Is spunky getting enough attention?

[Spunkysmom2012]

Our 10 week old is so hyper, she wont fall asleep until we put her in her crate and ignore her. She's in her crate during the day while we're at work, though we both get up extra
Early to try and wear her out. When we come home we also play with her for hours! She never seems to settle down. I understand shes a puppy, are we doing this right?

 

[Spunkysmom2012]

She also bites ALOT!! She's getting better when we prompt we to stop, but does this mean she will grow up aggressive?

 

[Biogirl71]

Puppies go in bursts...they will have a ton of energy but they also need a lot of sleep, which sometimes they don't realize. So it is good you put her in her crate to give her a chance to get some rest.

As for biting, that is natural for puppies. I would be consistent and if she is biting hard to tell her no and give her something acceptable to chew on. When Frank was a puppy, we would let him gently nibble on our fingers or gum them because it was our way of bonding with him. One thing I did when he was teething and bitey was soak washcloths in water, freeze, then hold him on my lap while he chewed on the frozen washcloth.

There are a lot of puppy experts on here so you will get lots of good advice!

 

[LisaMarie]

She is just a puppy!!!! That is what puppies do. As long as you are interacting with her and giving her lots of love she will be fine. As for the bitting , continue to correct her and let her know that its not ok for her to do that. She will get the idea. Get her lots of Nylabones and encourage her to bite on those.

 

[GoGween]

Yes more Nylabones! She goes through those things like skittles! Spunky gets all of our attention and last night she even slept through the night without us having to take her out! Yayy Spunky!


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Don't Fight The Spunk!

 

[Spunkysmom2012]

I love the washcloth idea, thank you all. We are strict and consistent with biting, some days are better then others.

 

[ILuvHudson]

You're doing just fine!! The only thing you're guilty of is being too hard on yourselves. Yay for you for getting up early to spend time with her and trying to think of her well being.
I don't know if everyone will agree, and I'm not the best to say this as I only have a male bulldog (FOR NOW haha), but girls seem to be very, very mouthy. Stay consistant, and use everyone else's advice.
We also tried to push down on Hudson's tongue when he was a puppy if he would bite us, especially if it was a harder bite. They hate that and will usually stop so that they don't have it happen to them. But some bullies have more stubborn than others.
Keep up the good work!

 

[Poppy]

Some methods to deal with biting depending on how severe:

-Put a chew toy in her mouth
-Yelp loudly to let her know she hurt you, and stop the play time. They learn real quick with this one lol
-On some dogs you can hold their snout closed for a second or two and say "NO" in a deep voice (be firm but don't hurt them)

 

[2BullyMama]

You are doing great... only thing I would add to help with the mouthing/biting --- squirt bottle with water, whenever she is doing something you do not want her doing --- nice firm NO and a squirt right in the face.,,, she will very quickly get the idea.

 

[Spunkysmom2012]

These are all great ideas, thank you for the support. She is learning more everyday and she seems to be catching on, finally. She is definitely stubborn!

 

[Libra926]

Our 10 week old is so hyper, she wont fall asleep until we put her in her crate and ignore her. She's in her crate during the day while we're at work, though we both get up extra
Early to try and wear her out. When we come home we also play with her for hours! She never seems to settle down. I understand shes a puppy, are we doing this right?

I haven't read anybody else's comments on this yet, but I just had to laugh. This was O. Exactly. Non stop. Well, she is 2 1/2 and she still is non-stop. For the longest time I just wanted her to stop long enough to cuddle and sleep...but she would carry on until wee hours of the morning. It was such a huge milestone when she actually fell asleep in the family room with everyone else. HUGE. Good luck.

 

[TheLost]

Puppies! love'm...

I believe this picture sums up Molly at that age..

Molly also refused to sleep.. she would run around until she passed out from exhaustion. The more tired she got... the more the teeth would chomp.

It's hard sometimes to put them in the crate (they are so stinking cute!) but puppies need LOTS of sleep.. whether they want it or not. Molly started settling down once she got into a healthy sleeping routine... my wife called it 'ferberizing'

Puppies bite. Its part of being a puppy and learning. If you watch puppys play with siblings they are all teeth and chomping. They learn from parents, siblings and other's in the pack how hard of a bite is too hard. Be consistent and it will stop.

Side track:

I've read a few articles that say its ok, even good, to let your puppy nibble on you. The theory is that its like a 'security blanket' to them. They find it comforting and calming to nibble on your hand/fingers/arm. Their argument is that a dog is more likely to bite in anger/stress if its never been allowed to learn the limits of biting. I've noticed in Molly that if she's being SUPER rowdy/nippy/chompy and i let her nibble on my hands (not bite) she calms right down. The trick is to set the limit of how hard she can mouth. What do you guys think? ok? not ok?

 

[Spunkysmom2012]

I let nibble on my finger and that does seem to comfort, though she hasn't learned her limits yet. I feel better knowing that it's normal though, I do wish she could just sleep and be cuddly without thinking I'm trying to run a marathon with her. Thanks all to your advice, I love this place!!

 

[Spunkysmom2012]

@biogirl72 I wanted to show you how much spunky enjoyed the cold washcloth, she sleeps!!! It's a miracle!!!

 

[2BullyMama]

@biogirl72 I wanted to show you how much spunky enjoyed the cold washcloth, she sleeps!!! It's a miracle!!! View attachment 16971

What a sweet picture