I have always had dogs growing up and even a puppy. I've wanted a dog ever since my mom gave mine away when I was in college. Fast forward to 6 years later- my bf and I go to a rescue shelter where we adopt a sweet little 6 month old. Her bio said she’s shy, but eventually warms up. The first two days she was an angel and warmed up pretty quickly. We didn’t expect to adopt right then and there but we did. Due to our poor planning we didn’t have a play pen (we only had a kennel). Since we didn’t have a play pen, she was free go wherever she wanted hence the unwanted behavior came up (totally our fault for not setting proper boundaries). Now we have a playpen for her bc day 3 and 4 is when her biting started. Literally anytime we take her out the kennel. I know it’s not an aggressive bite- she’s either overwhelmed or thinks we’re playing but dang do those fangs hurt!!! The only good thing is that even when she doesn’t want to go in the kennel, when she does, she eventually settles. It’s also so funny bc when we’re outside she’s sweet and listens (ish) but it’s when we go back inside the house the craziness starts! I’ve only had a small breed as a puppy so their bites weren’t as significant as my current one. I want to say she is a beagle/jack Russel terrier mix … maybe some shepherd but more so the other two breeds. The shelter mentioned she’s a medium breed. I see the beagle terrier in her as she is crazy smart and loooves to sniff and dig. I understand the time and effort that goes into taking care of dogs, but wow- my life feel like it’s turned upside down. I’m so happy I found this page bc it’s nice to know I’m not alone. I feel extremely guilty and frustrated with her and myself. I know dogs pick up on energy and I try my best to remain calm, but it’s so hard to not have a reaction when she bites. I’m 100000% okay with her never being a couch potato, but the constant bitting is really taking a toll on me. My arms and legs are bruised up and it’s getting harder to redirect her. Kongs eventually lose interest, plushies make her more amped up, sniffing puzzle games work for like 3 min until she realizes she could just grab the whole puzzle and flip it over so all the treats come out (crazy smart!!!) I also try to tire her out with walks so she can smell around, but that amps her up when we go back to the house. After we walk, before we enter the house, I wait for her to sit and/or lay down and then we open the door. The second she steps inside- nope all calmness goes out the window. Once she’s amped up she gets into her biting frenzy which is so hard to redirect. Today we finally got a play pen, and anytime I’m in with her and she tries to bite I get out and go behind a door in another room and give it a couple seconds. She barks but I try to wait when she stops. At this point I can’t tell if I’m getting through to her and this is all just puppy craziness or if this is making her even more frustrated with me and defiant.
I mentally prepared myself for a dog but I underestimated how much a puppy could throw off every video, book, or other resources you’ve taken in to prepare. Also, she is good with people, hasn’t barked but is just a little too excited haha with dogs, she hasn’t barked but they bark at her (>:/) She usually whines so I try my best to keep distance and take her out of the situation. My bf and I signed up for puppy classes from the shelter we got her from. So I’m hoping she could get a better experience with dogs there vs the ones here who bark at her. I would love for her to positively play with puppies her age and possibly learn manners on when the biting is too hard. Idk I never knew about puppy blues till now and I get so overwhelmed thinking about how I always need to be on top of it. Whether she’s getting properly exercised physically and mentally, but not so much to the point where she gets frustrated overstimulated or catching her every time she does an unwanted behavior and properly redirecting her. It’s for sure allllooooot especially with medium/large dogs whose bite her 5x more. Can someone tell me if there’s a light at the end of the tunnel?? I know for biting she won’t necessarily outgrow it, I’ll need to show her what’s actually ok to bite and not bite, but plsss tell me this phase is just a phase and her impulsive decision to bite whenever goes down? I feel so shitty bc I always felt like I love dogs even ones that have bad reactions and I would do whatever it takes to make it work, but I am realllllly feeling the puppy blues and it’s making me question everything I know and if I was never ready for a dog in general))): I am so tired and a little sleep deprived and a little delusional. Sorry this post is literally all over the place but I just wanted/needed to dump huhuhuh
Also if anyone owns a jack Russel terrier or beagle or mix of both and has had these experiences, pls share what’s worked or what I could do moving forward to help redirect her T-T
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