Help training my puppy!

I'm at breaking point at the moment with my puppy, he gets violent when he is tired so i put him in the kitchen behind a baby gate so he will calm down and either fall asleep or be ready to come and paly after 15 mins or so. I have just done this and he has torn up my kitchen floor and weed everywhere even though he had just been let out. I decided i would get his cage back out so he didnt do himself or my kitchen anymore damage. As soon as i put him in it he weed himself and was terrified. Now i have cleaned it up he is still hyped up so chasing his tail and barking at me and my other dog. I am on my own, so crate training didnt work well to begin with, it might be better now he wont wee every half hour but he isn't used to it now- he is 4 months, i just dont know what to do with him. Please any tips and advice welcome.

Hello Jesss, you sound to be having a nightmare time with your pup and I am sure that people will be along before long to offer helpful advice.

In the meantime, perhaps you could give a few details such as the breed of your pup and how long you have had him. What you feed him on, and what the normal routine of his day is.

I have calmed down a bit now! He is 4 months old, a collie cross springer, i have had him since 7 weeks. I work in a school so during the week i get up at 6 and feed him an let him out, we play and he has a chew while i have my breakfast i go to work just after 8. At 12-1 my in laws come over to feed and play with him for about 45 mins then i get home at 4. In an evening he usually has a short nap at some point and around that we play do a bit of training and he had a little walk. Weekends i am home most of the time and i take him out somewhere for socialization- shopping or somewhee. Saturday mornings we have puppy class.

I know if i was home more i would have him better trained and he would probably be calmer so mu situation isnt ideal.

He is fed on sneyds wonder dog - adult food which i started to introduce 3 weeks ago and he has been on fully for about 2 weeks. His treats are usually party sausages chopped into tiny pieces which puppy class told me to use.

He has now settled and fallen asleep in his crate, i have left him with a rope toy a stag bar and he has just munched an ice cube- he is teething which isnt helping either.

I am so glad that you are calmer now - helped by the present peace I expect It is very hard not to get into a tizz when things are going horribly wrong, and telling yourself that being stressed is not going to help the situation just does not work does it.

I do hope that someone knowledgeable comes along very soon to give you a hand and some good advice - I am sure they will before too long.

It sounds to me like he's been a bit frightened when you put him in the kitchen and back into his crate. If you haven't been using his crate for a while maybe he needs reintroducing to it in small steps?

Hi,

Couple of thoughts:

Because he is not used to the crate, don't put him in there if he is wound up and hyper. He won't settle if he is in that kind of mood and will probably just get stressed out. That will further lead to his negative perception of the crate.

Make the crate a nice place to be. Put lots of soft bedding in there, toys, maybe a cover on top. Keep the door open during the day so he has the option to go in and out if he wishes.

Start feeding him in the crate. Chuck tasty treats into the crate. Sit down next him and fuss him while he in the crate with the door open. Generally just try and make the crate a fun place to be than a place of dread!

As for the toilet training, he is young so accidents are to be expected. Go back to basics and take him out after he wakes, after eating, playing or any time he moves about.

Puppy hyperness is perfectly normal, especially with the cross your dog is. I spent a lot of time on the floor teaching my dogs to settle when they were pups. Sometimes it helps to have a collar and lead on them so you can gently guide them back to where you want them to be. If I was watching TV for example, I would bring the pups bed to my feet and encourage the pup to settle down next to me. Bribery helps in the form of puppy chews, stuffed Kong toys, etc.

Thanks all, he used to like his crate he would just regularly soil it no matter how often i was letting him out so we moved away from it. I am sure i frightened him tonight when i put him back in it i feel awful for doing that but he has settled quickly. I used to feed him in it but he hated that and just didnt eat but he will play with toys and have his kong in there. Getting him to settle has always been difficult, he will lay with a chew and chill out but that is the only time, he has never once gone to his or my other dogs bed and slept or just laid down of his own accord! I expect his energy, he was always going to be a nutter and i can deal with that, i intervene and put him in the kichen when he gets nasty with my other dog- he has the patience of a saint with him but its really not fair.

Hi Jess, Don't panic, he is very young at 4 months. I really do sympathise with you and I remember only to well feeling absolutely helpless when my two (litter-mates) were about 4-5 months old. I also remember feeling very alone! It does get better

I totally agree with what has been said so far and go back to basics with crate training so it becomes a place he really wants to be and goes to when he wants to chill out. Try never to put him in there when you are cross.
With regard to him being 'violent' when he's tired. I can only advise what my two were like, but when they were tired one of mine would become more 'bitey' and would be much more short tempered with his brother (just like my two sons when they were little, who would get over-tired and then become totally beside themselves ) - the other dog has always been more laid back. I used stuffed kongs in the evening (their evening meal would be split) and I never played with them in the evening. Evening would always been low key and I would endeavour never to raise my voice. A quiet calm voice worked a treat even when I felt like screamng I would always leave a radio on for the dogs and even at night time I did, it really did have a calming effect. Try not to react to bad behaviour and keep up with the treating good behaviour.
Good luck, things will get better.

My personal opinions are,

I think perhaps he never got to grips with the crate in the first place and if you have used it as a kind of punishment you may have accidentally made things harder.

The crate should be his sanctuary, his place of comfort and safety, it should be his den.

If he was soiling it I'm wondering if the crate was/is to large. It only needs be about the size a dog bed would be so he sees it as his bed and not as separate areas.

I Personally would not be feeding such a high protein food designed for working dogs to a dog you are trying to calm down. It will not be causing the problems but it could well be making them worse.

Never think the dog is peeing or being destructive to spite you, I think your first post may have been hinting at this.
Dogs brains don't work like human brains. He could be acting out of stress or boredom or frustration but it will never be spite.

You could try hand feeding him, getting him to work/train for you to get each bit of food. I find this works really well in getting a dog to focus on you and it gives them something to do and using their brain.

Have you read "The Culture Clash" by "Jean Donaldson"?
I think it would be very helpful to you.

If you get stressed the situation is only going to get worse, stay calm and enjoy as much as you can.

Good luck

I will give that book a read i think, thank you! We had a much better night, he settled well in his crate and i got up once to let him out in the early hours, he didnt wake up until he heard me coughing this morning! Because of this my other dog has had more sleep and is more willing to play along so they are both happier! Any tips on making him like his crate? He didn't mess in it last night so i am hopeful that we are on to a winner there! It is in the kitchen at the moment, i think i will bring it into the living room so he doesn't have to leave the family when he is tired! I hand feed him mostly now anyway so will keep that up, he loves his kong but i am never too sure what to put in it now he doesnt have puppy kibble!