9 week staffy,my first dog,love her but driving me mad!

hi guys,
phoebe is my first ever dog,if you had asked me 15 years ago I would have said id never get a dog let alone a staffy, but the husband has been hurting with need to have a dog so I gave in.
unfortunately phoebes mum was ill so we had to take her on at 5 weeks old so shes been with us a month now,i love her dearly but im sooooo stressed, hubby has been working away for 3 weeks so I think that hasn't helped, I also have a 7&8 yr old to look after plus working part time 3 days a week.
shes just a constant bundle of energy, if shes not wanting to play there is a pee or poo to clean up because whilst im doing tea or making a cuppa shes needed the loo!
on a plus shes sleeping right through from 10pm til 6am.
I know shes only 9 weeks and understand I have more possibly worse to come,shes here forever so ive got to get used to it.
yesterday she bit a hole in my 400 litre fish tank pipe,oh what a mess, oh and doesn't like the lead, she pulls and then throws up!
its been a rough week, please tell me it gets better????

Hi &

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Hiya from me and Vinnie, yes 5 weeks was rather early to be taken from mum and siblings, but whats done is done. Its all about persistence and routine it will improve this link may help.
http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/house_training  

thankyou for the link ill have a good read,5 weeks wasn't ideal but it was on vets advise that they were to be removed from mum so that she could have a full recovery.

Hi Phoebe, and welcome to the best doggy forum around!

You've got another baby on your hands, and like human babies they do need a lot of care and attention, but it will get better and you will have the best friend your children have ever had!

Do take some time out to read the tutorials on this site, particularly those for new owners, you will find plenty of good advice there.

Do keep in touch, any questions you have will be readily responded to.

Welcome from Oz and me. I didn't get Oz as a pup so can't help but many more will be along to help you

Wow! 5 weeks?! Even if the mother was neglecting them they should have stayed with the siblings, what a disgraceful breeder!

You need to be consistent, have the family involved and embrace it! Puppy Hood isn't a walk in the park. Have a good read of the forum and website.....

If you need help let us know Xx

Hi & welcome from Darcy & me as inez says she's left her mum early but it done now, you may have problems with puppy biting, but yes it does get easier, patience, time & persistence and you will both get there. Have a read through this :- http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/stop_your_staffy_puppy_biting

Hi and welcome to the forum from Rocky and me.

Having taken a puppy on so young you will have some issues to deal with, please have a good look and all the forum sections as you will find loads of very useful advice everywhere. You may also find the links below very helpful:

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/stop_your_staffy_puppy_biting

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/staffie_pups_and_young_children

hia from me and sasha  ,i'm sure when your husband gets home and helps with the training things will get better for you,as said at that age its just like having another child,you turn your back for a few minutes and their in to every thing,do take time to read all the links that other members have put up for you to read,it will help lots  

I agree with Janey - absolutely disgraceful that the pups were sent to new homes so early. They should have just been seperated from the mum & left with their siblings to learn vital pup things like bite inhibition & how to play etc. But what's done is done; it just makes matters more difficult for you!

Could you tell me what she is fed on (brand & type), how many meals a day she gets, where you are up to regarding vaccinations & walks and whether or not you have a crate for her?

Hi and welcome from me and Daisy  

Thankyou for all your advise it is gratefully received ,can I just say again the puppy's were removed from the mother on the advise of the vets not the breeder.
She is being fed 40 grams x 4 a day and it's called k9 optimum by jolleys,she had her first vaccination at 7 weeks and is due again at 11 weeks,she has been wormed and flead at the vets.
I can get her to do sit and stay and she is grate in her crate (xl size) she starts puppy training classes Monday ! X

I've not been able to walk her yet as she has not had her second vaccination.

Change vets!

Things will get easier but you are basically her mother/sibling/owner/trainer....

What is done is done, but this now takes time and patience and a lot of it Xx

Right, that's great. Jollyes isn't one of the best foods around, but if I remember rightly it isn't too bad, so that shouldn't be a problem.

At the moment, don't worry about leading her around with the lead. Just clip it on & let her trail it around while you play with her or entice her along with a treat or two. Once she's ok with that, pick the lead up, but let her do the leading, just follow her and make it fun. Then you can introduce the odd little change of direction, enticing her With a treat, and maybe giving just a tiny tug on the lead to make her take notice. It'll come, don't worry. 

Have you thought about getting your children to help? THey could do little things like a bit of training, give her her food or pop her into the garden to do her business. They're old enough to be able to listen to instructions from you.

With the peeing/pooing indoors, you have to realise that pups don't gain full control of their bladders/bowels until they're around 6 months old, so you'll need to be patient. She's only now at an age where most people would have only just brought her home. Maybe you're expecting a little too much too soon? Try and pop her outside every hour or so, and after food, play or sleep. Praise her if she does her business outside, but say nothing if she has an accident inside - just clean it up with a non-amonia cleaner (biological washing powder/liquid solution works a treat!).

As a side note, yes the pups should have been removed from the mum, but they should still have been kept together, with the breeder for another 3 weeks. They learn so much from each other in that time! Hopefully you won't have too much of a problem with nipping, but if you do, just pop back here & ask! 

It was not my vets advise but the breeders,my vet said it was not ideal but it wasn't the end of the world either.
I've mastered the biting,I have a water spay bottle ! Works a treat

Thanx Caryll I've been doing all of the above but not tried the lead just hanging,she's doing fantastically well for 9 weeks and I should learn to be more patient,I think I've just felt a bit overwhelmed with it all ( missing my hubby too ) the kids are helping too my daughter even cleaned up a poo today !
I look after babies as a career you would think I could cope with a puppy

Oooh, children are much harder than pups! 

If necessary, choose a time of day to play with the pup & get her tired, then pop her in her crate for a sleep & take half an hour for yourself - have a cup of tea, read a book etc!

Seriously, she'll get there. It's hard when you're suddnely left in the lurch, though. When your oh gets back, tell him you're going on holiday for a week & he can look after the kids & the pup! 

Caryll wrote:Oooh, children are much harder than pups! 

If necessary, choose a time of day to play with the pup & get her tired, then pop her in her crate for a sleep & take half an hour for yourself - have a cup of tea, read a book etc!

Seriously, she'll get there. It's hard when you're suddnely left in the lurch, though. When your oh gets back, tell him you're going on holiday for a week & he can look after the kids & the pup! 

Great advice!  

Hi and welcome to the forum from me and the zoo xx

It will get better but only with patience and perseverance. Crates are great if used properly AND used whilst young so they get used to them.

Puppy training classes might also help? Definitely get her socialised if you can x

Phoebe wrote:I've mastered the biting,I have a water spay bottle ! Works a treat

Missed this first time round.

Yes, it'll work, but please don't do it. You'll make her head shy! All You need to do is tell her "NO!" or give a high pitched yelp, and then turn away & ignore her. Stop all play & all interraction - don't even look at her. If she carries on, just pick her up & put her out of the room for a few seconds. She'll soon learn that nipping=no fun!

hi from me and the boys

Oh gosh all the memorys are flooding back when we collected our 2 pups we opened the box and these two loonys jumped out we wondered what we had done ! The double poking weting chewing nipping pulling is now practicaly gone we have two beautiful girls which are family members not easy but so worth the hard work

Hi from me & Katy, brings back memories we got Katy at 6 weeks. They are a lot of work wanting attention all their waking hours, even when sleeping she has to do it on me!!! No work gets done. Katy still has to be reminded about biting as it's getting quite painful now. Try the links above ( but they don't work on Katy) & enjoy her  

Not sure if anyones mentioned but make sure to socialise her well in these early days - pups learn alot from mother and littermates in first few weeks of their lives.
We took our dog home early - about 6 weeks I think or maybe younger and has socail issues. We believe this is part of the reason and bad breeding from the breeder (backyard breeder we belive) Hes scared of other dogs - just dos'nt know how to act with them.
Good luck with your new pup anyhow!

Hi thankyou,I had a much better day with her today,I found stag antlers are a good chew for her and peanut butter in her kong was good fun,going to spend the next hour wearing her out so she sleeps well,have learnt planning is key,having her early morning feed ready and getting up half an hour earlier to spend with her before I have to sort the kids out for school is helping!
I'd post a pic but don't know how lol x

Have a look through this...

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t12017-how-to-post-a-photos-onto-the-forum

If you still can't work it out, let us know & we'll talk you through it!

Hi and welcome from Rocky and I

Hi and welcome from the girlies and me

Hello and welcome to the forum from me and the kids

Hi And welcome from me and my two