# Puppy problems



## MobyVizsla (Mar 20, 2019)

Hi all, just wanted to say thank you for all the great threads that exist on this forum that were full of useful tips and advice for the various puppy issues we went through recently with our boy Moby.

Really I just wanted to post something that was a bit more encouraging for new puppy owners based on our experiences with Moby, our now 16-week old boy and just to say that it DOES get better!!!!

*Puppy sleeping: *
Moby slept from day 1 in his crate with us by his side, it was hard as ****. The first night he was up every 40-minutes and it was quite a rude awakening for us!! Over the next couple of weeks he got up between 2-3 times a night for a wee with the odd night he may sleep all the way through. We were exhausted, like zombies desperate for normality and sleep. It was around 11-weeks when he first started to sleep through more consistently and by 13-weeks it was much much better. Although, even now at 16-weeks he sometimes will wake up for a 5am wee. We chose not to take the water away from him prior to bed as he is a thirsty boy and it seemed to make no difference whatsoever! This is so hard but hang in there, it getting better everyday as they grow a little bit more!

*Puppy Biting *
Oh my gosh, we had no idea how brutal this could really be. There were days when I would just cry as the biting was unbearable. I was covered in bruises and cuts. It's really unpleasant when he launches at your face constantly. Unfortunately, it's not all puppy cuddles and love in the beginning. I spent a lot of time watching videos and reading through forums and nothing really helped. We did toy swapping, spraying with water (advice from puppy school), letting him bite us (ARGH!) and buying an excessive amount of chew toys!! Bones were a real help but nothing was a one-trick solution. We realised that a lot of the time it was because Moby was really tired and having 'shark attacks' so we did lots of settling with him to try and prevent over-tiredness. This normally involved us wrapping him in a blanket in our arms and letting him struggle until he calmed.

Finally, a breakthrough came around 12/13 weeks when he just started to chill out his biting... just like that. We think it was a combination of growing up and having less painful gums, attending puppy socialisation classes and lots of sleep! He still tries to nip us every now and again if he's tired or over-excited but no more cuts and bruises!

*Puppy settling and going to sleep*
Moby had and still has a big problem with entertaining himself and being able to take himself off to sleep by himself! Often I have to wrap him in a blanket or put him in his crate to sleep. He also struggles with sleeping during the day without being totally covered. I guess side-effects of being crate trained. He sleeps so well in his crate and rarely moans anymore when placed in there to sleep. The problem is more now he can't sleep in anything else! We're currently trying to train him to sleep in his big-boy bed and are getting a lot of middle of the night desperate for cuddles visits! It's all about consistency and perseverance so I know we'll crack it soon.

*Puppy crate training*
I read a MILLION different methods for crate training and it was confusing and tiring! I actually did little to follow any of the examples I read as they were so long-winded. Rather, Moby was introduced to the crate from day 1 and asked to sleep in it. Firstly, with the door open and uncovered and eventually with the door closed and crate totally covered (we had a small house at the time and it disturbed him less). Sleepy puppy cuddles are the nicest things ever, but we were hard on ourselves and if he tried to sleep on us was instantly taken to his crate to settle there. This took A LOT of patience, but now he sleeps in there no problems. He also will never wee inside so helped massively with house training! We rarely used treats in the crate but often hand-fed him in there or let him chew a bone or carrot in there. 

*Puppy toilet training*
Moby was a superstar when it came to this and I can't deny we were lucky! He learned incredibly quickly. We had a specific small 'poo patch' for him and he quickly learned what it was for. He had accidents inside of course (and still does!) but the key is not to punish and always interrupt and take him straight to the specific spot. By 10-weeks we had minimal accidents inside, although the occasional lazy pee did happen. I was strict with him and took him out regularly and patiently sat with him until the deed was done - after food, after a nap, after drink he went straight out. By 11 weeks we'd taught him to ring a bell to ask to be let out, and he still does this today - can't recommend teaching them this enough!! 

*Puppy socialisation*
Moby loves people more than anything in the world, even dogs. We go to a socialisation class for puppies each week and rather than play with the dogs he says hi to all the people. It can be frustrating!! Like most puppies he has a particular fondness for children and jumps on them immediately. We're still working hard on this with him but it's hard!! We have obedience lessons to help but it will take time for sure. 

We live in France and the rules are a bit different here for puppy injections. Moby has been going out and about since 8.5weeks! We lived in the centre of the city so was great for him to see bikes/trams/babies/runners etc. The risk was very low for him to pick up anything and we made sure he picked nothing up from the ground. I'd recommend getting your pup outside ASAP (long as it's ok with the vet obviously!). 

*Puppy obedience *
I worked hard with Moby from week 1! We did 10 mins training in the morning and evening everyday. We used his kible as treats and it worked well. I watched a lot of videos on youtube and tried different things (simpawtico videos are great). By 10-weeks Moby was able to sit, leave it, take it, stay and give me his paw. Lying down was another thing!! He took forever to get there! At 12-weeks he started doing 'lay down' and we think it was more that it was physically difficult for him rather than not knowing how. Moby loves to learn more than anything and we found that he was incredibly smart!! The puppy lessons we have now are great for ensuring we keep moving him on and challenging him. After all we'd like a fairly obedient dog!!

and that's all really!

Just wanted to share our experiences and just say hang in there to all new puppy owners! The hard times are definitely worth it for all the fun times!! Enjoy it though, they grow quickly!

Feel free to get in touch if I can share anything else I may have missed!!


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## huxleythehungarianV (Dec 4, 2018)

Haha glad to hear your enjoying your V! I had to raise Huxley on my own and it was a nightmare but it did get better! Then teenage time hit and well...let’s just say it’s a whole new set of challenges haha


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## riley455 (Aug 27, 2011)

MobyVizsla said:


> Hi all, just wanted to say thank you for all the great threads that exist on this forum that were full of useful tips and advice for the various puppy issues we went through recently with our boy Moby.
> 
> Really I just wanted to post something that was a bit more encouraging for new puppy owners based on our experiences with Moby, our now 16-week old boy and just to say that it DOES get better!!!!
> 
> ...


Thank you for sharing!


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## Jasmik (Nov 27, 2020)

MobyVizsla said:


> Hi all, just wanted to say thank you for all the great threads that exist on this forum that were full of useful tips and advice for the various puppy issues we went through recently with our boy Moby.
> 
> Really I just wanted to post something that was a bit more encouraging for new puppy owners based on our experiences with Moby, our now 16-week old boy and just to say that it DOES get better!!!!
> 
> ...


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## Jasmik (Nov 27, 2020)

Gosh thanks we are 5 days in with an 8 week old and he’s cranky when we put him in his pen, and the shark bites are intense! My hands and arms are well marked. My partner’s are not so clearly it’s something I am doing. It could also be the teething and he is just all mouth right now. I’m glad that he is pretty house trained so I need to count my blessings. Anyway grateful to read this. I’m learning respect training from Michele Walton’s book, PuppyCulture and Doggie Dan - and shout outs for any of those? Living for naps at the moment!


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