Category: Top Dog

Hello! My 4-month old puppy is absolutely bonkers (as many are). It’s like overnight he gained a new confidence, defiance, and zest for life (lol).

We heavily rely on enforced naps, structured play, enrichment, training, and practicing settling throughout the day. My main question is, it seems like sometimes he gets overstimulated extremely quickly. He’ll take about a 2-hour nap and then we’ll do a little outside training/potty break, play (together or independent), enrichment or meal time, etc. However, sometimes it seems like he’s not even up for 30 minutes before he’s going bananas biting everything, having the zoomies, chasing his tail, barking, etc.

I usually put him down for a nap because i’m reading this as overstimulation, but he will go bonkers in his crate too lol (i. e. biting and barking at his blanket, biting the crate, chasing his tail, etc.). Could this indicate a lack of fulfillment & I just need to push through his crazies to redirect to more activities before putting him to bed?

Idk, he’s still a baby but I’m having trouble deciphering what the issue is and how to help him push through!

I’ve seen people talk about letting puppy explore in an ex pen outside but never see anyone talk about a staked in ground leash. Is there a reason for this? If I want to allow puppy to explore outside in a smaller area before the whole fenced in area can I use a staked in leash?