# Overwhelmed and having serious doubts



## macy123 (Jan 27, 2021)

Hi there
We have a 15 week old Vizsla pup and are struggling. We have two kids at home (aged 5 & 9) and so we are trying to homeschool, work and look after a busy puppy. Nothing she is doing is unusual behaviour from what I can gather - although she does seem to be permanently tearing around and she often goes from fine to a crazy, biting (sometimes growling) maniac within about 20 mins of waking up. We give her kongs, toys, cardboard boxes and all sorts of other things to do. We are training her and she can currently sit, lie down, look at me, leave it and go to her bed pretty well - although less good when we are out, We go for 2 walks a day - one around 10 for 30 mins and one around 3.30/4pm for 30 mins. She has a nap every 1.5 to 2 hours. She isn't crated apart from when she's due to sleep. We did have a puppy pen but she just barks and cries the whole time she is in it if she can see us which is unbearable and impractical if we are trying to work / homeschool. Same with any crating unless she is tired. The kids get nipped a lot at the moment and so I spend the whole time telling the kids to be quiet, not to wind the puppy up and to be calm which doesn't seem to really work anyway and makes me feel like a nag. We have in fact had to put the puppy pen around the sofa to protect the children otherwise they are constantly attacked while watching TV. We were encouraging them to play up stairs but then it felt like we never saw our kids and anyway, the pup needs to get used to busy family life. basically we knew it would be hard but my husband and I feel trapped at home with the puppy and over whelmed trying to juggle all of these things. We feel we are being rubbish parents (to both the kids and puppy) and not very good at our jobs either. We dont know what to do. the whole this is then exacerbated by the crazies/zoomies that come on in the evening when we have finally got to the kids to bed and all we want to do it relax but then we get attacked, harassed too. We are having serious second thoughts about whether we should have a dog. We wanted a viszla as we are an active family who love to run, cycle etc but that prospect is such a long way away right now and from what I can gather from this forum, we can expect months - if not a year before things get a lot better. I know we wont be in lockdown forever but will it get easier with the kids, will the dog be more satisfied chilling or playing on its own for periods of time without constant attention when I am working (I wfh) or have we just made a serious misjudgement and we should give her back to the breeder - who has said he would have her. I guess I cant see how and when things will get better and so we feel overwhelmed. Any advice/thoughts welcome


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## DilleyBoy (Jan 25, 2021)

Hi. So sorry you're having a tough time of it. Its difficult currently with lockdown and young children, let alone a puppy in the mix too isn't it! We have 3 young children and a 15 week old puppy too, so I feel your pain! For us the mouthing of the children has started to ease, perhaps because we've tried to ignore it / distract him when he does it. We've found routine fairly helpful (for all of us!!) and we do put him in his crate for naps / quiet time etc. He seems to be pretty happy in his crate as we've tried to make it 'fun' by giving him his kong toy in there or a few treats everytime he goes in / a chew. These are just a few things we've found helpful so far but will be eagerly following this thread to see what others say.


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## InTheNet (Jun 1, 2016)

At around 6 moths it will start to get better.
What you describe is pretty much normal.

Our first V was a terror. Wife was close to giving up. By 1 year old he was a great dog.

#2 was a 10 month old rehome that the original owners were not prepared for at all. Since the day we got her home and started running her daily she has been perfect!

#3 is 7 months old and has been pretty easy. But we have our now 3 year-old that takes all the abuse.

The first 6 months are hard. Does not matter how prepared you think you are. YOU ARE NOT!

Make sure she is getting enough exercise .from what you listed as exercise time you are not near enough. Walking on a leash does not count as exercise for a v.


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## macy123 (Jan 27, 2021)

InTheNet said:


> At around 6 moths it will start to get better.
> What you describe is pretty much normal.
> 
> Our first V was a terror. Wife was close to giving up. By 1 year old he was a great dog.
> ...


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## macy123 (Jan 27, 2021)

Thank you for your reply. How much excercise do you think she should be getting? One of the walks we do up at some big fields where we let her run around on a long line where we let her drag it along rather than us hold it. The other walk is a walk to and from, and a run around, the local dog park but again only on a long line. We are working on recall but doesn't seem strong enough yet. We are keen to get her off lead as I know that important but be good to know how much excercise you'd recommend.


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## macy123 (Jan 27, 2021)

InTheNet said:


> At around 6 moths it will start to get better.
> What you describe is pretty much normal.
> 
> Our first V was a terror. Wife was close to giving up. By 1 year old he was a great dog.
> ...


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## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

It really does get better after 6 months! Stay strong ;-)

It's so much more difficult when you can't put her in her crate for a few hours to enforce nap time, they need about 20 hours sleep per day, is she getting that? I can't imagine having a puppy without a crate, so I would strongly advise to pick up crate training. It makes your life sooo much easier, you get a lot of free time with a satisfied tired puppy sleeping in her crate.

Feed her, give her kongs and chews in her crate. Exercise her (off-leash) and put her in her crate (with a chew / kong) to sleep afterwards. Let her cry for 30-45 minutes, it sounds harsh but she really won't get scarred for life. She'll probably fall asleep after that. I've probably watched over a hundred tutorials on Youtube on crate training, plus this forum has a lot of information on it too. I promise that if you endure her crying, it takes a few minutes less next time. It takes a few weeks, but maybe by then it's down to 10 minutes.


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## macy123 (Jan 27, 2021)

InTheNet said:


> At around 6 moths it will start to get better.
> What you describe is pretty much normal.
> 
> Our first V was a terror. Wife was close to giving up. By 1 year old he was a great dog.
> ...


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## macy123 (Jan 27, 2021)

Frida010 said:


> It really does get better after 6 months! Stay strong ;-)
> 
> It's so much more difficult when you can't put her in her crate for a few hours to enforce nap time, they need about 20 hours sleep per day, is she getting that? I can't imagine having a puppy without a crate, so I would strongly advise to pick up crate training. It makes your life sooo much easier, you get a lot of free time with a satisfied tired puppy sleeping in her crate.
> 
> Feed her, give her kongs and chews in her crate. Exercise her (off-leash) and put her in her crate (with a chew / kong) to sleep afterwards. Let her cry for 30-45 minutes, it sounds harsh but she really won't get scarred for life. She'll probably fall asleep after that. I've probably watched over a hundred tutorials on Youtube on crate training, plus this forum has a lot of information on it too. I promise that if you endure her crying, it takes a few minutes less next time. It takes a few weeks, but maybe by then it's down to 10 minutes.


She does sleep in her crate but not spending loads of time in there when awake. We've also just put up a puppy pen to try and help contain things a bit but also give her a bit more space than the crate. We've been working on recall but have been worried about taking her off leash but will prioritise this. thanks for your reply.


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## LMP (Oct 25, 2020)

Off leash can be done with a check cord, that way it is easier to catch and help pull her back to you when you call. You will probably be surprised that she won’t stray that far away at this age. But don’t get too comfortable, as they get older and more confident recall drops and they may range a little further. The check cord helps give them freedom and you a little control when needed. 

I second the comment about crate training. It was a lifesaver for us at that age! Ours slept all day while we worked with a few potty breaks. Then a walk in morning and evening. (He is not low energy, but got used to the routine). You have to help them learn to settle, the crate helps force that settle time and provides more structure.

Start teaching a place command, and it may be helpful to have an indoor tether where you can tie her up while you do schooling and work so she can get used to not having free reign of the house at all times.


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## Rex Vizsla (Jan 28, 2021)

Hiya, this might not be a useful reply - I found your post accidentally while Gooling Vizslas for adoption. We adopted our Vizsla Rex when he'd just turned one, the family had a new baby and were struggling to give him enough exercise. We would now like to adopt a second Vizsla, so if you ever do come to a point where the doubts turn into certainty, at least you can know that your dog would easily be taken on, and you needn't feel guilty  (You can see our dog Rex on Insta @superawesomeplace) Of course the best outcome though would be that your doubts fade and that is why you've made this post! Because we didn't have Rex as a puppy, I can't advise as others have. However I will say that even at one Rex still was obsessed with nipping hands when we got him - we found the best thing to do was always take your hands away (put them behind your back etc) the second they go in for a nip. Any attempt at 'No' or anything else never worked (and often made it worse), it only seemed to be the constant calm removal of opportunity that somehow got him out of the habit of even trying. I'm sure it's a lot harder to do that with a young puppy though! In terms of some of the other behaviour from your pup, again I'm no expert and I don't know how much is to do with individual personalities of dogs - but our Vizsla definitely lives up to the reputation of Vizsla's being very clingy and needy! If we even leave Rex, now two, alone in a room during the day, even if he can hear us in other rooms of the house, we will return to him having an erection caused by anxiety -luckily he doesn't whine and his nerves always show this way (don't worry I won't expand more on this!) He follows us around everywhere to every room of the house unless he is really zonked out  He is happy to be left in his 'bedroom' (/my office), overnight though, I guess because it's part of his routine, he knows lights are out and we are also going to bed, he's not missing out on anything! He's very big on routine, and perhaps you'll also find routine the most useful tactic in a lot of ways. Anyway, best of luck with your pup and if it does get too much, you needn't worry about her future


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## macy123 (Jan 27, 2021)

DilleyBoy said:


> Hi. So sorry you're having a tough time of it. Its difficult currently with lockdown and young children, let alone a puppy in the mix too isn't it! We have 3 young children and a 15 week old puppy too, so I feel your pain! For us the mouthing of the children has started to ease, perhaps because we've tried to ignore it / distract him when he does it. We've found routine fairly helpful (for all of us!!) and we do put him in his crate for naps / quiet time etc. He seems to be pretty happy in his crate as we've tried to make it 'fun' by giving him his kong toy in there or a few treats everytime he goes in / a chew. These are just a few things we've found helpful so far but will be eagerly following this thread to see what others say.


Thank you for your reply. Good luck to you too!


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## Tahoe Blue (Jan 18, 2021)

Hi Macy, our Vizsla is almost 7 months. She is our 13th dog and by far the most active little girl we've EVER had!!! At the 16 week mark we began taking her to doggy day care 2-3 times a week (not a dog park) but a facility where she can play indoor/outdoor with supervision. We started doing this so she would be well adjusted to other dogs, people (men, women, tall, short, facial hair etc..). We couldn't believe the difference it made almost overnight. It gives us the time to get things done around the house etc... She will sleep or calmly relax the rest of the day when we pick her up. We take her on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. It makes Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday a whole lot easier at this stage. Your puppies adult teeth will be coming in within the next 1-2 months, that makes a huge difference too. Hang in there!!


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

you know, I just skim read this post,,,,but I guess it's a zoomies, shark attack post, kids involved too......Kids get over it, pup gets over it, in a couple of months...up till pup is 6 months, everything settles down and kids and pup are great


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

by coincidence my first dog was called Rex,,he was as nutty as a balm cake, black lab, my 9th birtday pressie, broke my heart when I was 23 and he had that final booster ,,hey ho


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## macy123 (Jan 27, 2021)

Thank you everyone for all your reassuring words and advice. We've got some puppy day care sorted out a couple of days a week plus a trainer who is going to come and help us try and sort out leash walking and work on the recall and some of the other basics. We really want to make it work so it's worth the investment for now to help us get over what is hopefully just a phase - for the puppy - and until the world returns to some sense of normal. I really I appreciate everyone taking the time to read and reply. Thank you


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## Tony Elia (Jan 29, 2021)

macy123 said:


> Hi there
> We have a 15 week old Vizsla pup and are struggling. We have two kids at home (aged 5 & 9) and so we are trying to homeschool, work and look after a busy puppy. Nothing she is doing is unusual behaviour from what I can gather - although she does seem to be permanently tearing around and she often goes from fine to a crazy, biting (sometimes growling) maniac within about 20 mins of waking up. We give her kongs, toys, cardboard boxes and all sorts of other things to do. We are training her and she can currently sit, lie down, look at me, leave it and go to her bed pretty well - although less good when we are out, We go for 2 walks a day - one around 10 for 30 mins and one around 3.30/4pm for 30 mins. She has a nap every 1.5 to 2 hours. She isn't crated apart from when she's due to sleep. We did have a puppy pen but she just barks and cries the whole time she is in it if she can see us which is unbearable and impractical if we are trying to work / homeschool. Same with any crating unless she is tired. The kids get nipped a lot at the moment and so I spend the whole time telling the kids to be quiet, not to wind the puppy up and to be calm which doesn't seem to really work anyway and makes me feel like a nag. We have in fact had to put the puppy pen around the sofa to protect the children otherwise they are constantly attacked while watching TV. We were encouraging them to play up stairs but then it felt like we never saw our kids and anyway, the pup needs to get used to busy family life. basically we knew it would be hard but my husband and I feel trapped at home with the puppy and over whelmed trying to juggle all of these things. We feel we are being rubbish parents (to both the kids and puppy) and not very good at our jobs either. We dont know what to do. the whole this is then exacerbated by the crazies/zoomies that come on in the evening when we have finally got to the kids to bed and all we want to do it relax but then we get attacked, harassed too. We are having serious second thoughts about whether we should have a dog. We wanted a viszla as we are an active family who love to run, cycle etc but that prospect is such a long way away right now and from what I can gather from this forum, we can expect months - if not a year before things get a lot better. I know we wont be in lockdown forever but will it get easier with the kids, will the dog be more satisfied chilling or playing on its own for periods of time without constant attention when I am working (I wfh) or have we just made a serious misjudgement and we should give her back to the breeder - who has said he would have her. I guess I cant see how and when things will get better and so we feel overwhelmed. Any advice/thoughts welcome


I totally feel your pain. We have just got a 9week old Vizla girl pup. Thought it would be a great idea during lockdown as were all home so can spend time training getting used to her etc. In reality it’s SO tough. She bothers the kids (5 and 7) when there trying to do there school work and is up ALL night barking and scratching and trying to escape her crate. 
we have engaged a puppy trainer who has urged us to persevere with the crate training - in the day AND at night. She has assured me that this is all completely normal and after 2/4 weeks we should be seeing some light. If you can I would recommend crate training during the day aswel as night as that will give you all some respite and it will also give her some downtime too. 
within a few weeks she should get used to it and go in there happily and then hopefully you (and I) can go back to living a semi normal life. Without the crate we will never be able to leave the house without her or let her and us have some downtime when needed. 
we also brought clickers (recommended again by our trainer) who said that will really help getting her in and out the crate more easily. In terms of exercise they need lots yes but yours is still quite young so won’t need as much as a fully grown V. I’m totally with you and have the exact same doubts as you - always reach out as I have found this forum SO helpful and reassuring to know we’re not alone x


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## rchik43 (Apr 12, 2020)

My pup was exactly like this ... at that time I had him used to crating ... only thing that worked for me was crating with some treats and covering the crate whenever he gets to be too much ... I also started recognizing signs he is about to get a bit crazy before he actually did and started crating him before he goes nuts ... he is 8 months now ... at 6 months things started getting a lot better .. now he is just awesome !!! Hang in there ... they become extremely lovable ... 😀😀😀


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## rchik43 (Apr 12, 2020)

rchik43 said:


> My pup was exactly like this ... at that time I had him used to crating ... only thing that worked for me was crating with some treats and covering the crate whenever he gets to be too much ... I also started recognizing signs he is about to get a bit crazy before he actually did and started crating him before he goes nuts ... he is 8 months now ... at 6 months things started getting a lot better .. now he is just awesome !!! Hang in there ... they become extremely lovable ... 😀😀😀


Now he lost his crating habit ... not sure what i did or did not do ... but he has made my couch his home ... I still have the crate , I keep it open and he will go in by himself sometimes ... but does not like it when it’s locked


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## [email protected] (Nov 12, 2019)

macy123 said:


> Hi there
> We have a 15 week old Vizsla pup and are struggling. We have two kids at home (aged 5 & 9) and so we are trying to homeschool, work and look after a busy puppy. Nothing she is doing is unusual behaviour from what I can gather - although she does seem to be permanently tearing around and she often goes from fine to a crazy, biting (sometimes growling) maniac within about 20 mins of waking up. We give her kongs, toys, cardboard boxes and all sorts of other things to do. We are training her and she can currently sit, lie down, look at me, leave it and go to her bed pretty well - although less good when we are out, We go for 2 walks a day - one around 10 for 30 mins and one around 3.30/4pm for 30 mins. She has a nap every 1.5 to 2 hours. She isn't crated apart from when she's due to sleep. We did have a puppy pen but she just barks and cries the whole time she is in it if she can see us which is unbearable and impractical if we are trying to work / homeschool. Same with any crating unless she is tired. The kids get nipped a lot at the moment and so I spend the whole time telling the kids to be quiet, not to wind the puppy up and to be calm which doesn't seem to really work anyway and makes me feel like a nag. We have in fact had to put the puppy pen around the sofa to protect the children otherwise they are constantly attacked while watching TV. We were encouraging them to play up stairs but then it felt like we never saw our kids and anyway, the pup needs to get used to busy family life. basically we knew it would be hard but my husband and I feel trapped at home with the puppy and over whelmed trying to juggle all of these things. We feel we are being rubbish parents (to both the kids and puppy) and not very good at our jobs either. We dont know what to do. the whole this is then exacerbated by the crazies/zoomies that come on in the evening when we have finally got to the kids to bed and all we want to do it relax but then we get attacked, harassed too. We are having serious second thoughts about whether we should have a dog. We wanted a viszla as we are an active family who love to run, cycle etc but that prospect is such a long way away right now and from what I can gather from this forum, we can expect months - if not a year before things get a lot better. I know we wont be in lockdown forever but will it get easier with the kids, will the dog be more satisfied chilling or playing on its own for periods of time without constant attention when I am working (I wfh) or have we just made a serious misjudgement and we should give her back to the breeder - who has said he would have her. I guess I cant see how and when things will get better and so we feel overwhelmed. Any advice/thoughts welcome


Hi,
Sorry to hear things are tricky with the puppy. I remember thinking the same thing when we brought ours home as well. We had a 5, 9 and 11yr old kids at the time. It was tricky with the pup biting them especially with the 5 yr old, but now our pup is best friends with that youngest child. It was a rough 6-9 months, but now he will lay on the couch and snuggle the kids all the time.
For crate training during the day, we found the easiest way to get him use to it was for us to leave the house for a couple of hours at a time and we would let him “cry it out” much like sleep training a baby. We would put him the crate, with a blanket over it, leave a heavy duty rated kong with peanut butter in there, and then leave and go do errands, or just go for a drive so that he we didn’t have to listen to him cry, and that way he couldn’t hear us in the house either. He caught on very quickly within a few days, and then we were able to have him crated in the same room with us and he would just lay down and relax in there until we let him out. He still loves to sleep in his crate and will go in his crate happily anytime we need him to. The crate training is the best thing we’ve done. Best of luck to you! They really are great dogs. You can do this!!


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## Mcolaya (Aug 26, 2020)

Hi! I’ll keep try to keep this short but my baby Zo just turned 7 months. I’ll be honest the first 6 months were BRUTAL. My fiancé and I had so many fights because as much as we thought we were prepared, we didn’t expect the nippyness or sharkies. As soon as she reached 6 months however there’s been a complete switch. We crate trained her and put her in even if we were home. At first she didn’t like it but now she just falls asleep. We live in an apartment but luckily we have a huge field across the street that allows dogs so we make sure she gets to run around and stretch her legs. The one thing that I’ve truly found that helped is training. WHAT A LIFE SAVER. I spend 20-30 minutes teaching her commands and wow 🤩. After that she happily takes a chew lays down and falls asleep. I think some people assume because they’re hunting/working dogs they need tons of exercise but underestimate how much mental stimulation benefits. I’ve found that even getting ready for work I can “train” her. I put her in place while I get ready and reward.
It gets easier and I can’t imagine life without her.


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## macy123 (Jan 27, 2021)

Mcolaya said:


> Hi! I’ll keep try to keep this short but my baby Zo just turned 7 months. I’ll be honest the first 6 months were BRUTAL. My fiancé and I had so many fights because as much as we thought we were prepared, we didn’t expect the nippyness or sharkies. As soon as she reached 6 months however there’s been a complete switch. We crate trained her and put her in even if we were home. At first she didn’t like it but now she just falls asleep. We live in an apartment but luckily we have a huge field across the street that allows dogs so we make sure she gets to run around and stretch her legs. The one thing that I’ve truly found that helped is training. WHAT A LIFE SAVER. I spend 20-30 minutes teaching her commands and wow 🤩. After that she happily takes a chew lays down and falls asleep. I think some people assume because they’re hunting/working dogs they need tons of exercise but underestimate how much mental stimulation benefits. I’ve found that even getting ready for work I can “train” her. I put her in place while I get ready and reward.
> It gets easier and I can’t imagine life without her.


Thank you. That's so helpful and reassuring. Things have been a bit better this week. We have been stricter with her having naps in her crate when she starts to get wound up and crazy so we have been bitten less. And she's started puppy day care two days a week so is tired when she returns and although she is wild we put her straight to bed. Be interested to know what you are training and where you are looking for info. We have taught come, sit, lay down, in your bed, stay, and a little big leave it. Should I move into other things as she's really good at those (providing we are inside) especially if I have chicken!


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## Dan_A (Jan 19, 2021)

Hello, this is my first post here and we can totally relate to what you and it seems like everyone who has raised a v puppy has gone through. I'm writing this to basically let you know you aren't alone in the world! Our girl Ellie is turning 15 weeks on Monday. She lives with my wife, my 9 year old daughter, and myself. Our prior good girl was a European line working GSD, so we thought we had this all figured out! WRONG! Our butts have been kicked from day one, especially with Ellie's interaction with my 9 year old. It is almost as much work teaching our daughter on the do's and dont's especially when the zoomie sharkie attack wave comes on. We found ourselves looking at each other and have had to talk ourselves back from giving up. Reading this forum has helped a ton for us. I have to be honest , when researching our next dog, I totally glossed over reading up on raising v puppies, making one of those bad assumptions "hey it can't be worse than our GSD".

We crate trained from day one with her starting with night time sleeping. It took a few weeks of terror with early AM wake ups and incessant barking in which we never gave into. Now it is all finally paying off. We put her in her crate at least twice a day for a few hour naps after exercise and she has finally learned that it doesn't pay to go mental. This has really allowed us to get some of our life back on track. We started a group puppy training group that meets every Sunday for group lessons. I've also been strict with training at least 2 x 15min sessions each day. I find that once the zoomies / sharkies start, if i grab her attention and ask "time for training!?", she snaps into training mode and loves to work for those treats. I set up 3 locations in the house , a blanket, her bed, and the mat we use at the group session. She knows a name for each and moves to each one for treats and praise. We're also nailing the down, stay, get it, look (up at your face and hold attention), up, off(the couch), and leave it. After 15min of training she forgets all about the zoomie/sharkie mode she was in before. I reccomend giving training sessions a try when you see the zoomie/sharkie onset signs. For exercise we do at least 2 15min walks per day and off leash play time in the yard. We recently started positioning ourselves around opposite sides of the yard and take turns calling Ellie to practice her recall to each of us. Bonus is it tires her out pretty quickly! One thing that also helps us is figuring out when she does get into a mental mode, is it because she's bored, tired, or has energy. The training sessions help with the bored zoomies/sharkies, and of course nap time or exercise time for the others. We find when she is tired and can't settle on her own she is the worst to handle and be around. Enforcing nap time in her crate or pen area helps her instantly settle. We can't wait till she "self settles" on her own but she has to be taught that.

I'm sorry for the book, hope it helps you feel that you aren't alone and maybe some things we've learned may be helpful!


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