First off I want to thank everyone who has helped me so far with the advice on other issues and questions, this site is AWESOME!

We knew our choice to add our gsp (willow) to the family would be a whole new adventure for us, So i feel like all I do here is read and ask for help. We are first timers to this breed so I do not have the knowledge to help many people out yet.

So we have several issues going on at the same time, it is becoming overwhelming, especially for my wife and daughter,the biting,growling while she eating,chewing stuff besides her toys,jumping on us and people, STILL peeing in her crate. We do realize that some of these aer just being a puppy at 6 months old. Now every single night for the last 2 weeks she is waking us up at 3:00 to 3:30, my wife and I have been taking turns letting her out to potty, then straight back to the crate,she wakes us up again between 4:30 and 5:00. We are not getting much sleep, I usally stay up till about 11:30 and thats when she goes in her crate for the night or should I say a short nap.LOL

I really need some help and advice on this one, even though we love her to death,my wife and daughter are to the point that they want to sell her and get another breed. My wife is extremely active and talks her on walks/jogs, me not so much of the walking and jogging haha, I prefer the treadmill approach and she has learned to do it pretty well in fact she runs to the trreadmill when she sees it, last night she did 5 miles at a pretty good speed and then we played for about an hour before trying to settle down for the night that was around 10:30,crate at 11:00 up at 3:15 back in crate after potty and up at 4:40

when you are the only male in the house and two of them are unhappy with the 3rd one, then guess who catches the brunt end of everything. You got it, ME

Thanks in advance

Barry

Hi Barry,

Sorry to hear you are experiencing some issues. I don't necessarily think going with a different breed will change the things you are facing as all dogs can develop vices, habits, issues...etc, so much as it would create new dog specific issues. GSPs are incredibly intelligent, and I hate to tell you (as not to rub it in) that Bella was by far the easiest puppy I have ever had (though we put in a lot of consistency, preventative planning, team efforting...etc, and still do on a daily basis).

I know you posted before about the feeding issues so I won't retype all I mentioned on that thread. What is your current routine? Is she "working" for her food? If I can assume and picture the scenario, I would worry that because it has been an issue that maybe right now you guys are bothering her a little too much while she eats, expecting her to be OK while eating, trying too many times to test her by putting your hand around her (all brought with feelings of anxiousness as to whether or not she'll growl). If any of that is true, leave her alone. Let her eat. Just to briefly reinstate what I said before...we would make commotion in the kitchen around her, not physically bothering or, I would make it a point to lightly bump her bum (without acknowledging her) with my leg when I walked by so she would get used to being touched while eating, we would call her away for a treat and allow her to return immediately to her food. Now she eats anywhere, with anything from cats to other dogs to children all moving about her. She couldn't care less. And usually in a rush to eat so she can get back in on the fun. She does generally eat with her tail down, but once she sees someone headed her way she lifts and wags it. Once we are gone it drops again. Don't let that make you anxious, like it originally did me because I assumed she was anxious. If you think it would help, I can make a video of Bella's feeding routine. (Other great ones have been posted on here as well).

With the rough play, we never allowed Bella to get vocal during play sessions (which kept nipping at bay since we weren't rough housing). If she got too vocal and too rough, we simply stood up, ended the play by walking away, and ignored her a bit. I have seen others mention on here a slight squeeze of of the mouth to discourage nipping. We didn't experience nipping so others will have better advice I'm sure. The jumping with an exuberant breed may be an ongoing battle (Bella is much better at almost a year and a half old). It is ongoing less due to your dog's abilities, and more because you can't train people. Dogs are opportunity seekers. Bella knows she cannot jump on me or my husband, and has learned with many of the regular people she sees often. BUT, if a new person is introduced and I don't correct it before I see it coming...she will jump, and if they allow it, she will continue to try).

At 6 months, your dog has body control and should not be having accidents in her crate at night. Does she have accidents during the day? If so, and frequent, you may need to have her checked for a UTI. Are you limiting water intake at night? at her last potty outing before bed, give her extra time and ensure that she is fully eliminating herself. If you do these two things, there is really no reason (if no medical issue) for her to need to go during the night and I would suggest ignoring her requests. She might be learning, even if brief, that it results in seeing you and getting out of her kennel.

Do you obedience train with her throughout the day? I train with Bella at least a little bit (something as small as asking her do a few things in between play moments) daily. Your entire family needs to be heavily involved in this. You guys need to be consistent with commands, reinforcement, consequence for not following through (not punishment, but meaning...one family member can't reinforce the follow through, while one repeats over and over and over again, while maybe another lets the command go unfollowed all together). Your puppy needs a daily routine she on which she can rely (this coupled with obedience training by all family members in and of itself should help battle much of what you are dealing with).

Big pat on the back to you for trying manage it (from the sounds of it, mostly on your own). The gals in your life can't just reap the benefits though, of a well rounded dog, they need to be as involved as you are.

thanks for the responses,we do all the same things for the most part when it comes to the rules we have established for our family that involve willow. we are gone most of the day so she spends that time in the crate,my daughter puts her in the crate at 8:00 a.m and she gets home at 2:45 p.m, i do understand that is a little long for her to be in the crate, after that she does not go back in it until bed time. last week my daughter and i had a lunch date, we took her out before we left, pee and pooped, we were gone for two hrs and came back to a pee soaked crate, we have washed the contents of her crate in the last month atleast 15 times. she has no water after 10:00 before bed,she has had a few accidents during the night, but is mostly during the day during that time she is in there the most,which i understand.

the biting has got better, though she did put a bruise about the size of a silver dollar on my wifes leg last night as we were playing with her as she made her crazy laps around the living room,which is a nightly ritual for us, as she comes by she wants to jump at you and nip, it has got better though.

we did take your advice on the feeding, jusst nudging her as we walk by and also feeding her by hand most of her food and her eating the rest on her on,if she is touched then she will growl no matter what, my daughter wont hardly even feed her because of it cause it scares her, it is the only time she shows any aggression,I started making her sit,lay down or whoa before i give her food and i may just pet her once or twice on the back as she starts to eat and then i walk away.

far as the crate, she goes to her crate almost everytime u ask which was a task in itself, that part has worked great, she is really good about entering her crate, she use to sleep all night long until the last 3 to 4 weeks,it has become very exhausting for my wife and i, she does not let up when she starts, once we get up she will stop barking and whining, she will sit and when u open the door she bolts out of there and heads stright for the door or her food bowl.we do not feed her at that time,it is straight out to potty and straight back to the crate.my wife informed me earlier that she wants to move her in the basement at night and she will go upstairs to sleep at night while i sleep on the main level. not good

I am not ready to give up on her, i also know that we are alot of the problem,its not all her fault,we need to be trained on how to handle her and teach her, most of what we have trained her has come from the suggestions on this site and what we have read in books.

i have never trained a dog other than basic commands so i read all i could before we brought her home, i also have never had this much money invested in one either, so i really want to do right by her, i do work with her daily on all the basic stuff and she does pretty good, she is highly treat motivated, which i am trying to decrease that slowly.

i guess all i can do is keep on keeping on,continue to be consistant,and pray it all gets better and maybe just outof the blue she will get it.

any other suggestions

and thanks for the ones so far

Bag recommendations on food are guidelines at best. Dog by dog as to how much to feed. Bella ranges from being a feeding mad woman to ignoring her breakfast completely. We just adjust accordingly. We also feed a bit more in the winter months since she needs the nutrients for warmth. The suggested feeding for her size and weight of what we feed is 3 cups daily. Right now she gets five daily.

I meant to say too, if your pup is treat motivated, don't feel like you can't use them. Use away, just be sure to also use other options like play and praise so as she ages you can rely more on those. I cut up baby carrots for Bella as healthy snacks or treats.

I sleep in earplugs because I sleep with snorers. One has two legs, the other has four. I won't name names.  they are really very unbothersome. I'm so used to them now I use them even when the hubbs... I mean, the two legged snorer is out of town. they will be a big aid in helping you sleep and ignore the cries.