I have a very smart 4 month old goldendoodle who loves getting into everything. She has no interest in her toys or chews. I’m at my wits end. She won’t respond to any correction or redirection. I puppy proofed tf out of my house but she still finds shit to get into. Idek where she gets some of the stuff she finds.
I can’t give her super flavorful bones because my beagle tries to fight her over them. That’s the only thing that has held her attention recently, but my beagle is a dick when it comes to bones.
I brought home like a dozen new toys yesterday but she doesn’t want them. She also doesn’t really care for treats when training. She’d just rather be called a good girl and get head pats.
My beagle isn’t nearly as smart as her, so it didn’t take much to stimulate him. Now he just wants to nap all the time lol.
First, scale back your expectations a bit. She is only 4 months old. You said she is crate trained and leash trained, if she also knows some commands like sit and come here you are on a very good pace. Around 4 moths is when you can start with the more advanced commands. Especially having her follow the “come here” command on a longer distance and while outside is going to be your big goal for now.
I would worry more about your beagle fighting over the bones. That’s something that needs fixing more so than your 4 old puppy behaving like a puppy.
From the sounds of it, she spends way too much time in her crate. You said she is there while you are at work and over night. If you work 8 hour shifts that’s 16 hours a day inside the crate. That’s way too long. At her age she isn’t even supposed to be in a crate for more than 4-5 hours straight and 8 hours in total should be the maximum for any dog. So when she gets out she really needs to burn energy. Just walking her isn’t going to be enough with that much time spent in a crate. So get that intensity up.
In the morning before you go to work you have her play fetch so she can run at full speed and tire herself out and in the afternoon after work you take her to a dog agility training course. Even better would be to eliminate one of the crate time and exchange it for time with a dog sitter or dog day care center.
I understand you are currently worried about your dogs due to the parasites and playing fetch with a dog that’s not fully trained yet is also dangerous. So maybe you will have to get active too and start jogging in the morning with them. Depending on your house maybe you can play fetch inside or build them a small obstacle course at home.
At the very least increase the size of the crate. Make it a fenced off part of your house. Just give them more space to play and move while locked up.
Agree with this one. She seems pretty normal for a 4 month puppy! I think give it time, they don’t settle till at least after 9 months
Based on your other comments she gets enough activity, perhaps look at puzzle toys (like a frozen stuffed Kong) or snuffle toys for feeding time.
I’m planning on getting her a gigantic crate that I can turn into a playpen for her. I have my living room closed off with baby gates, but she figured out how to open the one. I gotta get a better latch for it. I hate how much my dogs are crated. I don’t have any dog daycares near me and the only person I know who agreed dogsit is my sister and she decided to not do it the first day she said she would. I work from home at least one day a week and they are out of their crates the whole time on those days.
I wake up two hours earlier than I need to in the mornings so the dogs can run and play. Mornings are their most intense playtime.
My house is kinda small, so indoor agility courses wouldn’t work. I found kits for outdoor courses online that look good.
It’s all so overwhelming. I got my beagle when he was 5 months and his biggest issue was his anxiety. He would act out when he got anxious. With work and medication he is very well behaved. Aside from resource guarding bones. I don’t give the dogs bones anymore. They share cow hooves though, which is great.
I did not expect my puppy to be so much trouble. My cousin owns the older brother of my puppy and that dog was never this much trouble. Super chill. Complete opposite of mine lol.