Woke up this morning and Sophia is Missing???

[Janel and Sophia]

I don't know what happened between the time she went to bed until this morning!!!  I woke up to a brown furry little devil.

I thought I had made such progress with the no bite, nipping at my ankles, jumping up and biting any part of my body she could reach.  BUT this morning I am back to square one.  It continued all day long.  She refused to listen or to watch me during any training sessions and when I issued commands she would look at me lay down and simply ignore me.  No amount of treats etc would get her do what I wanted.  She refused to go for a walk, peed in the house and if she had the opportunity would zoom through the house like a maniac. She ate anything and everything that she shouldn't, Rocks, bark mulch, carpet, bugs, weeds and her beloved Snuggle Puppy. If I tried to take anything away it just increased her wild eating frenzy. No, she is not ill, as far as I know, because she was just at the vet Friday for a check up and shots.  It was almost like she was giving me some sort of test, to see if I would cave in to her, or she was really really bored. She is eating, drinking and mostly pottying like normal.  I have to tell you there were more than several times today that I was about ready to scream. Being calm and assertive took all of my energy today.  In the end she probably spent way to much time in her crate, as I did give her time outs, not knowing how to end all the misbehaviour.

My question is, Is this a normal phase for doodles and has this happened to anyone else?  

Not sure right now what to do.   I am re-reading for the 3 time all the puppy training books I own.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

Remain strong. You have to remember she is still soooo young, she's a baby and has a very short attention span. Don't expect this to happen overnight. Sometimes it's one step forward, two steps back. Have patience and give lots of love and hugs. Consistency and love, the 2 main ingredients. We've all been there and feel your pain:)

[Mimi Linna, Lilly and Lolly]

sophia and lilly must have communicated by esp because I could have written this post. I went ahead and took her for a walk downtown last night to walk off some of the energy (let me say that we live on main st in this little village and the sidewalks were rolled up) I hope there wasn't any dog germs on the streets/ sidewalks. She just wasn't getting the walking around the yard, she would eat sticks, bugs, plants and then some da*n dog crapped in our yard and she was eating that..ick ick ick..finally at 830pm while I was holding her and she was biting hard/ I shook the can/told her NO BITE and I swear to doodle gods she gave me a look that only 13 yr old girls can master. So I put her to bed and she slept till 600 this morning. I dont know if she was overly tired or what. i try to keep her up for 1.5 hrs then put her inthe crate for a nap schedule. she eats at 6/ 11/ 3/ and 6 is.. the 11 and 3 are snacks..kong with dog food. one treat broken up/ and a little peanut butter on the rim. She is just her sweet busy self this morning... hugs.. oh I have not started training except for sit for food and treats and have her walk on a leash.

[Kathy, Harley & Roxie]

This soooooo discribes Harley on some days.  We have found that doggie daycare helps significantly with this pent up energy/not gonna mind/you ain't the boss of me days. 

 

[Vicki and Harli]

This sounds like my Harli too! Some days she has the zoomies alot. I try to take her outside to play fetch for awhile and walk her twice a day. Getting her outside to play helps alot. There are days where it is crazy at my house with 3 kids! Some days I feel like a great doodle mom  and Harli gets alot of attention but other things fall by the wayside. Other days the kids are grabbing up all my attention and Harli has the zoomies and has peed on the floor. Oh the mom guilt!

 

[Jaime and Barley Barker]

This is normal. I had to go back to square one with Barley. Just try to be patient and don't feel discouraged. I felt that way when this first started happening, but I soon learned that I wasn't alone thanks to Doodlekisses. Now at a year and a half, Barley is (mostly) very well behaved. Hang in there!

 

[Janel and Sophia]

Thank you all... I feel so much better knowing that I don't have the wildest and  craziest Doodle in the world... It really really helps to be able to share my frustrations with those that have been there done that.   She finally fell asleep at 11:30 last night after howling in in crate for an hour and a hal.When she did quiet down I took her for one last potty and she fell asleep instantly  and slept in till 7:30.  She is not quite as bad this morning and but still loves to chew on me...

 

[Heather Martinez]

Teddy had many of these behaviors! Especially the nipping at clothes! He tore holes in many pairs of pajamas. I wouldn't feel bad about putting her in her crate though. She needs to nap and you need a break too. Teddy is in a pen 8 hr a day while we're at work, so on weekends I try to spend tons of time with him. But when he was young I had to remind myself that it's okay to put him in his pen and give us both a break. Teddy gets extra crazy when he is tired. Every night he's behaving well in the living room, calmly chewing an antler and suddenly he starts running around like crazy. That's when I tether him in the dining room and he lies down and goes right to sleep.

[Jess and Pippin]

This is really normal.  Pippin is 81/2 months old and had several of these "devil days".  Very trying for everyone.  What we did notice as he got older is that these days happened less often and to a lesser intensity.  Be persistent, as patient as you can and don't give in!  Also, we found that trying something new helped (eg a new park, a new toy, try teaching a new trick).  It was a good distraction on those tough days to have something positive happen.  Time outs are good for everyone!  A good glass of wine (if you are so inclined) was also a big help  :)

[Janel and Sophia]

  I decided to give Sophia a distraction today, plus I needed to get out myself. We went to town and walked around for a full hour.  She did great, but thought every man, women and child that walked by was her best friend, whom she has not seen in ages.  She  interacted, nose to nose with 4 dogs, all in all a Huge day for her.  We did a different type of play session, hiding toys and making her find them.  Plus played fetch in the garage (raining here)  so she is now sound asleep..  The nipping was minimal today, so I guess it is obvious that she needs more stimulation, than I have been giving her.  As everyone says  one day forward   3 days back.!!!

Saturday is the day I can finally relax and let her meet other dogs, as only dogs do.  I can then find a puppy class to put her in so she can finally socialize.  I am hoping this will make a difference..

 

[Mimi Linna, Lilly and Lolly]

so happy that yesterday went better.