Puppy goes berserk at bedtime

To be honest, it sounds like your pup is overly tired and doesn't know how to self regulate. I'd honestly think about crate training or a playpen for overnight because it is scary when they start to bite. He can still be in the bedroom but somewhere where he learns to settle. My little girl is 13 months and she went through a period like this. She has now settled down a lot and things do get easier.

If I could have given my puppy back for the first 9 months of her life I would have. I thought she was the puppy from hell. She then turned into and most amazing dogI’ve ever had. It’s beyond me why people give puppies at eg Christmas presents because they’re not fun at all. Kittens are but not puppies. They’re just wee, bite, poo machines. Have you done training classes with him yet? It was the making of my girl and the help and advice I had from the trainers was invaluable. We did give her Lilys kitchen nighttime biscuits when she was a puppy, which are supposed to be calming: I bought them for my daughters puppy, too and she knows it’s bedtime as soon as she has hers. I gave up with mine as they’re a bit expensive. I’m also a great believer in dap diffusers, too. Maybe one in the bedroom would help. Or a dap spray at nighttime.

DD has puppy signed up for puppy training classes. They run in cycle and so she has to wait for the next lot to start. A girl we know is a dog behaviour therapist so she will get an appointment with her. I am sure that puppy is just being what puppies are,and will be an absolutely delightful companion when older . I must admit that I would happily have given DD away in her first few months!

Mine would settle down when put in her walking harness. I don't really know why but maybe she thinks I'm in charge when she wears it?

If she doesn’t get on with that training class, try another one. We did three: the first one didn’t suit us at all and they weren’t interested in my dog because she wasn’t gold standard. But the other two loved her. It is important to get them used to the command words at an early age, though. It’s amazing how many words they understand. I even mentioned claw clipping in a roundabout sort of way last night, neither mentioning the words claws or clipping and she skulked off ( I think I’d said we need start doing you know what again).

Puppies are like toddlers, a nightmare when they are over tired! Good luck, lots of good advice from previous posters.

Just like children at bedtime! We call it the witching hour. One reason I prefer fostering older dogs rather than pups. Your pup will get there.

I’ve got to say I’m not sure if your AD having a puppy is a good idea as (no offence intended) as the family isn’t familiar with what to expect? Something to consider is who is the dog’s master?? Too many voices and different commands , however similar will just confuse it. Despite offering advice my friend and her DH look after her AS’s dog on a daily basis - it goes without saying that it takes no notice of any of them! Even the many dog classes it’s attended all say he has too many masters. Puppies and dogs thrive on routine. Remember classes are just for an hour, but like homework dogs need training and reminder training on a daily basis - make it fun, a couple of sessions a day and always end on a high. Our dogs were trained to the whistle, then if any went to new owners, it was them not the dog that needed a training session or two!
I do hope you can get to grips soon.

Its a bit late for that now Georgesgran. But isn't every family who has a dog for the first time in the same position of not quite knowing what to expect? And every dog who lives in a household with more than one person will have to learn to adapt to more than one voice. To say nothing of voices in doggy day care or dog walkers or sitters? Surely the main thing is to all use the same instructions.

Isn’t it that he wants your DD’s bedroom to himself without the cats around?

That helps - keep it brief and to the point. My friend says ‘now be a good boy and sit with Aunty and Nana will bring you a biscuit!’ All the dog hears is ‘sit’ and ‘biscuit’.
When we had puppies, we actually interviewed the prospective purchasers to see if they knew what they were taking on, and often advised (kindly) that a working springer spaniel was, perhaps, not for them. In fact, in later years, we only contemplated a litter of puppies when all were sold/gifted before they’d even been conceived - all down to breeding and bloodlines.

Our dog is just over three now and I recognise and sympathise with the stage you are at. It struck me that from your OP the puppy reacts to the cats coming upstairs. Does he usually play with them or is there an uneasy truce? I would investigate this further.

I’ve had dogs for over 40 years but my latest dog, when she was a puppy, pushed me to the limit. Every time I’ve had a new dog I’ve thought I’d learned from previous mistakes but this one pushed all the boundaries and broke every rule!

The cats both love their freedom and only come in for their food or to sleep when the weather is fine. Unfortunately puppy prefers their food to his so we put theirs down after he has gone up. We are having a cat flap into the dining room so we can feed them in there with the door shut, but they can still use existing cat flap to get in and out to the rest of the house. One cat has a reluctant truce with puppy. The other, who is semi feral anyway just stays as far away as possible.

I said to my DS and DiL that it was a bit like having a baby. They have a toddler and a labradoodle said having a puppy was much much harder.

Georgesgran. On the advice of someone on here I got the Steve Mann book. He relates his experiences of trying to have a training session with Brian Blessed and his dog. Like your friend , he could not keep the instructions to one simple word. Whole long winded instructions in that big booming voice must have confused even the most intelligent puppy!

I watch Graham Hall regularly - not that I've a puppy to train at the moment. It is usually obvious that the owners aren't operating in tandem and are causing some of the problems. You need to have everyone "singing from the same hymn sheet."

I'm not sure that you need a behaviour specialist at the moment for a puppy. When my Ruby was a puppy she came home to us with her brother who was going on to someone else. They had great fun chasing each other around the living room. We had short burst of play, fighting and then sleeping. We had a much older dog who kept her in check. I can't remember whether we used a crate for her at night. We certainly did when we got a fox terrier puppy. Even after the puppy stage he would go into the crate to sleep. When he was a puppy we covered the crate with a dark cloth to keep out the light which helped him to sleep.

Years ago I took my Cairn puppy to a training class. There were some large puppies around and so at one point I picked her up and sat her on my lap. I got short shrift for that.

I found that the trainers at two of the classes I went to were very aware of which dogs might cause a problem with other dogs. Even the class I didn’t get on with had a puppy playtime session at the end of training and were very careful about which dogs they allowed to play together. The problem with that class is that my dog loved the play session so much she always had one eye on the previous class that were having their playtime and wasn’t interested in any training. My dog still loves going to the pet shop where she had one of her training classes and the trainer still remembers her.

I would have the pup behind a dog gate in the kitchen at night, sleep downstairs with the pup , over the next few nights move your camp bed further and further away. Be quiet and calm if the pup wakes. Or a crate?

I wonder if the behaviour stems from issues over food and territory?

I’m quite sure things will improve when you have a solution and a routine. In the end you will enjoy your dog.

Dinahmo, I'd disagree about the behaviourist. One of the best things they do is help a new owner to read the signs of when a puppy is anxious, happy, etc. If you've never kept dogs before, then this is crucial to understand when things are going wrong. I've kept dogs all my life but this dog I have is more difficult than any I have ever had. One 50 minute with the Behaviourist who uses Positive training has changed our life enormously. It is the best £50 I have ever spent.

Several years ago we adopted an adult dog - Springer/Redsetter cross. We had a few problems with him and so called in a behaviourist for advice. We thought he was trying to be dominant. She looked around the living room and noticed our Cairn sitting peacefully on an armchair. She told us that he was the dominant dog not the new one.

We gave her as much as we could about his background - rehomed because of a broken home. What we didn't know and never did find out, was that it was likely that there was wife beating involved. Things came to a head when my DH was upstairs and was reclining on the settee with the dog laying on floor next to me. DH called down to me and, thinking I hadn't heard, came down the stairs and the dog flew at him. The dog chased DH into the kitchen and attacked him. I was able to prevent the dog from doing any major damage but he had to go back to the charity. I cried all the way there.

There were other instances of the dog protecting me and growling at my DH. If I wasn't around the dog was fine with my DH.

So my experience (which cost £85 20 years ago) with a behaviourist was a waste of time and money. I've seen her on tv occasionally since then.

I’m with posters who advise training the pup to sleep in a crate, or in the kitchen with a safety gate.
Over tired puppies are over active over stimulated and inclined to nip.
I don’t think you need a behaviourist, there’s good advice here. Teach her to self regulate, to relax,
Pippa Mattinson’s perfect puppy handbook excellent.

Pups need their handler to set limits, kindly and consistently

Just a small thing but I always leave the house in front of the dog ie she doesn’t lead me out of the house. It was something I either read or saw on a tv programme ( possibly dogs behaving badly).

Exactly MayBee- they sit or stand wait till you’re thriugh and call them. My young lab is still learning to come straight to my side rather than set off enthusiastically