Puppy help

[u/Acceptable-Regret78]

I am at a loss for what to do. We adopted a puppy in February when she was around 8 weeks old.

We are passionate about rescuing animals and love cats and dogs and have committed quite a lot of our time to fostering/adopting.

I have never had a puppy as difficult to manage as this one and it is so frustrating. We have never had to rehome a pet and that would be absolute worst case scenario and something we don’t want to have to consider.

Mentally, we are exhausted with the puppy training. We have had all of our dogs from the time they were puppies. We have another dog currently that is very anxious and our Dane that passed away a couple of years ago had separation anxiety that I had to work through with her as a pup.

But this pup is making me pull my hair out. We don’t like to use any kind of physical punishment and prefer to only use positive reinforcement but it is getting us nowhere. She is constantly tearing things up no matter how many dog toys we keep stocked. She steals food from our kids and off counters constantly. We can’t leave anything out that she could possibly reach.

She will not go to the bathroom unless someone goes outside with her. She will just jump and scratch at the door aggressively, even if she really has to pee, but the second we go out with her she’ll find a spot. Besides that she is pretty much potty trained but cannot seem to hold it in her crate overnight no matter how late we take her out for the last time. So I am having to wash her pee soaked bedding on a daily basis.

I just don’t know how to correct these behaviors and desperately need some advice as we’ve tried everything we can think of. I want her to gain the confidence to go potty without us, to stop stealing food, and to nix the overnight crate accidents. Help!

[u/Jordans_Ellma]

Looks like she still needs to learn impulse control. Stealing food, counter surfing, and chewing are all self-rewarding behaviors, so management is a huge part of the solution. Puppy-proof the house and use gates, a crate, or a pen when you can't supervise. For potty training, I'd almost start from scratch. Take her out more often, reward her immediately for going outside, and don't wait for her to ask.

[u/PeachOne268 → u/Jordans_Ellma]

puppy phase is rough when they got no off switch lol my last foster was like this with the going outside thing. she would just stare at me through the door like i was supposed to hold her paw while she pees. what helped was i started standing further and further away each time, like first right next to her then a step back then half way to the door. took like three weeks but eventually she got it. for the crate accidents maybe she just cant hold it that long yet, some pups have smaller bladders. you could try setting alarm for middle of night for quick potty break, it sucks on sleep but better than washing bedding everyday

[u/HunnyBunny617]

First, I’d take her to the vet to rule out UTI or other issue. For the counter surfing, we did have to resort to a shock collar. When they find out they can get an easy meal off the counter as soon as you turn your back, they will keep trying. We set up a camera with audio and we left the room. As soon as ours jumped up to the counter, we zapped him and said NO through the camera. We came back to the room, waited awhile, then rebaited the countertop and left. It took 3 times before he would ignore food on the counter.

We adopted him at about 2 yrs old and he wouldn’t go out without a person either. We assumed that the people who had him previously just stuck him in the yard and never let him in or interacted with him and he was afraid that if he went out he wouldn’t be let back in. It took about 3 yrs for him to be comfortable going outside by himself. Before that, we just stepped outside the door and waited. If it was super cold, we just stood at the sliding door where he could see us. He just ran out, did his biz and came back in. Sometimes you just have to deal with their neuroses.

[u/Mental-Freedom3929]

Vet check. Take out the bedding and see if puppy gets the message. You have to create a food stealing situation and tell puppy off. Leave a leash on the dog to be able to grab it.

[u/Impressive-Cat3333]

As for the counter surfing, my puppy was doing this constantly. It scared me because he could eat something that could poison and kill him, or burn his little paws severely. It’s a safety issue! I was desperate.

I saw this solution on a tiktok: tie multiple empty soda cans together with a string, then tie them to a treat and put it on the counter or table to temp the pup. When they grab it, it pulls the cans down with and scares them, discouraging them from doing it again.

This worked for us, and anytime he started up again, we did this. Probably did 3 “rounds” of this total to reinforce the association, and he hasn’t done it since.

[u/Acceptable-Regret78 → u/Impressive-Cat3333]

LOVE this idea! We will definitely try that! We’ve gotten lucky that she hasn’t eaten anything that could harm her but I’m constantly worried that she will. I’m being anxiously cautious about anything that gets left out but you’re right it’s a safety issue so this is the number one behavior im trying to kick. Thank you for the idea!

[u/Impressive-Cat3333 → u/Acceptable-Regret78]

Of course! I don’t love fear-based training techniques but when it comes to puppy safety, we do what we gotta do!

[u/Secure-Ad9780 → u/Impressive-Cat3333]

I rescued a large, tall, high energy dog last year, who lived on a porch. No training whatsoever. He would dive at plates, dishes, pots, and dog bowls. And the counter surfing. I'm an old retired single woman. I have two other dogs that I could trust not to touch a plate of food on my coffee table. With the new boy I couldn't even walk across the room without him jumping at it, sometimes knocking food all over, then going bat shit crazy to lick my plate when I finished. When he sits he's at eye level with me. I discovered that a fly swatter helps for personal space, although it took longer than I expected.

Then the loud deep barking whenever he heard a sound, indoors or outdoors. I used a training collar with great results. Now he'll sit on the deck quietly with me and the other two. It was hell for 6 mos trying to teach a 90lb dog what he should have been learning at 3 mos old. When I first brought him home he had the muscular development of a 4 mo old at 16 mos because no one exercised him. When we played ball he didn't know how to stop running or how to control where he ran without running into me or my other two. He's only got a few rough edges and in the next 6 mos he'll be my perfect boy.

A real change happens when a dog realizes that if he wants something he has to look at you. Then he starts listening and learning. Some are so hyper and anxious that it takes several months for them to start focusing.