4-month-old puppy hard to manage at home

Thanks for your replies! I've noticed my little rascal has settled down a bit lately. Maybe he’s starting to mature, plus I’m not stressing as much – at the first sign of any mischief, it's straight to the kitchen and that's that. When he's calm, he can stay out as long as he likes. Right now, I've got all the doors open and His Lordship is snoozing away quietly in his corner!

@bandji I've thought quite a bit about the overstimulation issue and I think you’re right. Now I only play with him on the balcony or outside, I don’t feel guilty when he spends some time on his own, and I think things are definitely improving! Thanks :)

@docline, I’m trying to find other dogs for him to play with, but unfortunately, in my area, they’re all either old or small, or the owners aren't too keen on letting their dogs play... I'll start taking him to the dog park more often. In any case, he’s brilliant with other dogs, not aggressive at all.

Otherwise, for a middle ground between shutting him away and him being overstimulated, you could try putting a baby gate on the door of the room where you're keeping him.

That way he can still see you without being able to "interfere". If he gets too worked up when he sees you, tell him "bed, bed" a few times, and if that doesn't work, then never mind—just shut the door!

Over time, he should get used to seeing what you're up to and start to settle down more and more...

Well, it's just an idea.

In my opinion, the little lad has (perhaps) been overstimulated since you got him. Since he wasn't going out and you were playing with him loads, in his head it’s not a case of "outside = energy, inside = calm". It’s just madness inside and out! So it’s impossible for him to understand right now that his humans aren't "on call" and are refusing to play with him despite his best efforts...

My little girl in the example I gave took a while to catch on (once I realised myself that I was doing too much with her), as she was used to going flat out all the time... Patience! Once he’s had his "quota" of walks and play (not that you should stop all his activities, mind!), then it's time to be calm, and that's that.

I think it’s too early to say that Ziggy is hyperactive. And bear with him, puppies are just so full of beans!

Mine was a little thing full of life and energy; things were proper hectic at home while she was finding her feet and growing up (and we obviously didn't stop all our activities...). She used to steal things to get my attention too—the sort of thing where she didn't care if she was getting told off or getting a fuss, as long as she had my attention!

And yet she’s not hyperactive... nowadays she’s lovely and calm.... indoors, anyway! :')

A puppy definitely needs to learn how to settle down.

When you get back from a walk, I’d put him straight in the kitchen. He needs to learn how to wind down and lower his excitement levels.

However, he also needs to learn to settle while you're there, so maybe try opening the door once he’s properly settled or when he’s fallen asleep the first few times.

When it comes to him misbehaving though, it’s a firm “no” and then straight to his bed. If you try to distract him with a toy, it sends the wrong message: “I destroy things, I get hyper = we play!” That just reinforces the behaviour, which might be why he ends up barking and jumping up afterwards.

Whether it’s after a walk, after playing, or when he gets worked up for no reason, it should always be “bed”. Of course, he still gets his walks and you play with him, but he needs to understand that when it’s over, he goes to his bed and settles down quietly.

Oh, you little monster! 😁 Only joking — it's behaviour you see a lot in puppies (except for climbing on the furniture, that's a new one...)

My girl was a ball of energy indoors when she was little. Your description of Ziggy's day-to-day sounds quite familiar, actually. We'd play loads and go on really long walks, and she still wanted more. My instinct was that all that energy meant she needed more activity.

But I was wrong! Puppies need a lot of sleep. I started introducing "enforced" nap times, and she was so much better for it mentally — still full of energy, but calmer.

So first of all, please don't feel guilty about putting him in the kitchen to sleep. You're doing the right thing. Rest is genuinely essential for a puppy, and you're also entitled to a break.

When he suddenly pesters you for a game, the advice is to ignore him and then go back to him 5 minutes later to play — that way he learns that playtime starts and ends on your terms.

Personally, once he hits a certain level of excitement, I'd ignore him the moment he starts jumping up at you and grabbing your clothes. That's what I did with my girl. We'd have a good rough-and-tumble often, but when it was time to stop, I'd just ignore her completely — no eye contact, nothing, even if she was tugging at my trousers. I'd just calmly say "no" once or twice, then nothing at all — just completely blank her and take my clothing back without so much as a glance. It took a while, but she got there in the end.

As for the destructive behaviour, if his other needs are being met, I'm not entirely sure. I had a destructive dog as an adult, so a slightly different issue I suppose... I used to offer her things "in exchange." I tried loads of things that she'd demolish in seconds or simply wasn't interested in, before eventually finding a really tough soft toy that became her comfort toy. At first I constantly had to swap things for it, but after enough repetition, I'd just say "no — go get Rhino!" and off she'd trot to chew on Rhino.

She also had sticks to chew on at home (proper sticks, found outside). Different dogs are drawn to different textures, so you need to figure out what he goes for — some are very into fabric (so old sheets plaited together are brilliant for a game of tug), others prefer something harder (like sticks), and some prefer something more food-based, like a stuffed Kong, veal tendons, or deer antlers. Others just love shredding things to bits!

Old soft toys can work well too (though with a puppy, keep a close eye to make sure he's shredding but not swallowing the stuffing!).

I'm sure others will have even better advice to add.

At the moment, my method when he's being naughty is to say "no" and redirect his attention with a toy (which means I end up playing with him for a few seconds, I know that’s not ideal...). But then he gets fixated on me, jumps up at me, tries to nip my hands and grabs my clothes. He reacts very badly to authority and growls or barks as soon as I raise my voice (I’ve read that this is quite common for Goldens), so I try to stay gentle, but that doesn't have much effect either and he’s starting to get big enough to actually hurt me. So it often ends, when my patience runs out, with him being shut in the kitchen, either for nap time or just for a few minutes so I can get on with what I need to do. I should add that he doesn't behave like this at all when we're outdoors.

What do you think? Is this behaviour normal for his age? Is it down to a lack of socialising with other dogs (as soon as he's finished his jabs, I’m taking him to the park!)? Or is it because I’m not being firm enough?

Thanks in advance for your advice!