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Originally Posted by changa  Our puppy is 10 weeks old and even though he's a lot of work, we love him to bits. He's taken to the crate very well and has had only a few accidents in the house, all of which were our fault, of course. We've let him have a bit more space downstairs now (from living room only to l.r./dining/kitchen area) and he's able to go up and down the stairs to his crate on his own. I've got him on a schedule and he's great on it. During the day I take him out of the crate for about an hour at a time and play with him, train him, he eats, eliminates, and he's generally a good dog the whole time.
The problem is he seems to really wake up at night and get really hyper. We train him, play fetch outside, let him graze in the backyard, play tug of war, etc. but no matter what from about 8:30 to around 10 he's go go go. This is also when he is likely to nip and jump on the furniture, which is a no no. We have to tell him repeatedly to get off and after about 5 times he does a frustrated growl and goes to do something else. Is this normal?
Also, I'd really love some other suggestions for getting his energy out. My vet told me I could not take him anywhere until his shots are finished at 16 weeks and it is driving me CRAZY not to be able to walk him or take him places, because he calms down after meeting other people.
Thanks for any replies. I'm so glad I found this forum...it's a lifesaver.  |
I've got some concerns here, and then some comments. In your first paragraph you say:
"During the day I take him out of the crate for about an hour at a time and play with him, train him, he eats, eliminates, and he's generally a good dog the whole time."
The only time a puppy should be in a crate is when you're not home, or unable to watch him. Crate training *does not* mean the puppy spends most of his time in the crate! The more the puppy is loose and out of the crate, the more training can be done, and the faster the training proceeds. This could be part of why he gets hyper at night, if he's spend most of the day in a crate....pretty understandable to me.
Beyond that, I think you're giving a 10 week old puppy too much freedom during the time he is out of the crate..at that age, they should be kept close by, under your direct supervision. A puppy that wants to go into another room is a puppy that's up to no good.
Then you say you have to tell him repeatedly to get off the furniture, he complies after about 5 repeats of that order. It's pretty unlikely a 10 week old puppy really understands what "off" means yet-it's up to you to remove him physically while telling him off...don't repeat commands and don't expect dogs to comply with commands they don't yet understand. Say it once, say it like you mean it and follow through with removing him.
If he's already growling at you when you want him to do something he doesn't want to do, you've already got some leadership issues going on..this will only get worse. I think you need to find a puppy kindergarten class to train both you and your puppy.