Help! new puppy grinding me into the dirt!

[hedwig]

Ok i got my new 6 week old puppy (bedlington x whippet x staffy) on saturday.

He is with us earlyer then he should be because the bitch had 9 pups and struggled to produce enough milk for all of them.

Anyway The text to say could we have him early was just as i was getting a hefty stomach virus.

I cannot stop going to the loo, being sick and sleeping is impossible. As i just feel sick constantly.

Now the puppy is home, i feel 100% worse. As im having to get up in night for him, its killing me.

I have not got the energy to play with him and by 10pm im out for the count as he is waking up.

My temper is getting the better of me aswell and im getting rather pushy with the pup. When he chews and growls and screams at me and i struggle to get a handle on myself.

If i was not ill maby i would feel differently but im seriously considering giving puppy back to the breeder. I have bonded with him to an extent and i dont think im up to this.

I know its a bit late now but what do i do? My temper is getting worse the sicker i get!

I also have mental health issues such as anxiety and depression! Im getting very weepy and anxious around him aswell.

When he bites hard, i grabbed him by the scruff so his front paws were off the ground, but he just growls really loud and trys to turn and bite me, which in turn makes me mad.

Im thinking im not cut out for puupy hood! I have 60 birds, a snake, a hamster and 2 cats as is that i have had for YEARS. Now i feel i have made a mistake and destroyed everything!

Help! im such a bad person for taking on this puppy and wanting to give him back. What do i do?

I know i should just hrit my teeth and carry on but I DONT WANT TO.
Its getting too much! Already

 

[OwnedByBCs]

Ok i got my new 6 week old puppy (bedlington x whippet x staffy) on saturday.

He is with us earlyer then he should be because the bitch had 9 pups and struggled to produce enough milk for all of them.

What? At six weeks the puppies should have been eating solid (wet) food. I have no idea why that would affect the puppy going home early. It sounds to me like the breeder needed some money quick and sold her puppy WAY before it was ready. It might not even be legal in your state to sell puppies under 8 weeks old.

Anyway The text to say could we have him early was just as i was getting a hefty stomach virus.

You really should have said no, told her you needed to wait for another two weeks at least, of course thats in the past.

I cannot stop going to the loo, being sick and sleeping is impossible. As i just feel sick constantly.

Now the puppy is home, i feel 100% worse. As im having to get up in night for him, its killing me.

Ok? So... either you wait until you're not sick, maybe have a friend help you out temporarily, or you send him back. You didn't expect to have to get up in the middle of the night with your puppy? That will continue happening for another month or so, depending on when he's house trained.

I have not got the energy to play with him and by 10pm im out for the count as he is waking up.

Alright, you got a whippet, staffy, bedlington mix and he has a lot of energy. Again, were you not expecting any of this? How much research did you do before buying this dog?

My temper is getting the better of me aswell and im getting rather pushy with the pup. When he chews and growls and screams at me and i struggle to get a handle on myself.

Puppies are annoying. Believe me, I just got past the baby puppy faze too. And honey, it only gets worse. You are in for a ride if you are already feeling like this on your first week.

If i was not ill maby i would feel differently but im seriously considering giving puppy back to the breeder. I have bonded with him to an extent and i dont think im up to this.

I know its a bit late now but what do i do? My temper is getting worse the sicker i get!

I also have mental health issues such as anxiety and depression! Im getting very weepy and anxious around him aswell.

Sigh. I don't really even know how to respond to this as it seems pretty clear you weren't prepared for this. This is not the puppy's fault. This is YOUR fault. Don't blame him for your problems.

When he bites hard, i grabbed him by the scruff so his front paws were off the ground, but he just growls really loud and trys to turn and bite me, which in turn makes me mad.

Uhm... yeah. He's a 6 week old puppy who doesn't know bite inhibition yet. You can't just scruff him and expect that to work. He is going to look at that as initiating play or as you being aggressive towards him. What you have to do is when he bites you, make a loud YOUCH sound, be super dramatic and as high pitched as you can get.

Im thinking im not cut out for puupy hood! I have 60 birds, a snake, a hamster and 2 cats as is that i have had for YEARS. Now i feel i have made a mistake and destroyed everything!

Help! im such a bad person for taking on this puppy and wanting to give him back. What do i do?

I know i should just hrit my teeth and carry on but I DONT WANT TO.
Its getting too much! Already

Honestly? I think you should send him back. That might not be what the others on here say, but I think this puppy is too much for you, and you're not ready to meet his needs.

Responses in bold.

 

[StephyMei1112]

Annnndddd welcome to puppy guardianship.

Sorry to hear of your health issues - stomach viruses are the pits.

Hmm, I wouldn't do the scruff thing - instead give the tried and true "ouch" method a whirl. He starts mouthing - when he applies pressure yelp or say "ouch" like you're hurt; it should startle him - praise and play after. Redirect to a toy/chewie if you can. Should all else fail - a time out of a few minutes can be pretty effective too.

Btw, 6 weeks?? that's really unusual...I agree with BC - the breeder might have been really in need of quick cash.

 

[hedwig]

I appreciate your response.

I was expecting to be up all hour of the night, the chewing etc but Im finding it hard to manage.

I agree my methods dont work, i have been trying the yelp but this makes him worse and he bites even harder. I try walking away and he chews my legs etc. I give him a toy and he ignores it.

Thinking of doing the yelp, walking away. If he carrys on put him in time out for a min or so. Problem is a simple time out for him lasts 15 mins or more as he just screams when i do it. So i wait for him to stop, then let him out.

The breeder had him on a dry food that was being soaked and fed like that. But as the mother was running low on milk he decided to give him early, as he was eating his soaked food well.

He still is eating well! As for saying no to him being early, i wish i had. I simply did not do the research when it came to puppy biting inhibition training.

I do not blame my puppy in any way shape or form. He is the innocent in this and this makes me feel worse. I really want to be the best role model to him but i am just letting him down. I am sick that has to be taken in consideration (Struggling to keep up with him etc)

I just want whats best for him! Is that me though? I hope so. But mustering the energy and holding my temper is ard! ESPECIALLY AS ITS MY FAULT! Im angry at myself! not him

 

[Dizzy]

You're not alone. Everyone feels like this with their first puppy!!!! If you have a search, you'll find loads of info here which will help.

 

[Renee750il]

Best thing for both of you is the time out. Both of you go to your corners Puppy biting IS frustrating.

Make sure he's got other things he can chew on. Try going back after you've separated yourself from him for biting and give him something appropriate that he CAN bite, and make a big deal over it when he bites/chews on what he's supposed to. You'll find it will take less energy, too, as he'll amuse himself with the toy

Puppies are definitely a handful, especially TERRIER puppies! But worth it in the long run.

If you live through it

 

[Kilter]

Honestly, I would take him right back to the breeder, and either get him at 8 weeks or even 10 weeks, after he's had some life lessons. Puppies at six weeks usually are not nursing much, they are weaned onto food by then in most cases. But you want the puppy to stay with littermates and mom to learn NOT to bite and other social skills. Mom and other puppies will teach him much better and faster than you ever will.

 

[Fran27]

Ok 'mix puppy' and 'breeder' in the same sentence makes me mad. Plus selling them at 6 weeks... yikes.

I'd bring him back. Tell him you're sick, the puppy is clearly not ready to be separated from his mother, and you'll come back in 2 weeks to get him. I highly doubt the breeder will take it back though, considering how fast he wanted to get rid of him. So you probably have no choice but to stick it out...

Other than that, I got my first puppy at 10 weeks and it brought me close to a nervous breakdown. I frankly don't think anything prepares you for that. It was worse than when I got my twins, and that was not a cakewalk either. So 6 weeks, and being sick... I can't even imagine. I'd put a pen in a room or something and put the pup in here with toys and newspapers/pee pads for now, at least until you feel better, and then I'd tackle training. It does get better.

 

[Beanie]

I'd bring him back. Tell him you're sick, the puppy is clearly not ready to be separated from his mother, and you'll come back in 2 weeks to get him. I highly doubt the breeder will take it back though, considering how fast he wanted to get rid of him. So you probably have no choice but to stick it out...

Agree completely, with all of this. =< I think you might be stuck on this one. Do you have anybody at all who can come help you for just a few days until you're not sick anymore at least? I'm sure that's not helping you get off on the right foot at all.

Don't worry about him screaming through a time out. That's his choice. You do not end the time out until he has settled down and stops screaming. He will learn soon that the fastest way to end a time out is to be quiet, and soon he will learn that the way to avoid a time out for biting is to not bite! My older dog would cry in his crate as a puppy for hours (not speaking of time outs, just in general) and I know he's not the only one on this forum who did that... fifteen minute temper tantrums mean you're getting off easy!!

 

[hedwig]

Hi thanks for all your understanding replys!

Things are getting better! A friend is taking some of the brunt for me whilst im getting better, Slowly getting better.

I bought a tug toy for him, usually i do not agree with ragging or tug toys but its a fast way for him to burn off energy and he loves it. So hardily any teeth/chewing and hardily any whining! I only play this for few mins at time though as i do not want to damage his growing jaw/teeth, as it can pull teeth out of place in the gums. He mainly just runs after it on the floor when i drag it or chews the bristles on the end, not pulling.

But saying that this morning i got up to let him out and he had a runny bum by looks of things, And had an accident! AWWW felt so sorry for him as he was covered in it, So straight outside for potty and then a warm bath!

Just finnished cleaning! I am more hopeful now (sleep does that to you rofl)
He is sleeping through the nights now for about 6 hours and is usually fine if i take up food and water about 2 hours before bed. Whilst he got runny bum though i think i should increase it to every 1 hour n half - 2 hours? Maby he had too much wet food in his kong?

Btw one question im very eager to ask is, is it normal or dangerous for him to chew/eat stones? They are tiny, but i cannot always get them out him mouth. My garden is a concrete slab basically but he seems to find the tiny pieces that i cannot even see!

And when its wet all the neighbourhood slugs seem to flock to my garden! So its pick em up before he finds them and chuck em in the alley behind my garden.

Is there anyway to prevent slugs? He chewed up the odd couple so very eager to talk heartworm with the vets. How are heartworm treated? can you tell its my first pup?

BTW my pic at top is him. He looks a bit skinny in that pic but he fattened up since being on applaws! That pic was the day he arrived! His name is Ruble (like the russian currency!)

 

[Fran27]

Well you should probably take him to the vet anyway, he'll tell you everything you need to know.

I wouldn't let him chew rocks, it can block his intestines if he swallows one.