Is this normal behavior?? - Paw Talk

CHERYL2121 · #1 10-13-2006, 09:57 AM

Please bare with me as I tell you all how stressed out I'm right now....

So my puppy Petey has been doing well, house broken, learned commands, and has no issues with his crate...until last night!!! OK so as good as Petey is, he is obviously still a puppy- but I'm not familiar with what is normal puppy behavior. There are times when Petey just get wild. He will want noting to do with his toys, and views me as his big chew toy, or anything else that HE KNOWS is off limits. Well I guessed thats when he is asking for undivided one on one attention, and needs to really burn some energy. OK that being said, when I got home from work yesterday my husband who has been home for a couple of hours already needed a break from Petey. And I knew we were going out for a couple of hours later so I decided to tire out Petey by taking him for a long walk, plus to get him used to it. He did awesome!!! When we got home he was done, he layed on the floor and passed out. we then went out for a couple of hours and when we got home I played with Petey for awhile, like a hour and a half. Then like normal crated him up. Well he was not having it!!! He cried all night in his crate!! He has NEVER done this, why now?? I wanted to cry!

I just feel so worn out!!! Is all of this normal puppy behavior? The crying in the crate, being a wild child, oh and I also forgot when he gets in his wild spurts and I tell him no, he actually talks back to me!!! Sorry I wrote so much, but I'm at the end of my rope right now

corgimom · #2 10-13-2006, 10:41 AM

Don't worry, it's normal puppy behavior, and he will outgrow it. I can't tell you when for sure, but he will. It was funny, when we took Ein to the vet for the first time, they recommended keeping karo syrup (I think? someone verify that I remembered right) in the house because puppy's can go through phases where they run until they use up so much energy that their blood sugar falls, and then they drop. They said that if that happens, rubbing a little of the syrup on his gums can get quick sugar into his system and perk him back up.

It sounds like Petey is going through the puppy version of the terrible twos, which is normal. He's growing up and he is trying to see how far he can push his limits. It's very important at this age to be consistant with discipline. If a 2 year old is throwing a tantrum because you said no candy, and you give it to them to make them stop, they learn "Hey, if I throw a fit, I get what I want." Puppies are the same way. If he learns that if he cries long enough, you'll let him out of the crate, he will be more likely to cry again, because he knows that if he persists, he gets what he wants.

I know it's a tough phase, but it will pass. The more you stick to your guns and don't give in, the faster the bad behavior will pass. His energy will die down as he gets older.

CHERYL2121 · #3 10-13-2006, 10:53 AM

Thanks so much Corgimom for the reasurance!!! The good news is I did not let him out of his crate during his episode but once. At first I thought he may of had to go out, but after that I just ignored the fit! I don't have kids, so I guess this is my training lol!!

corgimom · #4 10-13-2006, 10:59 AM

lol, same thing with Ein. I have worked in daycare, so I have somewhat of an idea of what the terrible 2s is like, but I don't have any kids of my own.

We made alot of mistakes with Ein. Every time he cried, I let him out in case he needed to potty, so he was constantly crying to come out and then put up a huge fight when I tried to put him back in. He'd cry again, and I'd think, "maybe I didn't give him long enough to go" and take him potty again. he took full advantage. If you think he made need to go, take him potty and see, but don't take him 5 times in one night like I did. I definitely learned the hard way.

With Tucker and Colleen (who were both a year old at time of adoption), I completely ignored their cries. I figured their bladders are big enough to hold it if that's what it was.

janabors · #5 10-15-2006, 10:21 AM

What breed of dog do you have? IF you have a small dog I wouldnt worry to much aside from him just annoying you to the point you get rid of him and we dont want that! But some of the larger more stubborn dogs will be a real problem for you if you dont take control of them.

Nikko · #6 10-18-2006, 04:52 AM

I know exactly what you're going through and it's rough. I had to deal with my puppy crying all night for 2 weeks straight. In the begining I wasn't sure what to do. I tried everything, I moved her kennel close to my bedroom, I moved it to the livingroom and slept on the couch, I tried puting a blanket over her kennel, I even tried yelled at her and then felt really bad afterwards. Nothing worked. So I decided to just try ignoring it...........very hard to do by the way, but eventually it worked. Hang in there!

CHERYL2121 · #7 10-18-2006, 10:19 AM

Thanks everyone!!! Sorry I haven't updated the situation but you'll never believe it...He grew out of his crate!!! I knew he had a major growth spurt, but goodness!! My husband came home and Petey was siting up waiting, and had his head and neck ducking down. he got soo tall and long he couldn't sit normally or lay stretched out. So he ran and bought him a much bigger one, and hes been an angel (in it) lol!! When hes out thats a different story!!

sara8 · #8 10-18-2006, 04:32 PM

that's good to hear glad that it is working out. we were so fortunate with reggie when we adopted him the worst he barked was for about 20 min the first couple nights. now sometimes when we get home he is so quiet we forget to let him out right away. he really seems to like his crate.