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.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Anne, hang in there.  Even a well socialized doodle pup can be a challenge to manage and having gotten your energetic pup so young, you have additional issues. Invest the time (and tears) and she'll come around.  

Finn had to go out every hour at that age except when he napped.  Forget the pee pads.  They confuse the pup and Finn just ripped them to pieces. He was either in his crate or confined to the kitchen (puppy proofed). He was always supervised if he was out of the crate because everything went in his mouth.  We had to cut off his water at 6 pm and once we did that he slept through the night without accidents.

The "look" command is so important. Use a treat in one hand.  Move the treat from her nose to your eyes and say "look" or whatever command you want.  Reward a short look at first.  Do not reward a play bite. Progress to holding her gaze for a few seconds. Then sit and "look" so that she settles. As someone else said, this establishes you as the pack leader and bonds you.  Tether her to you for 5 minutes and go about your business.  Increase to 15 or 20 minutes 2x a day.  

Playing with other puppies is going to be crucial for her to learn socialization and it will burn off energy.  I loved those hours after a puppy play date.  I started Finn in 5 Star Puppy classes at 12 weeks.  It was as much about socialization, bonding, and self-discipline as basic commands. He learned there were times for "work" and times that he could free play - and he was not in charge of that decision.  That was hard for him to accept at first but we got there :) Find a credentialed trainer that will also give private sessions to deal with special issues you are having, like puppy biting.  The trainer will get to know your pup in different situations and it will be of great support to you. I always kept bones with peanut butter or liverwurst frozen inside for chewing.  I read somewhere that chewing also acts as exercise. I also got a couple of those interactive toys that you can fill with puppy treats...and he still loves them to this day, almost 3 years later.  That saved us through the mouthy chewing phase. Put her on a schedule and make sure she gets out for a walk, run, game of fetch or puppy play a couple times a day (in a safe area until she gets her shots). She's so little that the walk will be more of a wander but that's ok. I used to take Finn to the feed store and put a towel in the cart and push him around the store to help with socializing him before he could safely be put on the ground.  I'm convinced these doodle pups need a lot of mental stimulation or they will think up the most outrageous things :)  Take heart.  Finn loved to be cuddled but the first time he tried to seriously tried to nip my hand and I said no! - he pulled himself up to all of his 15 lbs and barked a warning in my face.  Today, he's a love.

I completely understand your frustration but stay strong.  Develop a plan, be consistent and you'll survive puppy madness. Best of luck. She's so cute.          

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Happy Birthday! Yay!!! What a great present!!!Sounds like you've got a good plan. You and Indie are going to make it through this and you'll wind up with a great dog! Lots of people here to support you. Join the puppy madness group:)

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

anne i friend requested you and id like to private message u with some of my same experiences! lol message me if u can! xoxo

[Janice Sutherland]

My guys are 5 months now and I have to agree that there are high energy times of the day. I don't let them engage in rambunctious play in the house. When they start getting carried away I open the door and out they go to tear around the yard. They have some fascinating, high energy games. I just love to watch them. After about an hour or 2 they are totally exhausted. I have never crated them. They have always slept in our bedroom. There were some restless nights with going in and out, but they fairly quickly settled into one midnight visit out to relieve themselves, and then about a month ago they started sleeping through the night. I did notice that the more they could settle into a predicable routine the happier and relaxed they became.

I can't believe how much your little girl looks like one of mine. Simply melt your heart cute!

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Anne, so clever to think of a warm bath to beckon sleep.  Roo (at five plus years and 60 pounds) now jumps into DH lap at 11pm to watch the news and they go to sleep together. 

Glad to hear you keeping your sense of humor.  Oten the toughest to manage puppies are the most bonded dogs as adults so it will all be worth the effort.

[Marnie, Stanlee's Mom]

Wondering how the puppy play class went this past weekend.  Things getting better? 

[Stephanie Summers]

Our puppy was super feisty at 10 wks. My husband was extremely frustrated and disappointed that we couldn't enjoy time with the puppy. We were also concerned about agressiveness. Two minute time-outs in his crate helped for excessive biting and "temper tantrums". It's a lot of work - constantly in/out of time-out - but it seemed to help. We also bought the Adaptil collar. Hang in there! Our Murphy is 13 wks and is so much better than he was at 9-10 wks.

[Tara & Scarlet]

oh my.......this makes me nervous. I am picking up my sweet  doodle tomorrow. I thought doodles were perfect little puppies lol. Please keep us posted on her progress and don't give up. Many years ago we got a boxer who was soooo much work as a puppy that we gave her to my sister. She turned out to be the best dog!!

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

I just wanted to let you know that I got my Bexter very young also (before 7 weeks), which I now realize is not ideal.  I didn't know that at the time.  Bexter as a puppy had lots of problems with nipping hard.  My husband and I were worried.  We did the yelping thing, and it seemed to make Bexter bite even harder, so that didn't work.  Really, nothing magically worked.  Just time.  He is an awesome dog now.  He was sweet as a puppy too, but just had the nipping problem.  I definitely think this has to do with the young age of leaving the mother.  However, since Bexter is perfectly wonderful now, I predict your puppy will get LOTS better with time too.  Good luck and hang in there!