I Have No Control!

[Mael]

My puppy is crazy! I swear she's a cross between a wolf, a cat, and an energy drink!

I try to tire her out by playing in the yard and having her chase toys and chew on her chew toys but she never gets tired out! She is always a spaz and is beginning to really annoy my family with her constant biting that is getting worse as she grows. I can't take her on long walks yet because she is only 8 weeks old and not fully vaccinated so all of her exercise is in the yard or in the house. She stays in my room a lot because whenever I let her out in the house she destroys everything and is uncontrollable. She just runs away from me if she grabs something that I don't want her to have. Not to mention that she thinks my family's miniature dachshund is a rabbit to chase around. I give her plenty of toys like Kongs and puzzle toys but she generally figures them out almost instantly or just loses interest and doesn't care.

I'm trying everything that I can to exercise her and to have control but she just doesn't listen. I am firm too, I never give in to her whining and demands but she keeps it up. As for the biting, I've tried almost everything short of that bitter spray stuff and have had no success.

What can I do to calm her down? Believe me, if I could, I'd run her for 2 hours straight everyday and she would sleep all day but that's clearly not an option.

She's so cute...when she's sleeping!

[Arooroomom]

Sounds like she really needs guidance and corrections from an older dog. As i've said, there are just some things that we can't teach them.

What are you doing to combat the biting? I hope you're putting her away and ignoring her until she's calm. It may seem like it's getting no where and you're just constantly bringing her in and out but it will work. These dogs require if nothing else... EXTREME patience and consistence.

[HuskyCouture]

Now that she's 8 weeks have you considered puppy kindergarten classes? It would help her a lot with not only animal socialization but human socialization as well.

[lyra]

I hate to say it, but just wait until she's older! Then she'll really start to test your patience, and you'll swear she's doing it on purpose.

You're probably tired of hearing it, but stick with it, be consistent, and one day you will have a good dog.

(I am editing this to add something from personal experience. I know others have done and advise doing differently, as this technically goes against the "correct" thing to do with a puppy. That's my disclaimer. I just don't want to turn your topic into a debate, as I am not telling you to try what we did...):

We got Lyra at 7 weeks and she was out on walks with us from day 1. We also heavily socialized her with people and with other dogs. We monitored her closely, but it never even occurred to me to not let her outside on walks until she had finished her vaccinations. Our vet never warned us against this. I think we would have gone crazy if we didn't have her outside exercising a little bit.

Anywho, that's my two cents. Lyra turned out fine - she's had clean fecal samples and finished her jabs on schedule. Keep in mind though that every dog/situation is different, and you should follow your vet's advice.

[Mael]

For the biting, I am currently trying to leave the room if she bites me. The problem with this technique is that she is eager to follow me and ends up getting tangled at my legs as I exit so I have to try to push her back and quickly close the door. I fear that this is confusing her because by the time I'm out, it's been at least 30 second to a minute. Where do you recommend I put her for a timeout? I don't want to do it in her crate.

She's 8 weeks but has only had one set of vaccines (at 5 weeks). The vet said that 5 weeks is too early for shots and that the vet who administered them must have made a mistake (he vaccined the entire litter at 5 weeks) because they will not do anything. So other than that first set, she'll get another set on Thursday. Therefore, she can't go to puppy kindergarten quite yet.

I don't feel comfortable taking her to public places where dogs have been quite yet because I don't want to risk any serious illness. That said, even when she has enough shots, she will be no more than 3 months old and will only be allowed 15 minutes of exercise a day. I don't think that a 15 minute walk will drain her energy at this point.

I want to get her to meet some other huskies but I'm having no luck. Everyone I talk to is busy, not interested, or just too far from me. I have a friend with an 8 month old puppy (forgot the breed, definitely not husky though). Maybe they should play together when Lucy has her second set of shots?

I'm being very patient with her. She's adorable. But I feel like I'm losing control despite me doing everything I've read in various books. I'm starting to think that those authors didn't have huskies!

[Arooroomom]

We got Lyra at 7 weeks and she was out on walks with us from day 1. We also heavily socialized her with people and with other dogs. We monitored her closely, but it never even occurred to me to not let her outside on walks until she had finished her vaccinations. Our vet never warned us against this. I think we would have gone crazy if we didn't have her outside exercising a little bit.

I agree with this, but that's my own opinion.

[lyra]

I don't feel comfortable taking her to public places where dogs have been quite yet because I don't want to risk any serious illness. That said, even when she has enough shots, she will be no more than 3 months old and will only be allowed 15 minutes of exercise a day. I don't think that a 15 minute walk will drain her energy at this point.

For those that subscribe to the 5 minutes of exercise per month of age, I believe it's not for the ENTIRE day, but at a time. As in, you could take her out for 15 minutes at 3 months and then wait for a couple of hours and take her out again.

But honestly, you'll figure out what does and doesn't work for you two through trial and error. Personally, we took Lyra on walks, and when she lagged a bit we picked her up to give her a rest or turned around to go home. We didn't really abide by the 5 minute per month rule. We also relied heavily on lots of chase games, fetch, mental stimulation, etc.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I totally understand where you are right now, because there were days when Lyra, a ridiculous 8 week old puppy, made me want to cry because I was soooo frustrated with her. And I think as time goes on it gets easier to realize that while books and research are a great starting point, it really is all just advice, and you'll come to recognize what works best for your particular situation.

(And for all of this positive thinking I'm trying to pass along, take some of it with a grain of salt because after Lyra, I don't think I could survive ever getting another puppy! )

[KSNS]

She is a pupp in her eyes everything is a toy and as such will be treated as one she will learn the rules i love their young playful mood where everything is an adventure and so exciting she is a pupp it's what they do.

Huskies run no matter what age if she has some thing of your's you dont want her to have the bestthing you can do is make it a game if you shout at her at any age huskies run it's their instincts you need to put on a playful role so she wants to come to you as if you are more exciting and offer more entertainment thanthe thing she has.

I erased this bit as i mis read part of the post

You can have her out side for exercise but you cant let her go where other dogs will have gone to toilet this is where they pick up fatal diseases and a risk should probs not take end of teh day she is you're dog. regardles of what vets may not tell you i think it is always best to research any pet befor you get one on medical conditions habbits and vaccinations as it will almost always tell you thigs the vet may neglect/forget to tell you.

"chew on her chew toys " you dont want her bitting but she will do it anyways it's how they test things use games taht will challenge her mentaly she gets bored because she is doing the same things day in and out use treats to train her an keep her busy break them up hide them in places fror her to sniff out. never play tug of war games it encourages the basics of hunting and she will do it to you're furniture and everything she can get hold of.

Also walking away from her when she bites is not the answer in a pack a dog would yelp if they hurt each other yo need to associate a word or sound to when she hurts yo this is how they learn how much pressure to apply when playing

[Mael]

I try to associate words and sounds to her biting me but nothing has worked.

The rabbit was just what I was comparing my family's miniature dachshund too, not really a rabbit.

I think I'm gonna slowly break some of the rules and try to walk her on my street a little bit.

[KSNS]

I should have picked up on that you did say it wasn't a rabbit just half asleep at work sorry.

It's a risk i personaly would not agree with but it is you're choice swimming is the best way to drain energy if i were you i would fill the bath up with not hot water but not ice cold either and make deep enough she cant touch the floor and let her swimm it off jus support her under her tummy she will panic at first but all dogs do this they can swim from birth its just the dont like it to start with now mine love it Nukka was in the sea at 13 weeks old after 2nd jab and it was god send removes all energy has no impact on joints so wont effect the min per month rul jus do not leave her in it unsupervised give that ago befor you decide to take the risk that could cost you a lot

[Mael]

Swimming is a great idea! Is it ok for their fur? I know they shouldn't be washed too frequently.

What happens if she hates the water? I know that she really disliked me giving her a bath when I did last week.

[KSNS]

Swimming is a great idea! Is it ok for their fur? I know they shouldn't be washed too frequently.

What happens if she hates the water? I know that she really disliked me giving her a bath when I did last week.

Their furr getting wet is fine it's shampooing it that does it no good takes all the oils out of the coat.

She will hate it to start with normaly it's because they panic but they very quickly adjust i carry mine out to where they can,t touch the floor an let them swim back the panic point for dogs is where it starts to get deep and they start to be unable to touch the floor an head cant be above surface so they feel they lose control if you put them in at a point where they cant touch the floor in first place they have no choice but to swim they make a fuss about it but they soon realise they are fine i think i have a vid of my nukkas first swim will try an post it.

[Rosemary]

Great post Keath. Swimming is an awesome way to drain energy, and it is so good for them. It is summer in South Africa so all our walks are water related walks. We take them either to the sea or the forest where they can swim in rivers and dams. We also have a pool at home - it is just an above ground one, but they love it, they swim in circles, lean on the side when they are tired and then go off again. If you don't have a pool you can get one of those splash pools for kids, they spend hours 'digging' the water and splashing around in theirs.

[Bec]

We got Lyra at 7 weeks and she was out on walks with us from day 1. We also heavily socialized her with people and with other dogs. We monitored her closely, but it never even occurred to me to not let her outside on walks until she had finished her vaccinations. Our vet never warned us against this. I think we would have gone crazy if we didn't have her outside exercising a little bit.

I take my pups out and about from day one too but I don't walk them. There are lots of ways to use up a puppy's energy without over-exercising them.

I don't feel comfortable taking her to public places where dogs have been quite yet because I don't want to risk any serious illness. That said, even when she has enough shots, she will be no more than 3 months old and will only be allowed 15 minutes of exercise a day. I don't think that a 15 minute walk will drain her energy at this point.

It's not really about exercise, it's about socialisation. You don't need to take her places other dogs frequent and let her down, I carry my puppies around a lot. Socialisation is also not just about meeting other dogs, but exposing your pup to as many new experiences as possible in their most crucial learning period (8-12 weeks). They go into a fear period around 12-16 weeks which is not an ideal time to socialise them. Waiting too long to socialise her is dangerous, and very risky.

I take my puppies out to all sorts of places, shops, markets, train stations, cafes etc etc so they can be exposed to lots of different people, places, sounds etc and learn how to respond to a new experience and how to behave.

We didn't really abide by the 5 minute per month rule.

You should be VERY careful about over exercising puppies. Their joints are soft and aren't fully formed so too much exercise before they are fully grown is dangerous and can cause big issues down the track - the big reason why no-one ever recommends doing things like agility with dogs until they are around the 18 month mark.

Mael, I would be using a LOT of mental stimulation to tire her out. Have you tried clicker training yet? Give it a go, shaping exercise can be quite exhausting for a puppy; it gives them mental stimulation, gets them using their brain and teaches them manners too.

[HuskyCouture]

We got Lyra at 7 weeks and she was out on walks with us from day 1. We also heavily socialized her with people and with other dogs. We monitored her closely, but it never even occurred to me to not let her outside on walks until she had finished her vaccinations. Our vet never warned us against this. I think we would have gone crazy if we didn't have her outside exercising a little bit.

I agree with this, Embry was out day one with us also, and he's fine

[Zani]

Your pup sounds exactly like mine!!! She did every thing like you’re saying.

The best thing for discipline is the time out room. If she does something naughty tell her "no", if she does it again or keeps doing it, say "no" then pick her up and put her in a dark room with nothing in it for distractions. Leave her in there for 2 to 3 minutes. Then let her out.

Biting wise my Keira is now 13 weeks old and her biting is alot better but she still does bite. This is my fault as I have not been using the time out room for this but saying no and holding her mouth shut.

Eventually she will learn to respect your belongings (though the time out room) and not destroy things... but do not leave her alone as she will know you're not there to discipline her and do everything she’s not supposed to!

Like every one is saying, stick with it and be consistant.... She will change

[Mael]

I do train her but I haven't done it with a clicker yet. I will pick one up this Thursday when Lucy and I go to the vet.

I have an indoor pool with a current, but is the chlorine ok? I don't want to damage her fur or eyes by allowing her to swim in there.

As for the timeout room, the problem is finding a place to use as one. The closest room I could use would be a floor down and I imagine that by the time we got there she'd have forgotten what was wrong? What else could I use for a timeout? Possibly a gated off area or something of the sort?

[Staceybob]

She is always a spaz

Sorry not trying to be picky, but can you not use that term? I find it very offensive towards disabled people like myself.

She stays in my room a lot because whenever I let her out in the house she destroys everything and is uncontrollable.

Bad mistake, locking your dog up and getting them less socialised with the rest of the house, will just make the rest of the house more exciting because they hardly get to go in there. If she is destroying everything or is 'uncontrollable'; Make her controllable - Pop a long line leesh on her, and if she goes to bite anything tug the line lightly and say "No!" or "Leave!". After about 5 seconds of her not chewing, distract her with something else, like a biscuit (just one of her normal kibbles so as not to upset her diet). Or if she starts to dash around inappropriately to bite things, put your foot on the leesh and slowly move your foot up the line, to give her about a foot lee way for her to stop dashing around and calm down.

She just runs away from me if she grabs something that I don't want her to have. Not to mention that she thinks my family's miniature dachshund is a rabbit to chase around.

Again, use a long line with gentle use and she should eventually get the idea.

I give her plenty of toys like Kongs and puzzle toys but she generally figures them out almost instantly or just loses interest and doesn't care.

She's only young, so her attention span is going to be very small. Everything is so exciting!!! Keep her interested and like someone else has mentioned, mentally stimulate her with things like clicker training.

I'm trying everything that I can to exercise her and to have control but she just doesn't listen. I am firm too, I never give in to her whining and demands but she keeps it up. As for the biting, I've tried almost everything short of that bitter spray stuff and have had no success.

Perhaps it is not a case of her not listening, but perhaps her not understanding what you are asking her to do. Sometimes when we get frustrated, we just throw out loads of commands and forget that actually, this puppy is 8 weeks old, it's not going to understand everything we are saying.

What can I do to calm her down? Believe me, if I could, I'd run her for 2 hours straight everyday and she would sleep all day but that's clearly not an option.

Personally, I would socialise her by carrying her (whilst I know the vaccination period is a long time into the key points of a puppies life, and it's great for people to say, well my dog is fine and I did that, we have to remember that in doing it, you are taking a risk which could potentially decide the fate of your dogs life. Whilst I worked at the vets I watched several puppies die from owners walking their puppies before they were vaccinated, so I take it very seriously.), Carry her to places and introduce her to places, even if you carry her to the local vets and introduce her to the staff - it's new! it's exciting! and omg there's people! and lots of smells! All that excitement is going to wear out your puppy eventually.

And I would give her something like clicker training to start calming her down.

If she is biting you personally; bitter sprays aren't going to work. You need to be firm. If she bites you, make a high pitch yelp which will startle her, and then give her a toy to chew. Get her something flavoured like a puppy nylabone.

I hope this helps ! Everyone on here will have different ideas, but this is personally how I would handle it.

Stacey xxx

[Mael]

Thanks for the reply, Stacey. I meant no offense in using the word "spaz", I just mean that she has a lot of energy.

The thing about staying in my room is while I'm in there. She goes with me if I leave. But when I'm working in my room or doing something of the sort, it would not work to let her go on her own and explore the house. She'll just get into too much trouble. I have her see the house and sometimes play in it (if the other dog is out of the way).

I've been socializing her a lot! She sees people almost every day. I haven't taken her to very many places yet though, just because most stores don't allow pets. I'll get her somewhere today.

[Removed #2]

Wow, I've learned a lot reading all these responses. It's been so long since I've had a puppy I won't be much help, except for the biting. While some may not agree, I did do this (at the vet's suggestion) and it worked and was never ever a problem again. When our Lab would gnaw or puppy bite, I would stick my finger down his throat and make him gag. Not puke, just a short gag. Amazingly, it worked because he didn't like it. A&J are around 4 years old and when we start to play rough and they start gnawing I grab their bottom jaw with my hand around their tongue and they immediately go limp in the jaw. Scary the first time not knowing how they will react. Puppies are much like human babies that can't really communicate. Like everyone else has said, patience and consistency! Good luck. She is adorable and worth the effort!

[Staceybob]

Thanks for the reply, Stacey. I meant no offense in using the word "spaz", I just mean that she has a lot of energy.

No problem, I understand. It's just commonly used offensively towards me so I prefer to remind people that, having a lot of energy is not the definition of that word XD.

The thing about staying in my room is while I'm in there. She goes with me if I leave. But when I'm working in my room or doing something of the sort, it would not work to let her go on her own and explore the house. She'll just get into too much trouble. I have her see the house and sometimes play in it (if the other dog is out of the way).

I've been socializing her a lot! She sees people almost every day. I haven't taken her to very many places yet though, just because most stores don't allow pets. I'll get her somewhere today.

It all sounds a bit up in the air at the minute by seperating the dogs, I think you should just take some time to pop a long line on her, let your other dog in as well and allow them to get used to being around one another, by using the long line you can control the level of hyperness that she is giving out. Eventually if you allow them to get used to seeing each other like this, your other dog will soon become less interesting and she'll become more interested in something else.

Stacey xxx

[Mael]

I think that the biggest problem for the dogs is that Lucy wants to play but Belle is largely antisocial and has no interest in playing. Not to mention that Lucy is far more energetic than Belle and jumps on her!

[Staceybob]

Again, the best thing I can think of is using a long line to correct that behaviour or just keep a close eye on them and let Lucy tell her no (as long as she doesn't hurt her of course).

Stacey xxx

[Mael]

Alright, I'll definitely work on that. Can someone answer my question about husky fur and chlorine?

I guess my biggest problem throughout all this is getting control over Lucy without having her hate me. My family is sick of her cause she just bites them non stop. I'm not sick of her but I have far less patience than I did at the beginning. I can't touch her without her gnawing on my hand. Many times in the last few days I've almost yelled "NO!" She doesn't seem to even flinch but I still feel bad and don't want her to hate me.

[KSNS]

Gotta admit i am truely shocked bu the amount of you who have taken pupps out on walks so young while jabs in progress or from sounds of it not even had them yet and saying he/she is fine i would pu that down to luck an dnot use as a eans to justify walking them it onlt takes one time for a pupp to be walked stand in some thing that you might not even see with the naked eye and their soft paws absorb what ever it is and the pupp is not able to fend off it's disease because it's imune system cant deal with it and your pupp can die I dont think it is a risk worth taking.

As Bec said carry her every where as i did mine. my arms would kill after a day she would play up because she wanted to get down but tough it's like kids when young they want things an we know it's bad for them so we do not let them do it .. SAME with pupps