[JillandDan]

A little background: Jill and I used to live in an apartment where dogs weren't allowed, we spoke with a breeder who had a pup who was 9 weeks and when we went to see her she bonded with us, so the breeder decided she would hold her until we moved, and we visited weekly.

We moved into our new pet friendly apartment on saturday the 16th. We went and got Holley on the 17th. Holley turned 16 weeks this passed thursday. We feel that the shock of her new lifestyle along with missing her sister of whom the breeder kept for her own, is causing a lot of issues.

Our schedule is such. We wake up at 5:15 to take her out after hoping she slept through the night. She eats breakfast when she comes back in after getting her treat for going potty. I play with her a bit and relax with her while Jill gets ready for work, then when she is ready Jill takes over and I get ready. Jill takes Holley out for her second walk around 6-6:15. We both relax with the dog for a bit and take her on her final walk around 6:45. We then try and be positive and put her in her crate with a treat. She yells, and yells, and yells, as we leave. At around 11 one of us will come home, let her out, feed her lunch, play with her, and let her our again. At 4 Jill gets home, lets her out, and plays with her until I get home around 5-5:30. We then take her to the apartment's dog park, where she plays with many other dogs. Initially she was terrified of other dogs but the second she got let loose in the park she loved it. When we get home from the park, we try to let her go potty before bringing her in. When we come in, we feed her. After about an hour or so we let her out. at around 9:45 she gets her final walk and we bring her in and get ready for bed. We put her in her crate and pray she sleeps through the night.

Granted, it has only been a few days, but she hates her crate. I mean absolutely hates it. The breeder had started her in her crate for us, but she was always crated next to her sister. The first night with us she cried and barked for about an hour and was quiet until morning. Our second night she just would not stop crying. We know we are supposed to let her cry it out, but we are concerned about neighbors complaining. We ended up bringing her crate in our bedroom, and sleeping next to her in it until she passed out, at which we would get into bed. This has seemed to work ok for the next 2 nights but we still don't think that its the right way to approach it. During the daytime, we know she must bark a lot. We were told to try putting a blanket over her crate, and we did. Not sure if it made a difference or not, but I know she pooped in her crate today and covered it with her bedding. We were not happy. She also has many accidents inside despite how often we take her out. She tries jumping up on everything in the kitchen. we tell her no and down and put her back down, and then she just decides to try jumping back up again. We don't know why she won't understand no, but we won't raise our hands to reinforce it, we don't want to ruin her. Right now we try to keep her awake prior to bedtime so that she will sleep through the night, not sure if this is a good idea either. She loves relaxing on the couch with us and will pass out any time she is up there for long. This is why we try to keep her awake.

There are so many schools of thought on dog training, we just don't know which path to go down with her. Please! Any help is extremely welcome, we love Holley so much but at the same time we wonder if she would be doing better had she stayed with the breeder.

Thank you,
Jill and Dan

 

[tgrove]

she is a puppy and that is what puppies do. It gets easier with time. That is the only thing that you need right now, time.

 

[jmmec]

Your puppy has been in a new home for only a few days now. It will take at least a week for her to adjust to your schedule and the new environment. It will take longer for you to adjust - she will impact your entire lifestyle, as already evidenced in your post.

It's clear that you realize that you need a tremendous amount of patience with a puppy. But even so, it seems that you're expecting too much from a puppy that is only 16 weeks old (my current puppy is 15.5 weeks old).

There will come a mysterious time when your puppy will suddenly accept the crate, and will even seek it out. Different puppies come to this at different ages. But I would definitely keep the crate in your bedroom.

Also, a puppy is going to eat, play, poop -- A LOT -- and you just have to learn to get her outside to pee/poop, even when you don't think she has to go -- she'll surprise you.

Give her time, a lot of patience and understanding, and she'll turn out to be a great dog.

(Although some may disagree, I have to admit that I got tired of getting up 3-4 times a night when my puppy was 10-11 weeks old, so I let him sleep on the bed -- he sleeps through the night and is also fully crate trained. This might let you get a good nights sleep...)

 

[BamBam]

the other replies are right. this is all typical puppy behaviour.
My puppy hated the crate, so we would throw titbits in the crate, put chews in the crate, always give him new toys in the crate, feed him in the crate all to make he associate the crate with good things. Eventually he started to learn 'in your crate'- whilst we point at the crate- and as soon as he goes in we gave him a treat. I would try this. Also we just lanted loads of food hidden around the crate so he would be in there finding it all.
Now he LOVES his crate.
Vizsla's are know for jumping up at the counters/jumping up in general.
What worked for me is a plastic bottle with some pebbles in, as soon as he jumps up we shake the plastic bottle and he would immediateley get down unsure of the noise. Then we would tell him to sit and shower he with praise for this. I know other people have used a squirty bottle for jumping up.
I rememeber getting really stressed the my puppy didnt understand 'no'. I dont think he really learnt to understand it till he was about 5 months old. As he is so young I would just concentrate on ignoring the bed behaviour and overally praising the good behaviour. So if he wee's indoors don't tell him off, just ignore it and place him outside. When he wees outside say 'gooooood boy!!!!' and really really praise him. He will learn that if he wee's outside he gets loads of praise so its better for him if he does that!
Hope this helps!

 

[Chilli monster]

When Chilli came to our house she was 7 weeks... and she was crying and barking downstars for few days but then she got used to...and then she always was sleeping day time, evening time and then she still slept all night.... so maybe just let her relax in the evening, let her calm down a bit so she will just fall a sleep... and also it is was only 4 days.... give her some time to get used to.... she is a bit older then 7 weeks old puppy.. so maybe it is harder for her to accomodate quickly to new life...

Stealing things from the counter, jumping on the table, opening doos (even after we put hooks on them to stop her going whereever she wants), jumping over baby gate... Chilli is almost 9 months now and we still trying to stop her from doing that, she does understand NO but she will still try especcially when we cannot see her..


good luck and and it will get better soon...

 

[LynnieB]

I remember practically being in tears a few weeks after getting my Viz. My boyfriend was away for the week. Archie stole food from anywhere, had accidents, was hyper, play bit me all the time etc. I couldnt take him to my mothers because he would jump up at the table - she used to have a go at me making me feel like I was doing a dreadful job training him. I was expecting him to be more well behaved too quickly. I had only ever met an adult vizsla before getting him- who was calm. I thought I had a problem puppy! It is reassuring reading these forums- they help you understand these dogs & how to tackle training problems. Somehow he has learned & grown into a lovely dog (he is 10 months old now). Still michievous but he is still a puppy & its his fantastic personality. Just hang in there.

 

[Tulip]

Hi Jill and Dan
Congratulations on your new pup! What a stressful time for all of you, moving home is tough but add in a new howling puppy and I can see how you're feeling!! I think it might be worth taking a few days off to get to know Holley and have some chill out time before you try and get her in to a strict routine, just enjoy getting to know her, let her see living with you is going to be fun. 16 weeks is still too young to get cross about accidents, especially with such a new routine. We used to have our Vizsla get sleepy having a cuddle with us in the lounge before we put him in his crate and then we'd stay with him for a few minutes whilst he went back to sleep in his crate, we have never used the door, he's always slept this way shut in the kitchen with no noise at all, I think we all get a better quality sleep! Just read all the great advice on here, something will click and in a few weeks time you'll all be settled into your new life. Enjoy her whilst she is at her cutest!!

 

[Linescreamer]

Yes. Stick with it! Don't give up or give in. The create in the bedroom next to the bed for 1 night, then awy from the bed still in the room and next to the open door, then next move it into thew hall then out of sight and so on until he gets used to it. Getting him really tiered before bed may help in this process. You should turn your back and ignore the jumping or biting...he will ghet the hint. Never open the crate when he is barking! Only open it when he is calm and quiet. You always reward the good behavior and ignore the bad. He wants your approval and company! Use this to your advantage. Make sure any accidents in the crate are cleaned up with a good pet cleaner. When he is outside try to keep him on a leash or it will be hard for you to reinforce poor heel and come behavior as he gets older and you start focusing on that. Good Luck and it will be another week or two before you get a good nights sleep. Luckily you have a partner to help with your baby ;D

 

[maxxie]

Hi Jill and Dan, Oh the joys of puppyhood!! We all have different expectations of what our puppies will be like and behave, but often things are very different in reality. Having already had a previous puppy years ago, I knew what to expect as he was definitely my dog and I did everything for him, while my husband worked long hours, so did not really experience the problems as much as I did, except when he ate something of his. He also became the perfect dog with age and you soon forget the problems and it was at this stage that my husband really appreciated him.
However, this time, it is very different in that my husband works from home so was going to be the primary carer during the 3.5 days that I work.
Bentley arrived home at 7.5 weeks old and due to the training by the fantastic breeder we got him from, he was crate trained, dry at night and already doing most of his toilet training outside.
We introduced him to his new crate and he just hopped in and snuggled down with his sibling smelling blanket and toy and was as happy as larry. He slept through the night from the start, but we did keep the kitchen door ajar and our bedroom door as well, so he could still smell us near him, (we live in a bungalow).
The interesting thing that transpired was that my husband found it really hard to cope during the day with him as he had forgotton or not really known what having a young puppy would entail and as soon as I came home from work, he would take his cup of tea into the lounge and shut the door for a rest, leaving me to take over with Bentley. He looked like he had gone 15 rounds with Frank Bruno and used to make me laugh. Puppies are like having a new born baby and are very exhausting, as they need to learn so much in such a short space of time, which makes them seem naughty at times, but they are just learning, soaking up information like a sponge.
The one bit of advice I have found really useful is to remain calm, as dogs reflect our own behaviour and if we get stressed, annoyed or excitable, you can really notice this transferring to your puppy. Whenever Bentley has a biting of the lead crisis as my husband calls it, I have told him to stop, close his eyes, take a few deep breaths and low and behold, when he opens his eyes, Bentley is sitting next to him calm!! It really does work and my husband was amazed, so give it a try in the instances you feel it will benefit. A lot of the problems you are experiencing at the moment will pass very quickly, so enjoy the good times and relax when you can. You will soon notice that each problem will suddenly sort it self out, only to be replaced by the next one, this is called growing up!
But I can assure you Holley will bring you so much joy, you will soon forget these teething issues and enjoy the fact that you are both lucky to be a Vizsla Owner!!! They are really a special breed and have so much character and Va Va Voom.
Bentley has mischief written across his forehead but I would not have it any other way, as this is what makes him who he is. I am pleased to report that his Dad does not shut himself in the lounge now and is enjoying spending his days with him...most of the time!!!
I hope this helps you realise you are both the best thing that has happened to your little girl and the love you give her is very special. Enjoy her and send us a photo of her.

 

[JillandDan]

Thank you all. A bit more patience and some more routine and Holley is being a better girl.

 

[cathyl]

We got our puppy when she was 8 weeks old. Her crate has always been in our room and she has no problem going in there. The addage, "a tired puppy is a happy puppy" is so very true. Vizsla's are a very high energy dog and we did (and still do) everything to wear her out so that she was ready for sleeping. If we don't do that she chews and will destroy whatever is in her crate. She is now 18 months and has calmed down a lot, but she is still a bundle of energy but she is the best vizsla in the world as is our adopted vizsla Alex who is 4.

 

[Baxieboy]

Jill / Dan

Like most comments here, I think we've all been there. We had read up on the breed and knew other owners, who had warned us of the demanding nature, but the reality was like a whirlwind to us as 1st time owners.
We were novices but the advice our breeder gave us was start as you mean to go on, which we found to be good advice.

We found the crate to be a godsend. We stuck to our guns for the first few nights whimpering (earplugs and a cold heart required - not easy) but after 3 nights the only whimpering sounds were to be let out for toilet which if one of you can manage every 2-3 hrs soon becomes 4-5 hrs and then 6-8 hrs. Our boy only ever had about 4 household accidents and they were mainly when he looked outside at the rain and thought "You're OK thanks I'll just pee here". Hard to argue.

Reward the good behaviour and rather than getting stressed, just isolate her for 30sec if she plays up, either into crate or out the room for 30 secs. This worked well for us. They are so keen to be part of the gang that 30 secs contemplation of their previous behaviour soon establishes boundaries.

Baxter used to really start to misbehave about 6.30-7.00 at night and it took us a month or two to work out that he actually just wanted his crate, as he was tired and he knew if he misbehaved he usually got a 30 sec penalty in there. As soon as he was in he just curled up for the night.

As she gets older and can run further, try tiring her mind rather than her body. Games or training that make her think will tire her more than a 3 mile jog, and save your own legs.

Be prepared for the next year because you ain't seen nothing yet. They are nuts but also tremendous fun. We are at the 18 month stage and he's still annoying, frustrating and demanding but every week you see an improvement and it is fantastic and rewarding, and you wouldn't swap it for anything.

We can't wait for the finished article and suspect we will miss some of the nonsense.

Enjoy your pup, and remember she's just a pup.