The fun in raising a puppy...

She's starting to grow out of her awkward puppy legs! They grow up so fast...

[draggar]

The main problem now is that when I crate her at night (I know she'll either get into something she shouldn't or go to the bathroom in the bedroom) she barks and whines for about an hour (or more). If I have to get up in the middle of the night, she barks and whines (after I get back into the bedroom) for another 30+ minutes.

You name it, I've tried it other than letting her out of the crate (which I think she's too young for at this time as noted above).

I've started to put a radio by the crate playing music all night (quiet enough not to keep me (or her?) awake) it's only been a couple of days and I'm not sure if it is helping.

Other than that - you name it most likely I've tried it.

[yukidomari]

Question - has she been difficult to housebreak? Coming up in August she should be close to 8 months, right? Is this the norm for Vlcaks? Just wondering.. I just know that our dobe was reliably housebroken through the night by 18-20 weeks, bur I know some breeds are harder to housetrain than others.

ETA: Have you tried crating her in your bedroom?

[draggar]

She's very good with house training - the only time there are accidents is when she and Pongo play a lot inside (the activity gets their systems going). We do walk them often but sometimes it just comes. It's not common (in fact, it's getting rarer and rarer since now if they play for about 30 minutes I'll proactively walk them).

She just turned 7 months (on July 24th). She should be able to hold herself for 7 hours (maybe a little longer - but I wouldn't want to push it). Her going to the bathroom is the second worry - my primary worry is that she is still a puppy in many ways, she'll get into things while we sleep (clothes, chew up the rug, electrical cords, etc.. even if there are toys the things she's not supposed to play with are more fun ).

Also, the crate is in the bedroom (we have 3 set up in there). I have a bone in there for her and leave a rawhide bone for her, too (those last several nights with her). So she's not bored. I covered the crate, left it uncovered, you name it.

I would love to leave her loose but I don't think now is the right time - she's still too young. Maybe when she's 9 months old she'll be a little more mature (but now she's mature compared to other 7 month old puppies that I've had / seen).

Could be that she's just trying to see what she can get away with. She is hitting the obnoxious teenage phase. If I were you, I'd wait it out and make absolutely sure when I let her out in the morning, she was being calm first. Even if she's just up and excited, or she gets some sort of reaction regardless of whether you let her out (i.e. eye contact, etc) she could think she's "winning".

[yukidomari]

Oh, yeah, course... about the naughty puppiness.. One dog here going on 2 yrs old still can't be uncrated when left alone.......things come up mysteriously destroyed when we do, still.

I was just wondering about the housebreaking, is all. Thanks for the reply! Glad to hear that they are not so difficult to housebreak.

BTW, who's Pongo? Is that Pollux's pet name or another dog all together?

Can anyone else pitch in about the crating? What about Vlcaks in general in regards to crate training?

[draggar]

Sara renamed Pollux to Pongo and this time the name seems to be sticking (although she went though many names for him).

Sara also normally takes "the chacks" to a class in the evening for a few hours, most of the time where they can run around a lot but never seem to get tired (can we hook them up to our power grid??). We do what we can to tire them out but it never seems to work. :S

I also think she's just being an annoying adolescent.

As for crate training - Luna is extremely good with it. We tell her crate and she goes in (most of the time), she just doesn't like to be in there long (feeding time is OK, etc). Pongo is harder but all it takes is a cookie tossed towards the back of it and he dives in (We still do that with Luna sometimes, too, so there are rewards in there sometimes).

So... Is Pongo just your dog now? I thought it was your friend's, but the more I hear you guys talk about him, the more he sounds like you're just keeping him.

[yukidomari]

They're still too young for this, but if they're still so energetic in the future you can try weights like with weighted packs. Or even better, urban mushing!!

Maybe Luna's just bored at night and needs a TV in her crate.

ETA: Have you tried a Kong?

[draggar]

He is/was my wife's friend's vlcak. I'm not sure what's up 100% but I think he's staying with us for a while now. He's sweet and good when alone (Luna is a bad influence on him!) and has gained a lot of confidence since he's been with us.

When he grows up, if he gets used to being out a lot then we think he could make an good backup service dog for my wife.

As for the TV in her crate - that might not be a bad idea!! Maybe a big squeaky one?

[yukidomari]

I make decisions and don't really tell the BF the complete story too.....

Hope Luna's mom isn't pulling the "he's staying temporarily" thing with you when "temporary" = 15 years.. I've done that.

Or maybe you hope she IS saying that??

You know, puppies ARE bad for each other. Good thing you've got grown stable adults to tell them to behave...

Thanks for sharing Luna with us and keep it up!

[draggar]

Sara has done that, too (not 15 years, though) but at least if there is an issue she'll listen to me (and it's happened before). I think Pongo and Luna are good for each other. Kiri is a bitch (especially with her puppies now) so she's not a good playmate, Maiya is 9 and an old lady, she doesn't like to play and Zorro likes to play a little, on his own terms (even though he's 7) so they're good for each other (about 2 months apart in age) they both have the endless supply of energy that they can play with each other.

[yukidomari]

Might not have worded it right - I only meant 'not good' as in they learn naughty behaviors from each other.. which seems to be the case..

Puppy socializing with other puppies is great fun and a great outlet, but it doesn't teach them the same things that a stable adult dog could.

That's all. Sorry bout the misunderstanding.

[draggar]

Zorro and Maiya are good influences on them. Both are calm, stable, and very secure. If they get obnoxious to the adults, then they'll get a snark, sometimes even a small correction - so yes, if they're too naughty, they're told so.

Pongo is getting to be quite the nipper, too. I think he's going to become a butt-biter.

[draggar]

We've had our first casualty. Pongo was being, well, a pully, and decided to grab my work laptop bag and pull it off the table.

It came crashing down. The laptop is OK but now there are some blotches on my iPod screen. Luckily, I just use it for music, no videos etc.

Yes, we try to puppy proof our home but he jumped up and grabbed it (he's become quite the nipper - we need to correct that ASAP!)

[Mikael]

Originally Posted by draggar

I think he's going to become a butt-biter.

Yep, raising a puppy is very very fun

Keep up the good work !!!

Best regards / Mikael

[Gypsy Wolf]

Yes, well, Pongo is becoming a butt-head. I always had a feeling he had the potential to be a jerk... Though there are some who disagree, I raise puppies the way I was taught by longtime SchH mentors - puppies are allowed to be puppies. No pressure. That said, I DO use food to teach them basic behaviors, and certainly BAD behavior is NOT tolerated... but other than that, they are allowed free rein. They can be rambunctious and obnoxious and I find it develops confidence and a little bit of cockiness - necessary (I think) for SchH.
Anyway, that's one reason Pongo is here - so that he can be as bratty as he wants and not get into (too much) trouble. We want his confidence level high.
So, I am working on developing his tug game - full, hard grips, building his drive for the toy, etc... well I also started to make him have to work harder for the toy (fighting him a little) and frustrating him with waiting a second or two for it... apparently, that is NOT pleasing to him - he got pissed off last night and nipped my thigh!
As soon as I yelled "ACK!" at him to interrupt the behavior, he had already released, and was SMILING, tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth...
BRAT!

[draggar]

Just a quick update - Luna is maturing nicely. She still barks and whines in her crate at night but not as much as she used to (15-30 minutes as opposed to 30-90 minutes). When she's out alone (and by alone, I mean without Pongo) she's very good. She may get some energy spirts (run around like a lunatic), but that's expected in a breed like this.

Pongo is still immature and is starting to nip, even bite people at times (non-aggressive, puppy play). We need to curb / eliminate this behavior ASAP because it can be very bad as an adult. He's also extremely fast and agile.

[yukidomari]

Great to hear!

How is Pongo taking crate training? Better/worse/equal with Luna?

[draggar]

He'll usually go in there if we toss a cookie in there...

That's about it.