[momofreese]

I am new to the site and cannot seem to get to sleep. I was reading a lot of the threads and this one struck a nerve. I do not want to offend the lady with the "destructive" puppy, so I hope I will not come off that way.. but

Why did you get another puppy if your husband was even the slightest bit against getting one? Did he just start disliking both of them because the puppy is behaving like a puppy?

I would assume that your son is your first child. If I am wrong forgive me. I am the mother of three daughters, now 13, 17 and 21 and let me tell you something, as great as they were as infants/toddlers/young adults.. they had accidents of all kinds. Just wait. I did not read your entire post but it seems as if you little boy is very young. My girls were angels in comparisn to what I see out in public, but if I tell you they have had their share of accidents. I do not mean to be snide, but what is going to happen when your son does something wrong, is your husband going to stop hugging him, talking to him or spending time with him?

Did you expect a puppy to be any different? Maybe your pug was less "destructive", I suppose you were luckier. My yorkie is so quiet, in fact probably too inactive for most. She ripped apart her wee wee pads, she nibbled on everyone's fingers, she had accidents, urine, vomiting, etc ( even now, I just wiped up vomit from the wood floors that my husband spent days stripping, staining and finishing. At 46 years old, the loss of close family and friends, my husband going through back surgery, a 20 year old getting numerous citations at college for being in bars (not drinking at the time, but I know she does many times), a benign brain tumor this past July, if you think that my three year old yorkie vomiting on the floors that my husband slaved over is going to cause me grief, you have to be kidding.

Again, I do not mean to be combative at all, but you have to take a breath and think about what you are typing here. My yorkie has been trained or maybe I am the trained one who is fortunate to be able to be with her constantly to make sure she goes to her proper place. She still on occasion has accidents. She is very bright yet the other day she made number 2 on my kitchen floor, right in the middle of the floor. It was my fault, I had changed the pad and had forgotten to replace it in her pantry. Now why couldn't she have barked to tell me? At times she would have, but no one can rely on dogs, children and especially HUSBANDS to do the right thing at all times.

Please for your sake, your sons and even your husbands, take a giant step back and realize that your expectations are far greater than what they should be. This is a dog. You are too young to let things of this nature get you in such a state. Sit your husband down and explain to him what his priorities need to be. It is unfortunate that the puppy ripped your sons turkey and now his other project. But just as you would watch your infant, cover electrical outlets, hide small objects, and on and on and on, you must do the same for a puppy. And by the way, I have seen HUGE crates that can hold two giant labs, let alone a yorkie and a pug. They would probably want to snuggle close anyway. My yorkie sleeps in one tiny corner of a crib and would probably feel better if she was in a shoebox.

I hope I haven't added more to your problem, but try to understand that there are far worse things than having a puppy who is just acting like a puppy. I miss those days when Reese was a puppy, and sometimes she reverts back to certain puppy behaviors and I have to just deal with it.

I wish you luck but also wish your puppy luck. I know I will take a lot from many dog lovers here for saying this, but here goes anyway. If you feel that the responsibility is getting to be too much for you, and you are concerned about your husbands reaction.. do everyone a favor, especially the puppy, and re home him or give him back to the breeder. It isn't fair to the puppy either.

Hope you have better luck in the morning with him. It might pay to hire a sitter or have a family member watch your son for a day or two. Spend every moment or close to it to train him properly. It is just like toilet training a child. How I shiver when I think of the days of endless hours, sitting on the bathroom floor with each of my daughters waiting for them to grasp the concept. Believe it or not, each of them are fully trained unless they happen to laugh a little too hard. Good luck to you and your family.

Randy and Reese