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Bailey Won't Settle Down...

Portia

Portia

Well-known member
...on his own. What I mean by this is we can tell when he's tired, but he will not go lie down on his own for a nap. Instead, he starts acting up and getting into trouble -- there are certain things he does only when he's ready for a nap. We either have to put him in his pen where, after a couple of minutes, he'll crawl into his crate for a nap, or one of us will take him on our lap where he'll snuggle in to sleep. He fights sleep like he's afraid he'll miss something, but once he drops off he's out cold. Is this normal puppy behavior? Is it something he'll grow out of as he matures?

:thnku:
 
I think it's just basic "young thing" behaviour - think over-tired fractious toddler! He isn't old enough to discipline himself so you have to guide him as you seem to be doing already - again you wouldn't expect a tired toddler to take himself off to bed under any circumstances would you, let alone if he thought something exciting might be going on without him? ;) Learning to "go to bed" has to be part of his overall training just like potty training or coming when called.

Rosemary
 
How old is Bailey?
Our Jessie would do the same, where he would start to become destructive and would run around frantically once he was overtired.
He still prefers to be on the couch next to one of us, or sleep by our feet, unless it's bedtime, then he also sleeps in our bedroom.
(During the day, he has free run of the house, as we haven't create trained him).

It would be totally normal, as dozyrosy said, as Jessie has had all the characteristics of a toddler. Not listening, fighting sleep,
turning his nose up at certain foods that he previously enjoyed, and being generally naughty. No doubt he'll grow out it as he gets older, just keep going with it and eventually it'll turn into a routine and it'll all click.

Good luck, I know how trying it can be.
 
Thanks Rosemary & JessieAndMe. Bailey was three months old on Saturday. This is my first experience with a baby of any kind, so I really don't know what expect.

Fortunately, we can tell very easily when he needs a nap and so we make sure he gets one. It's actually really cute because, while he's being an absolute terror, he'll stop for a few seconds and his eyes will get all sleepy and droopy.

Thanks for confirming this is likely a puppy thing. :)
 
I would say not to worry. Brooklyn was this way...and still is quite a bit actually. She is one now. Sometimes when she is SO tired, I mean, has gone for a hike, played on the beach, played with other dogs, you can see it in her eyes and yet if I get up, she gets up, she wanders, follows and goes a bit mental. I have trained her "on you mat" so she goes to her sleeping bed. When she is really over tired, she does not do this on first try, I have to keep putting her back and saying "bed". Maybe 4-5 times, then she stays and I say good girl and give her a treat.

It's pretty common I would presume. Sometimes I just leave the house because that is when Brooklyn sleeps her best...I come home and she is out cold in her kennel. If I am around, she tends to not want to fall asleep.
 
it is really common, especially when they're young. Indeed it does remind me of a fractious over-tired toddler.
 
Is it normal for the puppy to growl and nip at your fingers nonstop when they're tired? I mean - my Chloe sounds like Cujo, and it's pretty constant. When we play and I try to take a toy from her or pick her up, she growls and goes for my fingers. If someone didn't know her, they'd think she's a ferocious dog. I can avoid her nips, but I really think she'd bite in hard if I didn't dodge her bites. I think this happens when she's tired, but did your puppies do this too when they were misbehaving? I'm not sure what to think right about now. (Chloe is 10 weeks old tomorrow.)
 
Hi Calandra. Bailey did the same thing when he was 10 weeks old. He would growl and nip at hands and fingers while playing or holding him. He would also bite our toes and pounce on our feet like he was playing a game to catch them. I think the reason they do this is because they're still learning bite inhibition, which they would have otherwise learned with their litter mates.

Bailey will be 4 months old tomorrow and his nippiness has greatly diminished. He still gets a little mouthy and will let out playful growls when he is overly tired or needs to be taken out, but he has learned to have a very soft mouth by this point. Your little one will get there too.

What helped with Bailey when he was that small was letting out a loud, high pitched "yip" whenever his teeth made contact with skin. It worked pretty well for awhile. After a few weeks he seemed to become desensitized to that, so I started making doggy crying sounds -- you know that whine dogs make. That worked really well. He would stop immediately and start licking where he has just nipped. The other thing that worked was just stopping play. I would get up and walk away, or cross my arms and ignore for a few seconds or a minute or two.

Good luck! This is just one of those things she will have to grow out of with a little help from you guiding her in the right direction.

Cheers!
 
Thanks Portia! :) Chloe is truly following in Bailey's footsteps, once again! It's good to know that what Chloe's doing isn't unusual - and even better that she will grow out of it in a number of weeks!

Portia said:
Hi Calandra. Bailey did the same thing when he was 10 weeks old. He would growl and nip at hands and fingers while playing or holding him. He would also bite our toes and pounce on our feet like he was playing a game to catch them. I think the reason they do this is because they're still learning bite inhibition, which they would have otherwise learned with their litter mates.

Bailey will be 4 months old tomorrow and his nippiness has greatly diminished. He still gets a little mouthy and will let out playful growls when he is overly tired or needs to be taken out, but he has learned to have a very soft mouth by this point. Your little one will get there too.

What helped with Bailey when he was that small was letting out a loud, high pitched "yip" whenever his teeth made contact with skin. It worked pretty well for awhile. After a few weeks he seemed to become desensitized to that, so I started making doggy crying sounds -- you know that whine dogs make. That worked really well. He would stop immediately and start licking where he has just nipped. The other thing that worked was just stopping play. I would get up and walk away, or cross my arms and ignore for a few seconds or a minute or two.

Good luck! This is just one of those things she will have to grow out of with a little help from you guiding her in the right direction.

Cheers!
Click to expand...
 
We're going through this with our new puppy Rosie, who is 12 weeks old today. All normal puppy behaviour, but I had forgotton just how sharp those little teeth are!
 
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