Help Needed! What is happening to my sweet boy?

[amdeemer]

I am desperate & so hoping you all can help. My Archie is 7 months old now & it's like something snapped inside of him. As he neared 6 months, things started to really click. He had a firm grasp on potty training, puppy needle teeth were gone, & overall, he was just really pleasant.

He was recently neutered & had entropian surgery & had to wear an e-collar, which he was none too thrilled about. He ended up over exerting himself & ripped open his neuter incision extending his recovery time & e-collar wearing time. After he got the all clear from the vet, I noticed the change. Suddenly he is hyper active & quite frankly, impossible to calm down. He goes for daily walks, most days at least twice. And as soon as we return from the walk, instead of laying down & relaxing, he starts with the crazies. He starts galloping through the house & jumping up on the sofa (which is a no no), but he's not jumping up there to lay down, he's doing it in an aggressive way & makes sure we see him do it. He does the same thing with my little area rug - makes sure I see him before he grabs it & starts to chew. He also bites & his bites are hard. He bites constantly at our feet. He's terrorizing my kids with the craziness, biting, & jumping. Last night they were trying to watch a show while I made dinner & it was unreal. He just kept jumping up on the sofa & biting at them. It's out of control. In the evenings, it's like another switch goes off & he's back to my sweet boy again, but for the bulk of the day, he's nutty. I have used his crate at times when he's exceptionally crazy & maybe I need to use it more - I just hate for him to spend so much time in there. I'd rather that he stay with us when we're home. When I do put him in his crate, I'm careful to keep it a pleasant experience so that he still feels safe in there & so far so good. He always goes in without a problem.

Just this morning, after taking my daughter to the bus stop, my son & I took Archie for a half hour walk. When we returned home, he started up with the nutty behavior & it took me 40 minutes to calm him down. I'm at my wits end! I love my boy & am not giving up on him, but I would love some input. I do want to mention that, after trying & failing to calm him this morning, I put his leash back on him & held him here with me while I typed this & he finally laid down.

 

[bullmama]

It may be hormonal since he was just neutered, I have heard many owners say the same about "the crazies" after neutering. Once his hormones balance out he may calm down.

 

[dolphin]

This exact thing happened to us with our French bully he suddenly caught a case of the crazies. He'll calm down but it may take a while it's like they've been given a permanent adrenaline shot and it's up to you to deal with it. Hang in there and stay calm he'll get back to his normal self in no time.

 

[amdeemer]

Thank you both, I was wondering if maybe that was the case. I'm fact I was starting to fear that I ruined him in some way! I will say, I think I will continue to use the leash as needed in the house. That was super helpful and a far less confrontational way of dealing with the issue. Here's hoping the crazies don't last too long!

 

[brutus77]

Thank you both, I was wondering if maybe that was the case. I'm fact I was starting to fear that I ruined him in some way! I will say, I think I will continue to use the leash as needed in the house. That was super helpful and a far less confrontational way of dealing with the issue. Here's hoping the crazies don't last too long!

Using a leash to correct this behavior is the best way we found. Our Frankie gets crazy every now and then. He was crated for the first 2 1/2 yrs of his life and now once in a while he gets a little wound up. We immediately puts him on his leash and make him sit. He then has to follow us around while leashed until he understands that he cannot act crazy(nipping at us and jumping). It has an immediate effect on him and works like a charm every time.

 

[Goob14]

I am desperate & so hoping you all can help. My Archie is 7 months old now & it's like something snapped inside of him. As he neared 6 months, things started to really click. He had a firm grasp on potty training, puppy needle teeth were gone, & overall, he was just really pleasant.

He was recently neutered & had entropian surgery & had to wear an e-collar, which he was none too thrilled about. He ended up over exerting himself & ripped open his neuter incision extending his recovery time & e-collar wearing time. After he got the all clear from the vet, I noticed the change. Suddenly he is hyper active & quite frankly, impossible to calm down. He goes for daily walks, most days at least twice. And as soon as we return from the walk, instead of laying down & relaxing, he starts with the crazies. He starts galloping through the house & jumping up on the sofa (which is a no no), but he's not jumping up there to lay down, he's doing it in an aggressive way & makes sure we see him do it. He does the same thing with my little area rug - makes sure I see him before he grabs it & starts to chew. He also bites & his bites are hard. He bites constantly at our feet. He's terrorizing my kids with the craziness, biting, & jumping. Last night they were trying to watch a show while I made dinner & it was unreal. He just kept jumping up on the sofa & biting at them. It's out of control. In the evenings, it's like another switch goes off & he's back to my sweet boy again, but for the bulk of the day, he's nutty. I have used his crate at times when he's exceptionally crazy & maybe I need to use it more - I just hate for him to spend so much time in there. I'd rather that he stay with us when we're home. When I do put him in his crate, I'm careful to keep it a pleasant experience so that he still feels safe in there & so far so good. He always goes in without a problem.

Just this morning, after taking my daughter to the bus stop, my son & I took Archie for a half hour walk. When we returned home, he started up with the nutty behavior & it took me 40 minutes to calm him down. I'm at my wits end! I love my boy & am not giving up on him, but I would love some input. I do want to mention that, after trying & failing to calm him this morning, I put his leash back on him & held him here with me while I typed this & he finally laid down.

Goob was pretty much the same way as a puppy. Archie is still pretty young

We would walk Goob, thinking that it would take away some of his energy...NOPE! It was just the opposite. It was like the walk was a warm up. We would get home and he would shark attack us all throughout the house and in the backyard. I would have to set aside several hours throughout the day to devote to training and play time. After Goob got a little older, he calmed down little by little. He still has his crazy moments but NOTHING like when he was a pup.

When we wanted Goob to stop doing something, we would give him a command. Ex: If he was running around and biting, we would get a couple treats and train him to sit...lay down...stay...shake...pretty much anything to snap him out of the crazies. Now, if he hears us reach into his treat bag, he automatically comes to us and sits.

Hang in there!! He will calm down....somewhat

 

[Davidh]

Yep. I'm thinking hormonal too. He should calm back down in a few months.