The Face of Evil

She doesn’t look like she’s that evil here, but believe me, this dog is a holy terror. We haven’t slept a full night since she came to our house to live. We might have to put her in lockdown where she sleeps in her own damn room where she can’t bother us and no one can hear her whining.

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  • dd

    Whining b/c she has to pee? Or to get attention? Puppies are such a pain when it comes to those parts. Kind of like babies… cute and fun for everyone else, but some days, just a lot of diapers and crying to the parents.

  • http://confusedtwenty.wordpress.com CC

    But she’s so adorable!

  • Nicole

    I’m amused at how many problems you’ve been having with sleeping with her around. After the first 2 weeks of having my aussie, she figured out that her late night pee was the last one before morning, and mommy sleeps like a brick–now, as long as I’m quiet in the morning, I can usually steal enough extra minutes out of the morning to get the coffee going before she starts up on her “I want to go outside” tirade.

  • http://vwbusnut.wordpress.com/ Sally Fulton

    Sometimes all you can do is just put them in their crate in a room far, far away and get some freakin’ sleep. I’ve always said puppies are more work than kids. At least you don’t have to take a kid outside at 3am in the snow to pee. It’s a good thing she’s so cute, probably the only thing that saved her so far. :-)

  • sharon

    Shepherds! We finally learned with our third one to put her in her crate downstairs, tell her have a nice night and go upstairs to bed. Now she goes in there on her own at 10 pm and that’s that until 7:30 am. Move her far away. Trust me. It took us three tries to learn.

  • Amy K

    Jon, crate training is definitely the way to go. Not only with shepherds, but with any puppy. We have a Toy Fox Terrier named Cookie, and she was crate trained (potty trained) within 3 weeks of her arrival at home. She knows that the 10:00pm outing is the last one for the night, so she better make it a good one. Then she’ll be let out again first thing in the morning before I get in the shower.

    She only had two accidents in week four. That was 5 years ago.

    Good luck!

  • Sarah

    John, you have the patience of a saint (no mormon pun intended there). Toss that dog in a crate, in the basement, behind a locked door, with a mattress up against the door to keep sound in. Ours learned after one night of not going (because she was in a crate and wouldnt pee where she slept) that she needed to get every drop out before bed time. I’m sure you have tried everything at this point and advice is stuff you have already heard/read. My deepest sympathies to you!

  • Cesar Milan

    Thees daug needs to bee cawm submessive.

    !Szzzt!

  • http://thelightersideofgrowingup.typepad.com Ashley

    i don’t have to live with her or the whining….but she is really really really cute. puppies are tough…they are those cute little faces to prevent you from drop kicking them across the backyard when they won’t shut up at 3 AM.

  • http://thelightersideofgrowingup.typepad.com Ashley

    they have*

  • Lesley

    Time to bring in the dog whisperer!

  • Sarah

    But Jon, you’re in training for your next baby!! :)

  • Amy S

    I totally understand…I am dog sitting and this dog—she sucks!
    She chews on everything and does not obey commands like my dog. No sitting, no staying, it’s awful. She is cute though so I am being patient. The only difference right now is that I get to return it in a few more days. Good luck with your Coco.

  • http://imnopoodle.wordpress.com Candy

    No no, “I” have the dog from hell.

    And yes, crate training, if you’re not already, is the only way to go. Without the crate, I’d be sharing a jail cell with Michael Vicks right now.

  • http://madnessmadnessisay.blogspot.com liv

    i think that is “unholy terror”…

  • http://www.jessw327.blogspot.com Jessica

    I feel your pain! We have a 13 week old puppy. He is the cutest and least annoying when he is asleep.

  • n

    We put our puppy in its crate, in the basement, two stories away. We could still hear her through the ductwork, and ultimately put sofa cushions around the crate. And earplugs in our ears.

    Left a little light on and the radio, too.

    It worked with my kids, as well.

  • nikol

    OK, but DAMN….right? I mean really.

  • Amanda

    You think that evil will be obvious like this, http://tinyurl.com/yuc3jc, or this, http://tinyurl.com/3d723h, but then no, haha! it’s puppies and babies!

  • Lisa

    I am sure we would all love to see you on an episode of “The Dog Whisper.” He says that dogs can sense that fact that you are uptight about their behavior. So if you are thinking “terror”, Coco then picks it up and fulfills your expectations. I find that is the same with teenagers……

  • http://aarynbelfer.com aaryn b.

    The book that saved our lives…or, rather, the life of our dog in our frustrated hands: “How To Raise A Puppy You Can Live With.”

  • Fiona

    We have a 4 1/2 month old Australian cattle dog, Ozzie (full name is Sir Oswald Spazalot). We brought him out every 30 minutes through the day and gated him in the kitchen at night. He had a grand total of 2 accidents. He now goes in the kitchen by himself around 10 and night and doesn’t stir until he hears us. We actually got to sleep until 10 over the weekend. Good luck – I know how “perky” Coco must be because Ozzie is a complete spaz while awake. Puppy training has been very enlightening and we found out that the bulk of what he was spazzing about was herding issues. He’s calmed down since we learned to handle him properly.

    Coco is adbsolutely gorgeous.

  • eej

    Did you guys research Aussies at all before getting one? It seems like you did not. Heather posted something about how at the dog park, she hangs by Heather and does not go off and romp with other dogs. That is a breed characteristic. These are working dogs. I exercise my Aussie by going to the River and walking with him offleash for miles. He trots along and sometimes takes off into the brush and then reappears to check on me. If I took him to a dog park, he would just stand there like Coco does.

    Also, Aussies are shadow dogs – they want to be WITH you 24 hours a day. My dog keeps me in sight at all times. he hates to be separated from me. That is also a typical Aussie characteristic. Shutting her away from you would be unkind. You bought an Aussie and she is being an Aussie!

    It is such a problem when people buy dogs based on their cuteness and looks without researching the breed at all. Looks should actually be the LAST consideration when choosing a dog.

  • http://blurbomat.com blurb

    @eej, We lived next door to an Aussie for months (he was great with Chuck) and boarded him for a week a few years ago. Of all the breeds that play the best with Chuck, it’s the Australian Shepherd.

    We are aware of the breed characteristics. We did not buy her because she was cute. We got her because we wanted a second dog; one that would fit our family (including Chuck) the best. We don’t do the dog park with Coco that often, because she likes to hike. So that’s what we do. We go on long walks where she can be off leash and do her thing.

    @Everybody, Coco is being crated. She just can’t sleep in our room. With a pre-schooler who has a very active imagination, any movement or disturbance freaks Coco out. Including Leta standing next to my bed at 2am. One of us goes in with Leta and Coco loses it. Yes, we are aware that this a breed thing.

    I was trying to be funny with the title and what I wrote. We love Coco and she’s getting there with the housetraining. We are used to having a dog who is more cat-like than dog-like. That is all.

  • eej

    That is good news that you guys actually do like Coco. It is hard to tell b/c you and Heather are both very sarcastic about everything in your lives and sarcasm sometimes does not translate well in written form. Glad you are adjusting to Coco and taking her for hikes and that things are not as bad as you make them seem.

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