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. 

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Pee' ing the crate....are you limiting water intake at night? Puck up water around 7pm. Make sure, when you take him out, he emptys his bladder. Many pups don't always, the first " squat".
There is no replacement for excercise.....a puppy NEEDS to expend that energy. We found rolling a ball down a long hallway was a great way to tire Enzo out. If only I had a nickel for every time we threw that ball! :p
She sounds very much like a normal pup. you will have to work with her on the issues with your son and it will not happen over night. But tiring her out will help tremendously in many of these issues.

[Melissa McCullough]

I've been stopping her water at 8. I took her blanket out and she made it through the night!!! I have been playing with her in the house, I just wish that I could let her run a long distance =( 

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Do you know anyone with a fenced in yard, where she could run her energy out? Or someone who has a dog, that you are sure it has had all it's Vacs? The good news is, a time will come when you can let her run and play without fear of her getting sick. Until then...house play!
By the way, at this young age, she would not be running " long distances ". Their energy level may be high, but it is short lived . At 8 weeks, she's gonna crash pretty quickly. And I hate to say it, but it may get worse, before it gets better. These guys need to expend that energy.

[Melissa McCullough]

Last night one of my husbands friends bought his first puppy and wanted to bring him over for us to help him and I was so skeptical about letting them come over because he was only 8 weeks old and they had just gotten him earlier that afternoon from a co-worker but Sean convinced me that she needed to be well socialized and it would help her get some energy out. So they came over last night and I thought they would play all night but they played for a good hour and then they both knocked out! This morning she had Diarrhea and I started freaking out! She has an appointment tomorrow to get her first set of shots from our vet. She already had one from the breeder.So I'll feel better after this next round!! 

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Most doodle puppies are high energy and they're smart so it will help to find ways to give her both physical and mental exercise.  The good news is they tire quickly but after a nap they're ready to go again.  You can play lots of ball inside and if the other pup is getting all its shots (and not being walked in public places), it will help for her to have a friend come in for puppy play.  Interactive toys where she has to work to get the kibble out are good, etc. But no matter what, running kids, loud kids, happy kids, excite puppies.  Your puppy sees the baby as a playmate.  It's hard to teach a two year old how to behave around a pup, and harder still to teach a puppy so you'll have to be super diligent. I still watch my 4 year old doodle around kids.  He's very gentle but can get excited when the kids run around.  I would keep a leash on her and let her drag it so you can calmly pick it up or step on it when she's wants to chase or play too roughly with your little boy and give her a command. Redirect her to a toy. Never leave them together unsupervised. Tethering the pup to you for 20 minutes a day as you go about your stuff may also help. It will get much better but to Ro's point, puppies take months to grow up.

[Marie and Hoka]

The first few weeks are exhausting, just like with new babies.  

As far as the biting vs licking issue, I used to coat my hand in peanut butter to teach Hoka to lick instead of nip.  I would invite him with the command "kisses".  Other times, I would put lemon juice on my hands, not invite him, and then say "Aaack, AAck!" loudly when he put his mouth on me.  He learned to only put his mouth on me when invited, or it will taste bad.  This really worked very quickly for him.  We had to reinforce it, but now I only need to do the "Aaack, Aack!" part.

And definitely keeping the crate free of blankets and toys will help with the pee.

As far as your son, I would really keep them mostly separate for a bit, maybe playing on opposite sides of a gate?  You have to be in charge and the pack leader, and the puppy will not see your son this way yet.  I would have a trainer help you establish their relationship. Eventually your son can help feed the puppy, but it may be too soon. Having the leash attached to my belt when out of the crate helped to establish control.  You might have to spray bitter apple on the leash so the stinker doesn't chew it when you are distracted.

Good luck with everything!  I have been an RN since 1989, still at the bedside in ICU and also working as a clinical instructor. My kids are grown.  I am misty-eyed thinking of all the fun yet to come for you!  Be patient the best times often only come along after the difficult.

[Melissa McCullough]

Thanks! She is finally ok with my son and we did the peanut butter! It worked wonderfully! I will graduate next December. I am hoping to get into L&D=) I think it is really hard to get into as a new grad so I am between ED and ICU. My instructor is an ICU nurse and she says it's organized chaos.

[Marie and Hoka]

I think that is very accurate. If you like some semblance of control and like interacting with families and patients longer term and closer, ICU is great.  I'd say you have more control freaks in ICU than ED, LOL. 

I love ICU and keep working 1-2 days a week as a resource RN and then teach part-time as well.  Good luck!