Please help with training advice

[hellomrclean]

I'll start by saying that I know this is totally our fault and we have absolutely no inclination to rehome etc before it is suggested. We have a beautiful 5 1/2 month puppy who me, DH and the Dc absolutely adore. When we got him we had every intention of doing all the training but we had an awful family tragedy (I know it's not an excuse) and things slipped by the way side.

We have toilet trained him and he now mostly goes outside but does still have some accidents inside.

The first issue we have is he chews absolutely everything. I came home the other day and he had pulled the carpet up and chewed all the underlay, he had only been left for a couple of hours. We leave him lots of toys out but he's just not interested and only wants to chew the things he shouldn't.

The second issue is jumping up and nipping. Obviously he's a puppy so he is very over excited most of the time but now that he is getting a little bigger his claws hurt when he jumps up at us. I know this is something we need to get under control as it can be scary for people who visit who don't like dogs.

Like I said I know it is my own fault so I don't need lots of comments telling me how cruel I've been by not training so far. I just desperately need some help to make things better

he sounds utterly bored

be honest - how long is this puppy left alone for during the day?

how many walks? and how long (ie not to the end of the road and back)

@FunnyFinch he's left alone for about 4 hours per day (not weekends). He is walked for a quick 10 mins in the morning before I leave. Another 10 mins mid afternoon and then Dh takes him out for 30 mins in the evening

He does sound bored.

it’s definitely not too late to start a decent training regime, the bitey shark phase and jumping is normal puppy behaviour but needs nipping in the bud.

when billypup was little we’d do 5x 10 minutes training every hour or so 5-10 minutes playing tug - fetch x chasing a teddy an a rope around the garden, let out for a wee every hour then tried to give her calm time.

we set the hall up as a time out space so when she got bitey she went in there for a few minutes she soon learned.

have you crate trained? If he’s pulling up carpets it’s definitely worth it.

and yes to walks. Lots of sniffy walks which tires them out mentally.

@Billybagpuss thank you for your advice. I am going to start trying lots of 10 min training sessions with him. He is very good driven due to his breed so I think once we get going he should pick things up quickly.
Is crate training literally just leaving him in his crate when we are out? Sorry to sound so naive!

I'm really sorry OP but what you're providing him his nowhere near enough.

He's far too young to be left alone for four hours at a time.
He needs more than a "quick ten minute walk" in the mornings.

He needs company, good quality exercise (not hours, but a good thirty minutes in the mornings would be ideal) and to be crate trained so he can't destroy your house and potentially eat something that could kill him.

Can you afford a dog walker or daycare?

@@lifebeginsaftercoffee I can increase his walks in the morning to half an hour, we did have a dog walker coming in but he wouldn't go with her, refused to get in his harness etc (he's a bit nervous around adults he doesn't know) so she ended up just coming and playing with him for 10 mins a day and then we decided it wasn't worth it for what they were charging. I could look in to it again though. I am definitely going to start crate training

Ten minutes is no time at all - I would be looking for someone to come and spend at least an hour a day with him, or ideally two half hour visits so he has the chance to go to the toilet and to break up the time a bit more.

I really do think four hours is too long though and it seems like your puppy feels the same way. His behaviour (destruction) could be his age but it's also a dogs' way of showing distress.

Do you know if he barks while you're out? Does he toilet inside in those four hours?

I'll be honest, I don't know many five month old puppies who could happily spend four hours alone on a daily basis. It's too much.

Oh dear OP,
You know the answers already right? Can I ask what breed, whilst praying you're not about to say any kind of working breed!

1. 10 minutes before work, not enough. Add another longer walk to the morning. Is the pup off lead yet? If not, get a longline and do plenty of recall on this walk so brain and body get a workout.
2. 10 minutes at lunch sounds fine to be fair, especially if pup has company from then. Can you do school runs with it for more brain exposure time?
3. 30 mins in the evening should stay. Can kids go with your partner?
4. Glad you all love pup and want to do well by it. Sounds like this might lead to pup being descended on and played with excessively indoors after school? If so, remember behaviour is learned so play fighting will teach nipping and jumping up. Fetch/training games (take it to classes, it's not too late) will give you a nicer dog long term. Or limit rough housing with a timer but I'd be inclined to stop it all together since it's not cute anymore.
5. Leave pup stair gated in one room where destruction can be minimised, AFTER a 30 minute walk and with kongs/snuffle mats/radio. If pup is still destroying, you might just have to suck it up as learned behaviour that it may or may not grow out of. As it gets older this might mean you need a dog walker during these hours. I'd be reluctant to crate train now as, kindly, you don't sound like you have capacity to do it slowly and without causing more problems.
6. Jumping up and nipping - redirection as a first call. Have treats, ask for a sit, reward, continue to reward/praise at intervals to extend the sit duration. Ask kids, guests, people you meet on walks to do the same. Behaviour takes a guideline 1000 repetitions to become trained. You are trying to retrain self-rewarding but undesirable behaviour so anticipate having to do more than that.
7. Puppy classes, with the whole family coming along at different times so you all get to understand a little bit of how to train pup for consistency and results. Good luck and well done for recognising and changing, you have a lucky pupper!

If it's any comfort, my five-month dickhead of a puppy has someone at home all day barring the odd half hour, has been trained from day one and still eats carpets in preference to chew toys. Eyes off her for ten seconds and she's chomping something forbidden.

And I've just found a tooth embedded in my slipper.

@LilFoxes thank you so much, that is all really helpful advice. I will look for some local puppy classes. He is a Jug (Jack Russel x pug but his breeding is much more pug than Jack). We have had a Jack Russel before and he was a dream but we rescued him when he was 5 so although we had to do a bit of training he had learnt a lot already so I think we really underestimated how much training a puppy would need which I now know was really naive!

@GuppytheCat oh no! Puppy's are definitely a law into themselves 😂

If yes a chewer and you’re leaving him for that long, you need to crate train him. It will save your sanity and your house.

Also look on YouTube for training tips - Kikopup, McCann training, Will Atherton to name a few.

You can leave an adult dog for four hours. Not a pup.
No crate training isn’t sticking him in a crate. Look up dog training advice and support on FB for advice.
At five months puppies can still have accidents. You need to be there and get him out when he needs to go.
Puppies bite. Substitute for something you don’t mind being chewed.
Pup on a lead around visitors.

@hellomrclean we found a pen more useful than a crate. It can be moved around wherever and gives you many options. Definitely look into classes and try again with a dog walker. Make his meals tyring - stuffed toppl, search and find, rolled up towels, snuffle mats, we still do this for ours when she can't sit out in the garden. You will get there.

@Floramac we did have a pen which was brilliant and he seemed to love it. But then he discovered how to jump over the top of it so we had to get rid as I was worried he would break his leg or something on it.

Hi. 5 months old puppies are teething so it is one of the worst times for chewing. My 5 month old Jack Russell Terrier loves cow hooves and goat horns that you can buy from pet food stores. Also I suggest you trim his claws to stop him scratching you and make it harder for him to "dig" up carpets. If you haven't done this before it will probably take two people and you will need to distract him with treats. Don't force him. Just do one claw and then reward him and have another try tomorrow. Make it a fun time. Or you could book him in with a dog groomer. Some will charge very little for toenail trimming. I do my terriers every week - we have "toe nail Tuesday" when I make a point of handling their toes and looking in their mouths to get them used to taking tablets and being groomed. Your pup is only 5 months so it's not too late to start doing this. Good luck. A JRT/pug will make a wonderful family pet when he has matured a little.

the dog is under exercised
the dog is lacking stimulation
the dog has been side lined since arrival.

you have had him for… 2 months?

either you or your husband work from home?

That’s way too long to leave a puppy. Much to long - and I’m a big fan of leaving puppies from a young age.

A five month old puppy that hasn’t been socialised properly (should be able to go with a dog walking and not scared of adults it doesn’t know) or trained (the nipping should be better by now) is only going to get worse.

Honestly? I don’t think you have the time or energy to commit to a puppy - and if you’re going to keep leaving it for four hours a day…that’s awful.

The issue is you are leaving a young puppy too long. Nothing is going to resolve itself until you sort that.

and i’d wager it’s longer than 4 hours

what’s weird is that 2 days ago you started a thread about how happy you were that your home was clean and you say

I'll start by saying that I know I shouldn't let it get in to such a state in the first place but due to mental health, raising three small DC, DH who won't do any housework and working full time it's just all become too much and I've been absolutely crap at keeping on top of things. The house has been absolutely awful for as long as I can remember.

but NO mention of a puppy?

It's not too late. You will need to make changes, though.