I've been doing pretty much OK. Of cours
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I've been doing pretty much OK. Of course some days are worse than the others, but my puppy just hit 4 months, is starting to change his teeth, and honestly I feel like I made a terrible mistake. This seems to be a typical response and I was ready for all the emotional ups and downs - but boy is this difficult!
My puppy is mostly good, he knows where to pee and doesn't have too many accidents, he sleeps through the night, he stopped bitting my hands - but man, today he peed inside, made a hole in the new grass patch I made with wood, took the grass patch out, made a mess inside (dirt everywhere), then stole several shoes, then ate a plant, broke a door, and he still won't stop! He's starting to reach the tables and wants to steal everything.
Not to mention the barking and tantrums!
And the day started great! I take him on walks, I play with him, I have all the toys, I just ordered a crate (because I didn't have one) to see if that helps...
But I can't do this anymore. I work from home, I watch him all the time, I can't take a break. I just started sobbing a minute ago because I feel. So. Tired.
What should I do right now? Is the plant dangerous? How do I stop this spiral?
Answer
I'll do two quick lookups before drafting the answer — the plant and a check for any regional animal-poison line.
We can't rule anything out until we know which plant he ate — so this is an open exposure. Over the next 2–4 hours, watch him closely for any of these and go to your nearest emergency vet the moment one appears: vomiting, drooling or lip-licking, pawing at his mouth, sudden wobbliness or weakness, tremor, or trouble breathing. He sounds alert and active right now, which is good, but those signs can come on later — don't leave him unattended for a few hours.
For the plant itself: if you can take a quick photo of the plant (or the leaf he chewed) and tell me the name — even roughly, "ivy-looking thing on the porch" or "lemon tree" — that decides whether it's a watch-and-wait or a real worry. The grass patch and dirt he dug up are usually mild GI upset at worst, but I won't carry a "safe" verdict across to the plant he actually ate.
**ight now, in the next 10 minutes**
- Put him somewhere he can't roam: the crate when it arrives, or until then, an exercise pen, a baby-gated kitchen, or a short leash clipped to a heavy table leg or to your belt. Free-roam while you sob is how the day escalates.
- Give him a chew he's allowed to destroy: a frozen Kong stuffed with peanut butter (xylitol-free — read the label), a frozen wet washcloth to gum, or a bully stick he can gnaw for 20 minutes. Teething is the actual driver of the shoe/door/table streak — he's not "bad," his gums hurt.
- Step out of the room for five minutes. Sit somewhere he isn't. Drink water. The plan survives ten minutes away from him.
**To stop the spiral this week**
The shape of your day isn't you failing — it's a 4-month-old who just left the easy-newborn-puppy window and entered teething plus early adolescence. A few small changes break most of this:
- **Enforced naps.** At 4 months he still needs ~18 hours of sleep a day. Overtired puppies bite more, bark more, ignore commands. Try a 1-hour-up, 2-hour-down rhythm: awake for play, training, chews; then crated or penned for a real nap. Most "won't stop" afternoons are just exhaustion.
- **One room, not the whole house.** Pick the room with the fewest shoes, plants, doors, and tables. Block the rest with baby gates or close doors. You can't manage a puppy and an open house at the same time.
- **Swap the thing he wants for the thing he's allowed.** Catch him heading for a shoe, hand him a chew, praise when he takes it. Telling him "no" ten times a day teaches him nothing; replacing the target object teaches him fast.
- **Five-minute training, twice a day.** Sit, down, leave-it, drop-it, name-recall. A 5-minute session that ends on a win beats a 30-minute one you both leave frustrated. Treats in your pocket, not lectures.
- **Walk + sniff, not walk + distance.** Let him smell everything. Sniffing is the off-switch; pavement-pace walks wind them up.
- **The barking and tantrums.** Almost always either over-tired, over-stimulated, or frustrated that you left. A crate nap usually fixes it within ten minutes.
**On you**
What you're feeling has a name — puppy blues — and it peaks right around 3–4 months, when the calm new-baby phase ends and the chewing, testing, adolescent phase begins. It lifts for most people as a routine sets in and the puppy starts listening. You're not failing, and "I can't do this anymore" doesn't mean you can't — it means you need a break, a smaller space, and a sleep schedule for him.
If over the next couple of weeks the exhaustion tips into hopelessness, dark thoughts, or you can't get out of bed, that's not puppy blues, and your GP is the right next call. One sentence to a doctor is enough.
**Honest limits**
- I can't name the plant risk without knowing the plant — a photo or rough description will let me give you a real answer.
- I don't have a country for you this turn, so no specific animal-poison hotline to hand you. For any of the warning signs above, your nearest 24-hour vet is the right first call — not a wait-and-see at home.
- The behavior advice is general, not a plan for your specific dog. If the chewing, barking, or door-darting keeps escalating once the crate is in and a sleep rhythm is set, one or two sessions with a force-free puppy class (or a vet-behaviorist consult) usually pays for itself in saved shoes and saved sleep.