Crazy puppy time

I think crates need a different name. I’d call them dens. They can get their teeth caught in them if shut in. Mine did that once and it was terrifying. I have a cover on mine to make it more den like, but it’s important to not cover them with anything loose that the puppy can pull through. There have been tragic consequences from that happening. Sometimes they need to be out in one for their own safety though. And they are a home from home if you travel with them.

Zoomies are a way of burning off excess energy. Our 4 year old Springer Spaniel has them daily. I don’t think you mentioned what breed of dog the pupster is. Once he’s had his jabs go to a reputable puppy training class and do buy Graeme Halls books - he is absolutely brilliant. I’m not a fan of crates. They’re ok to provide a safe quiet space for a dog but they should never be shut in for anything other than a short space of time if necessary. Good luck with the pup!

What you’re describing is the zomies . Most very young puppies do it . It’s us sign they’re overtired . We crate trained our last two . And I’d put pup in the crate and he’d go to sleep.
Both our crate trained dogs like their crate , it’s their safe place and they’d sleep there .
It’s also a good place if you want to leave them for a short while and don’t trust them not to destroy the house .

foxie48

I've always used a crate with a big pen attached, pup goes into pen at regular intervals during the day while I get on with things and is put to bed quite early but got up for a wee before I go to bed. They need a lot of sleep, get easily overtired and then they are hard work. The zoomies is a sign they need rest. I'm another who doesn't share a bedroom with a puppy but I do pop a warm hot water bottle with one of my T shirts wrapped round it into the crate from day 1 and pup is usually found sleeping on it. Stick with a routine it doesn't last long and suddenly they are no longer pups!

I did this with my most recent pup, a labrador. The play pen ensured my older spaniel got peace and young grandchildren -pup safe space from each other.
Hot water bottle or you can buy a beating heart cuddly on the evil empire for about £12. Our pup had a 150 mile journey home. The beating heart snuggly, wrapped in the blanket his breeder gave us, settled him so well.
Routines are good

Our DGC renamed him Sharky. 🦈

Oh yes, that sounds very familiar. Every evening we would have the naughty hour where the monster would bite arms and feet, and he even tore some of my clothes. We tried everything, leaving the room, putting him out of the room, playing, ignoring - you name it. To this day I have no idea what he wanted and he was our 5th puppy.
It lasted about a year, but he has grown into being the nicest, sweet natured dog.
Good luck, there is some good advice on here.

My latest one air snapped and that did worry me because I’d never had a dog that did that before. She tended to do that in the evening and when on the sofa. My dogs always slept in the kitchen after my first dog became blind at an early age and then developed dementia. I decided it would be better to keep any future dogs in the kitchen so it was all that they knew. However, now I’m retired the current whippet sleeps curled up next to me: something I’ve never done with a dog before. Cats, yes, but not dogs. There’s no going back, now, and it worries me that, if ever she had to be rehomed it would have to be with someone that would allow that too. When you think about it, a little puppy has a lot to learn in a short space of time, because the first few weeks and months shape them for life, and they have to understand how to fit in with our lives. Winnie’s breeder was wonderful in that, before her puppies go to their new homes she does everything with them. Car journeys, visits to other houses, nail clipping (very important, that one). But above all she talks to her puppies and gets them listening to her from birth. And she’s always there to help with any problems, too.

When we looked after DSs puppy, DH made a large puppy pen in the garden to keep the puppy safe. It depends on your garden and size of puppy, but they can wriggle out of small spaces. In the pen we always supervised and there was room to run and play.

I've always used a crate with a big pen attached, pup goes into pen at regular intervals during the day while I get on with things and is put to bed quite early but got up for a wee before I go to bed. They need a lot of sleep, get easily overtired and then they are hard work. The zoomies is a sign they need rest. I'm another who doesn't share a bedroom with a puppy but I do pop a warm hot water bottle with one of my T shirts wrapped round it into the crate from day 1 and pup is usually found sleeping on it. Stick with a routine it doesn't last long and suddenly they are no longer pups!

A puppy will be as happy sleeping in a dog bed downstairs rather than in a bedroom.
Dogs need to know their owners are the masters and sharing a bedroom or bed with a human is confusing for them.

The “zoomies” are quite normal but the biting needs to be watched, if it’s snapping in the air that’s fine, it’s how they play.
Biting however needs to be addressed.

Vets refer to this as 'The Zoomies' it seems. Our puppy would behave like a wall of death rider, seemingly without provocation, when zoomies struck, and we even had an occasion when the dog next door joined in. Four adults, open mouthed, as the pair careered around the house at an impossible speed, yapping and unstoppable. Fortunately they didn't break anything. It will pass, good luck!

A lot of people are a bit sniffy about crate training, but if it's used properly, it can be very good. As MayBee70 so rightly says, the crate should never be used as punishments, but should become a safe space - many dogs naturally take themselves off to their crates when they need a bit of quiet downtime. When pups have their 'daft half-hour, it's often like toddlers who have become overtired and literally do not know what to do with themselves.

What I did with mine at that age was to take him out in the garden to play, even if it was dark, at about 7pm. He was tired then in the evening, and it was much easier to settle him down. He slept on his own (same room as the cats) from Day 1 though. As he sleeps with your daughter, part of the problem is that he’s probably telling her in his own way that he needs to go to bed - they are more clever than you’d think.

I agree about crate training, too. Never as punishment. Even now she’ll take herself off to her crate. Routine is important. And, once you let them do something it’ll be difficult to undo it.

Thanks MayBee for the positive note on training classes. Every puppy owner/rescue handler should go

That is mad hour I’m afraid. I’d never had it before with previous puppies but this one turned into a Tasmanian devil in the evening. My daughters Miniature Schnauzer was the same. I found my puppy (Whippet) was worst when she was on the sofa. My other dogs had never been allowed on the sofa. She’d started puppy classes and I found that, when I put her collar and lead on she would behave better. I thought I’d been sold a monster, but the trainers at both training classes we took her to, knowing dogs far better that me, told me I had a good dog, and they were right. The training classes were the making of her. She understands far more words than my other dogs ever did. I would eyeball her, touch my nose and say ‘behave’ when she was being extra naughty. Even now, at nearly 5, at mad hour she wants to do her training with treats: sit, down, turn, round, lie down, heel, wait, stay, paw etc. There was a very good programme with Clare Balding about dogs the other night that gave some really good tips. I don’t know what channel it was on. When my daughters mini was extra naughty at mad hour the would all get up and leave the room and ignore her! I think I spent a lot of the first few months in tears and would have given her back if I could have but she’s amazing. I’d love to be able to go back and have one of those mad puppy nights again, knowing how she was going to turn out. I do think training classes asap are the way to go. We did go to one that didn’t suit either of us. It was outside with too many distractions for a sight hound and the were only interested in dogs that with gold standard potential.

Yes to Blondiescot’s comments.

There’s a good book, the happy puppy handbook by Pippa Mattinson. Also Easy Peasy puppy Squeezy - Steve Mann.
Puppies thrive on routines. They need to sleep 19 hours a day. They’re most likely to have the zoo miles, racing around, mouthing etc when over tired
They need a safe, quiet place to relax/sleep. I’ve always had dogs, never crate trained till 16 years ago but crate trained 3 since then. Or yiu can buy a puppy play pen, put the pups bed in there and get her used to being contained. It’s a huge help with toilet and other training.

Pups often have a wee 'daft half-hour' in the evening. You have to be very firm, consistent and patient with them, and everyone in the household needs to be on the same page. They are very hard work at that stage and you do need to be patient, but it does pass. It's often when they are over-tired or over-stimulated that they behave like that, so make sure he has a quiet, safe space where you can put him.