8 months has brought out the devil in my dog

[Sue and Cash]

Cash has certainly become a pain in the butt lately.  I am eating my words "he is so easy to live with" "It's hard to believe he is only a puppy" "he is so calm and well behaved".

 

Those are few things I have told people in the past few months.  And now well he is becoming unruly and getting into things he never did before.  Taking all the pillows off the couches and running around the house like a madman.  If someone told me this I would think he needs more exercise, but seriously he gets walked in the evening if he seems unsettled, and has a couple hours a day of freedom to run and chase birds and play with other dogs.  We walk quite a bit also.  We play ball inside and he does play toys.  He used to need more naps and now he doesn't need as much rest.  He is sleeping fine at night so I shouldn't complain about that or it might change as well.  People tell me he is in the terrible two's phase of puppyhood and it will get better.  I sure hope so, he has me stressed out some evenings because I am worn out from work and walking him and he wants MORE!  I am focusing this week on more alone time for him, because he hasn't seen the inside of his crate in over a month since my teenage son is home from school all summer and we haven't been crating him when I work.  But I notice that if I even go out to get the mail he carries on as if he won't handle being alone should he need to be.  So this evening he will spend an hour or so in the crate while we do some shopping.  I told Nick, my son, that I have to help him learn to cope without us before we have trouble.  I thought he could be left in the house loose now alone, but since he has started getting into things, I feel the crate is safest.  And for some reason dogs that seem to show some separation issues do better in a small space than a whole house.  More secure I guess.  Will time bring my well behaved calm dog back to me? 

[Sue and Cash]

Haha Viv that is so true. God's master plan, cute babies and puppies. If they were born teenagers we would not keep them!

[Elizabeth Ball]

Ursula, I agree with the not overexercising/overstimulating, in fact there was a marked deterioration in Bella's behaviour when she's over-tired and the Hound from Hell comes out to play, nipping,mouthing, jumping at you and barging you with a toy as though that excuses the behaviour. We immediately had a time out, Bella slept, and our nice dog returned. We have learnt that lesson and pre-empt this now with periods of rest when we can get on with other things.

Fran and Sue, you always give such good advice. It would seem that I have been doing quite a few of these things with Bella from the beginning, particularly the shutting the door (which is glazed so she can see me but can't get to me) so I can do things on my own like mopping the floor and generally Bella makes no fuss and crashes out. Today, I don't know what has come over me, but I am on a mad cleaning blitz even though we have no visitors this weekend.... I think it must be the slightly cooler weather as things have generally gone to ruin whilst it has been so hot as I haven't been able to face it.... but anyway Bella tried a few goes at attention seeking stealing, bringing me toys etc and I ignored her attempts to divert me and she has taken herself off to the hallway for a snooze. I do get an opened eye as I bod past from room to room rather than her being completely crashed out but she isn't following, is it just time that gets the completely relaxed state or is there something else I should be doing?

Just to reiterate what everyone else is saying, Bella is definitely pushing the boundaries at the moment with David and I and I find it reassuring that everyone else with a similar aged dog is going through the same thing. We are all learning new skills in the Ball household, l for example have learnt not to come home tipsy and leave my expensive Ferragamo heels lying around (last friday night!).... fortunately not too much damage done as Bella actually brought them to me to sit and chew so we were only a few licks in when David staged an intervention and replaced them with a toy. On Wednesday night I took Bella into the garden for her last wee, and it is very dark where we live (no street lights etc) so we just have the one outside light giving a reasonable patch of illumination, anyway Bella is snuffling around, does the business, and trots very nicely beside me whilst we go back inside, we walk all the way through the conservatory, kitchen and into the hallway to go to bed. At which point she spits out a massive frog that she has been carrying in her mouth. It is completely unharmed and starts hopping, I scream (well it was a bit of a surprise as I hadn't spotted her picking it up) and I pogo up and down shouting at Bella who looks quite surprised that I am not praising her efforts. Thank god for her pen, I scoot her into it as she has decided to paw the frog, and I think where the bloody hell is my husband when I need him? Working overseas is the answer, so I have to deal with it - another new skill added to my repertoire. Night-time toilet trips have now become a nightmare as she spends the time trying to find frogs (and there are normally a few about) rather than focusing on the matter in hand, and we are back to going out there on a Lead. You just can't take your eye off the ball for a minute with these youngsters can you?

[Sue and Cash]

Cash goes into the tall grass and weeds and comes back often with a tennis ball. They get lost all the time in there and he looks like he is hot on the heels of something feathery and comes back with a ball instead. He is always so proud of himself too!

[Norma Pape]

My nearly 8 month old Derry is a nightmare and my husband keeps threatening to go and live in the shed. Derry never rests until 10-00 o'clock at night when he literally switches off until 5-30 in the morning when he wakes and gives me a wash. I am exhausted. I give him 4 hours free run a day but it makes no difference. I keep telling myself that he will only get better and stop eating everything and I mean everything including my watch and glasses as he can now reach everything I try to put out of reach. But we love him to bits and wouldn't swap him for the world. I think that the more of a rebel the more we love the Irish Setter. They answer something in us - maybe I always wanted to be a rebel but didn't have the courage or the imagination. I've been owned by them for 27 years in all and wouldn't have any other breed for all their mischief.

[Sue and Cash]

Okay Norma after reading about Derry I won't complain! Cash doesn't chew up anything, never has. He is very soft mouthed. Carries towels around or a stuffed animal all day but never chews them, he sucks on them. And he does fine with a couple hours a day of free run. I agree that part of their charm is their rebel spirit. The other part is their beauty.

[Norma Pape]

Oh, go on complain especially if it makes you feel better!!! What we could do though is start a funniest moments conversation. Derry is a monster at times but he is also hilarious and very loving. I can imagine that there are stories out there that would fill a book for us Irish lovers and keep us laughing for months.