He is up for a play 24/7 and it's quite hard to control him (yes, I know he doesn't understand commands yet). I wake up, take him for a walk, I feel sleepy as I don't get all needed sleep so I want to take a nap as soon as we get back, he doesn't of course, he is all energetic and wants to play just after 6 hours of night sleep (I workout 6 times/week so 6 hours is not enough for me). So basically I try to take a nap for like an hour, then I make myself to get ready for the day, I put him in a crate for 2 hours (which he doesn't want to do) and go to the gym leaving him squeaky and barking, once I come back it's all silent, he is sleeping as I realise, I let him out and he wants to play again and I need to work at least for the next 4 hours, so most of the time he just playing in that time and I am getting ****load of distraction which just kills my results (I work as stock trader). At the moment he only gets physical excersie, we take long walks and do some running, he is too young to go to classes(that's what my breeder told me), but I will try to give it a call, these guys are good.
I'll admit I found my first puppy as an adult to be difficult. If you think you can push through it, I would recommend finding a local trainer (NOT PetSmart/Petco) and enroll in a puppy class. That way you have someone to discuss these issues and can get hands on help addressing them.
All puppies are full of energy and will keep going if you let them, doesn't mean you should. I gave Katsu and Steel structured down time where they would HAVE to nap. Steel being 18 weeks still gets his structured down time on the weekends.
In the long run, yes it gets better, but your life will never go back to the same "pre-dog" state. You will have to dedicate time to this being - play, train, bond. If you were looking for a dog that would just hang out with you on a couch, I would recommend an older dog/different breed.
how do you MAKE them take a nap?
I have another question for you to consider: What is your intent for this WL dog when he gets older? What "job" will he have? Do you have plans to get him into agility or IPO? Did you get him with the intent of being a companion animal only?
There's nothing at all wrong with the latter. But, your puppy will be getting bigger soon and have different needs for mental stimulation and exercise, and this is a pretty important time for you to be building a foundation for tomorrow. Don't waste it!!!
Yes, puppies take a lot of work. Both my husband and I work full time. Luckily, my husband works only 10 minutes from home and could/can usually come home in the afternoon to let the dog out for bathroom breaks and/or a walk. That helps a lot. But, in the mornings and evenings, we both had a schedule we developed for feeding, exercising, training and potty breaks. We often felt like "slaves" to our dog.
Totally worth it.
We put in a lot of work up front, and what we have at this time, almost a year later, is a healthy, happy, well-balanced WL dog that is a joy to be around. He's still work, don't get me wrong- many nights, after I get home late from work and classes, all I want to do is catch up with some stuff on the internet, and as soon as I open the laptop and start tapping on keys, that dog comes over and wants attention. I get annoyed. But then I think "this guy's been alone most of the day and I guess it's nice that he wants me to interact with him!" Sometimes I play tug with him while typing (NOT efficient), sometimes if I play with him for 15 minutes he's satisfied. Then on weekends I make sure to take him for longer, more interesting walks and have more play time. This helps him relax and sleep.
I know you need time to focus on work. You'll be more likely to get it if you play with your pup for a short period, and let him sleep. Train him for a short period, and let him sleep. Training and play can happen at the same time. Also, you can train the pup to entertain himself with some good toys. The more stimulation he gets, the easier it will be for him to relax for longer periods and let you get work done.
Do keep in mind what you want out of this dog as an adult, and if you put in the time, you'll have a really great dog later.
Yes, my main target was IPO, but since it's my first dog and I live alone and work from home this loos like a very difficult target, I feel like I've already lost everything, all my free time, I can't read books, I can't work, I can't watch my favourite tv show, every minute in the day is all about him, keeping him entertained, keeping an eye if he isn't chewing anything he shouldn't be supposed to, not pooping right in front of me and looking at me at the same time(lol) , and I am scared that once he gets out of puppy state he will need even more mental and physical exercising, and I am not sure if I can give him that, because I have plans on going to bodybuilding competition and this looks quite impossible at the moment cause I can't even eat as much food as I need anymore. All my friends who has dogs are living with their girlfriends and their dogs sleeping whole day which looks so easy and I feel like I am the only one struggling while living alone and all dog attention is to me only
I personally have more questions than answers.
You said you researched, what made you go with a WL GSD? What are your plans?
Do you have plans to get him into a breed savvy training program?
It sounds like someone may have given you a high drive WL without adequately preparing you. A good breeder WILL make sure you are prepared AND understand.
When you say he doesn't need sleep- like a toddler he may need it but not want it. You need to give him down time. Needing sleep and not getting it, like kids, can make them even more over the top. Get a routine where he is crated and comes out every few hours to eat, relive himself, and play for a little bit. Not where he is free all day and only crated 2 hrs. They can get overstimulated.
Will it get better? Depends on what you are willing to put into it, and if you have the aptitude and patience to do it in a way that shapes him properly for what he is. It is not for everybody.
Your post reads like a first time parent who just realized colic is a THING and not a myth. If you are truly distraught over it, I would look to give him back to the breeder while he is still young. However I would not judge your state of mind and ability to deal with this merely by reading a vent post. I distinctly remember being on a parent forum when my INFANT was 12 weeks old, had 3 weeks straight of day night confusion, and the jist of my post was I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep her lol
Sorry, it throws a lot of us off guard. A lot of things in life do. Educate yourself, put the time in to find PROPER resources for that (the education), be consistent, and yes it will get better. Could take like 18 months..in general (not a rule of course but in general and particularly with a known good breeding) people find they mature around age 2. This is all stuff that would have been available during a typical research period before getting a WL GSD.
Good luck, and there is a lot of good advice to be found on this forum
Originally I wanted SL GSD, but did lots of reading and some said that WL is more "interesting" breed with higher drive and it looked all fun when I imagined how I throw him everything and he just brings it back to me lol, HOWEVER, I knew that this might be a bad idea and told the breeder point blank that I work from home and I need at least 4 quiet hours in a day, is it possible with WL ? He said that sure thats easy since puppies sleep a lot, almost all day, I trusted him and went for it, and now it looks nowhere as near as he said. He does sleep, but very far from all day, its like 1.5 hours of sleep and he is good to go again. Breeder is not professional, they have puppies only once a year, but they are registered officially and successfully completed all health inspections.Oh, and he didn't give me anything, I had to choose, it all went down "by queue" principle, so if you are 4th who paid money, you are choosing your dog after first 3 people chosen theirs, which is the first time I've ever seen.
Great post! And I agree, this could go either way. The short answer is yes, it does get easier. The first few months, and especially the first few weeks with a new puppy, are typically much more difficult than once he's 6 months, a year, two years old. But that's predicated on a lot of things - his genetics, your knowledge and experience with dog behavior and training (and/or what the resources for such are in your area), the time and effort you're willing and able to put into raising him.
Some puppies are just busier than others, for lack of a better word. Some seem to have been born with an excellent off switch and will easily settle around the house even if they have a good amount of drive. Obviously, the latter is much easier to deal with. But in either case, it is up to you to exercise him both mentally and physically and to provide him with some structure, which should include plenty of down time. If you're this overwhelmed this early it's possible that he just isn't the right puppy for you. From your post I'm not seeing any indication that you're feeling connected to him at all. Without that connection, without wanting to engage with him or him wanting to engage with you there's not much payoff to get you through the harder parts of puppyhood.
Halo was a bit of a hellion when she was young. She was our 5th GSD so we were not novices, but she was our first WL shepherd. In addition to being a wild and crazy girl, she was also sweet, adorable, charming, brilliant, devious, and delightful. She made us laugh all the time, even when she was being naughty, because she was so brazen, and always totally unrepentant. And while sometimes she was go go go go, she could turn it off like flipping a switch, and chill for awhile. A large part of that I'm sure is genetics, but I also don't constantly indulge my dogs, catering to their every whim, I expect them to adapt to the lifestyle we're able to provide for them.
I can pet him, he sleeps at night, always happy to see me, licking me and biting at the same time (2:1 ratio), but I just find it hard to give him as much attention as he need and I am afraid that later it can get even worse as he will need some decent time and training regularly, and I already gave up my whole life, I can't even do personal workouts to my clients anymore so I have to say that "I'm full" but in reality I ain't doing anything