Feeling Overwhelmed with 9 week old puppy

[Maggie Mul]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

Hi Everyone,

I am looking for some reassurance! We have a 9 week old puppy - Havanese/Shizu mix. We have had her for 2 weeks. We live in the Middle East, so have very little in the way of dog training support available to us here. We got Maggie from a home where the owner had the Mum (Havanese) and Dad (Shizu) and her 6 other litter mates. Both parents were very friendly and outgoing. It is true to say that they were probably not born in the best environment but the dogs were well cared for and loved. These are the things going well with Maggie:
She settles well in her crate and sleeps anywhere from 10:30/11:00 until 6:30am
She knows some basic commands - sit, down, up
She generally is ok with potty training, as we take her out every couple of hours.
When we have been out, she genuinely is really happy to see us!
However, in the last couple of days her behavior has started to change - she barks at anyone who comes into our house, she hates going out on the leash and literally tries to bite our hands if we try and attach the leash to her collar, she is very nervous when outside but most of all she can nip and bite us really quite hard. We have tried the ouch and turning our backs, but this does not work. She does not let up and continues to bite at our ankles and feet. She will even try and jump up and bite our legs. We have tried to distract her with a toy but this does not work either. My kids are getting quite upset about it when she gets into her frenzy and goes on a biting rampage. I have watched so many videos and read so many different articles I am now confused as which method to follow and what we should try and deal with first. I feel the biting is the first thing we should tackle. When she bites should we put her in to time out straight away? Should we continue with the toy and ouch approach, what do we do when this doesn't work and she continues to bite our ankles?
When she is calm, she is very sweet and loves to just sit near us. I am hoping this is just a 'phase' and that things will improve but am starting to feel a little worried at the same time. Thanks for reading.

 

[JudyN]

Don't worry - young pups are harder work than babies, because at least babies stay where you leave them when you put them down!

I think the first thing you should address is her stress levels - she won't be able to learn what else she needs to learn while she's stressed. So make sure she has a nice place she feels safe - her crate would be good if she's happy in it in the day - pop her in it when people come round (it should be in a room away from where the visitors will be) and giev her something nice to entertain herself, e.g. a stuffed Kong, or an old box filled with twists of paper with kibble in (as long as she doesn't eat paper!).

Don't push her into walks she finds stressful. For now, I'd work on making her happy with the lead - do something like hold it close to her collar, then give her a treat, repeat, repeat, repeat... then you could try putting it on, treating her, taking it off, and so on. Once she's happier with the lead, then you can simply put it on, sit by the open front door, and watch the world go by. Then take a step or two further.... and so on.

Puppy biting: 'Ouch!' works for some dogs, but not for others. Try to encourage her to play with toys - maybe teach her tug - and then always carry a toy on you that you can stuff in her mouth when she gets that look. When she does bite, don't say anything but calmly put her in timeout. It can be easier if you remove yourself from the room (stairgates are invaluable here) than removing her. But you only need to leave her in timeout for 5-10 seconds. After that she'll have forgotten why she was there. When you let her out she'll probably go for your ankles again, and you'll have to repeat it over and over again till you're totally fed up, but eventually, she should start to hesitate before biting - and if she actually doesn't bite, you can praise and reward her.

If the children are finding it hard to keep calm, you could even get them to wear (clean) wellies in the house. This doesn't mean they should let her chew on the wellies of course, but they should be able to walk away without going 'Aaaaaarrrghhhh! Ouch!' which she'd see as a great game!

Also, check out this impulse control game:

Even if a pup knows what she shouldn't do, at first she simply won't have the self-control to do it, and this game can really help teach her this.

Don't expect great results too soon. She is a baby, and some dogs really are little land sharks. My hands and arms were covered in scratches for what felt like weeks on end when my dog was a pup, but he did grow out of it... eventually!

 

[Maggie Mul]

thanks so much for your reply. What you have said about the lead has really resonated with me, as I do feel we have pushed her into it before she was ready. I will take a step back now and just try to get her comfortable with the leash and then sit on the doorstep for a while and see how she goes. I think we will try the time out for biting. We have a spare crate by the stairs which we can use and this way we do not need to use her regular sleeping crate. When we have tried it before in the spare crate, she cries loudly but we have ignored her, (just for a minute or 2) and then we make sure she is sitting and is quiet before we let her out. Does this sound ok? She has not socialized with any other dogs since leaving her littler mates 2 weeks ago, but we have arranged a potential meet up this week with another dog who lives in our community. What is the best way to handle this? Should I hold her when she first meets the other dog? I anticipate her barking and being very nervous and not sure the best way to go about it. Any thoughts?

 

[JudyN]

Ideally, I wouldn't shut her in the crate if she's not happy in there. Encourage her to settle in there, but don't close the door and let her come and go when she wants. Letting her cry will only make her less secure and possibly come to dislike her crate. Again, Kikopup is a fantastic resource:

Plenty of pups do cry a bit and then settle down and relax, but sensitive ones not so much, so it's best if they feel safe and happy from the start. (I'm not an expert, so others may have more suggestions.)

What is the other dog you're planning to meet like? Do you know of he/she likes or at least tolerates puppies, if he/she likes to play and if so, how roughly? I wouldn't hold your dog - she may feel more vulnerable that way - but I would have a lead on both dogs. I'd keep them separate at first, till you feel they're both comfortable together. You really don't want the older dog to do anything that might freak her out, so if all you achieve is her happily taking treats from you while she watches the other dog, that's all good

Again, I'm not an expert.....

 

[Josie]

Don't worry - young pups are harder work than babies, because at least babies stay where you leave them when you put them down!

I think the first thing you should address is her stress levels - she won't be able to learn what else she needs to learn while she's stressed. So make sure she has a nice place she feels safe - her crate would be good if she's happy in it in the day - pop her in it when people come round (it should be in a room away from where the visitors will be) and giev her something nice to entertain herself, e.g. a stuffed Kong, or an old box filled with twists of paper with kibble in (as long as she doesn't eat paper!).

Don't push her into walks she finds stressful. For now, I'd work on making her happy with the lead - do something like hold it close to her collar, then give her a treat, repeat, repeat, repeat... then you could try putting it on, treating her, taking it off, and so on. Once she's happier with the lead, then you can simply put it on, sit by the open front door, and watch the world go by. Then take a step or two further.... and so on.

Puppy biting: 'Ouch!' works for some dogs, but not for others. Try to encourage her to play with toys - maybe teach her tug - and then always carry a toy on you that you can stuff in her mouth when she gets that look. When she does bite, don't say anything but calmly put her in timeout. It can be easier if you remove yourself from the room (stairgates are invaluable here) than removing her. But you only need to leave her in timeout for 5-10 seconds. After that she'll have forgotten why she was there. When you let her out she'll probably go for your ankles again, and you'll have to repeat it over and over again till you're totally fed up, but eventually, she should start to hesitate before biting - and if she actually doesn't bite, you can praise and reward her.

If the children are finding it hard to keep calm, you could even get them to wear (clean) wellies in the house. This doesn't mean they should let her chew on the wellies of course, but they should be able to walk away without going 'Aaaaaarrrghhhh! Ouch!' which she'd see as a great game!

Also, check out this impulse control game:

Even if a pup knows what she shouldn't do, at first she simply won't have the self-control to do it, and this game can really help teach her this.

Don't expect great results too soon. She is a baby, and some dogs really are little land sharks. My hands and arms were covered in scratches for what felt like weeks on end when my dog was a pup, but he did grow out of it... eventually!

Great info JudyN!

 

[Maggie Mul]

Just to be clarify, the time out crate is not her sleeping crate at all. It is a much larger, empty crate that we have had from many years ago which is just sitting at the bottom of the stairs. Should we stop using this as our time out place. We live open plan, so we don't really have anywhere else to close her off. For the first couple of weeks training was going well but she seems to get very frustrated very quickly when she doesn't get the treat straight away and has now started jumping up and biting to get the treat. However, her night time sleep is amazing for 9 weeks and she sleeps from 10.30 until at least 6.00am. Is this normal???

 

[JudyN]

I think it's fine to use the crate for timeout as long as you ensure it's not treated as a punishment - but simply teaching 'When I do X, the fun stops.' The interaction when you put her in the crate can be rewarding, though, which is why removing yourself can work better. But if you're open plan and that's not a possibility, so be it.

Don't worry about the frustration - it's absolutely normal, and may even get worse before it gets better as she finds her feet and develops her own opinions Just keep rewarding good behaviour and set her up for success so she doesn't have to wait too long for her treat (like asking a child to say 'please' when there's something he really wants rather than asking him to tidy his room and do a whole page of sums, which would be more than he could cope with).

Some things do take time and need the dog to mature just a little. I tried to teach my dog to take treats nicely by holding a treat in my hand but only giving it to him when he stopped mouthing my hand to try to get it. I gave up because my hand was turning into a pulpy mess I tried again a few weeks later, and it worked almost straight away - he'd mouthe my hand, then draw back, and got the treat, and before long he didn't mouthe at all but just waited.

Definitely don't worry about her sleeping through the night! Like human babies, they're all different, with some sleeping through from a few weeks (allegedly) and some being up at night for what fels like forever (like mine).

 

[JoanneF]

I have little to add to @JudyN's advice but it might help you to know about something called Extinction Burst. This is where a behaviour (usually an unwanted one) has previously resulted in getting attention - like the ouch technique for biting - and you now are walking away or giving time out. The dog feels she has to practice the behaviour even harder to get the attention it previously got her. So the behaviour typically gets worse before it gets better. That may be why you are getting the jumping up now. I'm not entirely sure what you are meaning about her jumping up for treats but maybe only give treats when she has all four feet on the ground? You could scatter food on the ground when you come in to help keep her focus on not jumping up?

 

[Maggie Mul]

Thank you all for your advice. Living where we do overseas and not having access to any professional training places worries me but the responses on here have reassured me we are doing the right thing and going in the right direction! Things have been better this week and Maggie has been less 'nippy/bitey' - the distracting her with a toy method generally works, but sometimes she just prefers our ankles and hands! When she lunges and bites hard, we put her straight in the spare time out crate for a minute or two. The advice about the lead and walking is working well and we are getting a bit further each day. She barks when she sees other people (more so at night time) but I think we will address that issue later.
We are not having much success with toilet training though. She holds from 11pm-6am but seems to just do it anywhere in the house when she feels like it. We take her out every hour or 2 but she sometimes does it as soon as we come back in!! Should we have a more strict crate training schedule to address this issue? She is in her crate in the morning from 8-12, Mon-Fri. I normally go home about 9.30/10 to let her out for a quick wee 3 x week. there is someone there the other 2 days. I am there for 10 mins max. I am home in the afternoon, so she just usually potters about following me. I am wondering whether this is the problem and if she should have a stricter/afternoon crate schedule? Do yo think it will help? Any advice appreciated!!

 

[JoanneF]

Should we have a more strict crate training schedule to address this issue?

No. The crate seems to be working, it's not there that she is toileting. Crates are a useful tool but they are just a tool to help. And she is already in there quite a lot for a puppy.

Toilet training happens when two things come together - the ABILITY to hold the toilet, along with the DESIRE to hold it in order to earn the reward for doing so.

Ideally you want her to not be in a position where she needs to toilet before you have her outdoors, so that every toilet is outside - as far as possible, there will be accidents! So set her up to succeed by taking her out even more than she needs; for example every 45 minutes to an hour and always after sleeping, eating, playing. Wait with her to make sure she toilets, and when she toilets outdoors make a huge fuss (never mind the neighbours, act like outdoor toileting is the best thing you have ever seen) and reward her with a high value treat. Do that immediately, don't make her come to you for the treat so she is clear that it's for toileting and not for coming to you. The idea is that she wants to earn the treat enough to hold the toilet until she is outside - once she is physically able to control her toileting obviously. If she has an accident inside don't react at all. If you get annoyed she may learn to fear your reaction and avoid you if she needs to toilet - the opposite of what you want. As she is actually performing the toilet you can introduce words she can associate with it (like 'do weewee' and 'busy busy') that later when she is reliably trained you can use these to tell her when you want her to toilet.

Indoors if you see her circling or scratching the floor, that can sometimes precede toileting so get her out fast.

Clean up any traces of urine indoors with an enzymatic cleaner to remove any trace of scent.

 

[excuseme]

Your young puppy seems to spend a lot of her life in a cage ! Maybe over excitement of being let out and sometimes only 10 minutes with you could be a problem. Our dogs are not animals that should live in cages. Cages do have their uses and can help with training, but a young puppy being taken away from it's siblings and mother and then being put into a "prison" alone so often is wrong ! Do you cover the top of the cage to make it feel more secure and "Den like" for her.
Have you considered using a puppy pen in an area that the puppy could consider as hers with her bed and not use a cage.

 

[JudyN]

I'd also add that some pups do seem to have a 'double wee' - wee in the garden, come back in, have another wee. If that seems to be the pattern, then after she's weed in the garden and come back in, take her straight outside again!

 

[excuseme]

I know exactly what you mean about those "double wees" but have never thought about offering another wee as quickly as you have. (what a good idea !) Maybe next time we keep a puppy I will remember your good suggestion.

 

[Maggie Mul]

Your young puppy seems to spend a lot of her life in a cage ! Maybe over excitement of being let out and sometimes only 10 minutes with you could be a problem. Our dogs are not animals that should live in cages. Cages do have their uses and can help with training, but a young puppy being taken away from it's siblings and mother and then being put into a "prison" alone so often is wrong ! Do you cover the top of the cage to make it feel more secure and "Den like" for her.
Have you considered using a puppy pen in an area that the puppy could consider as hers with her bed and not use a cage.

I feel from your comments above I need to clarify her crate schedule. She wakes at 6am, plays, wees and has breakfast and then goes for a walk for 15 mins. She HAS TO go in her crate at 8am as I go to work. On a Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday she is in there until 9.30 when I come home and let her out for 10- 15 mins. She then goes back until 12:00 when I get home. She is not left in there for more than 2 hrs at a time. (Except at night time of course.) The other 2 days a week I have a cleaner here, so she is not left alone at all.
She is not in her crate again until bed time at 11pm. She may go in for half an hour whilst I am sorting the children out upstairs and I can't supervise her, or if I have to go to the supermarket. I do not agree that 'Your young puppy seems to spend a lot of her life in a cage!' and we certainly do not keep her in a "prison". She roams around the house mostly from 12-11pm. Not 'prison' like at all.
I did however, find your suggestion of covering her crate very helpful and will do that during the morning too. (We already do it at night time)

 

[Maggie Mul]

Judy

I'd also add that some pups do seem to have a 'double wee' - wee in the garden, come back in, have another wee. If that seems to be the pattern, then after she's weed in the garden and come back in, take her straight outside again!

Yes we have discovered the double wee!! Def a trait lof our young pup! We are on to that one now!!!

 

[Maggie Mul]

No. The crate seems to be working, it's not there that she is toileting. Crates are a useful tool but they are just a tool to help. And she is already in there quite a lot for a puppy.

Toilet training happens when two things come together - the ABILITY to hold the toilet, along with the DESIRE to hold it in order to earn the reward for doing so.

Ideally you want her to not be in a position where she needs to toilet before you have her outdoors, so that every toilet is outside - as far as possible, there will be accidents! So set her up to succeed by taking her out even more than she needs; for example every 45 minutes to an hour and always after sleeping, eating, playing. Wait with her to make sure she toilets, and when she toilets outdoors make a huge fuss (never mind the neighbours, act like outdoor toileting is the best thing you have ever seen) and reward her with a high value treat. Do that immediately, don't make her come to you for the treat so she is clear that it's for toileting and not for coming to you. The idea is that she wants to earn the treat enough to hold the toilet until she is outside - once she is physically able to control her toileting obviously. If she has an accident inside don't react at all. If you get annoyed she may learn to fear your reaction and avoid you if she needs to toilet - the opposite of what you want. As she is actually performing the toilet you can introduce words she can associate with it (like 'do weewee' and 'busy busy') that later when she is reliably trained you can use these to tell her when you want her to toilet.

Indoors if you see her circling or scratching the floor, that can sometimes precede toileting so get her out fast.

Clean up any traces of urine indoors with an enzymatic cleaner to remove any trace of scent.

 

[Maggie Mul]

Joanne F
Very useful and supportive advice. Thank you!