3 month old corgi never stops unless sleeping. Need help

[scholasticus]

Howdy guys. I've posted before about my (now) 3 month old corgi puppy and some of her issues. Here I am weeks later and not much has changed. Except the advice I received for her bite inhibition has helped tremondously. She primary two issues that no training is resolving:

1. She doesn't have a "medium" mode. She is absolutely always going, or asleep. She never gets worn out. We have spent hours playing at a dog park, then going for walks at home, and then playing fetch inside, and she will not stop. Ever. Yet if we put her in her kennel during these times she will lay down and go to sleep. But besides being asleep, she never stops. Generally she is scavegong like her life depends on it, which brings me to point two.
2. Her main activity is scavenging. She basically doesn't not stop doing it regardless of where she is unless she is actively playing with us, eating, or sleeping. Always scavengings, always moving. She can be in the same 3 foot area and for hours she will walk around that area scavenging with nose to the ground over and over. It isn't that she is hungry because when we feed her, she will eat. If she is full, she will not eat. In both situations she will be scavenging before and after.

Both of these together means she is never still. Ever. I don't know if, in the 5 weeks we've had her, if she had ever just "stopped" unless it was sleeping. She has never just sat down or laid down unless it's something we tell her. And in those cases she will not hold those positions for long. Either we give her the treat and she immediately disregards us and scavenges/ plays, or we don't give her the treats and she eventually breaks the position. Or won't, and will just scavenge in place or go and play.

And while her bite inhibition has come a long way, nothing we do stops her from attacking our faces. No reward, no distraction, no punishment. She goes for our faces so hard that you can hear her jaws slam shut.

And here I am in the E.R. waiting to get stiches on my lip because of how bad she got me. I'm at my rope's end. Yes I know she is "just a puppy" but I have had dogs, and known other people with dogs, my entire life. I have never seen a dog so flippantly willing to disobey physically hurting us. Nor have I ever seen a dog who never has down time.

I just need an idea as to what I can do to help get her away from being like this. I really don't want to have to give her away.

Edit: just wanna doubly mention here that the hours of training isn't the norm. It is something we did to see how she would react. Our normal days are just a few hours out of crate and then a few hours in her crate.

 

[kwanlove]

@scholasticus My dog was exactly like this - either dead sleeping or hyperactive. That was until I realized I actually did too much with her and she had lack of sleep which made it worse. Puppies need 20-22 hours rest time. So I made her a safe space (a blanket) where I trained her, that if I send her there she must lay down and be quiet. So every time she is loosing it and can't stop herself I send her on to the blanket and she can calm down because she knows from experience nothing exciting is going to happen here.

 

[caralinewaterfalls]

@kwanlove This is so important !

 

[rosegirl19]

@kwanlove Yup, this comment! Puppies will go and go and go until someone pretty much forces them to say "Ok, there's no possible way I can get stimulated here so I'm just going to sleep. Oh wait, I'm tired anyways."

 

[tomsgirl]

@kwanlove Any tips on how to train a puppy to do that?

 

[kwanlove]

@tomsgirl I'm not good with explanations (certainly not in english), but I'll try, so here's how I did it: In the beginning make sure absolutely NOTHING happens during training. Bring the puppy to the blanket and have them lie down. Give a treat for being there, but not something to chew. Now the hard part: step aside and ignore the puppy. Do nothing, don't look at them, don't pet, don't play with your phone, don't talk,... if puppy wants to leave, bring them back. Ot's easier if you have trained lieing down or stay. Since this is incredibly boring, at some point puppy will calm down and that's when you'll give a treat - calmly! I found the beginning really difficult, but it got easier quickly. Most important is that you remove anything stimulating for training. Add it later, when basics are fine, then you can also leave the room and start to do things. I chose a thin blanket, so I can use the trick in restaurants or when visiting others. Make sure it's always the same blanket and - in the beginning - the same place where you train.

 

[carolean87]

@scholasticus Look up Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol. It sounds like your pup needs to learn when to stop. I personally avoid "excited" play in the house. Fetch is outdoors only or, if you don't have an outdoor space then you can reserve one room in your home for it. Everywhere else is for calm and relaxation only. I also recommend investing in puzzle toys! Those are great for tiring my dog out mentally.

 

[pterinochilus]

@carolean87 I can't recommend the Relaxation Protocol enough. I have a hyperactive 5 month old Aussie who can now chill in an office/bar/cafe/public transport almost entirely thanks to following this. Combine it with getting them to lie down on a particular object (towel, yoga mat) that you bring out each time and they'll quickly learn to chill when it comes out

 

[scholasticus]

@carolean87 I have a kong. I have a cylinder one that dispenses treats but she hates it and barks at it. Then I have this boring triangle one that she just flips. We've tried one of those mats where she has to scavenge thinking she would like it since that's all she does. She decided to pick it up and sling it and send food everywhere was the easier alternatives.

Any other recommendations?

 

[miltoncrum]

@scholasticus I bundle a big (old) blanket and hide dry kibble in the folds. Both my pups will spend ages snuffling it all out. I also scatter kibble across the room and let them 'hunt' it out. It's free/cheap and you can always do their entire meal that way.

It completely exhausts one but the other is really hyperactive even after walks/play/snuffles etc. He always wakes much earlier from sleep/naps too. We're working on capturing calmness at the moment but sometimes he just needs a timeout when he's going nuts. I do distract with training too though. Sometimes just asking for sit/paw is enough to distract him for a few mins because he really likes to please. But the hyperactivity is exhausting at times, so I really get that. Hope your lip is better soon

 

[mark_m]

@miltoncrum putting old blankets and towels in a laundry basket or kiddie pool can help contain the mess

 

[carolean87]

@scholasticus I have used stuffed kongs (with higher value treats really jammed in there) with pretty good success. I usually seal them with peanut butter and freeze it before giving it to my dog.

My dog also really enjoys getting his kibble out of this particular toy: https://www.chewy.com/starmark-treat-dispensing-chew-ball/dp/45447

Nina Ottosson also makes some pretty great puzzle toys for dogs, but they can get pretty pricey: https://www.nina-ottosson.com/

Keep in mind that when you're introducing your dog to these toys, she might need a little guidance on the "fun" way to play with it. If she picks it up and flings food everywhere, then take the food and toy away, try again later.

 

[curiouscedric]

@carolean87 I second this! I didn't use her exact method but something really similar that worked for my very active scavenger.

 

[tomsgirl]

@scholasticus I have a 15 week old puppy and he has similar behavior, perhaps not as extreme. What has helped, beyond exercise, is getting him on a routine.

I notice he can get very wild after a lot of play and exercise. From working with children, this is what I associate with “overtired” behavior. He has crate naps in late morning and late afternoon when he’s had plenty of stimulation and exercise, but I know he’s overtired. It’s helped him chill out quite a lot. He’s still crazy in the evenings, but I think that’s just part of having a puppy!

 

[donkeyjaw]

@tomsgirl This is actually quite brilliant. Not only are you addressing your dogs stimulation issues, but you are engraining a routine of rest and ease in their crate throughout the day.

 

[kylo28]

@tomsgirl

that’s just part of having a puppy

Yeeeep. Wild little suckers.

 

[gilbert_godfree]

@tomsgirl We had this too! Ours would get so crazy, we didn't know what to do. I put her in her crate.... And she slept. She was like a different dog when we had crate time.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@tomsgirl Yes! All dogs, no matter what their age, really do need a routine in order to thrive and be mentally healthy. Especially puppies.

 

[2honorhim]

@scholasticus Naps, naps, and more naps. Out for an hour, kennel for an hour, rinse and repeat. She's overtired & needs way more rest than she's getting. If she needs to be in a kennel to rest right now, so be it. I'd also work on mat training so that she learns to rest out of the crate as well. Don't take the advice about miles of hikes and hours of park play. You're going to permanently damage her joints if you do that at this young age.

 

[desaran]

@2honorhim Yes I came here to say this. Our corgi was the same way, and we started enforcing regular nap time in the crate and kept it up throughout her puppy days. She’s 2.5 years old and we still do this, haha. It has worked wonders. She’s still a psycho with limitless energy, but it really helps her (and us) to just hit the reset button a few times a day.