10 week old puppy - very cute, but totally crazy.

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

Hello!

I am so thrilled to find a forum for Doodles! My boyfriend and I have a 10 week old Goldendoodle puppy named Indiana. We got her as a companion for our older puppy Kodos, who is a lab/terrier mix. They get along fine and don't seem to have any problems with each other at all.

While she is very cute, she is somewhat of a terror right now and I am hoping for a bit of a sounding board here. We've signed her up for puppy classes, as well as socialization, both of which begin this weekend. 

Her energy level is OFF the charts, she is extremely strong headed, and can be extremely aggressive. She gets excessively yappy and is often just a massive challenge to be around. She doesn't have any interest snuggling with humans; in fact, I'm pretty sure we're just here to make sure she gets food, etc. She doesn't really react a lot to human affection, she gets into serious "biting human" moods (more so than normal puppy play), and gets REALLY fired up and angry when you stop her from doing something she likes. She latches onto your hand or toes with cranky intent that really does not look (or feel!) like playing and she's drawn blood on more than one occasion - just for swapping a toy, or stopping her from eating a spider, etc.

If I pick her up to stop her doing something dangerous (eating bad things, etc) she throws herself around in my arms whilst being very vocal and yapping (sounds like I'm hurting/abusing her when I'm absolutely not) - just totally freaks out - and tries to bite VERY hard while screaming to get down. She also likes to charge people with her mouth open and smack into them with her little fang teeth, retreat, and wait to see what happens. I don't think this is play time, though, because if you try to engage her in play while this is happening, she just backs away, and then tries again.

We are getting no sleep - she can't be in her crate for more than 2.5 hours without using the bathroom or she sleeps in a puddle of urine all night, which she likes to drink sometimes.  Crate in general is not a problem, she will calm down and be okay in it, but I would like to know if anyone has had luck with crate alternatives for the entire day as I don't want her to associate her crate with being in jail.

We are having a very hard time managing her (even as experienced dog owners), and I just wondered if anyone else has had these same issues or has any thoughts to offer - I would totally appreciate anything. She is not really a pleasant little thing to be around right now and we would really like to get to the point of enjoying her company and having her soul be a little more peaceful, because at the moment it's sort of like a storm.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Oh dear- I am not sure how I would handle all that. I am sure you will get some good advise from others on this site, but I can only offer you some sympathy.  Good you are going for training.  Best of luck.  

[Lindsay n Archie]

Oh no!! I think most puppies would eat the broken glass, so just make sure EVERYTHING is puppy proof for sure.  Did you get her from a breeder?  I would look up a bahavioral animal trainer and run things by them.  I think what works for us (ours is very mouthy right now too!!) is when shes biiting your clothes, calmy say "NO BITE and then give her a toy to chew on. If she takes the toy, praise her like crazy.... Good luck!

[Jessica Girardot]

Oh dear is right! I am having the exact opposite experience with my 8 week old doodle... The only advice I have is less water before bed time to reduce the need for multiple potty breaks. As for the biting, it sounds as If your puppy isn't just play biting. When my puppy chews on my hands or anything she isn't supposed to, I say a firm " NO!" and redirect her to a toy that she CAN chew on. Seems to be working well. Does your puppy seem to like being praised for when she is good? Praising good behavior might convince her to behave.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

DON'T USE THE PUPPY PAD. Teach her to go outside. Puppy pads confuse them too much!

[Adina P]

The energy and crazy behavior sounds like she'll just be more of a handful until you get past the puppy 'training' and into serious training (6 months+).  But she doesn't sound necessarily 'aggressive' in the true sense.  Just feisty, determined, and a feisty and determined puppy would be a pain at this age.  I would start scouting around for a really great trainer/class for the not-a-puppy-anymore training.  Personally I wouldn't even consider a trainer who didn't have multiple obedience titles on his/her dogs.  So look for someone who can 'prove' their training chops and who has evidence that they also can teach students to reach great lengths in obedience.

As for the pee...have you checked to see if she has a UTI?  Is the crate 'small' enough?  One of our members was recently struggling with her pup peeing in the crate and she finally actually made her crate BIGGER and that helped.

Sorry you have my sympathy.  But I think with a commitment to training you'll end up with an awesome dog...because dogs like this can eventually use their energy for good =)

[Adina P]

Oooh, you said puppy pad. I am kind of leery, personally, of allowing a dog any indoor potty options for fear of confusing them.  What are your reasons for using a puppy pad, vs. only allowing her to go outdoors?

[Adina P]

Anne E, okay, that makes sense. 

Am I reading correctly that she was 6 weeks old when you got her?  Or was the 6/5 above referring to something else?  If you mean that she was 6 weeks old, then that alone might explain some of her lack of bite inhibition. 

P.S. these are some resources I ran across when googling "san francisco obedience clubs":  http://www.aocnc.org/associationclubs.htm  and http://www.akc.org/events/obedience/training_clubs/index.cfm?action...  and http://www.dogplay.com/Resources/sfbay.html

[Jennifer and Jack]

I agree with Adina, usually puppies are left with their littermates until they are at least eight weeks old..sometimes longer.. Puppies when they play with their litter mates learn something called bite inhibition.... They learn to not bite so hard by biting their litter mates and having that litter mate make a reaction..a loud yelp... If a puppy is taken away too soon from that situation they have even a harder time learning what is acceptable and they rely on you to teach them..

Many trainers teach the owners to mimic the loud yelp when the puppy is biting.... even eight week olders bite.. It is all about teaching them. If you put the time in you will be so glad and so rewarded... She is super cute

[Jessica Girardot]

Eeek. Yeah, I am sympathetic and hope things get better soon. My puppy can't stay awake past 8 pm lol! Some dogs don't take to praise I guess. Btw the sooner you quit the puppy pads , the better! You are going to have a difficult time breaking her of the habit of being able to go in the house. And don't feel bad for crating her when you both need a break. Hopefully she will learn not to pee in her crate. Yuck!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

She sounds a lot like how my Peri was at that age.  Peri was a very spirited little girl (and still is for that matter) - I remember the first few weeks like it was yesterday.  I cried most days thinking "what have I done?" - we had a chihuahua before her and he was/has been so easy compared to her.

Train, train, train...and be prepared to train for the first few years (well really forever :)).  We had Peri in continual classes until she turned 2. Yes, I said it. 2.  She passed her canine good citizen at that point.

For now, limit water after 7pm.  While you are home, you need to take her out every 15-20 minutes for potty and make a big deal out of it when she goes outside (have a party, give her treats, etc...). When she messes indoors, give a firm no and take her right outside - hopefully she will go again and you do a big party.  Show the difference between good and bad.

My best advice is to be patient. I know it's hard, but it will all be worth it. And join the Puppy Madness group on here and you will see, you are not alone and this is quite normal puppy behavior.

[Heather Martinez]

What a cutie! Teddy was very similar at that age! He's an absolute joy now though, it will get better! Training classes are the best, because you will get lots of great advice and it really tires the puppy out. Teddy started training at 13 weeks and that was when he started improving, but many of the behaviors you describe did not improve until he was about 4 months old. Additionally, the  best thing I ever did was find a good trainer and have him come to our house to work with Teddy one on one starting at age 4 months (I wish I did it earlier actually). I needed it to address the specific issues that Teddy had in a one on one environment. It was worth every penny.

When Teddy was that age he definitely wasn't into cuddling either, it was hard to even pet him unless he had a toy in his mouth because he was always trying to play/bite. Now he loves to cuddle and be hugged and petted.

Regarding the crate, until he was 6 months old, Teddy was crated at night but during the day we had him in a pen. We used puppy pads in the pen until he stopped needing them at 4 months old. He did not have trouble learning to go outside even with the pads.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

One of our dogs is an English Springer Spaniel - a breed also noted for their high energy levels.  Gordie was a very difficult puppy - he outsmarted us in the crate department by screaming until we took him out so I don't have any crate advice for you (our doodle came crate trained).  Gordie was a nipper, etc. Babyproof your house as much as you can and give the pup limited access just to keep her safe. Whenever we left him Gordie did major damage - ate molding off walls, destroyed 2 couches and a chair, cushion by cushion and much much more.  All I can tell you is that while he has never outgrown the hyperactivity or anxiety when left, he turned into the sweetest dog ever who gets  into or destroys nothing.  I questioned getting him multiple times a day when he was little because he was NO fun. Like the others suggested training with a GOOD trainer (not PetSmart, PetCo type).