How do you keep your new puppy from depressing your wife?

dog crates for yellow lab image

The Genera

My wife and I recently got a new puppy (5 weeks old yellow lab), now the puppy is 8 weeks old and has really become accustomed to her environment. My wife is really bearing the brunt of this dog. My wife only works 3 days a week, so she is home the rest of the time; just her and the puppy. The puppy is starting to jump up on the sofa, grab things off of the coffee table, bite my feet, still not house trained...etc, so she obviously has to be watched constantly!
I know all these things will get better with time, but how do I keep my wife from wanting to get rid of the puppy in the mean time? We are crate training the dog, but I don't know if its ok to leave the dog in the crate when my wife is home, only to come out play a little bit every hour, and then go back in until I get home, when there will be two of there to watch her. Also, until we move in a few months, we don't have much of a yard.

Answer
The crate training that you've described sounds good - it will also have the side effect of the pup not developing separation anxiety. If the dog were with your wife every single second that she was home, then it would be a horror for the pup to be left alone. This way, she can be rewarded by your wife for hanging out in her crate quietly. Dropping treats into the crate as rewards for this good, quiet behavior is a good habit to get in to.
Joining a puppy training group such as Start Puppy Training here on YAhoo will help with the many other questions and issues that you are going to have:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/spt/
There are a lot of great trainers posting to that list and it's an all-positive group. Hope you join and find some answers there!
I am dismayed that a breeder was selling 5 week old pups. This is inexcusable and illegal in many states. Please be certain to go to a puppy socialization class as soon as you possibly can - the window of opportunity that you have to socialize this dog is starting to close. This is very serious - an unsocialized dog will become fearful and aggressive, eemingly overnight. Please be a responsible dog owner!

What can I put in my dogs crate with her to lie on?

emilycnrd

My 9 month old yellow lab pup always chews on whatever I put in her crate, like a doggy bed. But it's getting colder, and I want her to be comfortable. What else could I put in there? Thanx!

Answer
My dog doesn't usually sleep in her crate anymore, but when she did we put a piece of carpeting big enough to cover the whole bottom of her crate along with a blanket for her to make a little den in and a chew toy. And a stuffed animal of course! But with a young puppy like that, a stuffed animal may not be a good idea, it might be destroyed by morning! Stick with just the chew toys such as a rubber bone or a Kong with a treat inside to keep her busy.

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Title Post: How do you keep your new puppy from depressing your wife?
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