# Help! New puppy out of control



## giandaliajr (Nov 24, 2012)

My wife and I just got our first V last Saturday and he has been growing increasingly crazy. We live in an apartment in NYC and unfortunately I had to go out of town for a few days. 

Essentially he is biting like crazy, and hard. He was also around an old sheepdog on Christmas and just went to town on her. He doesn't look like he is actually fighting but its way beyond playing and he can't stop. No matter what we do he just keeps going until we put him in his crate, then he does an ear piercing yelp. It almost looks like he just has a psychotic break and attacks anything that moves. It usually happens every night before bed.

I think they potty training is going fine, it's just his constant screaming whenever we are more than a couple feet from him. We set up a play pin and have his crate in that. Before I left it didn't seem too extreme. We didn't get much sleep because he would wine on occasion then give up after we ignored him for a while.

But it seeks like he is getting increasingly worse. He is 9 weeks old today.

Any suggestions on what we should do? My wife is really not dealing with this well. She works from home, which we thought would be a plus with this, and she can't get anything done. She actually had to call in sick today because she is so upset over all of this. We were expecting a hard but enjoyable life with a new puppy but it has been out of control.

Thanks


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Just below the upper right-hand corner of your screen you will find a "Search" box. Type in 'Another Biting Thread" or "Puppy Biting" or words to that effect, and press enter on your keyboard. There are very many discussions on this exact subject. 

I think it is safe to say that just about ALL nine-week-old puppies are "out of control", so what you are experiencing is not at all unusual! Use the "Search" box to find loads of good advice. Raising a puppy is a big challenge. It has never been easy. You will get through it, though, and be richly rewarded.


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## SkyyMax (Apr 5, 2012)

giandaliajr - sorry you having a hard time with your new puppy, it's actually a normal behavior.

Your pup is a _baby_, he was taken from mom, siblings and now has to adjust to a new home and family, it's a lot of stress for him!

The biting will subside after he will loose baby teeth (so hang in there for a couple of months).
You can redirect the pup by offering him a toy instead. 

Grumpy behavior before bed time - oh, it sounds so familiar 

Regarding crate training, try to feed puppy inside the crate. Every time he will get near a crate, praise him, if he will go inside, treats, "Good boy!" etc - through him a party!
He will understand crate is GOOD and will soon learn to love it.

The hardest part - you and your wife have to stay calm, being frustrated will not help.
It will get better - I promise!


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## GarysApollo (Nov 27, 2012)

Every thing about your puppy sounds just right to me! You are going to have to correct him every time he is doing something you dont want him to be doing. The hard biting and playing is normal, my poor Apollo gets torn up by our new puppy who is ten weeks old, but they are playing. Training has to be a every second your with them thing for a while, not just a when your not watching tv thing. Good luck with your puppy! It's going to be hard, living in the city isnt going to help as my boys have to run outside alot to calm down.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

Sounds like a typical Vizsla pup! ;D

Buy some bully sticks for the puppy and a bottle of wine for you and your wife. It's going to be a long, crazy ride.


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

And while you are exploring the search function, have your wife search for other posts about working from home. There are a few of us here who had to figure out how to get stuff done while the puppy was trying to learn manners. Also, if she is home with the puppy all day, she will need a sanity break from time to time. Start looking at options _now_. Some options can be your evening walk with the puppy, a dog walker during the day, doggie day care, or even just a few minutes playing with a known dog who can let him exhaust himself.

Regardless of the advice, though, your puppy is a baby and will be for several months. It gets easier, but it will get harder first. Stay calm, learn all you can, and hang in there - it is worth it!

BTW - there was at least one time when I was sobbing in my cats fur wondering what I had done to my household adding such a terror of a puppy. If you (or your wife) haven't reached that stage yet, you are doing fine.


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## VictoriaW (Mar 16, 2011)

Quick! 

Download Ian Dunbar's before and after you get your puppy:

http://www.dogstardaily.com/free-downloads

Good luck and please keep us posted.


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## lyra (Nov 2, 2012)

Our Visla is 17 weeks old and I also work from home.

After a couple of weeks I was beginning to wish we had never got our puppy because it was impossible to get any work done! 

What I have found (apart from love for our hound ) is that we have established a routine that gives my day some predictability (and so the ability to get some work done). I am also lucky in that I can do quite a lot of my work in the evenings if need be.

As already stated, there are plenty of really useful threads you can read through here but remember your puppy is having to make a massive adjustment so give him a little time to settle.


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## sitka (Oct 22, 2012)

We have a girl from same litter--we got the green collared girl. she's very sweet-also wants a lot of attention & to be on our lap. We take her out very often-, run around the yard-loves running through the snow, will walk pretty well on leash down our driveway & back although she likes to "carry" the leash in her mouth. 

She has a crate & a separate, circular baby play yard (although she has already figured out how to crawl over this!) & a gate in the back hall near my kitchen. 

I have noticed increase biting too, especially when she is over stimulated or tired. If redirecting with a toy isn't enough & if she gets too rough with us, I have been putting her in her gated area, ignoring her cries, when she settles, give her a treat and attention. This seems to work. Her crying for us when alone is getting better-used to settle after 15min of howling, screaming etc, but now will cry just a few minutes when we ignore her. She does seem to need "cuddle time" but I never cuddle or calm her when she's crying-only after she calms. Then i usually find she's tired & ready to go to sleep.

We also found when we gave her more freedom in the house, it was too stimulating for her & she was a bit out of control. went back to more of a confined area & this has helped. 

Maybe try more exercise during the day to tire him, we even work on the mental stimulation to tire through training-sit, down, stay & come. Our girl does sleep a lot during the day and evening, but when up needs attention 90% of the time- even if only to sit on our lap while chewing a toy. I can sympathize though, they do take a lot of time & attention when awake- more than i anticipated. We found "How to Raise the Perfect Dog" by Cesar Millan helpful. 

Hope this helps-learning right along with you! 

BTW, which color collar did you get?


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Your pup is normal. Expect the "zoomies" just prior to bed for some time. No different to an infant human. They get cranky and really don't know if they want to laugh, cry, play or......fall asleep. Just like human bubbies, they don't want to fall asleep and miss something.


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## minihero (Jun 19, 2012)

Welcome!
I agree with all of the posts. We got our V in the summer when I was off from work and I spent every minute of every day training her. At 9 weeks old she was quite a handful, but with constant crate training, potty, and behavior training at 8 months old now she's such a love!!! 
I feel for your wife, it's going to be quite a few months before your baby learns proper behavior, but you need to have patience and lots of exercise activities for your pup. 
Be prepared for the biting..it's really just starting and it lasts about 5 months ???
We live on Long Island and have friends with V's at times we go to Central Park. Send a message if you're ever desperate and maybe we can set up a V play date. Our dogs are really well socialized and super friendly around puppies. We also take them out down a wooded trail in Bayshore on Sunday mornings (may be a long drive for you, but if we get a warm weekend it would be fun, we started bringing her at 11 weeks). I joined the Long Island Vizsla Club last summer also and enjoy the activities: http://www.vcli.net/ 
Best of luck!!


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## deeco3307 (Jun 13, 2010)

Here are a couple suggestions. First, try to tire the pup out mentally before you leave for work so your wife has an easier time at home. Do some obedience training for 10 minutes in the morning. Have your wife do 10 minutes mid-day along with a short bout of exercise.

The dog has to know that wining in the crate isn't going to result in anything positive, so you simply can never get him because your tired of hearing him. Thats positive reinforcement for an unwanted behavior. If you set that standard, it will take time to reverse it. When we first got our pup I came home after he'd been in the crate for 1-2 hours and I sat and waited 45 minutes until he was silent before I got him out of the crate. 

It will probably be tough for your wife to work with a wining pup in the crate, so set the crate up in a location where she'll be less likely to here him. When the pup is due to be taken out, make sure he has been silent for at least 2 minutes prior to getting him.

If the pup is out, limit access to toys. The dog needs toys when you are playing with them. If you leave them out for a V under 1 1/2 yrs old it will be non-stop play. When play time is up, the toys go up. Leaving a toy out is asking for the pup to play and it won't curb any destructive behavior.


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## giandaliajr (Nov 24, 2012)

Thank you all for the tips! We got the blue collared boy. I'll definitely be putting in some good work after I get back.


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## giandaliajr (Nov 24, 2012)

Yesterday was finally a good day. We knew the before bedtime fit was coming and I think we helped minimize the damage. He is learning surprisingly well. When he starts biting us and wont stop after we use the "stop" or "off" command then we yell "Bully!" and walk into the other room and close the door. This works every time. He quiets down and sits by the door and doesn't make a peep. Also we ran out of training treats so i ran down to the drug store near my building and had to get small milk bones, he is obsessed with them. We break them up into small pieces for training and even when he is in one of his moods he will stop to train for some of those treats.

Last night was pretty good too. He made a lot of noise when he first went into his pen/crate area in our bedroom and after he was whining for a while i got up and sternly jumped into his pen and placed him in his crate and said "CRATE". He just whimpered for a minute or so and then slept the rest of the night!

He is also surprisingly good at holding his bladder. Even though we leave wee-wee pads and water in his pen he wont go to the bathroom until the morning. I think slowly we are going to make his bedtime pen smaller and smaller until we just have the crate in there with the door shut

Thank's for all your help! My wife and I were both extremely overwhelmed a few days ago and this forum helped a lot.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

So glad to hear that things are going a little bit better for you! Your pup is still so young, and has so much to learn. It all takes a lot of time and patience and LOVE! Stick with it and you'll get there.


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