Puppy Driving older dogs crazy.

[Mark Carlson]

Our 6-month old Doodle pup, the Dude,  runs our 2 elderly Westies ragged.
Tilly found a new hiding place safe from the puppy's constant calls to play.
She knocked over the hamper, dug out some laundry and crawled inside.
Safe and sound.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Don't tell Tilly but I think the Dude can see her :)

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

And the truth be told, if the Dude wanted her, that hamper will not hamper him at all!

[Camilla and Darwin]

LOL!

[shelly]

Awe... poor thing! This reminds me of when my kids would cover their eyes and think "if I can't see THEM, they can't see ME! Cute!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I'm not sure if you are looking for advice or just comments but I have to admit you hit a nerve with this subject. Probably because I am still racked with guilt from the past when I allowed our 6 month old terrier mix to constantly harrass our old geriatric GR. I thought they would "work it out" themselves but looking back I can see that my older boy was just to tired to contantly correct and train a puppy. I think the last year of his life was probably his worst due the situation with the puppy always in his face.I learned with Tara how to train a puppy to respect other members of the household including the cat that we now have. Part of the process was protecting the cat from Tara until she could behave gently and calmly with her. I don't know anything about the dynamics in your household so I just offer this as some food for thought...

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

This is too funny! My parents have a cairn and Peri drives her crazy. We catch Lucy the terrier hiding under the bed and other places so Peri can't get to her. Too funny!

[Lesley, Wellington & Bingley]

Im really firm with our 5 month old pup if he starts to bug our two older girls (Tibetan Terriers aged 9 and 14).

It's when we go out on the beach that he tries to pounce on them and I leave him with no illusions that this is not acceptable. They are too small (and old) to put him in his place so I step in. After being firmly up ended he leaves them alone and plays with Welly who is more his size.

Our two older girls have hidy-holes too.... that picture is great!

[Mark Carlson]

Correcting Dude when she gets too rough is OK. But she keeps trying to play the the old dogs no matter what I try to get her to play with (with me). Seems I'm not as fun as her "brother and sister" An uphill battle.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I did a couple of things that I think helped in my training with Tara. One is that I kept a leash on her in the house through most of her puppyhood. I used to tell people she was going to be 5 years old before she ever got to go without a leash!! :>)This gives you a distinct advantage in cutting off unwanted behaviors quickly and not having to wrestle with the puppy to get its attention. The other thing I did was constantly place myself between Tara and the cat and in a sense "own" the cat. I gave her the "don't even think about it" look. I let her know that the cat was MINE and she was NOT to rush it to get it to run or hurdle it or chew the cat's tail. She learned that if she messed with the cat she would have me to deal with. You shouldn't have to entertain her in lieu of her playing with the other dogs. At six months she can be learning to "leave it" or "bed" or "settle". All which would be useful in stopping or redirecting unwanted behavior. That being said, it doesn't happen overnight!! If there is anything I have learned from Tara it is perseverance!!! Just keep repeating and repeating and when you think it is hopeless continue to repeat-they DO get it eventually!! The key is YOU must not give up!! If you do-she's got ya!!!

[Camilla and Darwin]

Poor Westies, I bet they are getting fit keeping up with the dude! Such a cute hiding spot too. :-)

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Mark, there is a DK group called "Puppy Madness" which discusses and offers advice for people with Doodles under 2 years old. Perhaps you can get helpful information there too.

[Mark Carlson]

I will go visit "puppy madness" for sure!