[Nicole579]

Hello! I am new here, I got my Vizsla puppy last Wednesday. So far, things have been pretty rough! I am aware of how high energy this breed is and did my research before but I guess I wasn’t expecting it to be this bad. I’ve gotten him to sleep most of the night (besides waking up every couple hours to take him potty) but during the day, he does not want to sleep much. He is currently 8 weeks old, 7.5 pounds and I’ve read that at this age puppies sleep 18-20 hours per day. I don’t think he’s getting anywhere close to that and when he’s not in the crate all he wants to do is run around and play. I’m worried if he’s getting too much exercise as I’ve read they should only get 10 minutes per day at this age?? That seems impossible with him! I don’t want to cause damage to his joints but he will not sit still. He’s hyper to the max.. and sometimes I try to lay down with him on the couch or bed and just hang out/nap but there’s no way. All he wants to do is attack me bite me. And I give him all sorts of toys to chew on but he insists on biting me so I have no choice but to put him back in the crate. And sometimes in the crate he destroys his bed, biting it aggressively and scratching it.

Is this normal?? I’ve had experiences with puppies before that would cuddle with you but it’s not happening with him. The only way he will sleep is if I put him in the crate and even then, he will wake up within 40 mins to an hour max. I give him plenty of play time and let him run around the house. I’m worried he runs around too much at this point. Please help!
Thank you!

 

[Gabica]

how is his eating, drinking, pee and poop? how many times a day, consistency and color ok? usually of a dog (including a pup) is not acting normal i find that something physical or environmental is not ok. by any chance he is cold or hungry?
the biting is normal, you can find many posts about them, it is not real biting, it is learning the world via the mouth and looking like a shark during that

on the crate: if that is a place where he is sleeping at the highest probability, i would let him spend a lot of time there, taking him out to potty regularly, play and train with him, but otherwise just let him sleep there. try whether covering the crate during the day helps by any chance too. from my two boys the first hated the crate and he slept a lot on the couch, the second one could not settle on the couch and loved sleeping in his crate from day 1. either way they had lots of puppy sleep and both became big velcro cuddle bugs growing up, the initial crate approach difference did not cause any deviation on that common vizsla trait. and both are ok to spend time in their crates even now.

on the joints, that is always a tough one, try to avoid him jumping from higher than shoulder height surface and walking on hard surface like concrete till he is 2-2.5 years old. again, the crate helps a lot with that too.

 

[Nicole579]

Thanks for your reply! He is eating 3-4 times a day and poops few times a day, looks normal. He seems overall happy he’s just very very hyper. I just wasn’t sure if running around all day/playing is okay. That seems to be the only thing that tires him out. He does sleep during the night he’s just full of energy during the day. Is it okay to let him run around at this age?

 

[Gabica]

having him run around on a soft surface on his own pace when he can decide when to start and stop should be safe on the joints. the pressure on the joints comes from hard surface, jumping from higher than shoulder height and structured leash walking with a human dictating the pace and not the dog.
i would still start working on having him settled, in the crate and sleep as much as possible. at this age that is crucial for their mental development. attention span is very short yet, but you can still start working on basic skills without the expectation that he will master it at this point, more having mental stimulation. tiring out and bonding in mind. enjoy your pup, they grow up way too fast.

 

[texasred]

Puppies are going to need to play more than 10 minutes a day. Like @Gabica said structured exercise is different. Mine are out of the crate for probably a hour at a time, before I put them back in the crate to rest.

 

[Nicole579]

Okay great to hear that it’s ok! I definitely have him run around/play for about half hour to 1 hour before putting him back in the crate multiple times a day so I wasn’t sure if that was ok. He’s just very full of energy and doesn’t like to nap unless I make him by putting him in the crate.

 

[alicialrankins]

How do you tire a puppy before bed?
Whether you’re looking for your puppy to settle down for the night or have a nap, one of the most incredible ways of tiring it out is by using up all of its energy. Try playing a game of chase and getting them to run a lot, making them exhaust their energy, or a simple game of fetch. Another way is by getting them tired mentally. There are some fantastic brain games out there for you to play with your puppy. One great way is by using a kong toy. This allows your dog to sniff out and try and get food out of a toy. You can also undergo training sessions, so it feels tired.