Busderpuddle

WOW, Great job with the training. I am curious how long it took you to train Paddy with this long lead ? I am wondering if Ruby would love to wander a bit more.

Cleo has been home now 5 days and today has been crazy. I knew it would be tough, and I have never had a puppy before. She has decided to not come when called, bite my toes on her way by, eat dog poop and rocks (we pick up daily but she has found small chunks of Ruby poo), tried to jump on the furniture-which we don't want her to do until the chewing stages are over, barks at me while wanting to play..........and basically acted like an unruly booger. I have been taking her outside every hour to potty, then run back and forth with her many times. We practice "come", "sit", "down", about 10 minutes (separately) 5-6 times a day. Inside I roll the ball, give her a bully stick, play with toys, etc.....she is getting a lot of exercise. She gets wilder each day, and it is worse between 7-9 PM every night. Today she didn't want to be held. She is not afraid of anything or anyone, and she is only being treated kindly and without any yelling, thumping, etc. She knows the word "no", and usually responds to it. She is better about leaving Ruby alone. So, I know this is typical puppy behavior, but today she seemed like she was out of control, had trouble with the training exercises, so I kept them very brief. I don't know what else I can do ? I can't take her any where until she gets all of her shots, so the back yard is it for now. How do I train things like no jumping, no biting toes (nips really), when she seems wild ? Right now she is in her XPen so I could write this. I have watched a ton of You Tube videos, but none really said what to do about the jumping and nipping. I don't want her to be one that jumps on everyone. She is almost 10 weeks. When do they calm down a bit ? I know it takes a while, but need to know there is an end in sight. I worry about her nipping the grandbabies. I have called all the classes in the area, and they all want her to have all of her shots first, so 6 more weeks. HELP !!!!! good thing she is so cute..........................

Great advice from all of you. Thank you. It sounds like I need to be putting her in her crate and not her Xpen a bit more throughout the day, so will start that today. She does fine in the Xpen, and the crate at night, but I have not been using the crate during the day. Have any of you used bell training to teach them to go outside ? I have been watching You Tube videos, looks interesting.

Thank you so much Krissy. I really appreciate your help. So far there have been no more accidents, and when she sniffs at Ruby, I tell her NO, and she walks away. She is eating everything she can find in the yard, like rocks, twigs, etc.....Assuming she will just poop them out. She understands why we are outside, and I have been trying to play with her in a different part of the yard. She is only 9 weeks, so we have a long road ahead. I sure hope she is not one that will get into everything, but she is extremely curious about everything. 6 months is not too far down the road really. Did you spay Kili ? At what age ? I always thought it was at 6 months, but the vet said at 4 months, or as soon as she finishes her shots. Seems young.

THANKS !!!! So how long do you think it takes before they are safe to leave out of their crate when I am cleaning or sewing ? Is it a couple months ? 6 months ? Should I use the crate over her Xpen ? She hasn't pottied in the Xpen at all, so I have been using that when cooking or showering. Should she be in the crate instead ? She has been crated at night, and has not gone potty in there. She now knows when we go out and I show her the cheese, she gets it if she potties. Seems to be a quick learner. She learned sit in about 5 minutes, comes to her name, and understands NO when I tell her to not bug Ruby. So far so good.

Thanks....that is what I figured. She has a small xpen and she seems to like it. No accidents in there at all yet. So I am curious, about how many hours a day, not counting the breaks, do you think a puppy is in the crate ? I feel like it would be a lot, since her play sessions are pretty short before she flops over and falls asleep. When do I stop using the crate ? Is there an age, or how will I know she is safe to be roaming the house ?

OK, Great advice Krissy (and everyone who agreed with her). is it best to keep her in the crate when I am watching TV or sewing ? Those would be times that I can sort of watch her. Right now she is asleep on her bed right next to me. She goes 9 hours at night with no accidents, 3 days in a row now. That is nice ! If Ruby is growling, do you think this will escalate into anything dangerous ? I would hate for her to snap puppies head off, and I really don't know what she will do. She has never shown any aggression before, but she has had a fairly quiet, dog free home for 7 years. She has never chased anything, but has also not been given the chance. Love you all here.........better advice than what the vet gives. I think I need a new one, as he acted like he just didn't have time for us today.

We brought our new puppy home a couple days ago and I think I need better training in this potty world. I have never had a puppy, so not sure how to accomplish this. I have read about 4 books, and endlessly watch You Tube videos, but they conflict with each other. I tried keeping her on a leash close to me now for a day, and she spends all her time biting the leash and collar. That doesn't seem like a good way to go. When we go outside, she knows I have chicken, so she will pee, but not poop. Found 1 pee and a poop in the house last night, when we turned our backs to clean up our dinner. Is there a tried and true method, and is it possible to get her to go on demand at some point ? We live in rainy, cold Oregon, and the thought of standing out in that yuck all winter sounds like something I don't want to do. We are crate training her, and she goes all night long without a mess in the crate. Do I use it during the day ? She has an Xpen that we use when we can't watch her. Ruby really dislikes her too, so we try to keep her out of Ruby's space...........but, we also want Ruby to learn to tolerate her. She is wearing her muzzle when the pup is roaming. A couple growls so far, and she turns away from the pup constantly. We are not letting the pup crawl on her. How do we know when she is safe, and will not snap at the puppy ? Is this a months and months long project, or ? Ruby has been getting extra attention and praise. I know it has only been 2 days, just need some guidance on the best plan. Thanks .

I am so sorry.........sending love

Thank you everyone. I will check into all of these mentioned. Neylasmom, I tried to PM you but it said you couldn't receive PM's ????

With the new puppy coming soon, we are thinking about getting pet insurance. We have been so lucky with Ruby, as we did not buy it, and she has not had anything major happen. Now I feel she is too old. Can you please share what kind you have, what it covers, and the pros and cons of it ? Would you purchase it again ? Thank you

AWWW, Poor Conner. Hope he feels better soon

I know someone that uses potty pads in her back yard because she doesn't want her dog to ruin her grass with pee. Seems to work, but she is picking them up each time and disposing of them. Kind of a pain in the rain. '

I would think that once she calms down at home, you might try the cafe again to see if she is her old self there again. I would keep trying it if it is somewhere you would like to be able to take her.

Our Ruby is the same way, and we are now winding down from the 4th of July fireworks. She is terrified of every noise and bump for several days after being frightened, and we just let her pant and pace around until she mellows out. She will usually go and pant in her crate. It is hard to watch and everyone's anxiety in the house goes up. As she ages, she seems to get a bit worse. She is now afraid of the ice maker, and the BBQ as it cools down and pops. It is hard to watch, but I agree that it is best to just go about your day as if nothing is bothering you, and she will follow eventually. Good luck.

I am so sorry for your loss. God Speed Celeste

It is not letting up !!!! 8 PM every single night she starts in. I called the vett this morning and he said he has nothing else to offer her. I am going to try some herbal things I have heard about. We live in the city with no wildlife anywhere around us, so I don't think that is bothering her, plus she is indoors. We have air conditioning, so she is not getting too warm. It is almost like she sees something at 8 PM, then just starts shaking and off she goes. I did some online searching last night and it does sound like dementia possibly. I just don't know what to do for her, I feel so helpless when she is doing this. I have tried laying down with her, talking to her, taking her for a walk (she hates this in the evening), putting a fan right by her, turning the TV up louder, etc..... nothing can get her out of this shaking during this time. It is so sad to watch, and is wearing me and her down.

As soon as the sun starts to go down, the panting and pacing start. Last night she started in around 8:30. I think she has sundowners disease........or PTSD from the fireworks.

Thank you. So far tonight, no panting. Hoping it doesn't start up. I am assuming it is all caused by the meds, which we stopped.

The Elavil was to see if it would help her fear of fireworks, which it didn't. I have taken her heart rate, and it is fast, but regular. I don't know what her normal heart rate should be ??? I did not give her any Vetprofen today, but didn't know about giving her Pepcid too. She seems a bit less frantic tonight, but it is still happening. Last night went on for hours and hours, but she would continue to eat small treats, which she won't do when other things have been going on. She seems to get much worse at the sun goes down. We have been told by the vet that he thinks she has dementia starting up, and it sure seems like something like that. Sad to watch.

I am so sorry that Clifford had to leave you tonight. Sending prayers........

Thank you JohnF for the information. Hopefully it is the Amitryptiline that has not cleared yet, but holding the Vetprofen today too. She is still panting and acting terrified of everything, but it gets worse at night.

Ruby has started panting non stop and pacing up and down the hallway since the 2nd, when the fireworks started. The last 2 nights have been the worst, with zero fireworks. She is eating, peeing and pooping normally, and will eat treats during these periods. About a week and a half ago, I took her to the vet who put her on Vetprofen for her arthritis. She was also put on Amitryptiline, but I stopped that after 3 days, as it did nothing. Tonight she started acting nuttier than the other days, and it has lasted over 5 hours. I finally put her out to go potty tonight late, and then she wouldn't come back in. I turned the outside lights off and got ready for bed, then came back again to get her, and she ran in like normal. Could this be the Vetprofen ? I know that I have issues with pain meds, so am wondering if they are hurting her more than helping ? If so, any other ideas for pain meds to try ? She is definitely not enjoying life at the moment, poor girl.

Ruby has never ever barked. It would scare me to death if she barked now.

Thank you all for the great information. Like I said, I have never had 2 dogs at once, so this is new to me. Yes, Ruby has had her thyroid checked, all is normal. I like the idea of not allowing the 2 to spend a lot of time together, and we had discussed this already, mainly because Ruby is crotchety and a grouch at times. She likes to be left alone, so she will have her places to be without getting bothered. We have an XPen, and the pup will spend time in there when I cannot be on top of her. Appreciate all your comments.