Hi all. I have just joined this forum and already glad I have, I have read lots of posts already and don’t feel like a bad mum for my thoughts sometimes. I have a 4 month old who sleeps in a crate all night with no problems and when we are at work she sleeps in her crate really well ( we have a puppy camera so I can check on her) but between 5pm and 10pm she will not sleep at all because we are around and this leads to a very tired and bitey puppy. To give you an idea of our small house layout - her crate is in the kitchen which is open plan into the dining room then we have a door to the front room. Due to the timings we are in the kitchen cooking our evening meal and then my husband sits at his desk watching his computer while doing his painting hobby, puppy will happily sit by his feet and relax but not sleep. I am usually in the front room watching tv which she will not settle in at all, this room appears to be the room she likes to jump and bite me in. my question is how do I help her settle, I know she needs the sleep but putting her in her crate while we are walking around just distresses her which I understand. If I’m honest it’s like she needs to know what’s going on everywhere or she might miss something. Thanks for reading.
I'm curious on this too - my Sophie is 4 months old also and has been very very bitey to the point where I was overwhelmed and frustrated. Some recent changes in structure, rules and routine and she is much better, but I have a problem with keeping her out of her ex pen because she cannot settle. I work from home so she's in her ex pen in the living room during the work day. I come out every 2-3 hours to walk her, train her and interact with her and she goes back in. It took a week but she knows how to self occupy and relax/sleep in there 90% of the time. Sometimes she gets a little whiney or barks, but I ignore her and it stops. In the evening, I'd really like to have her out with me more but all she does is bite me. I can't relax at all unless I put her back in the pen. She's good on her bed next to me with a chewy for like 5-10 minutes but all she does is pace around, come by me and try to bite me, I redirect her, she goes back to the bed for 5 min and then it's just a repeat upon repeat. I reward her for calm but it just seems to amp her up more then to approach me for treats, then bite me again (now that she's taller, she jumps on me and before I can correct her she's got her sharp teeth in my inner thighs or outer calves or even my knee caps! I don't know how to get the same behavior out of her outside or her pen so that she can stay out longer with me. Right now from 4-9 pm she's only hanging out with me for maybe 2 hours and that's all I can do because that's her most crazy bite/get into trouble/zoomies time.
Hi, I know I have only had your reply so I thought I would see how you are getting on. We have tried to crate her between 5.30pm and 7pm to get her to have a nap as this is the time it works best for us. Some days I think it makes loads of difference and some days I wonder if it helps at all. I try using the settle method where she lays down and I feed her basic kibble in between her paws and lengthen the time between each treat but that again only gives me a short period of time.
Hello - replying here as we have a 12 week old lab who was similar in his first few weeks. Slept good as gold in his crate and clearly needed and appreciated the sleep but struggled to settle outside the crate. I held about 1/4 of his food back from every meal. I would then place his bed down next to the sofa and lie on the sofa with the telly on / pretend to read a book. I got him to lie down on the bed and then rewarded the calm behaviour with his food. To start with, the food was coming thick and fast - every few seconds, but now when I do this exercise he can go minutes without getting up between giving him the food. I've noticed a real difference in his behaviour since we did this exercise together. Whilst he is still a much better sleeper in the crate, it definitely feels like he is calmer.
Same here, 4 months, very bitey. My husband is home a lot more now, retired, but he still gets tired around 5-7 and can't settle. If he sleeps then, he's up until late and then will sleep 12-5 when I get up. I found fetch can help but then he'll not bring toy back and jump on me. Sometimes tug of war turns to my hands or hair. I try snuffle mat, it's gone in 3 minutes. Lick mat helps more because it takes him longer and also calms him in a way, with the licking. I'm going to freeze the pumpkin or p. butter on it next time a bit to make it last longer. Vet says some tired pups are like that and you need to give him a short time out until he calms down or maybe a longer chew. I'm showing vet Yak bone I bought tomorrow at rabies shot and see if he likes them. Seem to get good reviews.
