Puppy is a disaster

[Anonymous]

He is a 7 month old poodle mix. I take him to a dog park in the morning, a 30 minute walk at lunch and a 45 minute walk in the evening. He is in the crate from 9-12:30 and 2:30-5:30. When he is not in the crate all he wants to do is break out of any gate system I have tried to set up to keep him contained in the house. He has the run of almost the entire main level except for my kids’ play ares. All he wants is to move or jump the gates to the play area to eat the kids toys, legos, anything. Now we have the Christmas tree and a gate surrounding it and he wants in that to get the ornaments. He is constantly trying to find shoes to eat, will take the toilet paper if the bathroom door is left open, try to jump high enough to knock stuff off the counters. He gets bored of any toy or chew I give him and just wants whatever he can’t have. I am out of ideas. I am just so tired of watching him. He doesn’t even much like to cuddle. This is not at all what we wanted.

[Anonymous]

Give him back. You can't crate a friggin' puppy all day and expect him to not go nuts when he's out of the crate. What were you thinking?

[Anonymous]

Why are you creating him when you are home? He is a puppy! That is like leaving a baby in their crib all day. You have to interact with him, teach him, etc. you know.

[Anonymous]

That’s normal puppy behavior. You shouldn’t have a puppy.

[Anonymous]

He’s a baby. He wants to play not be crated.

[Anonymous]

Cruel.

[Anonymous]

He's bored. What are you doing to engage with your puppy when he is out? If you haven't already, I'd suggest teaching him some games, fetch, hide & seek, etc. Teach him tricks and keep him focused on you. Don't expect a 7 month old poodle mix to be satisfied with lounging on the couch even if you are tired after a long day.

[Anonymous]

1. You're the disaster, not him.
2. Don't crate him for that long.
3. Read some books or google on the proper way to train and care for you dog.

[Anonymous]

Horrible. Give him back so he can find people who will actually take care of him properly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He is a 7 month old poodle mix. I take him to a dog park in the morning, a 30 minute walk at lunch and a 45 minute walk in the evening. He is in the crate from 9-12:30 and 2:30-5:30. When he is not in the crate all he wants to do is break out of any gate system I have tried to set up to keep him contained in the house. He has the run of almost the entire main level except for my kids’ play ares. All he wants is to move or jump the gates to the play area to eat the kids toys, legos, anything. Now we have the Christmas tree and a gate surrounding it and he wants in that to get the ornaments. He is constantly trying to find shoes to eat, will take the toilet paper if the bathroom door is left open, try to jump high enough to knock stuff off the counters. He gets bored of any toy or chew I give him and just wants whatever he can’t have. I am out of ideas. I am just so tired of watching him. He doesn’t even much like to cuddle. This is not at all what we wanted.

How about keeping the dog with you but leashed to your pants? This way he has supervision and is not in the crate. Also, he probably needs more exercise. A tired puppy is a good puppy.

[Anonymous]

Contrary to other posters, I don't think you are crating him too much nor do I think you're a disaster, but everything you describe is perfectly normal puppy behavior.

What are you giving him to play with/chew on that is acceptable? Does he have bully sticks, meals in stuffed kongs, interactive feeders and engaging toys? Are you engaging with him when he's not in the crate? After 5:30 is someone on the floor playing with him, or are you expecting him to make good choices and entertain himself? He's essentially a toddler--you wouldn't expect a 2 year old to entertain themselves longer than a few minutes.

Have you gone to puppy class with him? The trainer should be able to give you good advice based on what is typical with puppies his age.

[Anonymous]

So what is a schedule for your puppy? Are you really engaging with the puppy 8 hours a day? Didn’t everyone have jobs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Give him back. You can't crate a friggin' puppy all day and expect him to not go nuts when he's out of the crate. What were you thinking?

+1

WTH, who does this?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s normal puppy behavior. You shouldn’t have a puppy.

+1

[Anonymous]

You never taught him what was off limits and what wasn't, OP, so what do you expect?

1. He needs a pen system. We instituted this with our high-energy dog when we couldn't watch him like a hawk. We got the largest pen we could fit in our house. He was trained not to get into stuff before he could jump over it, which was a relief.

2. When out and about in the house, I had to trail him and loudly yell "NO!" and tap him on the muzzle every time he touched something he wasn't supposed to touch. Then I presented him with one of his toys. He got it VERY quickly. We made it easier for him by banning from the main level any of the kids' plush toys and anything he could choke on at his eye level or on the floor. We never allowed him on the furniture, and never allowed him to so much as boop his nose on the table, let alone take anything on a table surface. Yelling "NO!" in an angry tone and tapping his muzzle worked like a charm, the key was being very consistent. The upper level of the house is off limits for him. If your play area is on the main level, barricade it and train him not to go in.

3. He needs to chew, chew, chew. Get him bones he can work on, spread food in the grooves of chew toys, freeze stuffed chews so that they last longer, get him those rolling balls that dispense kibble, and rotate all these types of things so he doesn't get bored with one thing.

4. There are all these wonderful puzzles you can buy online where the dog has to open drawers or pull levers to get at his food. We don't have many because they're a pain to wash, but at that age, we did go through a few.

5. Work on basic commands and recall every day, with treats.