Hi everyone. I recently adopted a 2-month-old mixed-breed puppy (Australian Cattle Dog / Husky mix). She grew up on a farm, mostly outdoors with her mother and other puppies, and has been with me only a few days.
I’m not worried about normal puppy barking or whining. What concerns me is how she experiences wake time and stimulation. She doesn’t seem to “play” in a relaxed way. Instead, she becomes restless, paces back and forth, whines or barks at nothing, and looks unable to settle. She’ll sometimes lie down for a few seconds, then get up again and start pacing, as if she’s overtired but can’t switch off.
During these overstimulated moments she may jump up on me, mouth or nip at my clothes or arms, and occasionally bark directly at me. It doesn’t feel like true aggression (though sometimes scary), more like she’s overwhelmed and doesn’t know what to do with her energy. When this happens, I try to stay calm, avoid eye contact, not speak, and disengage until she settles. That generally helps, but the cycles repeat.
She focuses very well on food (chicken works great) and quickly understands that calm behavior gets rewarded. Outside of food, though, it’s very hard to engage her in play, and toys often seem to overstimulate her rather than help her relax. We can’t go on proper walks yet due to vaccinations, which I know limits her outlets.
She eats, drinks, sleeps, and goes to bathroom normally, and there’s no consistent aggression toward people, just barking and mouthing during these dysregulated states.
My question isn’t how to stop barking or biting, but whether this kind of restless, overwhelmed behavior during wake time is normal for some puppies, especially very young ones or working-breed mixes. I’d love to hear from anyone who had a puppy that struggled to self-regulate at first and what helped over time. (i only have experience with a labrador puppy, but that’s a whole different story – came from a breeder, and totally different behaviour)
Thanks in advance!
submitted by /u/Appropriate-Towel715
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