Sorry in advance for the long post! We got our puppy from the humane society 5 days ago and she is about 12 weeks old. They aren’t 100% sure her breed but guessed a mix between Husky and Australian Shepherd, so she’s a big puppy, 20+lbs already.
We’ve been crate training since day 1, giving food in her crate (VERY food motivated), and giving her a blanket and her bed in there, playing music she settles to. It takes a good 5-10 minutes of yelping, whining & crying but she settles eventually, I just hate to hear her so upset I’m not sure if this is the right way to do this? Had to take the bed away the day before yesterday because she absolutely destroyed it. Right now doing 1 hour up, 2 – 2.5 hours down. I would love to cuddle her and snuggle and let her nap elsewhere like in the living room but won’t settle unless we enforce crate time, even then I’m not sure if she’s sleeping or just quiet.
She’s basically potty trained. She knows sit, down, come, but she is also a menace and I can tell is bored. I play with her but she just wants to play on her own or bite so I give her a teething toy. She only eats from puzzles, lick mats, or slow feeders which tires her out a little.
Am I expecting too much from her? Am I being hard on her? Are there certain things I should be teaching her first, or ways to keep her mind going so she gets tired and naps better?
I just want her to be happy and have fun and not be bored, but also well behaved because she will be big and loud when she grows up. I would love any advice on what to train her first and how to keep her busy!! Thank you!
submitted by /u/wintering99
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