2y ago

Do y'all have any suggestions on how to stimulate an unruly puppy?

I have a very smart 4 month old goldendoodle who loves getting into everything. She has no interest in her toys or chews. I'm at my wits end. She won't respond to any correction or redirection. I puppy proofed tf out of my house but she still finds shit to get into. Idek where she gets some of the stuff she finds.

I can't give her super flavorful bones because my beagle tries to fight her over them. That's the only thing that has held her attention recently, but my beagle is a dick when it comes to bones.

I brought home like a dozen new toys yesterday but she doesn't want them. She also doesn't really care for treats when training. She'd just rather be called a good girl and get head pats.

My beagle isn't nearly as smart as her, so it didn't take much to stimulate him. Now he just wants to nap all the time lol.

52 comments

Your dog wants love and attention, not distractions. That may change a bit as they get older but some dogs are just this way.
- PlasmaDistortion is right. Unfortunately your responding to bad behavior with attention is training your pooch to behave badly.
  You have to find a humane way to respond a way that the dog dislikes.
  
  For my dog it is simply withdrawing all attention. Pretend she doesn't exist until the behavior corrects. My dog was confused at first and tried harder so I get went about my day like she didnt exist. Finally she moped and laid on the floor so I pet her and said good girl and gave her some cuddles.
  Now when she acts out or gets rough I just have to drop my shoulders and look ahead and she calms down pretty quick.
  
  You have to find a humane way to respond a way that the dog dislikes.
  Such as? Potential future dog owner here
- I have no idea how to give her love and attention other than talking to her constantly. She doesn't like cuddles or too many pets. She sometimes lets me brush her without issue. She's really weird lol. Maybe just hanging out on the floor with her would work? She despises sitting in my recliner with me.
  
  Does she have toys? What about walks?
A tired dog is a happy dog. I would recommend a VERY long walk or a trip to the dog park when you get home from work. Being kenneled all day and night with a brief respite while you are home and awake will lead to some serious pent-up energy, especially in puppies. We have two large dogs we’ve had since puppies and avoided rampant destruction by having a long yard for them to play in, but it requires us to be out there with them playing fetch and running them silly every day when we get home and again before bed. If we don’t, they just sit around outside begging to come in because ultimately they want to be around us.
- One of our dogs growing up (golden retriever), would run laps around the house for hours. He would also play fetch, but he would bring a ball back within about 20 feet of you before dancing around in a circle. The only way to get him to drop the ball was to have a second ball ready to go when he got back wit the first one. He would also try to fit as many tennis balls in his mouth as possible, saw him get 3 in successfully once. He was also terrified of floor vents and the downstairs bathroom. He loved to carry socks around, the dirtier the better. He never chewed them, just carried them around in his mouth.
  Loved that derpy dog.
- I give my dogs outside time a lot. We go out immediately after I get home and only come in when they decide they want dinner. An hour later, it's back outside to play. I don't have a fenced yard yet, but I do have tie outs that they go on. I'm hoping to get my yard fenced within a year.
  
  Going outside into the backyard every day for hours isn’t enough, at least not for her breed - your older beagle probably cares less. Dogs need actual walks, out to new places. Big hour long ones.
  
  If she's just chained to a dog run, then she's probably just going to sit around outside. She needs both physical and mental stimulation. Oh, get her a puzzle feeder, and a puzzle treat dispenser. Get one for your beagle too so you don't need to deal with the theft issue. Those are good for mental stimulation.
First, scale back your expectations a bit. She is only 4 months old. You said she is crate trained and leash trained, if she also knows some commands like sit and come here you are on a very good pace. Around 4 moths is when you can start with the more advanced commands. Especially having her follow the "come here" command on a longer distance and while outside is going to be your big goal for now.
I would worry more about your beagle fighting over the bones. That's something that needs fixing more so than your 4 old puppy behaving like a puppy.
From the sounds of it, she spends way too much time in her crate. You said she is there while you are at work and over night. If you work 8 hour shifts that's 16 hours a day inside the crate. That's way too long. At her age she isn't even supposed to be in a crate for more than 4-5 hours straight and 8 hours in total should be the maximum for any dog. So when she gets out she really needs to burn energy. Just walking her isn't going to be enough with that much time spent in a crate. So get that intensity up.
In the morning before you go to work you have her play fetch so she can run at full speed and tire herself out and in the afternoon after work you take her to a dog agility training course. Even better would be to eliminate one of the crate time and exchange it for time with a dog sitter or dog day care center.
I understand you are currently worried about your dogs due to the parasites and playing fetch with a dog that's not fully trained yet is also dangerous. So maybe you will have to get active too and start jogging in the morning with them. Depending on your house maybe you can play fetch inside or build them a small obstacle course at home.
At the very least increase the size of the crate. Make it a fenced off part of your house. Just give them more space to play and move while locked up.
- Agree with this one. She seems pretty normal for a 4 month puppy! I think give it time, they don't settle till at least after 9 months
  Based on your other comments she gets enough activity, perhaps look at puzzle toys (like a frozen stuffed Kong) or snuffle toys for feeding time.
- I'm planning on getting her a gigantic crate that I can turn into a playpen for her. I have my living room closed off with baby gates, but she figured out how to open the one. I gotta get a better latch for it. I hate how much my dogs are crated. I don't have any dog daycares near me and the only person I know who agreed dogsit is my sister and she decided to not do it the first day she said she would. I work from home at least one day a week and they are out of their crates the whole time on those days.
  I wake up two hours earlier than I need to in the mornings so the dogs can run and play. Mornings are their most intense playtime.
  My house is kinda small, so indoor agility courses wouldn't work. I found kits for outdoor courses online that look good.
  It's all so overwhelming. I got my beagle when he was 5 months and his biggest issue was his anxiety. He would act out when he got anxious. With work and medication he is very well behaved. Aside from resource guarding bones. I don't give the dogs bones anymore. They share cow hooves though, which is great.
  I did not expect my puppy to be so much trouble. My cousin owns the older brother of my puppy and that dog was never this much trouble. Super chill. Complete opposite of mine lol.
You need to exercise her before you try to get her attention. Those dogs have absolutely insane amounts of energy. Think about trying to get the attention of someone who just did 5 lines of pure Columbian cocaine, that's what life is like for your puppy. Get a little backpack for her and put a couple of water bottles in it. Then go play catch at the park for 30-40 minutes. Or go for a run. Or put some roller blades on and let her pull you around (with a proper harness, not a collar). After one or more of those activities is the proper time to train her.
Have you considered separating the beagle and her while she gets to chew on a flavorful bone? Also, discipline the beagle. He needs to understand that he can't just steal things from her. This isn't anthropomorphism, dogs can learn not to steal from each other. Regardless, she should get some time to chew without worrying about defending herself. Chewing is a natural instinct for dogs, and it's important they can satisfy that urge.
Have you tried the crinkle toys? One of our dogs loved the crinkle toys, and the other loved the squeaker toys.
Golden retrievers, and Golden Doodles are pretty insane when they're young. It takes a lot of work to exercise and train them. The good news is that they settle down a lot in a year or two, and then they're a lot easier to deal with. Despite the saying, you can reach an old dog new tricks, so there's still time for training after she grows up a little.
- I plan on breaking out a kiddie pool tonight and seeing if she'll swim. I am also going to take her to the park when it cools off a bit. This week is going to be hot.
  My dogs LOVE crinkle toys.
  Do you have any suggestions on how to get my beagle to share bones?
  
  The pool is a great idea! Most Doodles love water.
  We trained our domineering dog not to steal from our smaller dog by sitting between them when they both got bones. When he would try to approach her we would push him back, point at his nose, and firmly say NO. Then we'd redirect him back to his bone, giving him lots of praise. As he started figuring it out we could just say his name in a scolding tone and he'd slink back over to his bone. Eventually he figured it out, and would just look longingly at her bone, despite having the same bone himself. Silly dog!
I’m somewhat surprised that no one has given you this answer yet, but it is the most effective one I know, from raising tens of dogs: Your dog needs more exercise; take her for a run or walk when she starts being stubborn. A well exercised dog is a compliant dog that learns and obeys.
- She and the beagle get lots of outsider time on their tie outs and play with each other super hard like 3 times a day. I can't really take them on walks in the park because they've been picking up parasites and I'm struggling to get that under control. I'm not comfortable taking them to places other dogs have been until their issues have been handled. My beagle also just got diagnosed with active Lyme disease, so we are dealing with that now. :/
Reward her with head pats and play if that’s what she’s into. Use classical conditioning to associate certain words with those rewards.
As for how to stimulate her, play with her. Wrestle and run around with her.
How many kilometers (or else measured in time) do you walk together every day?
- We don't currently go on walks due to parasites, but she and my beagle play outside for at least 2 hours a night and inside for at least another 2. She's not getting mileage, but does laps around the house and the yard and wrestles with the beqgle
  
  She needs the mileage. Really truly needs it. Take her somewhere walking where there aren’t other dogs as soon as your vet clears it. If your vet has cleared it already your own worry is not worth depriving her of this
The thing that saved my sanity when my hyper pit bull was that age was a laser pointer. Id stand in the backyard in the evening and he would chase it for like 60 minutes or more until he couldnt move his body.
- Oh that's a good idea!
  
  You can also get automatic ball-throwers that they can learn to load themselves. She sounds bright enough to learn how to use one. But it depends how much she needs you to be present for playtime. And how much she likes chasing a ball, of course.
  If she likes being outside, and can't get up to too much mischief there, you could consider a dog flap. Not cheap if you also need it to be secure against burglars. But if she can take herself outside for the kind of mischief that gets her praise and attention, it might help.
  
  I would not recommend using a laser pointer with dogs, it can end up being a form of anxiety for dogs.
  Here is one, of many, articles that talks about laser pointers being bad for dogs. https://tinyurl.com/3d6xv7ha
To help stimulate our dog when she was older, I got a kiddie pool and a several packs of plastic balls, like for a kid's ball pit. Than hid treats in the pit for her to search. She loved it and it would keep her entertained even after all the snacks were found.
- That's an amazing idea omg.
Teach them to play tug. Here is an excellent video showing how. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2Ln7fMUVE8 I use a toy that’s a soft rubber ball with a rope tied through it. (Sorry can’t find where to get it a trainer gave it to me). Learning this game also becomes a training tool, getting the toy becomes a huge reward.
- She is crate trained, but I like to give the dogs as much time out of their crates as possible. They're crated at night and when I'm at work. I can't trust either dog to not get into trouble when I'm not around lol
Yeah, that's kinda what happens with GDs. My shrink has one that's 2yo that still does that stuff despite a ton of training and such. They eventually had to resort to a shock collar which kinda works for some things like barking, but she'll still destroy stuff. .
If you have a fenced in back yard, I'd put her out there for a few hours to see if that helps things. Does she play fetch, because if so you can get an automatic ball launcher that they can drop the balls into. That was my suggestion that my shrink is trying out now.
But, in all honesty, every single person I've met who has a GD has deeply regretted their decision.
- Oh wow that's very extreme. Shock collars are terrible when the shock setting is what is used. I've seen people use the collars that make a beep and use that for training, but I am not one for that either. I tried the beep with my beagle and he didn't care.
  My yard isn't fenced, but I plan on getting it fenced as soon as I can. Both my goldendoodle and beagle will benefit greatly from it. They have nice and sturdy tie outs right now, but those only let them do so much playing outside.
  I do not regret my decision to get her or my beagle despite my goldendoodle being a menace andy beagle being the loudest and neediest creature on the face of the planet. They're my babies. I'm never having human children, so my dogs and other critters (2 cats and 11 ducks) are my kids.
  
  Yeah, I definitely forgot to mention that they haven't had to use the shock feature yet. That's my bad.
  
  E-collars can be used but only as part of a specific training regimen, and only on lowest setting the dog responds to. They shouldn't just be left on all the time and used whenever the dog is doing something bad. Positive reinforcement works way better than negative reinforcement, but sometimes a bit of negative is needed along with the positive.

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