Too old for this!

[Peggy Joan]

I have been lurking for months and love this site!  I am hoping for some encouragement--we have a 5 month old F1b Goldendoodle named Elsa (yes, we have granddaughters) who has short golden brown hair, a long face, and long legs.  I am not sure if she will doodle out, but I am thinking not.

We adore her, but her energy is endless!  She will graduate tonight from puppy school. However, she bites her leash, bites us, but at the same time can be angelic. We are retired, and sometimes I think "what have we done?  We are too old for this!".  We have a senior dog whom we must separate from Elsa to protect her (the senior dog), so we have baby gates everywhere. When does this puppy craziness begin to lessen?  I am in this for the long haul--Elsa is precious, but some days.........  Oh, I do take her walking (if that's what you want to call it) several times a day.

Blessings to all,

Peggy

[Kurt Gustafson]

One of ours was a puppy until about 5 months, the other doodle was playful for most of her life. Keep up the training with obedience classes and keep letting her take you for walks, I think you will be seeing the light soon. Around 3-5 months is usually the toughest.

[Peggy Joan]

Thank you, Kurt for the much-needed encouragement and good advice!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It sounds like Elsa really needs some good hard exercise in the form of full-out running, preferably on a daily basis. Most young doodles do. Walking just isn't enough for them to burn off all that retriever energy. 

Do you have a fenced yard or another fenced area where you could throw a ball for her? Doggy daycare might be another possibility. A tired doodle is a good doodle. 

And working her brain by practicing training exercises daily can also help tire them out, even if you just do a couple of 10 minute sessions. 

The good news is that the puppy craziness does eventually lessen. The bad news is that that it doesn't usually happen before a year old at the earliest, so it will get worse before it gets better. (The adolescent period between 7-10 months can be very challenging).Training and lots of exercise are the key. Hang in there.

[Peggy Joan]

Hi Karen,

Our fenced-in yard in tiny, so I am going to follow your advice.  I do have a place to take her where she can run freely--it is a dog park and I was waiting until Elsa finished her shots.  She did just that, so today we are going on a trip to the park!

Thank you, and I WILL hang in there.  And, I like your tip that brain exercise it tiring as well.

Peggy

[Gail and Bailey]

Is there another dog in the neighborhood that can "come out to play" with Elsa?  I have found that there is no better way to exercise a pup than having them play and run with another dog.  Hang in there!  She is adorable!

[Miss Ellie]

Oh Peggy...it really does get better...puppies have endless amounts of energy...more than we can wish we ever had...the old adage `a tired puppy is a happy puppy`...is so true...even just taking her out and throwing a ball or a frisbee will help...good luck and hang in there!

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Tired puppy is a good puppy was also our mantra even though it tires us out, too. I remember coming home from puppy class absolutely exhausted myself!  

Keep practicing her sit and down command and any tricks she knows or is learning with tiny treats, just for short, but repeated intervals.  I also did alot of walking around the dining room table to practice loose leash walking.It not only will help tire her out, but it pays off later to have strong responses to these commands.  If you have two people-practicing the come command in the house and then in the yard is huge.  Just need tiny treats to make it all worthwhile!    

She is so adorable and you will reap huge rewards!  

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

Zoe was like this for the first 8 months and then calmed down.  She's almost 3 now and although her personality is still the same (an independent little rascal) she is much calmer  thank goodness.  Also she doesn't bite and and nip as much since she passed the teething stage.  

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

What Karen said certainly holds true for my two. Both were around 2 yrs old before I could actually feel that there was less commotion going on around the house and they would lay down or sit or entertain themselves for longer periods. It did take a lot of mental and physical exercise throughout the day to keep them stimulated and tired out.

I made them work for everything, every bit of food, every treat, every pat on the head, every "good girl". There were tons of : sits, wait, stay, shake paws, lay down, find a ball, hide and seek, find the cheese, etc, clicker training, walks, dog park, and tons of ball throwing. Chew toys tired them out too. And balls with treats in them were a good game and stimulating also. You will get through it and the time and energy will pay off big in the long run.

[Emily, Bentley, & Maserati]

It gets better! I would see if you can find her a puppy friend or a park where she can run off-leash and get a good burn of energy. Walking is important, but puppies often need less structured free play to exhaust them. 

I would continue obedience classes after the puppy level. Have you considered taking an agility class together? Mental and physical stimulation is critical in focusing puppies energy. Or signing up for a dog sport like flyball? 

[Peggy Joan]

You guys are great! I am encouraged and will follow your terrific advice!  We are off to the dog park tomorrow, and I will work on Elsa's training as well.

I can't imagine life without her, and one look at her little face and I melt.  My goal is to take her with me (NOT YET) on my Hospice visits.  I think she will bring much joy.

Thanks everyone, for your support.  :)

[Joani, Skadi & Elli]

I am reading all this advice and wondering if anyone read Doggie Dan's golden rules?  Until you show your puppy who the pack leader is...you will continue to experience problems.  Subscribe to Doggie Dan...you will be amazed how much information you can access for such a small amount of money.  Well worth it!