Venting Sesh and Questions + Dog Park??

[Laura and Angus]

Okay, so this is partly because I need to vent and also looking for ideas...

Angus will be 19 weeks on Friday and he's an adorable little madman. Currently he is teething like a fiend - we think he's cutting some of the bigger back teeth based on how he's kind of sucking on our fingers and pressing down toward the back of his mouth and he's getting his adult canines (which we can see). However, we can't find anything that seems to help him and he's doing a lot of barking and gnawing on things - obviously not the 10 million toys we have, but our furniture, clothes, and body parts. Last night we put some ice cubes into a doggie rag and tied them and that seemed to help/keep him occupied for a while. Any other suggestions? He does not seem to want to chew frozen rags...

He is also chewing and biting his leash. This happens when he gets excited - so only at certain times on our walks, but any suggestions for how to stop him from doing this? We typically wait until he calms down, say "drop it" and then have him sit for a treat before we continue. Any other ideas on how to stop leash biting? 

And good heavens the BARKING! Yesterday afternoon I took him for a long walk and when we came back inside he ate dinner. After that he proceeded to bark on and off for like an hour! I tried playing with him, but he was too mouthy and was jumping all over me. Does anyone have any thoughts on how to help him through his teething and decrease the barking? Ignoring does not seem to work right now because he is a very vocal pup to begin with (he whines a fair amount and sometimes sounds like he's bark-talking to us) and he's clearly uncomfortable right now.

On another note - we would like to take Angus to the dog park, but I'm a little worried. I want him to get time to run around and jump and play with other dogs, but don't want him getting hurt. What have your experiences been with taking your puppy to the dog park.

Thanks everyone!!

[Amy and Annabelle]

I have a 17 week old that has been acting the same way. I know she is cutting teeth. She wants to chew on everything but her toys. I bought some bully sticks, that keep her occupied for 10 or 15 minutes, then it's back to chewing on me or her dog bed, or leash or something else she shouldn't.  She has also been barking more than she ever has. I know my husband is getting fed up with her. I don't know what else to do for her. I tried giving her frozen puppy teething rings and she won't touch them. She isn't our first puppy, but I don't remember our schnauzer being this bad. I need some help too, so thanks for posting this.

[Laura and Angus]

Oh my gooosh it's so tough! I really feel for the puppies cuz I'm sure they're very uncomfortable, but the barking is pretty rough for us humans too :( We use bully sticks too, but are trying to let Angus have them less often since he doesn't digest them all that great..

My boyfriend and I keep saying to each other...it won't be like this forever..he'll stop teething soon! 

[Toni Clayton]

When George was teething, I gave him ice cubes a lot. He has never had issues with bully sticks, so I've always used them also. When he was close to 6 months I gave him a split antler..some people don't like antlers because they say they're too hard..he has done very well with them though. And again, they're splilt, so there is a softer marrow side for him to enjoy. I've recently been giving him beef backstrap, (which is tendon I believe), tendons and trachea...not all the time, but they take a lot to chew. Again, digestion wise, he doesn't have any issues with them. As far as the barking goes, I know George can get a little crazy when he's tired, and he doesn't always settle on his own, so I have to crate him to force him to rest..kind of like an overstimulated 2yr old. Plus sometimes after a walk that's "all business" he needs to run in the yard, and then he's good to go.

 As far as dog parks go, I'm a bit of a ninny about it.  We've been to one or two, and once George got bullied by the older dog there...and we left because the owner wasn't going to do anything about it..and he was still pretty young. I think if you find one and scope it out first and just be prepared to leave if necessary. There are quite a few discussions about dog parks on the forum, and you can just search it..some people love them and some don't.

[Laura and Angus]

Thank you so much for the suggestions! We definitely do ice cubes a fair amount and maybe need to get some more bones to chew..poor little bugger. Angus is the same way as George - he gets overtired and we put him in the kitchen to settle down and rest. Tough part is that instead of running around, lately he just wants to wander and grab things to eat/chew and so he doesn't do enough of the running around. Gah! We may try out the dog park early in the morning this weekend when it should be less crowded.

Thanks for the ideas!

[Ollie's Mom]

Hi Laura and Angus!  Great, now I have more puppy drama to look forward too in a few weeks! Ollie will be 18 weeks this Friday.... we took him to my parents land in SC over Turkey Day and he did great, no accidents, didn't chew on people or shoes, did well on walks.. now that he's back in Charlotte he's a nutcase, accidents, stealing shoes, dirty clothes and running away. My husband wants to get rid of him. So the energy in the house is, needless to say, poor. Ollie literally pee'd wihle walking down the hallway last night, there was this streeeeam of it. Lovely. Anyhow, when he barks he's usually hungry. I don't know. I'm starting to wonder if these doodles will EVER be GOOD the majority of the time!! I SWEAR everyone would say how WELL BEHAVED doodles are for years before we got Ollie. sigh.  Anyhow, you could try a squirt of lime juice in the mouth when he barks. Someone told me that and it wont't hurt him.  The chewing, I dunno, just redirect him and have plenty of raw hides (Ollie doesn't digest the bully balls either, ha!). And cold/frozen bones/washclothes. I have no idea. It's a struggle. I am really hoping and praying that it gets easier once they are a year old.

[Laura and Angus]

Siiigh I hear you! Sorry to hear Ollie is being a crazy pup like Angus. I did read recently that chewing on shoes and clothes is common for puppies because they smell like you and the puppy is more drawn to things that smell like his people. We constantly have to pull clothes and shoes from his mouth. Now we're "practicing" the drop-it command quite frequently. Ugh! Angus did really well over Thanksgiving at my parents' house. I'm thinking this is because we 1. mostly kept him on a leash to keep track of him and 2. there was so much excitement that he was exhausted! Maybe getting Ollie outside running around and burning off energy during the day will help relieve some of the crazies at home? 

I think we just have to hang in there! Everyone on this site says..."I remember those days" and that the consistency paid off for them. I agree with you though..I think Gus Gus needs some more long-lasting chew bone options. Off to Target I goooo!! 

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Ooh, having flashbacks from your sesh. :) been there. Rip is now 8 mos. and I will share what got us through it. For teething toys - antlers, trader Joe's bully twizzles (awesome!), the Petstages fake stick, ice cubes...
I remember his energy was much higher and he challenged me on walks with play growling and biting the leash, too. One trainer advised me to give him more freedom but on my own terms. Say release word, (ok or free) then he is allowed to sniff and explore. Then say, let's go, and we resume walking. Also don't walk until his energy is already partly drained via fetch or whatnot. In other words, don't wake up and go on a walk. They have too much energy and it won't be channeled into good patterns. ;)
Another trainer advised me (when he was biting at leash) to lift the leash straight up, directly over his neck, so he was unable to get at it, and ignore him. That really worked. Sounds simple but I remember feeling wiped out and frustrated and these bits of information helped me carve our way forward.
Now we play fetch in our long driveway with a long lead on him, I throw a kong with a piece of treat wedged in the cutout. He runs like mad and runs back to me for more. It has been a terrific exercise! We have a great recall now. Always treated!
I agree with Toni about rest sessions and crating being important to avoid overstim. But also draining energy and exercising him is super important for good house behavior. Avoid running with him for now, but playing fetch will drain energy better than a walk. Walks are nothin for these guys. And puppy play dates are the best energy drain. Find well behaved healthy dogs to play with in preference to going to the dog park, IMHO. Learn the body language cues so Angus will have safe play sessions. We have had to leave play groups before things get too rough. It is important know how to see the signs of energy escalating, etc. to prevent unwanted behaviors or bites. Not meant to scare you, just bit of info to help guide toward great, fun interactions. Rippley loves his play dates!
Rip wasn't a nipper - we never let him near our hands- so I won't touch that topic but I've said enough anyway and will leave that for others, lol! Hope this helps and wishing you the best with Angus! Have fun and enjoy the journey :)

[Laura and Angus]

Ahh yes...we have the fake stick too! He loves that thing! Thank you for your helpful suggestions - I'll definitely try holding the leash straight up today. He seems to mostly bite the leash when we're crossing the street -- it's like a mad-dash that sends him into a frenzy. So weird! After that he's usually too busy sniffing things to bite...mostly...

We definitely have a puppy playdate set up for next weekend! Thanks again!!

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Hang in there and know that "this, too, shall pass!"  I like your statement of Angus being an "adorable little madman." I used to call Winnie my "cute little crocodile."  :-)  She used to be sooo mouthy and bitey! In addition to my pantlegs, hands and arms, chewing on her leash was her favorite pasttime. Everytime I took her outside to potty or to go for a walk she would look like a maniac jumping at her leash, barking like a madwoman, etc. As frustrating as it was, I tried to ignore it. I found that the more that I told her "no" or tried to remove her mouth from the leash, the more riled up she got.

The best thing we ever did for Winnie was take her to a Doggy Daycare. She's plays hard with other dogs and comes home TIRED. When she is tired like that, she is so much less likely to get into trouble at home. I'm not a huge fan of dog parks, but I do take her to a nature trail area several times a week where she can run off leash and sniff around. She generally stays near by me, and I make her run even more by throwing sticks for her to chase. Walking on leash, even when she really little, was never enough exercise for her. She has outgrown most of her puppy madness, but still seems to find a stray sock or shoe pretty much everyday. She like to try to get me to play "keep away"- we are working on that, but I realize that my husband and I simply need to keep our socks and shoes out of her reach.

[Laura and Angus]

Oh man..Winnie and Angus sound like puppy twins ;) We've started the ignore-until-calm strategy, which seems to help a little. Probably going to look into starting doggie daycare after the holidays -- maybe once at week and the beginning... Thank you for the ideas and reminding me that this will pass :) I know there's a well-behaved dog in there just waiting to come out haha

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Have you thought of using a leash made of chain for now?  I pulled this picture off the internet just to describe what I mean.  I think it wouldn't take long to break his leash chewing habit and you could go back to whatever leash you want to use.

[Laura and Angus]

Thanks for the suggestion! It's a good thought. I think we may need to look into that! I'm kinda wondering if this behavior will go away once he stops teething...