We brought our boy home last Friday (8 weeks old) He is such a cuddler! This is my first puppy, and while I tried to be very prepared, I have some concerns. Not sure if these are normal puppy behaviors or if I am doing something wrong:

1. He hates his crate. We haven't gotten any sleep since he came home. He cries, barks, bites at the crate. He will calm down for a short period of time, then it starts back up again. We have a large crate with a divider. He has 2 nylabones and blankets in there. We had to move it to the laundry room and have a blanket draped over it. Also have a radio turned on. I give him a treat when he goes in but once he sees the door is shutting, he totally freaks out. I set an alarm to get up and let him out to potty but won't approach the crate unless he is quiet. He has had no accidents in his crate. During the day, when he falls asleep on the floor, I pick him up and rock him for a few the lay him down in the crate, he wakes up and runs out then goes to sleep in the floor.

2. Not sure if it's because he is up all night crying, but he sleeps most of the day. I thought he would be my exercise buddy but when I try to take him out to walk with me, he plops down on the ground and won't get up! (it is pretty cute though)

3. I know it's early but housebreaking is frustrating! He will poop outside. Come in and poop inside ? Same thing with peeing.

4. He is quite the biter! More so with me than my husband. I yelp, I walk away, I tell him "don't bite" he keeps going.

I welcome any thoughts or advice- whether this is normal puppy behavior or what?!?





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All pretty normal!

Some resources:
Crating - Crates Games DVD, ASPCA virtual behaviourist, Sophia Yin's website
Mouthing - puppies must go through this to develop bite inhibition. Keep consistent with your method. It will get worse before it gets better, sorry!
Housetraining - I would watch carefully when you come inside and as soon as he squats, push his tail in, pick him up and rush outside. 100% going only outside will help him catch the idea.
Sleeping all day - Puppies sleep a lot! They're growing so fast.
Walking - pups at 8 weeks can go for about 10 mins of "walk" but really you wanna focus on allowing them to explore and socialize and off-leash play - you won't have much of a walk for some time - and you really shouldn't, structurally these guys should do short and often while they're young (5 mins per month), and no jogging (at least not until 2 y, but even then many of us here wouldn't). I don't do walks with my boy but I get a tonne of exercise with him chasing me and playing "who can get to the ball first" and doing tracking and such.

Good luck!

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Jacqueline

"I have just met you and I love you" - Dug (Up!)

He's just a few days old and it's all brand new to him. Don't expect too much, and don't expect to get much sleep for the next couple weeks. Sounds perfectly normal to me.

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It all sounds very normal to me. He's just a baby and he hasn't settled in to his new home yet.

Re the crate--search on here for "crate games". He needs to learn that the crate is his special safe place and not a cage. since he's never been alone before, it would be best if the crate could be in the bedroom with you at night if you can manage that.

Re sleeping: puppies can sleep up to 22-23 hours a day! When I learned that I was startled, but they play hard and sleep hard. Don't worry about it. If you're taking him out on leash, he's probably confused and doesn't know what to do. There's lot of info on here about leash training a puppy if you search.

House training: keep up the good work and he'll get the idea. He's very little yet. The best way is for him to not have the chance to make a mistake. Perhaps he needs to go out more frequently.

Biting: GR puppies are very mouthy and explore the world with their mouths. It sounds as if you are doing it right. You can also leave the room and him alone for a couple minutes when he bites. Search on here for "bite inhibition" lots of discussion on that.

Everything you've described sounds very normal. Puppies can be very challenging (it's good that they're so cute!). If you haven't read it, download the free version of Dr. Ian Dunbar's book on puppies from DogStarDaily.com. Very helpful.

Good luck! Welcome to GRF, and be sure to share photos.

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Kathleen, mom to one human, age 17, three canines, and a bunch of fish.

Thanks for the advice and reassurance! I hate that I dread night time so much now- hoping that each night is a little better



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awwwwwwwwwwwwww

nights will get better
I slept on the floor by the crate, with my hand through the bars, for the first couple nights. Then my husband insisted I go up to bed............and he slept on the floor with his hand in the crate the next couple of nights.
It will get better. Really.

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He is very adorable, but very small and young. Sounds like normal puppy behavior. Be patient. He will be big before you know it.

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Dave

lol We did the same thing.
Our breeder did us a huge favor by starting crate training while she still had the puppies. I think she had them all nap there together.

Welcome! Your pup is so cute We got our puppy 2 weeks ago and had a very restless first 4 nights with the crate with him barking and crying. I didn't sleep for days! He loved the crate...just not when left alone in the room without us. However, 2 weeks on now and he has grown to love it alot more and has got so much better when we leave the room and put him to bed. Just give it time and things will get better. Try some of the crate games and leave the door open in the day if you're home and put some treats and toys in there, make it a fun place to go in. Before long you'll find him going in for a nap on his own accord.

You're doing the right thing with the biting, just keep at it. Our boy is the same, they all are and will be for a good few months to come. Just replace your skin with a toy for him to chew instead

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19/10/08-7/1/12 Daisy's Story http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/...evastated.html

I can't believe he hates his crate so much...he is sleeping so cozy in there right now and doesn't even know it! (he played hard and passed out and I put him in the crate)


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