Hahaha! Yep... 90% of the time I have the best puppy in the world... happy, playful, loves naps, loves his crate, doesn't chew on things he shouldn't, rings the bell if he needs to be let outside, etc. He's amazing, and I couldn't be happier.
BUT that other 10% of the time... he gets in one of his "moods" about once or twice a day. It usually happens first thing in the morning, after the first poop and pee of the day, or later in the evening when he's starting to get tired. He forgets everything he knows, whines at us to pick him up, then if we do he immediately whines to be let down. He rings the bell just to go outside and sit for no reason, not pee. Or he rings the bell then runs off around the house with no interest at all in going outside. He chews on the carpet, and sometimes even tries to hump our arms if we try to play with him to distract him. It's insane! His "moods" are horrible!
We have a few of solutions that sometimes work: First, the amazing magical bully stick. A fresh one of those can occupy him for 20+ minutes until he forgets how insane he is. A fresh flossie (funny looking spiraled bully stick type thing) will entertain him for close to an hour, then he's usually worn out enough to lay on one of laps and fall asleep. Second, we sometimes invite the neighbor dog over... he patiently lets Nikko torture him for an hour or so, and by then Nikko is worn out or at least over his "mood." Third, sometimes a walk works to burn off some of the craziness. However, the craziness sometimes makes walking impossible because he just digs his heels in and refuses to walk at all if there's something else he thinks he wants in the opposite direction.
It sounds like many puppies do this type of thing, and the sugar idea is something I'd never thought of - makes sense though! We're switching Nikko over to a higher protein, less carbs (therefore less sugar) diet. It'll be interesting to see if that makes any difference.
Lauren & Nikko |