimulating just by being there. I expect you are feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.

Even an experienced vet can’t really tell a dog’s nature from a brief snapshot visit. Dogs are usually stressed at the vets anyway.

Very early days for the puppy and your family. What breed is it?
There are lots of enrichment activities you can do at home e.g. snuffle mats, licky mats, hiding treats in a scrumpled towel etc. All will tire your lively new arrival.

We had a plastic playpen with a gate when we got our youngest pup.
In addition to a crate.

Sorry just seen you don’t want to say breed.

Try this as well
https://positivepartnersdogtraining.com/the-do-nothing-exercise/

I wanted a chilled out dog so got a proper old school lurcher who are known for loving a snooze.

This is why I chose lurchers. Except one of them is so hyperactive I can barely cope with her and consider rehoming her at some point most days, whilst crying!
So many people go on about lazy lurchers, I guess I got a broken one.

I get you don’t want to say the breed. But is that because people are going to tell you they are known to be hyperactive, especially as puppies.

For example I have 2 rescues. One a poodle mix. One a cocker. Both came to me as part of litters that I fosters and both breeds are known for being a bit bonkers. It’s not surprise to anyone that they were ‘a bit extra’.

they grew up, were trained and both fairly chilled out. Even the cocker is laid back.

It sounds like it cools be several issues. Any or a mix of these issues. Maybe unrealistic expectations of puppies. But also that you may have got the wrong breed for you. Or it could be the way you are interacting with your dogs.

Oh I feel your pain. Our pup is also 12 weeks old and she is wild. We’ve had puppies before but this one is something else. She is hyper, into everything, so vocal, barking, screeching, whining, howling, growling and yapping all the time.

I’ve never had biting like it, she just attacks you in an absolute frenzy and if you yelp in pain she doubles down and bites harder. I’ve got actual tears in my arms where she leaps and bites and her weight rips the skin deeply.

My other two dogs are scared of her. She’s not much smaller than them and is relentless in ‘playing’, which is basically jumping on them, shrieking and biting.
She hates sleeping in her cage and so at the moment I’ve got her in the dining room with a stair gate, big puppy pen protecting furniture etc. and her crate at the end. I’m sleeping in there with her and she moves around constantly. She’ll sleep on her bed, then 10 minutes later flop on the floor, then move to by the door, then climb on the camp bed with me, then a different place on the floor, then back to her bed. She’s like it for daytime naps too.
She cannot be left at all. She screams and throws herself around and tries to jump out of the pen or over the stairgate.
Her three states are crazy, asleep or chewing something. Just getting her out into the garden for a wee involves throwing treats in the direction you want her to go in the hope that she’ll follow that and not start attacking. Everyone moves around the house or garden with a pocketful of treats and a tug toy to fend off attacks. She doesn’t really want to play tug, she likes to bite the hand holding it or leap over or under it to bite you. It’s basically to fend her off while you throw treats.
Our strategy at the moment is that every time she starts a biting frenzy we pick her up and carry her flailing and biting and put her into her pen. Then we run through some sits, downs, leave its etc. and then give her a chew or a licky mat until she chills a little.
When she’s sleepy and cuddly she’s absolutely adorable but that lasts about 30 seconds. Even the breeder, who kept one of the litter, said she’s struggling. She’s never had a pup who’s so full on.
Sorry, I was no help at all but I know exactly what you are going through.
Hopefully it will pass and they’ll grow out of it.

She's a poodle/bichon mix.

In my experience you need to teach and expect calm in the house.

Ive had many many dogs, from border collies and German shepherds to terriers and every single one has been chilled in the house because it’s the behaviour i expect, much like anything. They don’t come knowing a time and a place to be crazy and a time to be calm but you can teach it.

Teach the time and location for play- outside or in a space where’s there’s space and then teach calm rooms etc. It’s not about tiring them out…pretty much the opposite in some cases.

Your loosing already with the breed though, anything poodle cross is generally neurotic as are many bichons!

If you wanted a calm dog you should have got a bichon. Poodles are a working breed that can add serious drive and energy requirements to any other breed.

That said puppies are dicks.
You say you are trying to tire them out. Are they overstimulated? Which is a very common cause of puppy hyperactivity