Ready to Cry
 

Got home at lunchtime to a still-warm turd ***on top of*** 14 1/2-week-old's Fabian's blanket-covered open crate. He figured out how to climb the sides to get on top. He also discovered within the past day or so that it's fun to shred puppy pads. Oh and he peed smack dab in the middle of the shirt I left him with my scent on it, since the pee pad was in shreds. This is the first week I'm back at work after getting him a week and a half ago, so I'm not surprised he's acting up.

For safety reasons, I had to remove the crate from inside the puppy pen, because it's now possible for him to stand on top of the crate and theoretically jump/climb his way out of the playpen... to a perilous 36-inch drop. I'm so glad he left his "present" before something bad happened.
unfortunately, with the crate gone, he doesn't have his little "cave" anymore, just an open soft bed along one wall of his toy and puppy pad filled pen.

I'm also terrified that now he's figured out how to climb that he'll start climbing the baby gates we have in front of two full sets of stairs. We bought the sturdiest /safest ones we could find, but he's such a tenacious little man.

He's also in a lot of pain from teething. I've been giving him bully sticks, refrigerated/frozen blue chewy toys, and lots of warm cuddles.

I feel like such a colossal failure as a new puppy mama and I don't want this to turn into chronic separation anxiety for him. I'm also trying to stay "Zen" in front of him and not project my anxiety onto him.

Working full-time from home or quitting my job are not possible. I'm coming home at lunchtime every day to break up his day. He's still too little for a dog walker or doggy day care. I'm going to try Bitter Apple tonight to stop the shredding. I'm trying to teach him how to keep himself entertained with his toys while my husband and I are in the house and not just see us as giant 24x7 playthings. I've also been keeping him in his pen at night and for short periods of time while I'm home during the weekends, so that he doesn't associate "pen" with "home alone."

One step at a time. I know many people work full-time and manage to have happy, healthy dogs, so it's an attainable goal. It's just so darned exhausting and scary right now.

Ok so, my little 14 week old boy also stayed is a pen with his crate. He did the same thing! 1st time I left for 2 hours came home & he greeted me at the door! My heart absolutely dropped to my feet.
Not sure if he climbed onto his crate then climbed the x pen, or just climbed the pen. On, yes 36" drop on to a tile concrete floor.
I jumped on EBay and found a 8 panel soft tent with a top on it. Was only 39.00
Dollars for a medium size.
It has a zipper mesh door & sides he can see out.
Worked like a charm!
Once these little boogers climb out, nothing will stop them from doing it again.
Check on one of these. Ruger loves his tent.
Search doggie play pens & it should come up.
Your little one is so young. He will get the hang of things real fast. Just stay cool & calm & most of all vigilant.

One of our members responded to a new mommy to put plexiglass in front of the baby gates for those lil climbing monkeys. Hopefully he'll spot your thread and give you the details. I know you have to drill through the plexiglass but cannot remember what he used to secure the plexiglass to the baby gate.

And yes, you can be a working mom and own a yorkie puppy, I raised 4 yorkies (not all at the same time lol) at age of 8 weeks old while I held down an 8 to 4 job. They grew into great entertaining girls, with no separation anxiety. Thankfully they were not climbing monkeys lol.

I used the plexiglass when Max & Sasha were pups because they could go right through the gate with out even slowing down. I am sure it would stop climbing too. I just drilled holes (slowly because plexiglass will shatter) and used plastic zip ties to secure it. Worked like a charm. The fact that you are here looking for a dvice tells me you are the farthest thing from a failure. They are smart little rascals and will always keep you on your toes. Good luck with your little Houdini!

Hang in there. I work from home and my first pup, Max, still made me cry during his first 8 months. I was exhausted and scared that he would harm himself.

The first year is the hardest.

A cozy bed in the pen is enough of a den. That is what Max had.

You might consider using washable piddle pads. It's a pain to wash them, and there is a chance your pup will not distinguish between pads and throw rugs, but I would be willing to deal with it for safety.

Your other option is a pad holder that prevents chewing the pad. Sometimes pups will think hitting the tray holder is sufficient, rather than getting fully on the pad. Some people have used tape on the floor. I put the pad sort of under the corner of the pen so that at least 2 sides were held down.

Thankfully Max gave up playing with the pad pretty quickly.

Thank you all for the feedback. We have a tray for the pee pads, but it just gives him a better scratching surface. The bitter apple seems to be working so far: we'll have to see.

I also just bought a foldable puppy playpen. Will start using it just outside: it's supposed to be a warm weekend and I don't have the heart to keep him inside while I garden.

Maxdog: thanks for the suggestion on the plexi in front of the baby gate. It's an ingenious idea.

You've got some good suggestions here!

Rest assured, you're not a failure as a puppy mom! I felt the exact same way with both my girls for a good solid week+... constantly stressed, feeling guilty, even crying on the phone with my mom that I didn't know what I'd done. Haha. They adjust and you adjust; then before you know it it's all worked out and you cannot remember a time these little monsters weren't there to love and torture you with their continued naughty ways. hehe.

Hang in there! You're doing amazingly!

As an interim solution before you get a hold of plexi glass, have you tried putting a large towel over the gate? It might be able to prevent climbing because there's nothing for their little feet to grip onto?

My little Casie is the nightmare child - she was shredding the potty pad on a daily basis. I also tried the plastic trays that hold down the pad, but she'd get so determined, she started digging holes in the middle of the pad. Applying bitter apple around the edge worked for us.

Hang in there!! You can do this! The first year is definitely the hardest. We've all been there. It's like a roller coaster - they're so cute and you gotta love them, but when they're being bad it can be so very frustrating! :rolleyes:

He came to work with me yesterday afternoon (before going to the vet for an ear checkup) for three hours. When he wasn't sleeping on my lap, he was in his carrier playing silently with his toys. And he gave everyone he met puppy kisses! My co-workers were astonished that the well-behaved little man with me was the same "Yorkshire Terrorist" they'd heard about. <g>

Oh, and Fabian learned first day that if he dumps his water bowl on the bitter apple, it neutralizes the taste and he can turn the pad into a mushy pulp. Brownie points for ingenuity.

"Yorkshire Terrorist"!!! Hehehe!!!:D

Yes to washable puppy pads. Disposable pads are choking hazard to our cute little pups who love to shred them.

A month later:

He's stopped shredding the puppy pads, for the most part. We bought a soft-sided Coleman puppy playpen that he HATES. We got it with the intent of being able to garden outside with him safely inside next to me, but he acts like a rabid gerbil when I zip it up. We've tried leaving it in the kitchen unzipped to get it familiar with it, with limited success.

He's now into biting pant legs and chenille socks. We're trying to break him of this habit, but I don't want to put him in his regular hard-sided pen as a consequence, because we won't want to associate it with punishment.

Over Memorial Day weekend, I spent a lot of time with him. We went to a national park and for walks in the mountains. He got lots of exercise, was in a great mood, and slept in late the next day's. But he got very upset when I went back to work on Tues. I'm struggling to figure out how to make weekdays and weekends not so different, so this won't happen again. But he spends so much time alone during the week -- even thought I go home every day for lunch to feed and walk him -- that I hate to pen him when I'm home. At the same time, things need to be done around the house and it's not always possible to do so with the little man literally nipping at my heels.

My oldest had an issue with grabbing pants legs and it got dangerous so we got a squirt bottle and would squirt her and say no.