Do you use a puppy playpen?

[Spellbound454]

My little border collie is 9 weeks old....she is sweet bright and lovely but.....

She has been chewing... I'm not too bothered about the odd shoe but she has taken a liking to cables.
She bit through the broadband cable and had a go at a 30 amp mains cable when she escaped upstairs. She also picks up stones has eaten part of a rose bush.

She just isn't safe, so I've put a play pen in the dining room and now she is screaming the house down.

Any ideas?

[wvugurl26]

My puppy eventually got used to being crated. She whined at first but got over it. It is much better for them to be confined to a safe space than possibly injure themselves. It might take a few days/weeks for the puppy to get used to the new set up.

[steph08]

When mine were puppies and I was in the house with them, I just gated off the areas that I didn't want them to go. I would shut the basement and bathroom doors, and gate off the upstairs. That pretty much gave me a line of sight to them at all times and there wasn't too much they could get into then.

I always crated them when I left the house - too many memory foam mattresses/pillows, rugs, recliner handles, etc. eaten while I was away (and that is when they were adults and had "graduated" from the crate - I can't even imagine what they would have done as puppies).

[steph08]

My beagles still love to chew - instead of regular tennis balls, I buy the Kong ones and they are great. They can chew on them all day long and not one piece ever comes off of it (I'm always worried about them eating things and getting blockages).

Marrow bones are also very popular, though sometimes they can bite pieces off.

[steph08]

Mine always rip the green fuzzy stuff off of regular tennis balls, so I stopped buying those. The hard rubber Kong ones are good for mine, but I am sure a more serious chewer can do some damage!

[Spellbound454]

Thanks for your replies.....Some good suggestions on here.
My other dog wasn't like this.....not quite so maniacal.

The other thing is to start the 'drop it', 'leave it', and 'don't eat that' training now. A play pen (or in our case we gated off part of the kitchen) is great for when you can't give direct supervision, but also make sure puppy is getting all the exercise, a tired puppy is a good puppy.

One last thought is that she'll likely be teething soon, carrots are great for this. They are messy, so plop her outside with one, but they feel good on their little teeth.

Yes we are a bit stuck at the moment...she can't go out until she gets her second parvo jab on Monday. (Only in the garden where she likes to eat the roses).
There are some good dog walks around here and she'll love it....can't wait.

and thanks for the suggestion....I will get her carrots. You could chill them I suppose for sore teeth.. and they are full of vitamin C 
She growing like a weed and needs everything she can get.

She whined at first but got over it.

I just gated off the areas that I didn't want them to go.

She went in the crate whilst I went shopping a moment ago....if she did whine at least I didn't hear it.
Doesn't like the pen but its my fault for letting her have the run of the house......I did fence off the upstairs but teenage boys managed to break the gate by not looking where they were going.
I'll take her out in a moment for the toilet. 

[Spellbound454]

This is a pretty puppy...What breed is he?

[Deleted]

I would crate her. It would be good for her potty training too. Yes she will whine and cry for a little bit but she will be safer too.

[alabamagal]

We have a ~5 month old puppy now.  We have a kitchen that you can close off with doors.  That minimizes damages.  We also gave her sturdy chew toys and rawhide bones.

[wvugurl26]

Aww what a cute puppy spell!

[Gardening Grandma]

When Maggie was a puppy, I crated her when I could not supervise her. When not crated, I'd slip treats into it and she'd find them. It became a game. She learned to like her crate. With a bed in it and a blanket over it, it became a sanctuary for her and would go into it voluntarily for naps

Another thing that helped when she was teething : I'd wet a washcloth and freeze it for her to chew on.

[Abby Normal]

Lots  and lots of chew toys.  If she gets ahold of something inappropriate, replace it quickly with something that is.  And remember that a tired dog is a good dog, so lots of exercise. Crate train her for when you aren't there to supervise.

[Spellbound454]

We've narrowed it down to hound/rott mix (although it truly is anyone's guess). She has the jowls and the bay of a hound, but she's stocky and compact like a rott.

She's a year old and about 60 lbs. I anticipate she'll get a little thicker, but I think she's done growing length and heightwise.

Just the right size Sroo...she's the makings of a great dog.

Aww what a cute puppy spell!

Yep...its Sroo's doggie..

My little girl will be medium sized...just the right size for our house too. Border collies are pretty much the same.

Another thing that helped when she was teething : I'd wet a washcloth and freeze it for her to chew on.

I have heard of that grandma, its supposed to help with painful gums

We have a ~5 month old puppy now. We have a kitchen that you can close off with doors. That minimizes damages. We also gave her sturdy chew toys and rawhide bones.

Its a good idea...I hope that your has calmed down a bit...a bit of hope for the future.

The hard rubber Kong ones are good for mine, but I am sure a more serious chewer can do some damage!
(I'm always worried about them eating things and getting blockages

I've seen those....you are supposed to put treats or peanut butter inside. Haven't yet got one but they look pretty good.
I'm a bit concerned about blockages too so need to be a bit careful

Started using treats to train with...but she is better behaved for a tiny square of ham.
or something revolting smelling from the pet store........the mankier the better..........pigs ears....yuk

[Peace Of Mind]

Yes, and I put DH in it when he is bad.        We don't have a puppy.   But since we have 4 bedrooms kitties have their own room if they want it.  But they use the entire house as their playpen. 

[Deleted]

Aug 15, 2013 8:39:26 GMT -5 Spellbound454 said:

My little border collie is 9 weeks old....she is sweet bright and lovely but.....

She has been chewing... I'm not too bothered about the odd shoe but she has taken a liking to cables.
She bit through the broadband cable and had a go at a 30 amp mains cable when she escaped upstairs. She also picks up stones has eaten part of a rose bush.

She just isn't safe, so I've put a play pen in the dining room and now she is screaming the house down.

Any ideas?

My first thought is kill the person that got her for you (I'm in the same boat, ours is 10 months old). Our free puppy will end up costing us somewhere around $1,000 (we are over $500 now). The money, I really don't care about but I look at it like a game & I'm losing (I'm now on my 8th, yes 8th set of computer headphones & that of course doesn't include the other stuff like eye glasses, shoes, etc).

As for a play pen. I don't know. They climb & they jump & you just never know how long that will stop them (also they might chew a way out). I know that long ago we ran out & bought a brand new play pen for our little girl after back surgery (vet told us that she needed protection because it was so soon after surgery). We put it together (20 minutes) & put her in it. She didn't like being "protected" & cried. Less than a minute later our big girl SAILED over the top of it (a jump that I never thought was possible - we're talking dachshunds here) to be with her. It went to Goodwill the next day (we didn't want her landed on). So you just never know.  

[Spellbound454]

Lots and lots of chew toys. If she gets ahold of something inappropriate, replace it quickly with something that is. And remember that a tired dog is a good dog, so lots of exercise. Crate train her for when you aren't there to supervise.

Hello agilemom ....I'll be going for the exercise thing...its good for both of us.
Started training.............because we can't go out yet... and she is doing fine.
When do we start agility?

[busymom]

We had to use a baby gate to confine one of our dogs in the kitchen until they got past the chewing stage.  Little bugger even chewed a 2 foot section along the mopboard.


Best of luck!  It'll get better once your puppy is older.

[Spellbound454]

10 months oldtex...crikey I thought they would calm down by then

I have had another dog...and apart from ripping up cuddly toys, tissue and the rubbish bin.....she didn't go for cables or glasses.
They are different I guess.....I think that like agile says when we can get out a bit more for exercise, she will be more settled......Here's to hoping.
I don't fancy having my house destroyed.

Best of luck! It'll get better once your puppy is older.

Thank you busymom.....I hope so too.

[Abby Normal]

Aug 15, 2013 13:26:52 GMT -5 Spellbound454 said:

Lots and lots of chew toys. If she gets ahold of something inappropriate, replace it quickly with something that is. And remember that a tired dog is a good dog, so lots of exercise. Crate train her for when you aren't there to supervise.

Hello agilemom ....I'll be going for the exercise thing...its good for both of us.
Started training.............because we can't go out yet... and she is doing fine.
When do we start agility?

In the US you don't start jumping until a year old, but you can do a lot of ground training before then.  Good basic obedience helps a lot.  Training left and right, sit stays and things like that will help beforehand.  You can start a puppy  and teach the obstacles,  then just through in the jumps as they age. It may be different philosophy over there.

You might try making liver brownies.  They really only smell bad when they bake, but the dogs love them.

Oh and as far as yucky treats-  someone gave us a sample of tripe-  of course my dogs LOVE that!

[Bob Ross]

I would use a puppy playpen, but only if I had children.

As far as puppies go, penning them up is cruel and unusual punishment.

[Gardening Grandma]

Those of you who have baby gates. I'd hold onto them. I use one now to keep my old guy (16) from going down the stairs unsupervised.

Good luck with the puppy.  They are so cute and funny and a handful....

[lynnerself]

Aug 15, 2013 13:33:27 GMT -5 busymom said:

We had to use a baby gate to confine one of our dogs in the kitchen until they got past the chewing stage. 

Mine chewed his way out of the baby gate

[Spellbound454]

In the US you don't start jumping until a year old, but you can do a lot of ground training before then. Good basic obedience helps a lot. Training left and right, sit stays and things like that will help beforehand. You can start a puppy and teach the obstacles, then just through in the jumps as they age. It may be different philosophy over there.

You might try making liver brownies. They really only smell bad when they bake, but the dogs love them.

Oh and as far as yucky treats- someone gave us a sample of tripe- of course my dogs LOVE that!

I might get some things for the garden.....weaving poles and a tunnel......could be useful as a bit of a start but maybe leave the jumping till later like you suggest.

I used to work for a champion breeder who fed all her dogs on tripe. It used to arrive from the abattoir in one big piece and we'd have to hose it down and cut it up.....eeww

Phoebe likes fish...I've got her some sardines and some white fish.....and she goes mad when its getting prepared... used to give it to the other dog with no problems.
She gets puppy kibble but I'm not sure how good it is... so have been supplementing...Fish, egg, chicken.
The liver sounds like a good idea though......., might try that when she gets a bit bigger.

[constanz22]

Thankfully, none of my dogs are/were chewers. My most recent two were rescues and already adults so that may be part of it. My Maltese I got at 12 weeks. I wasn't sure if I was going to crate him or not when I first got him. I used baby gates to contain him to rooms. Shortly after I got him, I decided to run a quick errand and gate him in the kitchen to see how he's do. I get home and he's nowhere to be found. Now, he was all of about 5 pounds at this point. That little bugger got OVER the baby gate, ran up 2 flights of stairs and was on the third floor of the house, crying, cuz he made it up the stairs but wouldn't go down them. He's been crated every day since. He's a wild man and he would've absolutely seriously hurt himself at some point. My other two probably would be fine not crated, but I figure they all might as well be.

[constanz22]

Aug 15, 2013 13:37:09 GMT -5 Spellbound454 said:

10 months oldtex...crikey I thought they would calm down by then

I have had another dog...and apart from ripping up cuddly toys, tissue and the rubbish bin.....she didn't go for cables or glasses.
They are different I guess.....I think that like agile says when we can get out a bit more for exercise, she will be more settled......Here's to hoping.
I don't fancy having my house destroyed.

Best of luck! It'll get better once your puppy is older.

Thank you busymom.....I hope so too.

It may just be his nature and disposition. I hate to say it, but my Maltese is just as wild and crazy now, at 8 years old, as he was the day I brought him home at 3 months

[Spellbound454]

It may just be his nature and disposition. I hate to say it, but my Maltese is just as wild and crazy now, at 8 years old, as he was the day I brought him home at 3 months

Oh No....Thanks for sharing that constanz

[Deleted]

10 months oldtex...crikey I thought they would calm down by then

Dachshunds tend to be "different". They usually mature at about a year. At 10 months she is starting to sleep a little more. (But then if you GET UP at 4am every day maybe your sleep pattern just changes). It's not all that big of a deal, everything she chews can be replaced. Plus we aren't going to change her, she has a very strong will (like I've never seen before). She is cute as all get out too. I've got to get her nails trimmed though. She likes to grab my arms with both front legs & play bite me. Again, not a big deal except I'm on a blood thinner & her scratched get kind of messy (I've got a 4 inch scratch on my arm now).  

A lot of the standard stuff that you normally do for chewing (like chew toys, rawhide, etc.) we can't do. We have 3 others & our older female would just take everything away from her. Little Kammi  is scared to death of her anyway & that other stuff would make it worse. Two nights ago I was trying to go to sleep & she woke me up crying because she couldn't get to me (she sleeps beside me). Seems that the other female was in between us & she couldn't get around her. Our males are double the size of our other female & they are scared of her too.

[jinksd1]

I have a purebred Border Collie.  My last dog was a BC, too, so I knew what I was getting into.  Except...you never really do.  I had forgotten just how difficult BC puppies are in the 16 years since my last one was a puppy.  I got my current one at 8 weeks old, and she's now 14 months.  She's still such a handful and still so puppy-ish, but that's par for the course with BCs.

I'm a firm believer in crating for the first 1-3 years.  I believe it's especially crucial when they are very young.  They need the safety of a kennel so they won't hurt themselves, as you're finding out.  But they also need to get plenty of rest as a young puppy, not be constantly running around exploring and getting into things.  They need that, too, but under close supervision, and not all day where they don't get enough rest.  Plus, think of it this way...if you're not around to correct undesirable behavior when she's doing it, how do you expect to train it out of her? 

We crate when we're gone (obviously), but also when we can't keep an eye on her or need some downtime from her crazy!  It's a sanity-saver to have a safe place to put her when we can't watch her, and I think it has made us better owners.  She still gets plenty of quality time out of her kennel, and we spend a lot of that time playing with her and training her.  She's also good enough at this point to be out and play on her own with us just keeping an eye on her. 

I have to say that we had the living room gated for when we would be in there with her, so she could play within our sight.  At maybe 5 months old, she could jump over it.  BCs are very athletic!  I wouldn't rely on an open-top pen or gates when you're gone.  Now we have her trained where if we have a gate up, she knows she's not supposed to jump it, but she still sometimes does if she thinks we're not looking.

Toys are important, and I would spring for the expensive ones like Kong if she's at all a chewer.  We tried to cheap out at first, but the cheap ones and stuffed ones (even the stuffed ones made for agressive chewers!) never lasted long.  It ended up being far more cost effective to get her good toys that would last.

You didn't ask, but here's my thoughts on treats.  Store-bought dog treats are expensive, and so many of them have the potential to be unsafe because they have products from  places like China with less strict standards.  The American-made ones are even more money.  So I just use human food.  Specifically, I usually get a big jar of peanuts.  They're cheap, healthy, and the perfect size for training when you don't want your dog to spend a bunch of time chewing before you give the next command.  I also sometimes use bits of cheese, raw veggies or fruits, and small pieces of ice, or leftovers.  For when I want her occupied for a while, I will give her a big smoked bone or rawhide or hoof sometimes, but usually it's the peanuts for training and everyday treats.

[Spellbound454]

Two nights ago I was trying to go to sleep & she woke me up crying because she couldn't get to me (she sleeps beside me). Seems that the other female was in between us & she couldn't get around her. Our males are double the size of our other female & they are scared of her too.

You have got four Dachshunds oldtex? What a great tribe of dogs ....so cute too.
Sounds like the older female is letting the puppy know her place in the household....its natural really but I hope they all get on.

thanks for your post jinksd1

I'm a firm believer in crating for the first 1-3 years. I believe it's especially crucial when they are very young. They need the safety of a kennel so they won't hurt themselves, as you're finding out. But they also need to get plenty of rest as a young puppy, not be constantly running around exploring and getting into things. They need that, too, but under close supervision, and not all day where they don't get enough rest. Plus, think of it this way...if you're not around to correct undesirable behavior when she's doing it, how do you expect to train it out of her?

Sure I'm starting to realise that.....she has a mad ig about halfway through the morning and its better to do that confined. I think ours might be quite athletic like yours are as well.
people keep mentioning kongs and I'm going to take a look when I go out later today.

Store-bought dog treats are expensive, and so many of them have the potential to be unsafe because they have products from places like China with less strict standards.
perfect size for training when you don't want your dog to spend a bunch of time chewing before you give the next command

That's a point...I don't think the treats I'm using are very good.....You have to wait 20 seconds for her to eat it before go to the next command by which time she has lost concentration.
I saw a woman on youtube who had cheese in her mouth. She then dropped bits of it down on to the dog when he was sitting in the right position looking up at her.
You couldn't do that with peanuts in case they went in to the wind pipe but its the looking up and concentrating which keeps going awry at the moment.
Shes only a baby but I thought I may as well train until we can go out and about after her full vaccinations. She is doing fine.
Peanuts do sound like a healthy treat.

As for leftovers. My other dog always had table scraps mixed with her food..... there is little point in wasting food if you have a dog who could eat it.
There is a few things they can't eat but most of a varied human diet can be part of a varied dog diet in small amounts I should think.

[Blonde Granny]

Thanks everyone.....you've brought back a lot of memories and it reinforces my decision to never have another dog.