# New puppy struggles



## Kayad87 (Apr 8, 2019)

Hi everyone

It's my first time posting on here. I'm hoping I can get some advise or just some kind of timeline of when things might get better.

We have just bought a cockapoo puppy. We didn't go into this blind and contemplated it over a 3 year period, during which we signed up to borrow my doggy and looked after cockapoos having them for long weekends etc to ensure it was the right thing for us.

We have had our puppy for almost two weeks now and she is just turning 13 weeks. In some respects she is really good; great traveller, cuddler, good eating, good with other people - (doesn't even notice we are gone if she is with someone else!) And great with other dogs. But she is really destructive and really bitey - it's more than mouthing - she lunges and has really hurt us on more than one occasion. She also has two sets of zoomies a day where she runs round like a maniac, lunges at you to bite you and snorts/barks. 

It's just about manageable with puppy teeth but I'm paranoid this behaviour will continue into adulthood. Furthermore, I don't feel she is building a bond with us. She cries if she is left alone, but I think that is more any company rather than us, she doesn't really care about playing with toys with us, she just wants to destroy things on her own, the only 'playing' she does with us is biting our feet/hands/face. We have cuddles when she is sleepy and we have taken time off work so she has not been left bored alone (she'll be going doggy daycare when we are not at home - 2 days a week) and we take her out for a 20 min walk a day as per our guide. When she bites we trying to replace it with a toy and give her a treat when she stops, along with treats for any good behaviour, such as sitting nicely in her bed or going out for pees. I've seen her come along in her toilet training and crate training, but the destruction/biting only seems to get worse 😔 we have started Kennel club puppy classes with her too - she is well behaved there (& with other people) but as soon as she gets home she is a devil. 

She also constantly eats mud and plants so if I let her in the garden I'm constantly trying to stop her taking big mouthfuls of soil or eating plants as I'm in a new house so not sure what they are and if they could poison her. Any advice is greatly received and sorry for the rambling message!


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Having older dogs does not really prepare you for a puppy - let alone the lively pups that cockapoos usually are 

The mouthing sounds totally normal and your response is really important - look at it from the pups point of view and it can suddenly make sense. A pup who bites humans and gets shrieks, rapid movement away and much excitement learns that this is enormous fun. People often then try to swap for a toy which is static and not moving and therefor no fun. The key is sort toys moving quickly for the puppy to catch and short gentle game of tuggy which pups usually love. Try to intercept before the pup starts to bite the human but if they do start to bite just try to not react and make the game much more fun. I would also not give treats when stopping mouthing. That can very quickly go wrong and turn into a pup who has learned the way to earn treats is to mouth the humans.

Pups who are overtired do often have mad bitey zoomies and this is where things like kongs can come into their own. If you can not settle them then very short time outs of just a minute can help. Often easier to remove yourself from the room than the puppy.

For the garden fence off anything which may actually be dangerous and accept that picking up rubbish is what pups do - the more you stop the more attractive you are making it and the longer it will carry on.


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## Milliesdad (Apr 24, 2016)

The first thing Millie did when we first had her was to dig up all the flowers in the garden and chew on the roots as well as chew stones, it used to worry us so we had to keep a close eye on her. Our remedy for stopping her eating the plants was to dig them all up and lay down some turf so we now have a large lawn where we used to have a beautiful flower garden. It was a bit drastic but at least we have somewhere to play ball games with her.


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## Kayad87 (Apr 8, 2019)

Hi 2nd hand gal - thank you for your advice. We recognised having a puppy is hard work (probably didn't realise what such hard work it is - but we absolutely adore and love her and she is definitely worth it) we looked after the cockapoo through Borrow my doggy from 3 months old, we got Mabel at 11 weeks. But I guess the same stands as being with a puppy for a few hours/day isn't the same as being responsible for them 24/7. There is so much conflicting information online and we just want to make sure we do the best for her. The thing I'm most worried about is her continuing biting due to our training and her do it to someone else - where it becomes a lot more serious. She is a lovely natured dog in every other respect. We have tried doing some brain training with her when we can sense a surge in energy to channel it somewhere and have used time outs where she just won't stop biting. It is getting ever so slightly better. I guess it is just persistence and time - she is only just coming up to 14 weeks and having read more now this is entirely normal for puppies.

We are struggling on walks though, she just doesn't like to start them. We get her on the short lead and she goes straight flat to the ground. We have to get her somewhere away from roads/danger and then out her on the long lead and walk off until she comes and follows. Once she is into the walk she is fine and really enjoys it, but we have been taking her out for 10 days now and it is the same every time! Again there is conflicting advice on this but we have at times sat there for 20 mins trying to gently encourage her to no avail. She is so stubborn I sometimes think she has a bit of cat in her - haha!


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

With walks don't forget your pup is a baby and if you look at if from down low the world can be a scary place especially if they are going out onto a busy street. Carry her until you get to a quieter place and sometimes just take her out to watch the world go by and get used to it - as she gets older and braver it will get easier


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