Advice needed re: new puppy

[Mithra 1,185]

Ok so we just adopted a rescue puppy about a week ago. She's about 10 weeks old or so the vet estimates. She's a large breed puppy. I'm exhausted, stressed, aggravated, etc. I thought this was going to be fun, lol. My personality does not allow me to be a relaxed pet owner so that doesn't help. I'm obsessive. Anyways, she will not leave the cat alone and she bites entirely too hard. We're crate training her so that means I get nearly no sleep (she can only "hold it" for like 5-6 hrs tops). She hits the ground running in the morning so I have to be ready to go as soon as she is. I feel like I've adopted a 2 year old wild child who bites! I have baby gates up all over the place, I have puppy proofed everything. I guess what I'm looking for, aside from being able to vent is, how do I stop her from A. attacking the cat and B. biting too hard? I can't get anything done around the house because of the instigator cat and the wild beast of a puppy. I've considered returning her to the rescue group but my husband loves her. How can I love this beast when she's so mean?? She doesn't cuddle, she doesn't give kisses. She gives bites! Help!!

Btw, she's enrolled in puppy training but the classes don't start for another 3 weeks.

Here's a pic of the little devil, Ava (don't let the cuteness fool you):

[SMOKE 1,426]

A - let nature take care of it. when the cat has had enough the cat will put an end to it.

B - the same way you potty train puppies. NEVER EVER strike the puppy, it hurts & makes them fearful of you + escalates the chances of them turning on you later. anytime she/he messes on the floor, bites too hard, eats shoes...whatever. just hold the dog down on its side & point at the object & tell them no in an above average tone & volume of voice. holding them down shows your dominance. the elevated tone gets the point across. & most importantly you don't hurt the little guy/gal

cute puppy.

[O & C 3]

Ok so we just adopted a rescue puppy about a week ago. She's about 10 weeks old or so the vet estimates. She's a large breed puppy. I'm exhausted, stressed, aggravated, etc. I thought this was going to be fun, lol. My personality does not allow me to be a relaxed pet owner so that doesn't help. I'm obsessive. Anyways, she will not leave the cat alone and she bites entirely too hard. We're crate training her so that means I get nearly no sleep (she can only "hold it" for like 5-6 hrs tops). She hits the ground running in the morning so I have to be ready to go as soon as she is. I feel like I've adopted a 2 year old wild child who bites! I have baby gates up all over the place, I have puppy proofed everything. I guess what I'm looking for, aside from being able to vent is, how do I stop her from A. attacking the cat and B. biting too hard? I can't get anything done around the house because of the instigator cat and the wild beast of a puppy. I've considered returning her to the rescue group but my husband loves her. How can I love this beast when she's so mean?? She doesn't cuddle, she doesn't give kisses. She gives bites! Help!!

Btw, she's enrolled in puppy training but the classes don't start for another 3 weeks.

Here's a pic of the little devil, Ava (don't let the cuteness fool you):

Don't give up on her.. You might have to get a kennel for her so that you can rest at night. Put her in the kennel just before you go to bed. She may cry a night or two, so you might want to put her in a room with the TV on. The biting will part the cat will handle that lol. Her and the cat will work out to be best friends. Put her leash on her at the door. She will soon get use to it and wait at the door for you to put it on her. Good Luck!!!

[Jenn! 918]

I don't know anything about dogs, but I've seen Marley & Me, so I can say with confidence that she will remain a terror, but you will learn to love her.

[Bernie C 24]

Here are a few links - Good Luck with the darling little MONSTER

Dog Owners Guide - No Bite

Stop puppy biting

Dog Training - Stop Biting

[Mithra 1,185]

Thanks for the advice!

I would never hit the puppy. What I have done is follow advice I googled about and it doesn't help. I yelped at her, yelled out "ouch!" and even turned and walked away from her to stop the biting. Yelping/yelling only excites her more, walking away pisses her off and she comes after me and bites my ankles/feet. My husband has a deep, booming voice and even his commands are ignored by her as far as stopping the biting. She'll stop temporarily and then keep right on doing it. She doesn't bite him nearly as much as she bites me, the kids and the cat. Well I'm the cat's bodyguard so she actually doesn't get to him very much, lol. We don't have a problem with housetraining so far (knock on wood). She stays in a kennel/crate at night and when no one is home and she does well with that. She knows how to alert us if she needs to go outside. It's the biting and wild behavior that needs to stop. I can handle a little hand chewing but hard biting is no good. I know I can't stop all her puppy behaviors but they are driving me nuts. That and the fact that I'm ####### about housekeeping. An ####### retentive housekeeper really shouldn't be a puppy mama.

[Mithra 1,185]

Oh lord not a Marley! I watched that movie and kept saying, oh hell no that dog would be history! LOL.

I don't know anything about dogs, but I've seen Marley & Me, so I can say with confidence that she will remain a terror, but you will learn to love her.

[Ontarkie 13,941]

Our lab puppy who is now 15mos is still a bit rough with one of our cats. But it mostly the cats fault he lets her get away with too much. The cat is way to mellow for his own good. As for the nipping and biting we would always say NO loudly and then stuff one of her toys in her mouth. We tried very hard to never play with her in way that she thought of us as chew toys. We bought a lot of nice rawhide toys, ropes, balls and anything we thought looked fun for her that she wouldn't confuse with our fingers or the kids toys. Puppies go through a nippy stage they are teething after all, and they need to chew so get lots of nice chewies to protect your fingers and furniture.

[luckytxn 2,263]

Be patient until the training starts and when you do start it make sure to let the trainer know what problems you are having so extra care can be shown in that area. Animals need to be trained in all facets. I also am planning on getting us a dog and have talked to my wife about it and she agrees and even has consented to not have it for our dinner.

[GabiandVi 34]

10 weeks is still quite young. I'm sure a lot of this will get better on its own. That doesn't mean you shouldn't take specific action, but chances are you won't see improvement until the dog is more adult.

My parents adopted an abandoned kitten a little over a year ago. That was the most feral cat I've ever seen being domesticated. After about 2 or 3 weeks my mother said every day that she didn't think she would be able to keep it. The cat LOVED her, but still, she had daily wounds from its teeth and claws. It would lie in wait for us and attack us as we passed. We'd be sitting on the sofa, minding our own business, when it would visciously attack our arms or our legs. My poor daughter then 2.5 years old was a favorite target, though it was gentle with my nephew who was just a year old at the time. (It got to the point that whenever one of us was visiting, the cat would be locked in the laundry room until we left. But they stuck it out out of procrastination, and while the cat is still not quite as domesticated as a domestic cat would be, it is almost normal.

[Chrito 2]

I had the same problem with my rescue dog. When I got him he was already 1,5 yrs old, but didn't have real contact to humans (the former owner just chucked the food and water out) and other dogs, no training, didn't know his name. The only good thing: he didn't do his business in the house.

The biting is just a stage, some tricks to make it easier:

Praise her every time she comes to you with a toy and play for a few minutes with her. That way she learns to express boredom.

Change toys, only give her 2 or three different ones, hide the rest and switch them out after a few days.

Buy one of those nice balls or bones you can fill with her favourite treats or a bit of her favourite dogfood. They have to chew on them to get the treats out, worked wonders with mine.

If she has something she's not supposed to have, don't yell at her and hunt her, that is a game for her and she will enjoy it. Instead: be calm, let her come to you and show her a treat, when she drops the thing, let her make sit and give her the treat, at the same time take the no-no away (my dog is now the best sock finder!)

And most important of all: She is still a baby! 10 weeks isn't that old! You have to understand the needs of a puppy, they are really like babies, really. Puppies like routine, they like to know that you will protect them no matter what.

Be careful with puppy classes, make sure your dog has all the shots and they are somehow settled (it can take up to 30 days for a vaccination to kick in!)

Make sure that puppy class isn't all about training and obedience, puppies need to be socialized so the class should have some play-time (don't worry if the playing is rough. the rougher the play the better is the bond between dogs)

I could go on and on, I'm a real dog lover and one dog isn't enough

If you got more questions or need more material to read, just PM me

[CDAgirlMI 51]

Be patient until the training starts and when you do start it make sure to let the trainer know what problems you are having so extra care can be shown in that area. Animals need to be trained in all facets. I also am planning on getting us a dog and have talked to my wife about it and she agrees and even has consented to not have it for our dinner.

Ah haha.

I have to agree with some of the comments. Puppies are A LOT of work. But with good effort, it'll pay off & you'll have an amazing companion.

Lots of exercise makes for a tired puppy!

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Have you thought about eating him? Luckytxn has a point.

Edited June 3, 2010 by Sousuke

[Advanced Aardvark 82]

Ok so we just adopted a rescue puppy about a week ago. She's about 10 weeks old or so the vet estimates. She's a large breed puppy. I'm exhausted, stressed, aggravated, etc. I thought this was going to be fun, lol. My personality does not allow me to be a relaxed pet owner so that doesn't help. I'm obsessive. Anyways, she will not leave the cat alone and she bites entirely too hard. We're crate training her so that means I get nearly no sleep (she can only "hold it" for like 5-6 hrs tops). She hits the ground running in the morning so I have to be ready to go as soon as she is. I feel like I've adopted a 2 year old wild child who bites! I have baby gates up all over the place, I have puppy proofed everything. I guess what I'm looking for, aside from being able to vent is, how do I stop her from A. attacking the cat and B. biting too hard? I can't get anything done around the house because of the instigator cat and the wild beast of a puppy. I've considered returning her to the rescue group but my husband loves her. How can I love this beast when she's so mean?? She doesn't cuddle, she doesn't give kisses. She gives bites! Help!!

Btw, she's enrolled in puppy training but the classes don't start for another 3 weeks.

Here's a pic of the little devil, Ava (don't let the cuteness fool you):

Get a supply of chew bones for the pup. When she bites, stick something in her mouth that she is allowed to chew on. This worked well for both of my Chow-Chows. I got the first one as a pup, and adopted the second one at about age 1. Once the pup is out of the 'teething' stage, and she knows what she is permitted to munch on, life will be easier. Trust me, your pup is a cutie and will be OK. Imagine what you would be dealing if my dog was in the mood to munch?