exhausted

hello all.

I have a 10 week old puppy named Keely - she's a pekingese/bichon cross.

at 10 weeks, i know they need a ton of attention still, however, me and my sig other seem to have to spend all night wtih her...literally, we can't leave her alone, or she will whine, or terrorize us. someone always has to be sitting on the floor wtih her throwing her toys around with her...we find oursevles switching off where one of us is "watching the dog" and the other doing dishes, or whatever...

is this normal to have a dog that needs 24/7 attention..? how do we get her to learn to play on her own a bit?

dont' get me wrong, we want to play, just not every second of the day from when we get home to when we go to bed.

we've had her since she was 6 weeks (a little young to be getting her).

Any advice would help.

Thanks.

p.s. do all dogs bite so much - especially the clothes.

Is it normal for them to want so much attention? Yes. But, as with a human child, you can't keep giving in or they'll quickly learn how to use it to their advantage.

Have you considered crate training her? I know a lot of people feel this is cruel, but it honestly isn't. Dogs are natural den dwellers. Do a search on this forum for more information on crate training. Not only will it allow you to get some sleep, but it'll help with other aspects of training as well. It'll be difficult at first. She'll cry a lot, but you have to be strong and not give in or she'll have won ... and then you'll have even tougher battles as she gets older.

As for the biting, the answer there again is "yes". You might want to look into puppy socialization classes, or search the forum for puppy training tips as well. It sounds to me like you got her at too young an age. She didn't learn everything she needed to learn from her mom and her littermates. So, now it's your job to make sure she's properly socialized, and to teach her pack order and bite inhibition.

Good luck! :D

We can only help if you post some pics :D.

Just kiddin, you really need to get a handle on this because it is gonna get way worse before it gets better. Do you crate her? If not I would definately start (or use an exercise pen). If she whines or terrorizes you then you need to crate her or seperate her some other way for a short time until she calms down. When she is calm again then she is allowed to come back in the room with you. A good calming technique when she is wound up is to kneel on the floor with her in front of you with her back to you snugged back between your legs. Then continually and firmly stroke her chest and tell her to settle. Eventually you will be able to just tell her to settle and that will calm her down.

I would get into the habit of a good romp/walk as soon as possible when you get home to tire her out a bit. Chew toys are also an invaluable resource that can occupy the little monster for a few minutes of peace. I recommend using "natural" products like bully sticks, moozles, beef ears (from Merricks only as they are not greasy and have no additives), sweet potato chews and kongs filled with yummy things like peanut butter, frozen banana etc.

Here are a few other threads on puppy biting that you might find helpful.

http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=42424&highlight=puppy+biting

http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=44359&highlight=puppy+biting

http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=41771&highlight=puppy+biting

Thanks guys!

we will give these a shot. we do have a crate, but she still needs to ge tup and pee in the middle of the night, so we don't really shut the door...so i think we will start shutting the door and as hard as it will be, we will leave her in there, even if she whines!

I'll let you know how it goes.

does she have a crate that you put her in, if not you should definately get one and if she whines in it just let her whine and when she is quiet let her out...but not before. also she needs to have a bit of time on her own, even if she doesnt want it, still watch her but do it while you watching t.v. or folding landry and if she comes and whines or barks at you ignore her untill she is quiet. hope this helps, also post pictures ! haha :)

It's my understanding that most small dogs like yours should be left in the litter with their Mother until they are 12-16 weeks old.

You have a baby. Start thinking that way and start treatiing her like one.

This is the problem with taking dogs from back-yard-breeders.:wall:

we realized after that she was too young. most people had been telling us afterwards that it should be 8 weeks. the breeder gives them away at this age every litter. our mistake, but we're dealing with it and we're glad we got our cute puppy.

its not that we are trying to make her into an adult. :frustrated: we LOVE spending time with her - but i still don't think they need 24-7 attention. it just felt like we couldn't even live our day to day lives. so i was simply asking a question about these things.

Thanks to all those that gave positive advice - we tried the crate the other night...it was tough to listen to her cry, but she caught on pretty quick that if she was quiet, she would be fine and we got a good nights sleep! and yesterday and today, we went about our business, cleaned the house, did laundry and she brought her toys with us to all the rooms we were in.

so it was nice.

Thanks again!:thumbs up

glad that it is starting to work out.

we took her to the vet today for a check up and 2nd shot...the vet confirmed wtih us that while this was a young age to get the dog (she said 8 weeks is standard...not necessarily 10), she could tell that the dog was well socialized and it all depends on the owner.

if we hadn't taken the dog at 6 weeks, someone else would have gotten her and maybe not done as well with her in the socializing stage and worst of all, we wouldn't have gotten the dog we really wanted.

After re-reading some of the posts, I just wanted to re-iterate that while we did get the dog at a young age, we are aware and dealing with that.

i feel as though someone who posted might have gotten the wrong impression in that we didn't want this dog, so i feel the need to defend myself.

We know that she is a baby and we do treat her as a baby, and I was very bothered :mad: by that response and the way it came across. We do NOT ignore the dog or leave her alone all the time. we play with her tons and take good care of her. We just wanted advice on how to get her to play on her own every now and again.

I was just a person who asked a question and wanted some advice - something I thought was a smart thing to do. :shrug:

Puppies can be a whole lot of work. If this is your first puppy, it's a big learning curve. I'm glad you're able to get some sleep at least with the crate. The best thing about puppies is they play hard and they sleep hard. Play their little hearts out and then all of a sudden it's time for a nap. Those are the times you learn to nap yourself, or enjoy the peace and quiet. :laughing:

Cindy

She was probably more needy because of her tender age and I know so hard to resist (so cute) but as she matures she'll become more secure and independent and start to understand what is expected of her. Good luck with your new baby.

Sounds like Keely is starting to get used to your routine! Keep it up, I am sure she will do fine. Yes, she is a baby and needs lots of TLC and it appears you are giving her that. Lots of exercise (in small doses) and lots of toys to play with.....that should give you some free time!

I (personally) find that Kongs are GREAT! Stick a little bit of peant butter or cheese whiz it in and you should be good for 30 minutes or so!

Good luck and sure would love to see some pictures of your new baby!!! :lovestruck: