I just figured out I'm in way over my head!!! NEED HELP!

[Melissa McCullough]

Okay. So let me start out by saying I could not wait until my puppy got here to train her. I watched all the Zak George videos on youtube and tried to implement all his techniques. We had to get her at 7 weeks and 2 days because the breeders were going out of state for the Holidays. Anyways I have been trying to crate train her and didn't give her but enough room to turn around and lay in her crate I but a blanket and a toy in there so she wouldn't hate it and she still pees in her crate. I don't let her stay in her crate longer than an hour except for at night. ( which I am in nursing school so I stay up until about 2 am and get up around 5 or 6 am) Either way she's not in there that long We have had her about a week and I have had to give her 4 baths. ( I know they aren't supposed to get that many baths but when I get up she is drenched in pee.) Our vet told us that since she's so young and hasn't had 3 parvo shots yet that she shouldn't really go outside since we live in an apartment complex with many dogs and when I told her we were training her to do her business outside she said to take her to the same spot every time and take her right in when she's done. I know she's not getting enough exercise so I don't want to keep her on a leash at all times. So at this point I don't know what to do. She is also really aggressive with my two year old. She doesn't snap at us but she bites his face and growls and barks at him and we try to tell her no and re route her attention to one of her toys but she will not leave him alone. I try to make up for her lack of exercise with training sessions but it it so hard for her to concentrate when my son is around she just wants to chase him. She knows come, sit, how to shake hands, and we are working on look at me, leave it and roll over. It's also very painful to train her because she keeps bitting me trying to get the treat with her little razor sharp teeth. I know I shouldn't expect but so much since she's only 8.5 weeks old and I know her training sessions would go a lot better if she didn't have so much built up energy. But at this point I'm pulling my hair out. So If anyone could give me advice on her peeing in her crate, getting her to stop bullying my son and what I should do about her lack of exercise or wether or not I should keep her on a leash  in the house I would be so grateful. 

[Bonnie and Kona]

My first suggestion is to have the vet check her for a urinary tract infection. As far as her obsession with your 2 year old, it will require incredible diligence on your part. The puppy sees your baby as a litter mate. I know this is extraordinarily difficult, but training the puppy is a commitment you will need to make to have a enjoyable family pet. I suggest that you find a safe place to excercise and train your pup. People on this site have suggested tennis courts, Lowes or Home Depot. Teaching the pup to play fetch can offer lots of exercise even in the house. Walking around a big box store will be lots of excercise and calm down the pup. Be sure to have chew toys to replace as something to bite on other than people...bully sticks seem to be a favorite (choose the non-smelly kind). I hope lots of people chime in with suggestions.

Our 20 month grandson is visiting and one of our doodles is a pest. We have had to keep him on a leash a few times because the squealing baby gets him so excited. Tethering the pup to you will help. There is a discussion on tethering in the training group.

You can do this. It will be hard for a couple of months but the reward of a well trained pup will be worth it.

[Melissa McCullough]

We have a vet visit Monday so I will definitely have them check because the first two nights she didn't pee in her crate. So maybe that will resolve that problem. I asked the vet for recommendations as to where I can take her and she said she wouldn't take her anywhere at least until her first two shots because people can carry the virus on the bottom of their shoes. So I'm like terrified to even let her walk anywhere other than her pee spot. I will definitely get her some bully sticks. we have her a teething ball that we keep frozen and she has a couple of other toys. I will definitely start with fetch. Thanks you!

[Dexter Doodle]

I'm not sure how helpful I will be, but felt like I had to write in to say I totally understand. If you go back and look at old posts I wrote in saying I was overwhelmed. After having my puppy only 1 week which would make him 9 weeks old, I called in a trainer. It was truly just a counseling session for me! I thought my guy was a monster and needed a professional opinion. Up until I started real obedience training when he was about 13 weeks, I thought I wasn't going to make it! Dexter is still only 19 weeks, but things have taken a complete turn for the better.

First of all, I found with time that the more I tried to exercise Dexter when he was very young, the more out of control he got. I think I was trying too hard and he was getting overtired and cranky. He would also get crazy with treat training and get very nippy. Honestly there are still times that I use praise over treats for that very reason. It is not nearly as bad as it was though, but can cause over excitement.

I think the accidents are the young age. The first week I took Dexter home was the most for accidents. They quickly slowed and he has been accident free since he was about 12 weeks old.

The face nipping was the one thing that made me insane. I took great offense to it. He got my son twice on the nose and me once. I still work with him on this. It may sound crazy, but the trainer had me set him up and give corrections for snapping and reward for a little lick or no response. We didn't start this until about a week ago because he still occasionally would go for the face when over excited. I know everyone will say just keep your face away, but for me that wasn't the way life always worked and I want him to do and not do what I say.

Obedience training (and I am sure maturing) made such a difference. I can put him in a stay and answer the door, eat dinner, watch a tv show, etc. He is starting to heel on the leash, has great recall, rings the bells for potty, waits to greet house guests, and so on.

If you could only know how I felt when I first brought him home. I lost weight and felt like I made a huge mistake. I'm not saying it is always perfect, but if things went from bad to this so quickly.... I look forward to the future with my little man. Hang in there. Feel free to message me if you want to discuss training or anything else. I know what you are going through and for the record, even though it got better, I will never bring home a puppy and go through that again!

[Dexter Doodle]

One more thing I want to mention. I think it was hard for me because with all the nipping going on I felt very little affection from him. Now with a mix of maturing and training, I can pet him and he will snuggle me. He even gives me hugs which many people say are intimidating for dogs. Not for my guy, he initiates it and comes back for more and more! I couldn't have imagined this sweetness months ago!

[Melissa McCullough]

She is affectionate but not as much as other puppy's I've seen. she doesn't do a lot of licking and i am somewhat scared when I put my face close to hers because i might get a lick but I may also get nipped at but she is getting better everyday! I'm just glad there is hope!!

[Melissa McCullough]

LOL! Thanks I'm glad I am not the only one that feels this way. It's funny because everyone told me it was a bad idea to get a puppy right now with nursing school and a two year old but I grew up with dogs and I wanted my son to grow up with one and so I can't complain to my hubby or my family because I don't want to hear the dreaded "I told you so." So it is great to be able to vent here! You guys have been very helpful!

[Tobi Brenner]

Oh, I felt much the same way.  I got Cody at 8 weeks and he is 10 weeks now. My crate training is actually going relatively well, but I have been trying to exercise him a lot as well and I didn't attribute the out of control to tired and cranky.  That makes a lot of sense and I have been dealing with that same issue.  I took Cody to his first puppy socialization class this morning and I started to learn myself how to deal with some of these issues. I am going to start obedience training in the next couple of weeks as well. The sooner the better...  I am exhausted, but Cody is a love and he is definitely affectionate and loving at the same time and I know he is going to be a great dog. Hang in there.  I also live in a condo but he has had his first round of shots so I do take him out. That said, I have already had a round of infection and diarrhea so I would try and be as careful as you can. I have had many adult dogs, but this is my first puppy and as much as I love him, I am not sure I will ever do it again either! It's exhausting... 

[Gail and Bailey]

I do not think anyone has mentioned this yet.....but some pups like to pee in the crate if there is something soft to pee on.  It has been suggested to remove everything  (blanket or dog bed) from the crate and just let the pup lay on the plastic liner.  Usually the pup will not pee and make a puddle that he has to lie in or step in.   If it is cold in the room put a blanket over the crate for warmth but make sure the pup can not grab a piece and pull it into the crate.   The other thing is to make sure you clean all things she has peed on with an enzyme cleaner like Nature's Miracle.  Dogs can still smell pee even when we can't and she will keep peeing in the same place unless it is cleaned properly.  It is important to remember that she is still just a little baby....it will get better!!

[Melissa McCullough]

I guess that makes since the blanket would soak up the pee. Thank you hadn't thought of it! I have been using bleach and Nature's s Miracle to clean the plastic though.

[Kathryn Clark]

I completely understand what you're dealing with regarding the biting and growling issues. Our Dewey is now 17 weeks and from the start we had biting growling issues that escalated so badly I called our breeder and was considering rehoming him. What happened to us was Dewey started growling and snapping when we approached him. We hired a trainer to come over and she told us what to do, which is precisely the WRONG thing to do: don't go near him if he's growling, when you approach him say "gotcha" while reaching your hand behind his head and give him a treat, and wear him out by playing tug of war. This led to our dog having complete control over when we were near him and our 10 year old daughter became terrified of him. We were actually encouraging him to growl by rewarding him with treats when we approached him! Our breeder was amazing and talked me through the issues. Her advice turned Dewey into a lovable dog in just two days. First off, you have to show him you're the leader and you are in charge of all of his behavior. We cut the handle off a 6' leash and left that on him 100% of the time. If he did anything we weren't happy with, we gave the leash a firm tug and said a No! Our breeder also sent us a link (google how to stop a puppy from biting and growling part 1 for a youtube video). The first time I watched this I laughed as I thought there was no way our dog would do this. But he does. It took a few days for him to connect the training with real world practice but now I can command him to sit when he gets distracted by my daughter and he listens. Since they're so smart it can work in our favor or against us. Things are so much better now because of how we learned to engage with Dewey. Definitely deal with this now while he's young and before your son becomes fearful around him. We're still working on training our daughter to be confident around him. Good luck!

[Tina]

I don't have a ton of advice but I can say I have struggled with my little monster as well. Peanut is now 9 weeks and the month before she arrived I also watched every training video and felt I was totally ready to win at puppy training. The past week has been tough (and I've been off for the whole week!). Lots of sleepless nights, tears, and cranky family members.

BUT I will say the past day or two have been better. There's lots of training advice on here. Try them all to see what works. I set small goals for myself and Peanut to work on and that really helps me feel like we're making progress.

Indoor fetch is good and I'm also training her to walk with me around the house. Potty wise, what about those sod pee boxes? I've seen them on Pinterest. You just buy a small piece of sod and make your own pee spot.

We can do it!

[Melissa McCullough]

She did better last night! NO ACCIDENTS! I have been keeping her on a leash and it has helped. Yesterday went a lot better so there is hope! I will look into the sod pee boxes. Thank you!