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Herwin (9mths Bichon Frise) has always been great at sleeping through the night. By the time he was about 5mths he would sleep through and not need to go to the toilet. He usually sleeps until about 7-8.30 and then needs the toilet, and sometimes he has slept until 9.30-10. But in the last couple of weeks (since we got back from holiday) he has been waking up between 4-6am every morning to go to the toilet. The question is, does he really need to go, or is it turning into a bad habit? Do you think that he might have a bladder infection or something? The annoying thing is that we have just taken him to the vet a week ago but in amongst all the other things we had to ask, I forgot to ask about this, and I was hoping that it wouldn't go on this long or this consistently any way. Should we take him back to the vet to get checked out? We can't really afford to go again, so I don't want to go just to be told that it is a behavioural not medical problem. We try taking him to the toilet before bed but he has never been willing to go on cue. Thank you any advice would be appreciated. (I hope it made sense)

Fortunately it is more of a woof than a high pitched yap, although it is very loud. When I was researching breeds, it seemed like bichons were the only toy breeds without a reputation for barking ah well. . He has been better the last couple of days. The not sleeping thing seems to have been a one-off. He's been completely normal the last couple of nights, so I think he must have been feeling unwell. Still a bit nervous, but getting more confident each night.

He discovered his voice and fell in love with it about 2 mths ago, hopefully he doesn't have too many hormones anymore, cos he just had the snip. We're not quite sure how to stop it apart from distracting him, calling him inside and rewarding him for being quiet. It can get very annoying though, so really don't want it to become a habit for the sake of us and our neighbours. (I think that's why it's stressing me out cos everytime I'm worried about annoying the neighbours.)

yep it was, the chewy one, I think he chewed it, but it must just not agree with him. So is it a particularly bichon thing? He gets really carried away at people or dogs walking past, but sometimes I can't see anything at all, or it will be just a tiny noise and he will run outside barking.

OOOhh yep he's a teenager ratbag at the moment alright. So far all the things he is doing are things that he used to do, and then learnt not to, and they are now reappearing again eg biting to get us to play. . So I'm really hoping that he isn't now including things that were never a problem as well. Thanks for your help, maybe he did have stomach pains, we definitely won't be using that wormer again anyway, poor pup.

Our 6mth old Bichon had us completely mystified last night. He has quite a barking problem at the moment (a whole other issue we need help with) and spent all evening going outside and barking and didn't settle down at about 9pm like he usually does. So when we went to go to bed, he had only settled down for about 20mins. We popped him into his crate to go to bed and he vomited (we think it must have been the worming tablet that we gave him) so we had to get him out again to change his blankets. He then got a bit worked up and really didn't want to get back into his crate again. He has always, from the first night we got him, been super at night. He always settles down within 5min of going to bed and when he was little he would scratch to go to the toilet and then settle straight back down again after. Weeelllll...last night he just didn't settle down and scratched and scratched and whined. So we took him to the toilet because we thought he might still feel sick and need to go again, which he did but he didn't settle down again and scratched for hours and hours. It was just so out of character we were worried. At 3am my hubby got so desperate for sleep that he actually took him for a walk and after that he settled down and we all got about 3hrs sleep until he started again at 6.30am. Today he seems normal and did sleep this morning but he still hasn't slept as much as he does some days. Isn't he tired? (we are ) Do dogs get insomnia? We don't even know if this is a health thing or a behavioural thing. Should we take him to the vet? It was just so out of character. So sorry for writing a novel we're just really thrown, and worried, and really don't want it to happen again. Any advice or opinions would we great, thanks.

Herwin hardly barked at all until he was about 4mths and now he barks all the time, at everything. If there is any vague movement out the window or small sound he starts barking. We're trying to get him to stop with "enough" and a water squirty but it's semi successful at best. I originally thought he was such a quiet dog. :rolleyes:

I'm glad Zorro's coping so well. It is almost impossible to keep them quiet isn't it? Herwin started off without a collar but started licking himself more and more so we had to take him back up to the vet to get one and have them check the wound. But we then discovered an hour or two later that if he squashed it just right he could still lick! So now we have the stress of the collar (he doesn't fit through his dog door so I have to get letting him in and out, and he can't play properly) and also the stress of stopping him fron licking. Should we just give up on the collar? Hope Zorro does well today.

Oh sorry luckymum I forgot. It cost us $150 for the desexing and we had him microchipped at the same time and that was another $50. So it's not as bad as your previous op, gee that's a lot, what a shock for you, and poor puppy.

Our little Herwin just had his snip yesterday, so I'm anxiously watching him today. He still doesn't seem very happy, his ears and tail are still down. He is being very sleepy and slow today, no sign of playing at all, poor baby. He has been licking quite a lot today, but I think it is mostly around the wound, not the actual stitches. Is this okay or should I start fashioning him an elizabethan collar? I'm relieved he hasn't had to have one yet as I hated seeing my cat in one. I hope that Zorro is doing okay today. Hopefully they're both feeling better soon.

My Puppy, a Bichon, has just started cocking his leg at everything on our walks and a couple of days ago made his first break-out and dash for freedom. He is also less obedient and humps my leg occasionally (and no I'm not happy at all). He is not even quite 6 months yet! I thought it would happen later than this. I'm now very desperate to get him desexed but we have to save. How much does it usually cost? Do these adolescent behaviours improve after desexing or is it already too late?

That's really sweet. I wish my puppy had an adult dog to do that for him. He keeps getting a light red stain around his mouth (he's white so it very noticeable). Is this normal? The poor little thing must be so sore. He is also biting us more and I'm wondering if it is because his mouth is sore and he is frustrated and doesn't know what to do with it. :rolleyes:

So it can start as early as 4 months? Herwin has been really difficult for the last week or so. He's been running away from us when he's been naughty because he knows that he is going into timeout (and even when we want to wipe his muddy paws ). He has also started biting a lot all of a sudden. We thought we had it under control and then he's started as badly as he ever did (and then running away ) as well as doing all the little things that he knows that he's not allowed to do all the time. I was shocked last night when he actually started trying to hump my husband's leg . He's too young for that sort of behaviour isn't he? Don't tell me my sweet little puppy is turning into a teenager already? And if he starts at 4 months does that mean that he is a teenager for 8 months?? or will we have a lovely well behaved adult at 8mths old? :p

Sorry to hi jack a little but is drinking his pee while doing it related? Is that a problem?

I'm sorry I just wrote a really long reply and just lost it. And now I don't have time to write another. Thank you for your advice. We are now trying out very short walks in the front yard. But he still freaked out when the car went past. I wish that treats would work, but it seems to be the only time in his life that he is not enthralled by treats. He was completely oblivious to us and the treats... Is a flexi lead the same as an extender flippy lead? Because we got one so that he wouldn't learn about pulling. So what did you use instead so that he could just explore and sniff? Did you use a very long lead or just follow him everwhere? I think that they were my main questions. I'm sorry the reply with quotes and stuff was soo much better. argh computers

Thanks for replying so quickly. I have been practicing in the backyard for a couple of weeks, because I really wanted him to be comfortable on the leash, and he never pulled. If it is too much too soon, should I make the walks shorter? because I can't really go anywhere quieter than we already are. Do you think that we have now done damage and it will be much harder? Oh dear I thought the extender lead would introduce him to the outside world without pulling. I'm really upset about it because I really wanted to do the right thing with lead training from the beginning. ;)

I'm so frustrated because I have no idea what went wrong. We've been looking forward to our puppy Herwin (Bichon frise) being fully vaccinated so that we can take him out into the world. His very first walk on the extending lead went really well. He was calm and even came when I called about 80% of the time and then he was walking nicely beside me. The next day we took him out and he seemed more reluctant and then we got vaguely near a road with cars on it and he flipped out. He was trying to sprint back home and therefore pulling fiercly on his lead. We kept trying to calm him down but he got so worked up he was completely oblivious to us. The next day we stuck to the quiet area but he still flipped out again. We had him walking quietly for a little bit, but then he would flip out... I thought I'd start again and go for another gentle have-a-sniff-where-you-like, no pressure walk so he would like the outside again and he flipped out as soon as we got out the door, before we even got to the end of our front path. Once again I finally calmed him down enough to pick him up and took him to the reserve across the street and he began happily sniffing although completely ignoring me when I called more and more and pulling on his lead. Then he got more and more upset and flipped out again. I tried to get him to calm down before we got home, but I couldn't so I gave up and came home and he immediately calmed down when I took the lead off. I'm sorry this is so long, but because I don't know what went wrong I thought if I told you the story some wise person could tell me what I did wrong. Thank you so much for getting through such a long post. I'm at a complete loss and I'm really disappointed that I messed up such a crucial stage somehow.

We're are getting tired of playing the same two games with our puppy. Maybe we could all share some games that we and our puppies love to play? Thanks look forward to it.

I'm so glad we're not alone! It seems like nearly all puppies do this. We have had lots of problems with it. I think it is slowly finally improving though. The water bottle is quite effective for our puppy. It has actually now made our ah ahs generally more effective too. He is even now starting to look sorry sometimes when he has hurt me. It still continues though...can't wait til it stops completely...

We have a canvas crate because it is so much lighter and easier to move around and put in the car etc. Herwin hasn't done any damage to it yet, but maybe he isn't in the truely destructive stage (only 3 months). We really like canvas but not an expert...

So I really need to teach my puppy to 'stand' (been brushing him lying down...) How do I teach a puppy to stand?

Thanks for answering. Actually I am home quite a lot, and sometimes when I'm at home I need to be able to keep him in the laundry/outside by himself for a couple of hours, but he can probably still hear me moving around inside. Is this worse than just going away and leaving him, because he is wondering what he did wrong and why he can't come inside with me? Do you think that it is confusing to be left alone when I'm out and also when I'm at home?

I'm just wondering how long it is ok to leave a puppy alone if he has access to the laundry and outside and fresh water etc? (basically so I can stop worrying. )

But now I'm curious, when do the testicles descend?

oh yeah...he started digging a few days ago He started off digging with his face but he is now much more efficient with his front paws He seems to like sitting in his dug up area too, and chewing on everything he digs up. So does the digging and eating everything lessen?