Are you all ALWAYS happy with your dogs???

[Sandy]

I feel like such a loser right now. I love Toby, but some days I just want my pre-puppy life back. I am alone with him from about 7:30 a.m., when everyone else goes to work or school, until about 5 p.m. until they start coming home again. Toby is 11 weeks old, so I have to deal with being nipped, cleaning up pee on the floor (one or two accidents a day), playing, walking etc. I don't have any resemblance of my life before the puppy at all. When, oh when, might I have some light at the end of the tunnel? I have a crate and I do use it, but he certainly can't be in there all day. He behaves so much better for my husband than he does for me. I feel like bursting into tears. I have received such support from this board - can someone give me a glimmer of hope??

[Pauline Rackley]

Hi Sandy,
I was reading your post and I can see how frustrated you are. You may laugh, but when Zeus was a young puppy, I put diapers on him. I did it from early on and suprisingly he never took them off. There is a picture of him wearing them on our page. If nothing else, it will prevent puddles on the floor. They sell them in Petsmart and other pet stores. Good luck!
Pauline

[Sandy]

That is so funny! I'm going to look at your pictures right now! If I did that, he could roam a little more.

[Tamara & Giada]

It will pass!! I love my Giada bunches, but yes, I can remember thinking I'll never get a puppy again this peeing and training is too hard. On the hardest days as soon as the others came home they got to take care of her for me to have a break, so make sure you have EVERYONE in the family pitch in......it can't be you all the time. Yes, and use the crate as others have said. If you are miserable you won't be good for anyone, so take breaks......the puppy needs naps anyway:)

Now she is almost 10 months old and I think oh, I wish I had that baby back, it was very hard, but goes so fast!!! Hang in there:)

[Leslie and Halas]

Puppies are a ton of work. I remember expecting that, but Halas was still more work than I expected. It will pass. There will be some tough days, but like others have said, try to get someone else to help out so that you can have a break once in awhile. It's all worth the hard work in the end. Toby will be a wonderful dog.

[2xdygsowlg4a0]

I definitely remember asking my husband "is she ever going to want to snuggle with me" when Mayzie was 3 months old. She was so cute but boy was she a terror. She chewed on people, she chewed on my two nephews, etc.

SOOOO you are not alone in having a bad day!

Good news....NOW at 2 years old she is a mellow dog (after our daily 5 mile run) that can't stand to be more than 2 inches away from a person. She loves to snuggle and is so good.

A few things that helped me get through that time:
1-TIRE THE DOG OUT-the best thing was letting her play with the neighbors dog
2-Leaving her on her leash at all times. This way I could tie her to a point in the kitchen so she would be with us but also laying down and not eating the children OR if she started to bite me or something she shouldn't I could easily pull her off with out her nipping me
3-Potty breaks every 1/2 hour. She didn't have any accidents.
4-Use of the crate during the day. I made sure I would walk her then put her in her crate for 3 hours...then another good play break/potty break...then crate again for a little break.

Pretty soon you won't know how you lived without him!

[Roxanne Ochs]

Sandy,

There is light at the end of the tunnel ~ HONEST. My dood CG is now 6 months old and has mellowed out sooo much. We took her through obedience classes and that helped out tremendously with manners. She got her adult teeth in so the mouthing stopped. We got our doodle from LivingStreams Kennel and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate that Jodi dog door trains the puppies. We installed one before CG came home and she practically housebroke herself, she can let herself out to go explore and play across the fence with the neighbor dogs on both sides. We still give her 2 long walks a day...Keith during the day because he's retired and I do one when I get home from work. We have a great river's edge trail system here and we both love the walks. Now that she's obedience trained, when she gets out of control or wants to play all the time and I'm busy , I can lay her down and tell her to stay and it's like a time out and works great. We have set aside an area in our rec room by her dog door that's gated and contains her crate so we did time outs there before obedience training and we were able to take a break from each other. Because Keith is retired and , especially when she was little, when I got home I would give him a break by walking and playing with her. It will get better, promise and you'll wonder what you ever did without her!

Roxanne

[Marcia Stevens]

Oh, man....somedays I would feel like crying all day...my life has so completely changed since we got Kodie in March at 8 weeks, then Tannor in Aug. at 16 weeks. Both were a struggle...I felt like I was either wiping up pee, or cleaning up throw up....or, trying to mend my dug up flowers....cleaning doggie doo-doo off my new carpet, or rugs. I felt like Kodie was a demon dog, and was doing "bad" things to spite me.....Tannor just basically pee-peed all over every thing in the house...I did have tears many days....but, then one day......it happened! They were actually potty trained....well, for the most part. There is light at the end of the tunnel.....sure, we still have an occasional accident....but, life is much better and everyday it seems to get a bit easier for me. Our next hurdle is to be able to leave the house, and leave them alone for longer than an hour! We are working on it...and, we take it day by day!
Hang in there...it does get better!

[Adina P]

I think we've all been there in one way or another...or many ways! When my Rosco was a pup he DID make me cry with his nipping and make me feel hopeless...wondering if I'd have to give him back before he killed me...LOL. I laugh NOW...but there were VERY difficult times with him as a pup.

Kendra of Noble Vestal Doodles (and others who have known me since I spent most of my time on a different doodle forum) can tell you that I complained A LOT. People would give me advice and I'd try it but it never really fit or I wasn't good at implementing it and came back and complained MORE. I KNOW I drove some people crazy with my constant venting. It was THAT bad at times.

But those times got fewer and fewer and with training, consistency, time...Rosco has grown into a dog I adore!!!

And even now...when he's really good...there are times that SIMPLY having 3 dogs drives me bonkers. The barking, the need for attention.

BUT those times are few and are FAR outweighed by the bonding and joy.

NOTHING did as much for my bond with Rosco as training did. It did HUGE things...but training is a process over time, not an isolated event or isolated class.

I'm seeing your frustration, but it DOES get better...HONEST. And it seems these toughest to deal with pups...become AWESOME because they do end up requiring you to grow and learn and do extra bonding/training...and it ends up for the better!

You said puppy does better with your Husband. That's probably because he has less time with Toby. Take time for yourself. LEAVE during the day..go shopping, get a bite to eat with friends, get a massage...WHATEVER you enjoyed in the past should NOT be put on the back burner entirely. Toby should NOT be the center of your universe the way he is now because the way you have your life around him is NOT good for you.

One thing you said struck me: "It's like he knows how to do it, and is determined to get on my last nerve." -- please know that Toby is NOT thinking this way. But YOUR attributing these intentions to him will make it tougher on the two of you. Your husband probably just lets things slide and doesn't allow normal puppy mistakes to become more significant than they are. SO Toby behaves. But it does get under your skin faster and Toby senses this and will respect you less if you allow him to have this much control over your emotions. It certainly was VERY TRUE for me with Rosco as a pup. He only nipped me!!! And working with him helped me grow immensely in my confidence in training and with dogs.

Toby is here to help you grow and learn and hang in there...we'll help you. Your trainer will too! And we are here for support...there IS a light at the end of the tunnel!

[Sandy]

Adina - you are absolutely right about how my husband it with the dog. He's always telling me that Toby's just a puppy, and it's just a puppy thing. I know I get wound up more quickly, and I know Toby likely senses that. I'll just have to chill out, I guess. It's a new day.....we'll see how it goes!

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

Adina..THANK GOODNESS!..... SOMEONE ( you ) HAD THE YOU-KNOW-WHATS TO POINT THOSE THINGS OUT!!....and so nicely!...I would have been far less diplomatic...: )

Bottom line...DON"T GET A DOG OR PUPPY UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO PUT THE TIME INTO THEM!!!...

It's like having a child and requires the same time and commitment.....

[Cindy S.]

No!!! With Quinn, he used to nip at me and sometimes I would just cry! And Suzie Q., she is another story!!! She is an escape artist - and I have to watch her every minutes and she is now almost two. But then when we all cuddle, I forget all of that. They both used to have accidents, and then I realized that they would go upstairs and pee on the beds!!! Silly doods! I would highly recommend using the crate for almost all day. My dogs were both in their crates until about 9 months, and I did have a dog walker that came twice a day. But even when I was home, if my eyes weren't on them every minute, in the crate with a nice big Kong. Two suggestions, with Suzie Q. I used to have a leash on her and hook it to my belt and have her go whereever I was in the house while I was cleaning, on the computer, etc. She wouldn't pee when she was tethered to me, and she really bonded. She had to learn the command, settle, but that really worked.

My other suggestion is get a second doodle!! Having the two really works! Good luck!

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

It's okay to miss your prepuppy days. I did when I got Roo last Dec. I have had dogs literally all of my lifeand huskies mostly for the last forty years. I was SOOOO excited to get a labradoodle - no shedding, no crazy running away, he would be the perfect puppy - cuddly and cute and sleepy. SURE!!! You would think that I would know better!!! Roo doesn't shed, he is cute, but he is a ball playing maniac and you would think he drinks those nutsy energy drinks. And, of course, I had not bonded with him yet.
Some people seem to bond, love, and adore, their children from the moment of birth and every dog and cat from the minute they pick them up. I AM NOT ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE and there are lots of them like me out there. For us, loving comes from nuturing and caring and wiping up pee and struggling with walks and chasing them around the house as they crunch down on an printer ink cartridge, spraying black ink with every crunch. Housebreaking is a biggy and once it's under control you are definitely on the way to the dog of your dreams. There will still be what we call "Ricky Roo" where the dog runs around the house like his tail is on fire for no apparent reason, but you will learn to love it and laugh. There will still be the walk where he jumps with muddy paws on an intolerant stranger and chases the squirrel. But there will be more and more walks where it is you and a best friend just out for a walk and having fun. You will bond with him and love him. You will think he is so cute and wonderful your heart will ache when he gets stung by a bee and his nose swells to four times its size. You will love him so much that you will find yourself at the vet, embarassed to death, as the vet kindly explains to you that all dogs have red under their eyelids, just like you do.
By the time Roo was five months I was so in love with him, I had to have another, Tigger. Tigger is now six months and I would get another if my DH would let me. And now for a few practical sanity tips:
Puppy nips - you scream "ouch" get up and walk away( turn your back) not too far because he might decide now is the time to pee.
Crate him to sleep or give yourself a break. It is NOT NOT NOT punishment. Dogs love their crates if they always get a tasty treat when they go in and have a toy in there and a lovey. They only don't love them if the crate is used as punishment or they are in them twelve hours a day. You are a GOOD person to put your puppy in a crate on a regular basis. It protects them from harm.
Walks - Toby is too young to do much walking. It will be more of a wander. If you must walk him, limit it to 5 minutes and add no more than 1 minute a week. Now is the time to roll with him on the floor. Play fetch ( even if he doesn't fetch) Teach him to sit, shake, lay down, yawn, look cute ( my personal favorite as it is so easy to teach), tug of war, chase, hide and seek. Do all these things with treats ( use a part or all of one meal if it worries you to treat him so much) Personally I give my dogs treats a lot. I don't think it has ever hurt any of them one bit - but then they lick our plates clean when we have finished eating although they are not allowed to beg.

And the BIGGY Housetraining teach Toby to potty on command. Take him out every hour or so and when he pees -right while he is peeing - give the command "go pee" or "go sniffers" or whatever. Then when he is done, no treat, too distracting, lots of clapping and yeah and general praise and fun.

I totally agree with Cindy's tethering the puppy to you. I always have, if I just can't or I just need some me time, it is in the crate they go. I keep this up until they are positively housebroken. I am still very watchful of Roo at one year, but he hasn't been tethered since he was about four or five months and Tigger graduated to just in the same room with me about the same time.

It is going to happen - one day not too far away you will realize you love this puppy and don't mind one bit losing a