# Trouble-maker



## sonatalady7 (Apr 4, 2011)

In my opinion, we have the greatest dog in the world! She's sweet, cuddly, loving and well behaved...well, mostly!!

This is sort of a question within a question:

We're considering moving (in with another couple...to save money), which would require us to live in essentially a 1 br place, with our own br made living room. In order to prepare for the transition, we have started letting Bella sleep in our bedroom. She has previously been sleeping downstairs in her crate, but when I wake up in the morning and start moving around, she starts whining and barking (we've been doing this since day 1 and she hasn't stopped). So, in order to keep inconvenience to other's (in the potential new home) at a minimum, we've decided to try having her sleep in our bedroom.

She does wonderfully...until about 6:30. She starts sniffing around and jumping up on the bed (we say NO always and kick her off!) and pawing at the side of the bed. If I ignore her, she wanders off and finds something distructive to do...aka - chew socks/underwear, make lots of noise with things she shouldn't be playing with (you get the idea). Ordinarily, she isn't distructive at ALL...unless she wants our attention. We leave her in the kitchen with a gate up during the day and there are napkins (extreme temptation!!!) and cookbooks on a microwave cart that she could easily access. She doesn't touch them at all. She only chews/plays with her toys. But when we're around, she finds all the tissues/socks and brings them to us and wants us to chase her.

Ok, so, with all of that said, I have two questions:

1 - If your pup sleeps in your room, do you have the crate or just a bed (on the floor)? If you use a crate: door open or closed? What's your routine (leave her in or take her out while you're getting ready)? Anyone have a master bath...and have hubby sleeping while you're trying to get ready? I'm dealing with that situation too!

2 - If you leave her on her own bed on the floor, how do you keep her off the bed and from being distructive because she wants attention?

As a side - I'm going to be de-cluttering my bedroom tonight! 

Sorry for the long post...need some help or my hubby (who stays up late and gets up later than me) might go crazy on the dog!!


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

Hi,
I have my cousin living with us and I am now doing the same thing with Lady, she is in a crate in our room with the door closed, she doesn't get the door opened untill we are ready to go downstairs....I leave her in there while I get ready, she gets excited and a little barky but I just give her the SHHH noise and she stops. 
Hubby is asleep while I get ready for work on most days so I try and keep her calm. which she is more so when she can see me. 
I also don't let her out while I get ready because we are still struggling with toilet training in all areas of the house....the other day we gave her full run...for the first time and she peed on my bed...I was not happy.


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## marzy (Aug 20, 2010)

hi
we have boycie on his bed in bedroom but he also wakes up 6 ish its because its not dark anymore so we use black out blinds.
also when he wakes we let him out for wee and poo then back to bed
we say its nite nite time and he will either go on his bed or has a cuddle up with us
you have to be persistent tho
when he used to jump up i would put him on his bed and say nite nite time.
if she is used to crate acnt you use that in bedroom or isnt there enough room?
hope it helps you a bit
marzy


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## sonatalady7 (Apr 4, 2011)

Oh No, Amanda! Bella just had an accident (poo) when we were up in NY a few weekends ago, but it was totally our fault. We should have let her out sooner. Other than that, she hasn't had any problems. She rings a bell when she wants to go out.

We have super dark curtains on in our room, so it's REALLY dark. She starts going to sleep around 6 or 7 pm...so it's no wonder that she's ready to get up at 6:30! If I ignore her she tends to leave us alone (when she scratches at the side of the bed) and then goes to chew on anything 'bad' that she can find! If I give her any attention, she's persistant about wanting to get on the bed, or scratching on the side of the bed or the door. She's a persistant little thing!


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## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

Yes, it's a lot of hours sleep for her, so not a surprise that she's up early. We also spend our evenings in the bedroom watching tv and Dylan will be mostly on his bed on the floor, but sometimes comes on ours for cuddles. When we switch the lights off all I have to do is say Dylan, bedtime, and he's off our bed like a shot. They just get used to the routine. 
About 5-6am Dylan comes to my hubbie's side of the bed and he lets him up and they go back to sleep together for another hour! His decision, not mine! Hubbie's always up early anyway. While he gets up to dress, Dylan just waits for him quietly - he never disturbs me unless he can see that I'm awake. Then they go downstairs together. Occasionally if I get up during the night, Dylan might ask to go out with me and I'll let him out for a wee, but most times he doesn't bother.
It is always tricky at first to adapt, but they are such creatures of routine that they soon learn. Just decide how you want to do things and she will get the hang of it. Maybe give her something to play with or chew during the evening so she doesn't sleep so early, as well, and take her out for a wee before you go to sleep. Hope that's some help x


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## sonatalady7 (Apr 4, 2011)

I'm not sure how to keep her from sleeping, particularly when hubby and I are just relaxing in the living room. Her toys are out all the time for her to play with, but she just gets up on the couch and goes to sleep. Maybe Bella takes after her mom and needs a lot of sleep?! ;-) 

She did better this morning. She slept until about 10 minutes before my alarm went off. Then she put her paws up on the bed (I'm sure to check and make sure we were still there...and not awake..fooling her!!) on my side and then on hubby's side. Then she started chewing on her bone for a bit (I was laying there listening to her thinking YES YES YES!!!!) then...she pulled a pair of jeans that I wore yesterday and found a rapper in them and started chewing it. UGH! 

So, all in all, it was a step in the right direction. Perhaps this is incentive to stop being a slob?! :-D


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## Enneirda. (Mar 5, 2010)

1 - Can't offer any help here. My kids sleep on the bed and know their busted if they get off while I'm still on. 

2 - On the keeping her off the bed thing, I'd just keep doing what your doing. Firm no and boot her off, no attention given to her. 

I don't think shes 'being destructive because she wants attention' but because she's really bored, geared up and ready for the new day lol. Something like the Dogopolis KongTime Automatic Dog-Toy Dispenser would work great here. You could have kongs with peanut butter, hard treats, raw hides, anything really, all set to open when she starts getting fidgety, and this would calm and tire her out.

Have you thought about having a great chew set aside, and when she wakes you, you could give it to her? A rawhide or the such would be a great way to entertain her. 

No option of crating her for a while longer, just until she starts to sleep in more? Really that is my first though, letting her run around alone is a bit scary lol.


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## sonatalady7 (Apr 4, 2011)

Enneirda. said:


> 1 - Can't offer any help here. My kids sleep on the bed and know their busted if they get off while I'm still on.
> 
> 2 - On the keeping her off the bed thing, I'd just keep doing what your doing. Firm no and boot her off, no attention given to her.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your suggestions! Practially, how would you suggest giving her a treat to occupy her while I continue to sleep longer. I don't want to reward her for putting her paws on the bed, so I don't want to wait for her to do that. If I hear her start wandering, should I call her to her bed and then give her the treat?

I haven't been successful with finding anything to keep her occupied for much longer than about 10 minutes. She eats treats like super dog and I havent been able to find a bone that is interesting to her that will last long enough. She had rawhide at my in-laws house and she had diarrhea right after. She LOVED the rawhide (had never had it before) so should I try to give it to her again and see how she handles it? I don't want to upset her tummy...

Thanks a million!


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

Try a pig ear, they smell nasty but Lady LOVES them and it occupies her for a minimum of half an hour


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## sonatalady7 (Apr 4, 2011)

I'm not sure I could sleep with the stench!!!


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## Hazelnut (Apr 2, 2011)

I am a creature of habit and my little girl Tilly has her routine. When I first got Tilly she slept in a crate in the kitchen for about one week, she was quite unsettled. We moved her crate to the bottom of the stairs so she could see where we went at night rather than thinking we were not in the house. This working perfectly apart from 7am on the dot she would cry. I would jump out of bed (which I hate) open the crate and put her straight out for a wee. I never minded as apart from the first two weeks where I put a puppy pad in her crate she had never wet or messed her bed. We never allowed her upstairs in the house as on the stairs and in the bedrooms we have carpet, downstairs is wood. We never put a stair gate up, she was too little when we first got her to do the stairs and as she got older and bigger she knew just to wait in her crate at the bottom of the stairs if I was upstairs. Since she was 8-9 months and fully house trained I have allowed her to come upstairs I have a fairly small house and thought it was mean to restrict her as she was so well behaved. She now knows at night wee wee and bed. Once I let her in out of the garden and wipe her feet she takes herself upstairs and goes to her bed on the landing. The alarm goes off about 7.15 she will walk in our bedroom and walk around the bed and greet us both but does not jump up. I say bed bed and she goes back on her bed until I get up around 7.30. Then it is wee, poo, breakfast and then she goes back to the landing to bed whilst I shower and get ready for work. She is brilliant and I wouldn't be without her but you must be firm when they are little as bad habits escalate. I love her!! xx


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## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

I agree, they pick up routines really well. When Dylan was younger he used to sleep downstairs and he would spend the evenings with us in our bedroom. I took him out for a wee last thing and after that wee he would just climb into his bed downstairs and not attempt to follow me back upstairs. He just understood the routine. And now in the mornings he never disturbs me - he knows that his dad gets up and takes him down. They are so willing to learn. And you can change routines - it will just take a while for them to catch onto the new one.


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## sonatalady7 (Apr 4, 2011)

She seems to be getting more obstinant. This morning, she ate a shoe. Thankfully it wasn't one that I minded, but at 5:30, I heard her wake up and start chewing. I THOUGHT she was chewing on her nylabone...but nope...I do exactly the same thing every morning. Sleep, hit alarm once, get up, take her out to potty, come back upstairs and she comes in the bathroom with me (but yesterday and today, she hasn't wanted to come in with me). I've either had to trick her or catch her and carry her in.

Maybe she's just going through a phase? I'm thinking it's time to bring the crate in the bedroom...


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## Dylansmum (Oct 29, 2010)

They do love shoes! In the early days I had to make sure they were all put away, but now they are reasonably safe. He will sit with his nose in them enjoying the aroma, but not chew them! His favourite chew toy is my old slippers that I donated.


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## Tressa (Aug 31, 2010)

I always try to take Teddy out for a short walk in the evening as well as his longer walk earlier in the day. He would sleep if I was sitting watching TV, but he would much rather be out for a good sniff around. TV isn't that great most evenings anyway - it can be more entertaining walking the dog, with a chance of meeting some of the neighbours for a chat these light evenings.


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## sonatalady7 (Apr 4, 2011)

I'm really excited about the weather getting nicer. Makes for nicer evening walks. Mamma could certainly use a little excercise to shed some of the winter lbs!  I'm sure Bella wouldn't mind going with me!


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## Tressa (Aug 31, 2010)

Yes, she is going through a phase at that age! Its adolescence - it will pass once she has driven you round the bend. Teddy is a year now and is much better than he was at Bella's age, thank goodness. We are not out of the woods yet, mind you. He ate the strap from my daughter's best bra yesterday morning!


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## sonatalady7 (Apr 4, 2011)

Ack!! I was wondering when this would stop. I noticed someone else said that her 5 month old was a terror and I was thinking...man, did I get off easy? No...I just think she's going through the Adolescence stage later than some.

Anyone know what age cockapoos grow out of their adolescence? I'm enjoying today...but look forward to when she's out of her obstinant phase!


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## Enneirda. (Mar 5, 2010)

> Practially, how would you suggest giving her a treat to occupy her while I continue to sleep longer. I don't want to reward her for putting her paws on the bed, so I don't want to wait for her to do that. If I hear her start wandering, should I call her to her bed and then give her the treat?


When she begins to wander sounds like the best time. That way she will slowly start to sleep in more (because she wouldn't be on a strict schedule, it'll fluctuate) If possible though, I'd try not to let her see you. If she starts to move and wakes you up, could you just toss it down on the ground were you know she'll find it as she comes to check on you? Then you being awake or not won't affect it, and hopefully she won't think it comes from you. 

You could try a cows hoove, normally they are not as easy to get any pieces off of, so might not be a problem for her stomach. 

Is she hungry in the morning? Could you maybe have a kong with some food and something like peanut butter clogging it as the morning treat?


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