I'm feeling tired, frazzled, wondering what the universe is trying to tell me. My puppy is only 9 weeks old and a couple of days. In the week since bringing her home we've had 3 emergency vet appointments. She ingested half a grape found in the garden from an old forgotten vine; was vomiting one evening and today has hurt her eye. She's worn me out. Toilet training is fun as she scavenges for mud, stones, twigs, leaves, roots anything she can find. I have to say that we are starting to manage that in the garden but I can't take my eyes off her. She pesters my older dog. I was happy to see that they've started play fighting BUT don't know when to stop. My puppy likes to play in the water bowl and regularly turns it upside down. On the plus side, she goes off to bed in her crate without much of a murmur . I'm moaning when I should be really happy. Anyone else this tired!
Hang in there, it will get better over time. Have you tried keeping her on a leash whilst she toilets? Might reduce the scavenging.
I think you are doing great! Baby baby puppy days and nights are tough but look at the big picture....it's a short time really in the 15 years you will have. if puppy likes crate, some enrichment in the crate, pop her in and take a break. You got this. PS: I remember the grape incident with my own pup at 17 weeks old. Fun times. Got to laugh.
The answer to your question is...you have a 9 week old puppy! All this is super normal and you have a way to go before it all settles down. It's worth it though, so hang in there. Read all the old threads, we have all been in your shoes.
I would echo the comments above. I was a first time dog owner with Monty - he's now 9 months and starting to settle a little bit more, but it was such hard work when he was younger. We always toileted him on lead so we knew exactly what he'd done - we wrote it down in a notepad so any issues became apparent and we could make sure he was getting enough trips outdoors. It also stopped him eating stones, digging up plants and practicing other behaviours we didn't want... For the first few months of ownership I'd quite happily have gone back to being a dog-free household...now I can't imagine life without him.
Of course you can't take your eyes off of her (and you shouldn't) - she is a 9 week old puppy! You need to cut her some slack. Start teaching some basic commands - first and foremost "leave it!". She doesn't pester your older dog, she wants to play, again, she is a puppy. You need to change your attitude otherwise I don't see anyone happy in this story.
