Major problem with a puppy - Page 3

Yr, they have stated they took the pup to training, I am guessing they do not have the time or the energy to follow thru. Do not want to see pup get older and now at shelter. Grandma is best, maybe can help while they get a handle on thier homelife. Also can spray bitter apple on the furnitue to stop from chewing. The baby's age is missing, I did not sleep for the 1st year when having both daughters. I hated all the women who told me thier baby's slept thru the night. Plus if she works..........

Bitter apple sprayed on works with most of them as a deterant to chewing your furniture, wish I had sprayed my new base boards...

I would throw the baby outside :)

Having a baby and puppy at the same time can be a major problem, but don't blame the puppy. It wasn't like the stork just dropped the baby in your lap unexpectedly one day. And IMO if you leave a wild and unruly puppy alone long enough to eat a couch, it's your own fault. I took this video of my 6 month old pup last week. www.youtube.com/watch  Shaking a can of pennies at her would probably just get me popped in the face. The louder the better as far as Bella is concerned.

You need to try to channel that energy into something positive, which is a lot easier said than done. I know, I've been trying without much sucess. Any good trainers out there?  lol

triodegirl, to funny, "throw the kids outside" , I agree!! When my daughter got her 1st pup, I sent her all kinds of stuff and her boyfriend asked "if she is doing this for the pup, what would she do with a grandchild? My daughter told him "NOTHING" if it does not have 4 legs, you can forget my Mom.

I think 9 mos is the most challenging adolescent age anyway, you just expect power struggles and a "whatta ya gonna do about it" attitude at that age!   Sounds like they weren't prepared for it!

Personally,  I use crates a lot for unruly behavior.  But like someone else said,  when they come out of the crate it's exercise session time.    I'll do 15 mins of hard running,  a potty,  and another 10 or 15 minutes of interactive "mental" exercise and training, and another potty.  Then pup is usually ready for some nice indoor time with the family for a couple hours.   When they start getting overstimulated and wild again,  another quick potty and back in the crate to settle down.   Calm resting in the crate is rewarded by coming out and getting some exercise and fun.   Wild behavior in the house means you lose "out loose" priveleges and need a nap to pull yourself together and develop some self control, frustration tolerance.   

Oh,  and I suggest not feeding any products with corn to dogs that are too active for their living conditions. Cutting out corn products seems to make a difference in hyperactivity and ability to pay attention and learn.  YMMV.

Our 9 mo old girl is giving us power struggles, but not as much as even a couple of months ago.  Having her spayed a few weeks ago might have had something to do with it.  

When we got her, right away we started crate training.  She slept in it, and was occasionally put there when she was being a nutcase.  But she had more positive experiences than negative ones with it, feeling like she was in a safe, cozy, comfy den,, so now when we bring her in from outside, she knows it's bedtime and heads straight for it, even nosing open the door so she can get in!  

We took her off large breed puppy food at 6 months, mostly because it was too high in protein and her stools were very small and only came out with great effort on her part.  Switching to a basic, large breed adult formula has improved her stool production as well as helped her put on some weight.  She's naturally lean, so her ribs show a bit anyway, but not as much as they did before.

I take her for 1 1/2 mile walks first thing in the morning, using a prong collar to curb her pulling and to easily correct with a sharp jerk, her tendency to want to walk out ahead of me.  As soon as I'd feel a little tension on the leash from her getting ahead, a quick snap and a Cesar Milan "Shh!" has resulted in fewer corrections needed on our walks now.  I also do some intermittent basic commands on our walks, such as coming to a sit before we cross the road, the getting her to "Watch me!" so she pays attention to when we resume our walk.  She's also very insecure when she hears or sees any dogs on our walks, whether they're in a backyard behind a fence or we pass them on our walks.  As soon as I see her ears go straight up and her focus intensifies, I jerk the lead and "Shh!" her, even if I have to do it a half dozen times until we're past the dog.  When she calms down, I praise her verbally, letting her know how pleased I was that she didn't fly off the handle.  Reinforcing good behavior with small training treats are a good option also, as long as you don't mind wearing a treat bag on the waistband of your pants 

She very rarely gets rambunctious in the house, saving that kind of rough play for outside with our mutt.  When inside, they'll grab toys out of the basket, and try to engage the other in a tug of war, but when they do that, we take the toy away.  If they're not vying each other for toys, but still challenging each other, we'll correct them with by saying their name sharply, and pointing to a far corner of the living room.  They know when they've screwed up.

It's definitely a teenager-type phase.  You just have to be consistent and firm, and not give in to their dejected looks when they've been scolded.

There are many good posts above. The dog need more of an outlet for his energy than what the owners are giving him.

Usually the major problem is with the owner NOT THE PUPPY. Despite their best efforts; between work and a young baby their schedule is too busy for the dog. I see this in training all the time when busy owners who love their dogs only have a few minutes every morning and  night to feed or walk the dog. A 9 month old GSD needs much more activity of they get bored and will become destructive.  Chewing up shoes, chairs, leather couches... all out of boredom. Does he go for a 2 mile walk daily? Does he also play ball for ten minutes every morning and afternoon? Does he run in the back yard with his owners supervision for 15 minutes a few times a day? Young GSDs take time and today people are busier than they ever have been with hectic schedules, cell phones, emails, two jobs, kids activities...

More obedience training would be very beneficial starting with complete on leash training then progressing to off leash. Does the dog understand that NO or Nein means cease all activity and stop what he is doing on or off leash? If not he an obedient dog but is not obedience trained yet.

Even the best trained 9 month old DOG needs an outlet and jobs to do throughout the day.You can't just fix the chewing behavior or excess energy. He needs to be obedience trained and exercised much more!

alot of these so called pups naughty ....is just pups trying to grow up you just need to be patient with them .more exercise and  training. all to many times iv seen people struggle with young pups only to give them away or worse to the pound. they just needed to wait it out,, what gets me is after going through all this they give the pup up just when its about to out grow puppydumb,as i call it .and go out an buy a knew pup.guess what knew pup same as the last .try a lower protien diet .and do not give up

Once again, I am very obliged for all the constructive advice and suggestions. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to help us with this problem.

There were specific factors that caused them to get the puppy not long before my daughter gave birth to her baby. I think they would acknowledge that they have not been able to put in the effort that they should have done with this puppy. She is not crated all the time. They have a full-time nanny and when the baby is sleeping, she is out of her crate because the nanny can keep an eye on her. After my daughter and son-in-law get home from work and at weekends any crating is very limited.

They arranged with a teenager in the neighborhood to walk her everyday for about 30 minutes - but she does not get the level of exercise that she probably needs given that she is a high energy puppy.

I don't know if the arrangement that we are contemplating will work - the feedback both on this thread and in private messages I have received are a mixed bag - but quite honestly it is the only alternative to rehoming her which is something they would do only if there is no other choice. Having acquired the puppy, they are anxious to do what they can to see if it can be made to work - and I am committed trying to help them achieve this goal.

1doggie2 re Thanks Grandma for taking the pup

It is actually, Grandpa!

I agree with Two Moons that the pup may need to be outside if the 2 (pup and baby) are gonna grow up together.  I have a toddler and I also have a pup.  My male pup is a monster; he doesn't realize his size or strength and plays too rough for a child her age.  So I've established that during this critical time he needs the socialization and interaction with the family BUT I limit it and only with close supervision so I can correct the rough housing, jumping, play biting, snatching her toys to chew ect.  He spends his time outside in the kennel when she is not napping or at daycare and he gets limited time with her.  It seems to make everyone happier because he gets to be a pup without being a nuisance at the appropriate times.

I've done this with my other young dog when he was a pup and now that he's almost 2 years old he's a pleasure to have around the baby because he's calm when inside with us and will let her pet him without getting all crazy.

If you take the dog you may be able to correct some of the unwanted behavior but my concern would be that when the pup goes back home the owner will not follow with the same methods and the dog will still not understand the rules when it comes to the babies.   But I agree someone needs to get a handle on it before the dog gets even bigger and more difficult to control.

There is nothing wrong with "grandpa" taking the pup off the family's hands for a while. If you can teach the puppy some basic obedience and house manners, then teach your children how to correctly use the training, you have provided, it may help enormously.  Bless your heart for helping. What you are doing is not very different at all from a standard boarding/training program which can work wonders for some families and their dogs. 

Yes, it is ideal for an owner to do all training themselves, but it is often too much for an owner and sometimes even the dog. There is NOTHING wrong with sending a dog off to be partially raised or trained.  Believe me, I have dozens and dozens of clients who would tell you what a wonderful leg up on discipline sending their dog away gave them.  Now, you are going off your personal experience rather than being a professional, so if you really want to help and do it right, take the puppy to a class, then get your kids to repeat the same class after pup goes home so THEY learn to reinforce the training.

I'm a career dog trainer, for a very repuatbale facility, and I have trained easily hundreds of dogs and I've lost track of how many in this exact situation.  The success of you taking the dog and helping to retrain it is ENTIRELY dependent on how they use her new knowledge when you send her back home.  You may feel free to email or PM me, I would be happy to give you my phone number and we can talk in detail if you like.