I’m the proud owner of a little 3-month-old female Australian Shepherd.
I’d like to understand some of her behaviours:
- Mad moments (the zoomies):
All of a sudden and for no apparent reason, my puppy goes absolutely wild. She stops listening, starts jumping everywhere, nips at anything she can get her teeth into, and refuses to walk on the lead, bouncing around like a little goat and so on. This happens at home (of course), but also during long walks (at the start, middle, or end).
Regarding exercise, she goes out 6 to 8 times a day, with at least three 30-minute walks (except at weekends when we’re out and about for longer and she comes with us). I’ve managed to arrange my work schedule so she isn’t left alone for more than 3.5 to 4 hours at a time, and that’s only 4 days a week. I really can’t do more than that.
Later on, when she’s old enough, she’ll come running with me three times a week, plus the occasional mountain bike ride.
Is this normal for a puppy of this age?
Is this behaviour likely to get worse or will she settle down as she gets older?
Are there any ways to calm her down? (I’ve already tried play, treats, and cuddles)
Thanks,
Franck
Translated from French
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Puppies this age need to sleep for more than 15 hours a day. So, when the kids are playing and you can’t keep an eye on things, you can put your pup in a separate room with their bed and toys and leave them to it. Make sure the children are told not to go in and disturb them. You can start by leaving them for half an hour at first, building up to an hour once they’ve got used to it, and do this several times a day.
It’ll also help keep them calm; these pups really need their peace and quiet. If they’re constantly stimulated, they get over-excited and become uncontrollable.
Hi, we’ve got a 5-month-old German Shepherd puppy who is the same; we’ve tried everything since she was two months old, but it’s only getting worse. She’s starting to behave like this now whenever she’s frustrated—especially if we’re persistent about stopping her from doing something. Because of the lockdown, we were left to our own devices with this behaviour, without any puppy classes or a chance to socialise her with other dogs. In a week’s time, we’ve decided to let the breeder have her for a few days; she offered to take her in to help get her back on track and see what’s going wrong.
We’re also going to talk to the breeder; she’s offered to come to our house to show us her method: pinning her to the floor and pinching her if she persists. I just can’t manage it—as soon as I let go, she’s right back at it again.
However, using a spray bottle with water is effective when she jumps up at my children. But I can’t take my eyes off them or move more than a couple of metres away because it all happens so fast. It’s incredibly stressful.
She’s a Cane Corso and she’s already 37 lbs (about 2 stone 9).
I think that with the tap, the breeder is trying to mimic a natural dog behaviour, which is taking the muzzle in their mouth and using pressure to turn it away and close it. But I don't think a tap really works.
You can use the element of surprise without being heavy-handed by using a water spray. Instead of a tap, try a firm “no” with a squirt on the nose; remember to praise her straight away if she stops (even if it’s only for 30 seconds).
It’s also essential to play with her; she’s at the age where she’s teething, so she needs to chew. Using a rope toy, you can—on your own terms (whilst waiting for walkies, for example)—play fetch or tug-of-war (she's still a puppy, so obviously let her win most of the time! 😉). When she’s chewing, let her get on with it while encouraging her a bit with a cheerful voice: “What’s this? What is it?”. She needs to use her jaw, but she also needs to learn when she can and can't.
At 5 months old, if there are times she really isn’t listening and is being stubborn, you can start using time-outs—either in her bed if she’ll stay put, or in another room if she won’t settle. In my house, the downstairs loo (it’s the only room with a door on the ground floor) is the ultimate punishment: 15 minutes in the toilet alone. Naturally, when you do this, you mustn't let them out while they’re making a fuss (scratching the door or barking), otherwise the punishment will never work again. Some people use baby gates to keep the dog separate without it being stressful.
She’s played a lot with the neighbour’s Australian Shepherd, but he really lets her get away with anything—she pulls clumps of his fur out and he doesn't even react. She also plays with a German Shepherd who puts her in her place, but he’s actually quite aggressive; every time they meet he lunges at her and she screams, then it's okay afterwards, but in my opinion, that dog isn't properly socialised so I’d rather avoid him. Other than that, she’s only really had the chance to play with puppies.
When she was two months old, we tried ignoring the bad behaviour for a month, but it didn't work. We tried a firm "NO" and redirecting her to a toy almost every time. At 4 months, we were told to hold her by the scruff with a loud "NO", which worked for a few days. Then, nothing at all... The latest advice from the breeder (who saw my videos of her grabbing my legs or growling to get my attention) is to take it a step further: a sharp tap on the nose as soon as she tries to nip or chew the sofa. It honestly breaks my heart that it’s come to this, especially since we’ve been doing it for a few days now and I’m not seeing any change—it’s just damaging my bond with her.
Unfortunately, puppy classes don’t really help them learn how to settle down. It’s more about interaction with adult dogs; they’re the ones who will put a puppy in its place if it goes too far and teach it some boundaries.
Puppy classes are really there to teach *you* how to communicate with your dog and how to handle things.
Did you still manage to run into other dogs during lockdown?
When you say you’ve tried everything, what do you mean exactly? Time-outs, redirecting them with a toy, teaching them how to calm down, or being firm?
Working with a puppy is all about consistency and repetition. You need to find a method they seem to respond to and stick with it long enough to see if it actually pays off. It can be frustrating because if you don’t see results quickly, you start thinking it’s not working and that you need a quick fix, so you switch methods. But that’s just confusing for the puppy, and in the end, they won’t have a clue what’s going on.
Hi, we have a 5-month-old German Shepherd puppy who is exactly the same. We’ve tried everything since she was two months old, but it’s only getting worse and she’s starting to act out like this whenever she gets frustrated, especially if we keep trying to stop her from doing something. Because of the lockdown, we’ve been left to our own devices with this behaviour, with no puppy classes or any chance for her to socialise with other dogs. In a week’s time, we’ve decided to send her back to the breeder for a few days; she’s offered to take her in to try and get her back on track and see what’s going wrong.
I’ve watched quite a few videos on mouthing, and I understand the principle of bite inhibition. But in the evenings, she gets so hyper that it’s hard to make progress—she just keeps coming back for more.
During the day, she has these "mad moments" where she'll chase after my 3-year-old son and try to nip his ears. She’s already heavier than he is, so I’m always on high alert.
We're lucky to have a room specifically for her, so when things get a bit too much to handle, we send her there for some downtime. She usually comes back out much more relaxed. She finds it really hard to settle whenever we’re in the room.
So yeah, if you have any tips or advice, please let me know...
Hi there,
I’m bumping this thread to see if you’ve found any ways to calm your dog down?
My pup is also 3 months old and she’s a Cane Corso—a breed we actually chose because they’re known for being calm.
But at the moment, that doesn’t describe our girl at all!
She has "mad moments" several times a day, but the worst is in the evening when our three kids are heading to bed.
She jumps all over the place and barks. She chases the cat and nips us, sometimes quite hard.
It’s not every night; it’s usually when it’s been a busy day. I think it’s over-excitement, but it’s honestly so hard to manage 😢
