Are they always this hyperactive?

Hi all,

It's been 2 and a half weeks since I got Gus now, and boy oh boy is it hard work. The first week the sleep deprivation got to me, but now he seems to be holding out for about 6 hours during the night, so i'm gradually getting more and more sleep.

The main problem that I am having right now is the constant mouthing of everything. I am trying to leave him in his crate for 10 mins or so multiple times a day, but the problem is that he just chews his vetbed! Do I just take out the vetbed and leave him on the hard plastic, it seems cruel but it would be better than major surgery!

He just seems to be constantly hyper, if he isn't sleeping he's chewing stuff he knows he's not allowed to chew, he has untold amounts of toys but would rather everything else. He gets his second vaccination on Saturday so he can go out Saturday week, so i'm hoping the new mental stimulation of the big wide world will calm him down a little.

I knew it was going to be hard, and I don't regret getting him one bit, I suppose i'm just looking for tips on how you dealt with these problems and how long they took to grow out of it. Oh and he starts obeidence training within the next two weeks, so he will get some real structured training.

Thanks for any help!

hiya jake it does get better I promise once he can get out and about after the vaccination it will be much better , distraction is best when he goes to chew something you dnt want him to chew distract with a toy for example a tug toy. frozen veg is a good way to soothe their gums as is a frozen teatowel id also recommend a frozen filled kong and a nylabone. they grow out of chewing when they lose their needle teeth anything upto a year . any training sessions which id keep to 10 minutes a time otherwise they lose interest . in the meantime you can still do basic sit stay commands at home as mental stimulation is as effective as physical activity

There are different reasons puppies chew so it does to a certain extent depend on why he's doing it. If it is teething, then the frozen kongs and things can help. It sounds to me like there is more than that going on, though.

The first thing to remember is that he has no idea at all what he is allowed to chew and what he isn't. We can sometimes teach them not to chew something because if they do there will be negative consequences but generally they will chew what appears good to them. Key number one is to make sure that there is something better, so that they learn that the table leg isn't so much fun as the Kong, for example. Key number two is to put out of reach anything you can that you don't want him to get hold of. Put shoes in cupboards, pick up anything you can from the floor, hide electrical cabling, etc. If he does get hold of something, give him something better instead. It's useful to teach 'leave it' by offering a treat as you say the words, so that he learns to give up anything he has, you can do this already at this age.

It's also important, as Crystal says, to provide lots of mental stimulation. That's one of the functions of chewing - he's learning about his world through his mouth - so give him things to do that will fill that need. Get an empty light cardboard box (a food packet for example) and put some treats in. Let him see the treats so he knows they're there, then close it and let him work out how to get in. You can hide treats for him to find. There are also activity games you can buy if you feel like a shopping trip! Bits of training (see below) will also help fill his mental needs.

Chewing the bedding in his crate may well be because he doesn't like being locked in it. I know that many dogs do get used to being in crates but just locking them in there is a bit of a harsh way of doing it, and can backfire as you can end up just teaching them how horrid it is. You're far better building up associations with nice things. Feed him in there. Throw the occasional handful of treats in for him to snuffle for. After a while, when he's occupied with food, close the door but then open it again straight away. Repeat that a few times till he's used to the crate door closing, then you can leave it closed for longer. To start off with, longer would be just a few seconds. 10 minutes is a long time to be locked in somewhere that scares you. You should be able to build up provided you get it right for him and provided he hasn't already learned to hate the crate too much.

I assume by 'obedience classes' you mean puppy classes. At his age, you want to be doing tiny bits of training at home and classes should be mainly about socialisation at this age. If the training classes do turn out to be trying to teach a puppy obedience, find a different one or work only at home, any sort of forced learning and trying to make a dog obey is wrong.

Have a look through Victoria Stilwell's videos. This is great puppy training, and you should be able to do this yourself now. Don't overdo it - it's easy to get carried away by how clever our dogs are - think along the lines of Gus being at pre-school, not even primary. He'll make his GCSEs all in good time.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0C724F6F6A597540

pups are (or should be)very active, but should also have fairly long sleep periods throughout the day.

what food do you feed him? hyperactivity has been linked to certain additives, and a change of food might help.

Hi I have the same thing with the mouthing of everything, including my slippers as I walk in them. I keep telling him leave it and offering him an alternative such as a toy. Sometimes it works sometimes not. I empathise with the sleepless nights tho just keep going lol

Molly was exactly the same, she was on a cheap puppy food when we got her and she was off the wall!! We changed her food and got her on to Jwb this seemed to make a difference for her.
Also I know I sound like I'm spoiling her but we got her so many different types of toys, all different textures as they don't like chewing the same thing over and over, every five mins Molly is playing with something different, make sure you put toys in the crate with them as well boredom is the worst thing for pups

There is lots of good advice on her from everybody who has been through it as well. It does get so much better when you can wear them out on a walk. I used to give daisy a nice bone that would keep her chewing for hours and would wear her out.

I found routine helped with walks and food, they then get into a nap time routine as well.

As Gilly said, diet can be a cause as well, sometimes they put some awful stuff in these foods, so as natural diet as possible will help.

Hang in there it will get better. I had to rub down and fill my bannister and all my door frames from Daisy's chewing lol. xx