Good evening everyone! I apologize if there is another thread for this, but I’m hoping for some guidance. We adopted our puppy approximately a month ago. We were told she was 9 weeks old, but after her most recent vet visit, she was a week younger then when we got her. She is now just turning 13 weeks. We have her in weekly puppy classes and attempt to socialize with people (which she loves) and other dogs (which she hates). What are good ways to introduce her to other dogs when they are all almost always bigger than her? She becomes so frightened. She is also trying to eat EVERYTHING! A leaf, grass, snow, ice, bird poop...everything. I’m afraid that she’s going to get sick. She also distracts herself with everything that she forgets to go to the bathroom. For the most part, she is house trained and she receives treats when she goes outside. How do we stop the CONSTANT gnawing of trees and anything that moves or doesn’t move? Nipping and claws. Our hands and arms are covered in scabs. We are training her daily, or trying to, but she wants everything. We try and change her focus to her toys, but she sees the source of what is moving her toy and thinks are hands are toys. Any advice on this would be great! She also has pretty bad separation anxiety. My husband or I can’t leave the room for more than a couple of seconds before she becomes severely agitated. We’ve tried a few different things that we’ve read to no avail. Mind you: - her name is Sage - she is a lab/blue heeler mix (is what we were told when we adopted her from a shelter) - we have two kids (8 and 6) - we have 2 cat, which is suprisingly going well as we introduce them over a period of time Anything is appreciated. Our patience is thinning. Thank you so much!
Welcome to you. Be more determined than she is that she will bite her toys and not your hands - not easy as they are very determined. Here is tons of excellent puppy advice - https://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppies/ I also highly recommend the Happy Puppy Handbook.
Hi and welcome! Patience is the key - 13 weeks is so very young... You just have to be very vigilant about the eating of everything, it is a phase they go through, as is the nipping.
Hi and welcome. Our Maxx is 5 1/2 months old and we went through a terrible time when he was really little. We very nearly gave him back to the breeder...but now we are just so thankful we didn't as we just adore him to bits now. I remember sitting on the back porch at 4.00am just after Christmas with a rabid crocopup and I was lacerated and despairing. Now we can sit out there together calmly and just chill in the sunshine We noticed improvement at about 15 or 16 weeks and then it rapidly improved more and more. He is still naughty but no longer eats the furniture/plants/hands/clothing; but we still keep him behind baby gates inside if he is unsupervised as he is a chronic couch/table surfer. This too is starting to improve and 'leave it' mostly works. Mostly...not always! We try to keep clean surfaces but we are renovating so everything is out and about so just too tempting for him. We found the baby gates to be a life saver to be honest. If you have them or another way of restricting him to an area where he can't destroy your stuff it really helps. Otherwise time and patience with the training is all you require. You feel like she will NEVER listen or do what you are asking but then one day she will and everyone will be amazed! We are not great at training, I so admire the diligence that so many on this forum have but we do our best and it is paying off. Good luck and please let us know how you go
Hi Angela, I have Gaston, he is now 14 weeks. He does everything you describe, but everyday a little less - my hands are healing, I am now able to swap whatever he is biting or chewing on and shouldn't for something he can, such as one of his toys. Training, calm and patience are key. They also love spending quality time with us, and getting affection and attention. Slowly, the improvements are felt. One day at a time. I feel Gaston to be better today compared to yesterday, so it's a work in progress, and I find consistency is important too. Good luck
