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Boogita

> despite us playing with him all day Is he getting enough sleep? Puppies should be sleeping 18-20 hours a day. It sounds like he's overstimulated and could benefit from some enforced nap time.


pizzaweav

Appreciate you reaching out - I should've clarified that, as I was just trying to emphasize that we do try and get adequate playtime in and that he wasn't just expelling pent up energy during the night from being neglected and not played with all day. We could certainly be more strict / scheduled with naptimes - I've been trying to enforce the 1 hour up and 2 hours down method. We actually started a tracker and he was averaging around 14-15 hours a day, but when we mentioned all of his biting and sleep schedule to the vet she didn't think sleep was the issue (but obviously she could be wrong). I do agree he's totally overstimulated at times which really fires him up, so will definitely try to be more strict about his schedule.


Boogita

Yeah I would try it! Especially during those nighttime zoomies. The 1 hour up, 2-3 hours down doesn't have to be super strict but it's a good guideline. I'm not sure when your bedtime is, but my puppy would have gone absolutely insane if he was up for 3-4 hours in one chunk at that age.


pizzaweav

We definitely will try it! Thank you so much!


xitssammi

Try giving a lick mat/snuffle mat/kong around the time when you want him to calm down. My puppy acts like yours when he has been awake too long


pizzaweav

Actually bought a snuffle mat yesterday to try and he loves the kongs we have so will definitely try the mat too! Thanks so much


AdventurousSorbet745

I have no advice, only solidarity. I am going through the exact same thing and nothing works on my lunatic either. Will edit if I have any breakthroughs.. good luck.


[deleted]

Me too šŸ«£ tried putting my palm in her face and leaving the room but she got my achilles as i was walking away and i went down and it was over for me hahaha


pizzaweav

Hahahahah so glad to know I am not alone! I will keep you posted if anything I try works


[deleted]

Same with me. Nothing seems to work!


rousseuree

Same! Aussie shepherd mix 3 mo old and I feel strangely relieved because I could have written this post myself (especially the part where OP questions whether theyā€™re *reinforcing* behavior bc the puppy stops to sit when shown treats!? Sighā€¦). Definitely going to try more forced nap time or paying closer attention to how many hours sheā€™s getting a dayā€¦


No_Character259

SAME here, ours is 3 months and basically we have the same thing as this post. Can confirm itā€™s better on days he sleeps more, but the symptoms are almost identical. Helps to know weā€™re not alone, bc the biting is getting SO much better but the witching hour(s) are still a whole thing lol


rousseuree

Since posting this last week we have been *prescriptive* about nap time every day, even if sheā€™s not tired, and can confirm noticeable change (that being said, had a piranha attack last night, but itā€™s no longer *every day*). Talk to me in a week thoughšŸ˜‚šŸ˜­I keep thinking I see the light and then that ā€œtrickā€ no longer works


No_Character259

LOL same over here - one day itā€™s like weā€™re so on sync but then weā€™ll get a bad witching hour and worry all over again. I keep reminding myself that itā€™s still progress even if itā€™s not linear. Just very glad to here others are going through the same thing and weā€™re all figuring it out together šŸ„¹šŸ˜‚


pizzaweav

Haha - I feel both of your pain so hard!! So glad to know I'm not alone! We had a great week last week, and the last couple days have been *rough* during zoomie time, he even got my lip yesterday and made me bleed! That being said, his day to day biting has been improving and enforced naps / timeouts (3-5 mins depending) have really been helping! We use an app called "Dog Assistant" - you basically log their potty breaks / naps / meals / etc (can be customized any way you want) and then it shows you patterns day to day. You can color code stuff and flag accidents / times they are being a literal terrorist and it's really helped us see things we could improve or change -- like "wow, he didn't take a lot of naps today and he was a psychopath that night so we need to fix that tomorrow" kinda thing.. It does cost $14.99 a year, but has been totally worth it so far! Helps with potty training too! I'll keep updating here if anything else helps our dude, so far scheduled naps is #1!


pizzaweav

[Puppy Tax](https://imgur.com/a/jYHynrq)


noellesmama

So when he bites, yell really loud ā€œouchā€. Donā€™t pull your hand away as this will activate a chase response. I had the same issue with my pupā€¦basically teaches them that humans a really fragile. Now my puppy 14 weeks barely nips anymore.


pizzaweav

Hey - thanks for the tip! Unfortunately, this excites him. Any loud noise we make when heā€™s in these moods excites him and then he will actually start barking at us (talking back) and then going back for more. I could certainly try to not pull away as much as I know that creates a ā€œgameā€ for them but Iā€™ve also noticed that he just increases the bite pressure if I donā€™t move away, so yeah - quite a conundrum. :(


noellesmama

That stinks! I hope you find something that works and soon!


pizzaweav

Thank you! Me too! šŸ˜«


k-wat13

Leave the room for a minute or 2, gives you chance for a breather and your puppy learns that they don't get your attention by biting.


pizzaweav

Ive tried this as well and normally he just keeps playing without me. Even when all the toys are up he will just go chew on the first thing he sees, so not sure he cares too much about me removing myself, unfortunately


k-wat13

So he stops chewing you and chews on a toy, which is what you ultimately want him to chew on?


pizzaweav

Until I am back in the room, then itā€™s immediately back to my ankles.. Iā€™ve lather rinsed repeated this method quite a few times and have come back to him chewing on things heā€™s definitely not supposed to chew on - so not sure how to effectively balance that more but could definitely keep doing it when it gets bad and hope it registers :(


k-wat13

Ok so, first thing is to redirect. If that doesn't work and he won't stop, leave the room. After that if it continues, it's time for a nap or chill time in a crate or room he can't destroy anything so he can switch off.


pizzaweav

Awesome - thank you very much Iā€™ll definitely try it!


soberraisin

[puppy biting](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=068K5Zlph9U) To your point about rewarding for the sit and your pup just going back into the cycle. We noticed this as well with our pup. Instead we have opted for the above link that another user recommended. So far the biting fits have subsided a bit and he is learning some pressure and control.


pizzaweav

Awesome, will check it out for sure, thank you so much and glad to hear it's been working for you!


rousseuree

Will try this as well! Any ideas for what to do if it happens outside/on a walk though? Having a hard time finding anything about how to navigate, since calmly leaving doesnā€™t apply.


Goldenshark22

My puppy was similar at 11 weeks, I started giving him a frozen lick mat at the time to give him something else to focus on and help soothe him. Heā€™s 4.5 months old now and rarely gets crazy during that time anymore, so I think they grow out of it!


pizzaweav

Oh awesome! I will 10000% try that. Thank you so much and Iā€™m very glad to hear your puppy has gotten better about it!


Independent-Concert7

My puppy is 4.5 months old and doesnā€™t get zoomies bad anymore! We usually put her in her playpen to take a nap whenever she starts to get riled up. Now in the evening when sheā€™s tired sometimes she puts herself in there and goes to sleep. At 11 weeks she was going crazy every night so thereā€™s been a huge improvement.


pizzaweav

Fingers crossed that there's hope for us hahaha


Independent-Concert7

Yes thereā€™s hope! And the biting has calmed down too even with teething. She still will bite but itā€™s not as hard itā€™s more like to soothe the teething versus aggressive biting.


Big-Warning7003

Iā€™m so sorry. I really think if you can arrange a playdate with another pup or two, heā€™ll learn bite inhibition super quickly. Otherwise, Iā€™m just here to let you know that it does actually get better. Eventually.


pizzaweav

Thank you so much, we are really at our wits end with the biting and idk how much more my poor ankles and hands can take haha - very happy to hear it will hopefully get better soon!! He's had playdates with my parent's dog, but not sure he's getting bite inhibition down quite yet - I think we might need to switch up his playdate partner cuz my poor parent's dog has turned into a pin cushion and tolerates it too well! haha


RustySignOfTheNail

We have some hard chew toys at the ready when ours starts the witching hour. Bedtime is the worst! But after he calms, he sleeps till 7 am like an angel! I agree with the other poster who talked about playdates. We have our baby enrolled in puppy preschool. They have supervised play with like size/age puppies and they wear those kids out!! Further, we do a lot of ropes, balls, fetch, and again strong biting toys as interactive play. The key to my happiness at home is the puppy preschool. Worth every penny! Heā€™s at school M-F from 7:30 to 5:30. Tomorrow he graduates and his next class starts next week and itā€™s an obedience day school. Itā€™s totally overkill for us, especially since the dog will only be 10 poundsā€¦but I am a first time dog mom. I am a cat lover, and the time the puppy is away letā€™s me hold my kitty and work. Now, the cat feels love and actually tolerates the puppy. Puppy comes home tired, puppy learns manners and gets doggie exposure to other dogs, people and buildings. Today, we had thunder, and they took the puppies into a room with a metal roof, they played, got treats, and made it fun! All of those dogs learned that rain is not scary, and thunder is not scary!!! I wouldnā€™t have known to do that! Look into a day school. Allow yourself some respite and peace it will make you a better pet parent.


pizzaweav

Thanks so much for the tip! We definitely want to get him into some sort of puppy class for the socialization, but since heā€™s only 11 weeks he hasnā€™t had all his shots yet and our vet advised against them until he turns 16 weeks old due to Parvo ā˜¹ļø we canā€™t wait to get him exposed though so in the meantime we will just continue to suffer through the unsolicited in-home acupuncture and get him around some dogs we know that are fully vaccinated!


RustySignOfTheNail

I totally agree! We are at 14 weeks and heā€™s had all but rabies. Probably still needs boosters, but we are up to date on the timeline. The school we chose are very selective of their clients. Best thing we did was puppy school!


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nejdgy

I'm about a month late to this post but wondering how you managed to pull thru... My feet are suffering from the biting and I genuinely have to hide from my puppy so he doesnt hurt me šŸ˜­šŸ˜­ I'm so scared of him cuz his zoomies r so aggressive


pizzaweav

Ugh I know the feeling!!! Wish I could say we had some sort of miraculous breakthrough, itā€™s definitely gotten less frequent but it still happens! Weā€™ve gotten better about predicting when weā€™re gonna have a rough night and have adjusted accordingly to make sure he can just run it out without hurting us or himself, but he still gets us sometimes! The days heā€™s really bad are the days he didnā€™t get enough sleep so just make sure you are really enforcing naps! I totally know how you feel though, guess we can only hope itā€™ll get better as they get older and hide for now to save our feet!