Hello everyone :)

I have today read some fantastic posts from people using this forum, some really good practical advice which is why I have decided to join and post this topic

My puppy is 14 weeks old and to be honest I am at my wits end with her, today she has escaped from my garden several times, biten and scratched my teenage daughter and left her in tears, she has peed and pooed in my daughters bedroom despite being put outside, she has also attacked my 9 year old son while he was playing in  the garden.

She is now fast asleep by my feet as I am typing this like a little angel.

I have asked for advice from my vet, from my friendly pet store owner and from a friend who has trained working dogs for most of his adult life. No one has yet been able to help me.

I was given a clicker and told how to use it, within one day my pup was sitting, staying, coming and walking on a lead, which is fantastic but it didn't stop her aggressive behaviour and then the next morning the click thig was gone (I think she ate it to be fair)

I was told to pin her by my friend if she was growling or biting, like her mother would do, it just made her more angry if I am honest.

The vet told me to look for Jan Fennel on the internet and although I found her I couldn't find out what she did until I came here and after reading some of your posts I smiled deeply because I already don't feed her until I have eaten, she walks through the door behind me and I ignore her when she jumps on me.  Yet she is still really aggresive and bites with fury in her eyes, my older dog (he is 10) keeps looking at me and asking when are you taking it back.

If anyone can help me I would be most grateful and so I am sure would my children my dog and my beautiful puppy x

:)

First of all, relax! Your puppy is behaving like an absolutely normal puppy - yes, really! We've all been through all of this with all our puppies, so here sre the tips that I've learned that really work!

Regarding the 'biting', have a read of The Bite Stops Here; better, in fact, to print it off and get the whole family to read it. Remember that puppies have no hands to play games with, only their mouths, and it's not their fault that their teeth are like needles and that we humans are feeble softies! It takes a pup some time to learn to be gentle with us - that we can't play the same way as their siblings would.

>she has also attacked my 9 year old son while he was playing in  the garden.

Puppies easily get 'wound up' and over-excited, especially by children who can have high-pitched, exciting voices and make sudden movements. If people stay calm and quiet around the puppy, the puppy is more likely to stay calm and quiet too. Make sure, too, that she has plenty of naps - puppies, like toddlers, are rubbish at gauging how tired they are and will keep on going till they're exhausted - which is when the tantrums start!

>she has peed and pooed in my daughters bedroom despite being put outside

Don't 'put' her outside. 'take' her outside. Someone needs to go out with her so that she can be praised when she 'performs'. That also means she can't escape from the garden (your task for tomorrow is to make it totally dog-proof!). And tell your daughter to make sure her bedroom door is shut!

>I was told to pin her by my friend if she was growling or biting, like her mother would do, it just made her more angry if I am honest.

Yes, that would terrify her, so she'll try to protect herself. Aggressive acts like that are bound to end in tears.

My puppy is 14 weeks old and to be honest I am at my wits end with her, today she has escaped from my garden several times,

To be fair to the pup, most dogs would escape given half a chance, it's just what dogs do, so YOU need to make sure the fence is 100 % escape proof. :) Most puppy problems are far better prevented than cured. :) Just like you would make sure a toddler cold not get out of your garden or house.

biten and scratched my teenage daughter and left her in tears

Could you explain a bit more here please, how did it happen? What was the pup doing, what was you daughter doing? Pups play a lot using their teeth -they've learnt that from their littermates, so it's probably just a case of her needing to learn some manners. Here's a good article in that subject:
http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

she has peed and pooed in my daughters bedroom despite being put outside,

Puppies that age don't know any better, they're babies, with small bladders and short memories!, so again, you need to restrict what she can and can't do. No unlimited access to the house until she has learnt to be house trained. Use one room only, ideally the kitchen or another easily cleaned room, and close it off with a baby gate. As she becomes more reliable, you can increase the freedom she has in the house.

she has also attacked my 9 year old son while he was playing in  the garden.

Again, can you explain a bit more, what did she do, what did he do, what did she look/sound like etc? I'm trying to work out if it was just play in the puppy's eyes, and misunderstood by the rest of you -puppies don't normally "attack" but can appear very aggressive in rough play. How old was she when you got her, and did she have littermates?

I was told to pin her by by my friend if she was growling or biting, like her mother would do, it just made her more angry if I am honest.

Yes that will definitely make things worse so don't do that. It's simply NOT true that bitches will pin down their puppies -I breed and I have NEVER seen a bitch do this. They use body language, nothing else, they just don't get physical with puppies. At worst they may growl.

Snap JG, you type faster than me, LOL!

First of all, relax! Your puppy is behaving like an absolutely normal puppy - yes, really! We've all been through all of this with all our puppies,

Thank you, I really needed to hear that,

the rest of your post is wow so thanks again x

Hi there and welcome to the forum.

Wow. It sounds like you have a perfectly normal, healthy puppy who I am sure will grow into a wonderful dog who will make you all proud. :-)  Fourteen weeks old is a nightmare, isn't it??? Like the terrible twos, only with teeth!

What you are describing is perfectly normal behaviour, so please don't get upset or think your puppy is the worst in the world. Your puppy is a baby with bundles of energy, and the only way it can explore the world around it is with its teeth. So, if it finds something new, it bites it. If it gets excited, it uses its mouth. What you need to do is teach it what it can and cannot bite, and stop it having access to things that it can damage or can do it harm until it is older. Also, like a baby, it has virtually no control over its bowels and bladder, so it is going to go to the toilet pretty much wherever it is when it needs to go. By fourteen weeks, you can do some housetraining, but mainly it is up to you knowing when the pup needs to go to the toilet rather than waiting for the puppy to tell you.

First of all, please do not pin your puppy. You are not its real doggy mother. If you pin it, you will scare it and no wonder it will bite. Also, it is much less likely to trust you the next time you go near it.

In my experience, there are two things you can do to manage playbiting (which I think is what you mean when you say the puppy has attacked and bitten your kids). First of all, whenever the puppy bites, even if it doesn't hurt, yelp like a puppy and stop playing with the puppy for a few minutes. Ignore it no matter how much of a fuss it makes. Then, when you are ready start playing with the puppy again using a toy and not your hands. If the puppy still wants to bite, put him in his crate (you do have a crate, don't you?) or in another room, just for two minutes. Let him back in when he is quiet. If he still bites, put him in the crate for 5 minutes. He will learn.

The second thing I would do is something I was taught in one training class but have never heard anywhere else, but I think it works. Spend five minutes feeding the puppy tiny bits of chicken with your fingers. Most of the time, say "take it" and let the puppy take the chicken. But every third of fourth piece (at random, not a pattern), say "Stop" in a firm voice. Normally, the puppy will stop. If it doesn't say "Stop Now" very firmly. Do NOT let the puppy eat that piece of chicken from your hand. Hold on tight! Eventually, he will stop trying to eat it, and then you put that piece on the floor for him to eat and praise him. Then, carry on with the next piece. After a few goes, he will stop chewing your fingers when you say the "Stop" command. Repeat this a few times a day for two or three days, and then stop practising. In future, he should stop nipping when he hears the Stop command given firmly and calmly. If he doesn't stop, put him in his crate for 5 minutes as above.

And also, watch how the kids play with the puppy. An excited child will mean an excited puppy, which means playbiting and then tears. Puppy teeth are like needles, but they will all be gone by about six months. After that, the nipping should stop, but all this training is important as it will stop your dog biting as an adult.

The other problem you have is toilet training, but to be honest, what on earth was a fully loaded puppy doing in your daughter's bedroom??? :-) At fourteen weeks, my dogs spent most of their day in the kitchen, where I know they will usually go to the door if they need to go to the toilet. However, even if they don't want to go out, they get taken out five minutes after every meal, every time they wake up from a nap, and every hour on the hour unless they are asleep. So long as you do this, and always take them out the same door, they will learn what they need to do. As for holding it, accidents will happen, and that's why my guys never leave the tiled kitchen floor until I know they can handle it. If you need extra help, get a copy of "How to housebreak your dog in seven days" by Shirlee Kalstone. It's easy stuff, but it does work.

Another thought from your post, in my opinion, no dog at this age should be left unsupervised unless they are in their crate or in their safe place (say, in a pen in the kitchen). If your puppy is escaping the garden, and going into your daughter's bedroom, is it being allowed to wander unsupervised, or is it doing this in front of you? Just wondered.

It doesn't sound like you have enrolled in any training classes. If not, please do so NOW and before the dog gets to any older than sixteen or eighteen weeks. Training as a puppy is vital and any trainer should be able to help you out with the problems you describe, which are what every puppy owner goes through. You don't need to do any of this alone.

And I completely sympathise with what you say about your older dog. Our first girl took weeks to forgive us when we got our second. Best mates now. Usually. :-P

Your pup sounds like a terror, but they all are. Just wait until he hits seven months and the trouble really starts! Have fun and let us know how you get on.

Could you explain a bit more here please, how did it happen? What was the pup doing, what was you daughter doing? Pups play a lot using their teeth -they've learnt that from their littermates, so it's probably just a case of her needing to learn some manners. Here's a good article in that subject:

My daughter tried to catch her after she escaped from the garden (which is now secure I brought home some fencing :) and the puppy didn't want to be caught so she bit her and when my daughter picked her up she bit and scratched her which made her bleed,

Puppies that age don't know any better, they're babies, with small bladders and short memories!, so again, you need to restrict what she can and can't do. No unlimited access to the house until she has learnt to be house trained. Use one room only, ideally the kitchen or another easily cleaned room, and close it off with a baby gate. As she becomes more reliable, you can increase the freedom she has in the house.

I always take her out myself to be clean and she responds really well, I think I am having more of a job training my daughter to take her out instead of just putting her out, if the front door is open the pup will go outside as a preference but if my daughters bedroom door is open she prefers to go in there, I will get a baby gate because that seems like a brilliant idea :)

re she attacked my 9 year old

Again, can you explain a bit more, what did she do, what did he do, what did she look/sound like etc? I'm trying to work out if it was just play in the puppy's eyes, and misunderstood by the rest of you -puppies don't normally "attack" but can appear very aggressive in rough play. How old was she when you got her, and did she have littermates?

She had two litter mates, mum was chained all of the time, what is happening with my son is even if he quietly walks past her she jumps on the back of his legs and bites his ankles, he cries with pain and even if I scold her she won't leave him be, if he walks up stairs she bites him if he goes to the toilet she bites him, I think the idea of a baby gate would really help as she wouldn't have free run of the house as she does now. I still think it is a problem though because he is a gentle boy he is calm and easy going, I haven't seen him taunt or provoke her if anything he is a little wary of her, when I said playing he was wandering down the path chatting to me while I was fixing the fencing.

The pining her didn't really help and is not something I would ever try again x

I am off to read the links in your posts :) x [i/]

Thank you so much for replying x Melody

I can not add anything because there is nothing to add.

But... yep normal puppy behaviour

Yet she is still really aggresive and bites with fury in her eyes

I doubt it was fury lol More like intent lol

All puppies are different, some are hyper and climb the curtains, some are chilled and some are nervy, you have picked a puppy which is an excitable puppy and needs some channelling of energy :)

No puppy that young is aggressive, it just isnt possible so now you know that you can see the situation differently and be more positive :)

All the above advice is excellent, im sure she will calm down in time, our boy Turbo had a liking for the tips of toes when he was young and had me and Matt nearly in tears lol but its all innocent puppy play just make sure you walk her frequent and small amounts and if she gets hyper go into the garden with her to drain some of the excess energy! :)

I doubt it was fury lol More like intent lol

Thank you this it made me laugh a lot which is just what I needed x

You are right she has intent in her eyes and she is a collie so rounding up ankles is probably just second nature :)

This evening while I was making dinner I attached her to my older dog by her lead and let him look after her bless him he wouldn't let her chase my son upstairs he just took her in the opposite direction towards me and sat down.

I have since been playing with some chicken and the words "take it" and "off" she seems to have caught on really quickly, I had my son walk past her and when she went for his ankles I said off and she did :) I made him run past too and although she had intent lol in her eyes she left him alone :)

I feel in a much better place right now with her, and when I look at her I have that falling in love again feeling that I had when I first saw her all covered in crap and fleas lol

thank you everyone x x

> I have since been playing with some chicken and the words "take it" and "off" she seems to have caught on really quickly, I had my son walk past her and when she went for his ankles I said off and she did :-) I made him run past too and although she had intent lol in her eyes she left him alone :-)
>

Aww bless her she sounds like she is responding really well to her training and resisting the urge to herd as it were lol ;) Collies are like sponges when learning so you should have loads of fun :)
Carry on with what your doing and she will be a star pupil in no time, dont forget puppy classes too as these are invaluable for having a well trained dog :) 
Puppies have short attention spans so its a good chance to do the training little and often and more times then not it tuckers them out nicely with some simple training and fetching :)

Glad I could cheer you up hun :)
A new puppy is alot to take on and they can be right little monsters sometimes cant they!!! lol

Your doing very well with your girl, well done!!! :-D

i got my boy at the start of the year and to be honest i had totally forgot how much work a puppy is! so we all understand. have you thought about getting a crate? i used one when my boy was young, gave him somewhere to go to chill out, was his own wee space and he loved it! i would shut him in at night, and during day leave the door open. i  found he often went in of his own accord for a lie down, and if he was getting too silly i could give him something to chew on and put him in for a time out.
also recommend the training classes, i took my boy to a local puppy school class, it was great, very helpful and chatting to the other owners you realise you arent alone!!

I am going to get a crate tomorrow :)

My vet recomended Jan Fennel training methods

it is £100 for a consultation does anyone know if it is worth it?

all smiles here thanks to everyone who answered my post

For training I think the best place to look for puppy classes in your local area is the APDT as they have classes all over the UK and their puppy classes are excellent :)
Just google APDT and your away :-D

Have you ever owned a dog before & have you ever owned a Collie(Border ???) ?

If you try the JF method(one size fits all)you will end up with a complete wreck of a dog. No one needs a celeb behaviourist with a young puppy-JF doesn't charge £100 she charges an awful lot more & I doubt you will get her in person it will be one of her "trained"associates. They all believe in domination of dogs by their owners. I've never met anyone who has used her method(the same for all dogs), the way she teaches it, successfully. It is very much like the Dog Whisperers methods ie based on defunct studies on captive artifical wolf packs

>My vet recomended Jan Fennel training methods; it is £100 for a consultation does anyone know if it is worth it?

>If you try the JF method(one size fits all)you will end up with a complete wreck of a dog. No one needs a celeb behaviourist with a young puppy-JF doesn't charge £100 she charges an awful lot more & I doubt you will get her in person it will be one of her "trained"associates. They all believe in domination of dogs by their owners. I've never met anyone who has used her method(the same for all dogs), the way she teaches it, successfully. It is very much like the Dog Whisperers methods ie based on defunct studies on captive artifical wolf packs

That'll be a "No" then!

Great post MarkSurrey.

Have you ever owned a dog before & have you ever owned a Collie(Border ???)

I have a 10 year old welsh mountain collie (same breed as the pup) he is a wonderful dog his only vice is if I leave my bedroom door open by mistake he will sleep on my bed, but that is my fault not his, when I was pregnant with my youngest son I fell over and tore the muscles in my stomach my dog seemed to know and would follow me around the house picking things up for me, even fetcthing the washing from the washing pile so I could load the machine, he still follows me around picking things up for me.

I am putting into practice the things that people have posted here and take on board what you said about JF :)

Am seriously in love with this puppy although I was yesterday at my wits end but after reading the replies to my post I have a new determined look in my eye and a lot more peace in  my heart

:)

Thanks for replying x

I am amazed your vet has suggested Jan Fennel for what are perfectly normal puppy behaviours. Any good puppy class will tell you how to handle playbiting and toilet training, together with a whole host of essentials that you won't even know you need until it is too late. You could get a whole six week course for £100, not just a consultation.

I would hold off on contacting a hardcore behaviourist until your dog is older and you are convinced you have a serious problem (which I really don't think you have). For now, establish some bounderies, enjoy the puppy and enroll in an APDT approved course NOW!!!! :-)

Oh, and I should stress that we were told that we must stop the playbiting training with chicken after three days, as by this time the puppy will understand the command and to continue any longer would actually encourage him to nibble your fingers for food (which is the opposite to what you want).

After the three days, you just have to be very disciplined and always use the command whenever the puppy starts nipping - and make sure that everybody in the house practices and knows to tell the puppy "Off" or "Stop" in a calm, determined voice. Screaming won't stop an excited puppy and will just make the nipping worse. Shouting will only ever work for one person in a house - the one with the loudest voice - and with two kids and two dogs the house is probably loud enough as it is!!!

I am not a shouter and my kids are 15 and 9 so there isn't a lot of running around in my house or much roudy noise my daughter is usually on the computer chatting to her friends and my son is playing with his lego in his room.

the pup is responding well to a high pitched noise I make when calling her, she comes straight away even if she is at the bottom of the garden or out for a walk.

I am going to invest in a crate today :)

Hope you all realise how valuable your replies have been to me x

You've had some great advice there Melody & I hope it all works out well for you.  From your posts it sounds like you've rescued the pup & saved her from a dreadful life for which I commend you.  It's been 3 years since Molly was a pup & she was my first dog & I remember well all the typical puppy problems we had & I found this forum invaluable - even if it is to tell you what your pup is doing in perfectly normal & to stop panicking!

All the best, hope you will become an active CD member & keep us entertained with your puppy tails...tales!!! hehe x

> I have a 10 year old welsh mountain collie

Ah then your puppy is a cross breed(Newfoundland x Bernese Mountain Dog & Border Collie)not really a collie as such from what I gather they are called Welsh Mountain Dogs by the woman who thought up the cross, she also used to breed Loughlanders(sp)(Newfoundlands x Bernese Mountain dogs) Aren't they called Welsh Mountain Dogs ? There used to be a website but it seems to have disappeared

Your puppy is simply being a puppy & needs to be trained that is all It is not a nightmare puppy at all.

Vets are not the best place to seek advice on dog behaviour IMHO

Melody3005

You've got some great advice and yes it's just normal puppy behaviour!!  There is a thread on here somewhere (could have been in idle chat?) where a number of our most experienced breeders were saying that the puppy phase isn't one they enjoy, one person said puppies are a necessary evil to get the dog you want!!  It made me laugh but it's a helpful reminder that this phase does pass and the more effort you put it now the better the dog will be later.

You said your children are 15 and 9 - mine were 11 and 12 when our most recent addition came.  Perfectly capable of being sensible but still needed some reminders.  In fact I'm sure I spent as much time training the children as I did the puppy!  Childrens voices are higher pitched and their manner of speech often more exciting to a dog than adults.  Kids tend to be more obvious physical presence around the house, they move quickly, flap arms, run, play with toys, slam doors, thunder up the stairs.  All things that make them very interesting to puppies.  They also tend to engage with your dogs in a different way to the adults in the house.  The adults will feed, train, recall, and shape the behaviours.  Most children don't occupy that space in the dogs life and will play, pet, cuddle and fuss.

We have some simple rules that helped to teach the kids, and puppy, to stay calm.  Here are some of ours: don't talk to the dogs if you're sat at the table, shut the dogs in the house or the other garden before you play football, tennis etc, if you let the dogs out for a pee - stand and watch first or they get distracted and won't go! Wait for the dogs to sit before greeting them, hands flat on your thighs if the youngster starts to mouth, if you're stroking the youngster and he gets over excited in any way - hands off and wait for calm or move away.  When the puppy was little we also had 'no running past the pup' it's too tempting for the pup to join in and get over excited or nippy and also too easy for a small puppy to trip someone up or to get injured.  I also took both kids to training class with me at least once so that they could see what I was working toward; they were then able to help reinforce the important stuff.

Baby gates are a big help, no matter how often I ask the kids to bring dirty laundry downstairs they always forget something which our gundog will search out and bring you as a gift of love.  One day whilst still a puppy he slipped through a half open gate, collected a pair of my sons pants, dashed into my daughters room, jumped on her bed, thrust the pants in her face then peed on her bed with excitement!!  Good job she loved him...

Let us know how you get on with your crate.  I use them as our dogs main beds and they fit under the worksurface in the utility room very well.  I found it very useful to give the puppy some calm time after play or training or sometimes to give my older dog a bit of time off from the baby hooligan.  Neither dog has any concept that the crates are any different to their other beds dotted about the house - I used to always use the door when the youngster was a puppy but now I don't feel I have to.  'On your bed' means the same whether the door is shut or not.

Good luck and keep us posted x

I have a busy household, myself and husband together with two adult children and two teenagers, so to make the right things happen when our dog was the 'nightmare puppy' I actually wrote out  a list of dog rules on the computer, which i added to or took away from over time, and printed out a copy for the kitchen back door, and another for where we kept his lead and toys and another for the door to his food cupboard. that way whoever was feeding him, letting him out into the garden or taking him for a walk or a game had a quick reminder of the guidelines before doing so.

If I could go back to the beginning of this thread I think I would have given it the title of I am having a nightmare with my puppy, I know it is mine and my childrens fault that she is the way she is, but I am willing to learn and have already begun to do the things suggested by everyone who has replied :)

I also sat everyone down and told them how to behave with her so she gets the same message from everyone, at this moment she is in her new crate fast asleep, bless

Once again thank you to you all x

Mel

> One day whilst still a puppy he slipped through a half open gate, collected a pair of my sons pants, dashed into my daughters room, jumped on her bed, thrust the pants in her face then peed on her bed with excitement!!  Good job she loved him...

She must love him to forgive that one.
Your brothers shreddies YUK !!!

Hi Mel

Gosh! I thought you were describing my 14wk old puppy for a minute!!!!  She is doing the same things as yours, I take her into the garden and stay with her, she will do what she has to with lots of praise and come back into the house and sit down and do another wee !!!

The playbiting is getting better now, but does get worse when the grandkids visit, they want to play with her all the time and if she is tired she just does not want to know them, so I put her into her safe house (her cage) and cover it with a throw and tell her "bedtime" this works fine for us.

I have already been to 3 training classes with her and she is getting better every week, so try and find your nearest classes they do help.

The children will need to learn the commands that you are giving her as well i.e. leave, etc.

Hope this helps, you are not alone with your pup, keep posting and we will all try and help you, but it is normal puppy behaviour.

Marguerite

Wow

My pup is already behaving differently,

last night I made dinner for everyone and she sat in her crate playing with the new fill up ball I bought her, she loves cream cheese and beef jerky, she didn't like it at first when I popped out of the kitchen but I kept popping out for 30 seconds and waiting for her to be quiet then going back with lots of praise, in the end I managed a good 15 minutes, when we went for out for our last walk of the day she didn't even attempt to bite my ankles or trip me up like she used to, in fact she even waited for me and my little one to walk through the door first, then at bedtime when I said bed my older boy Drym he went straight into her crate and lay down, the pup was a bit more reluctant so I made a game and eventually she went in quite happy, I told her quite firmly Bed and she lay down, I put Drym next to her outside the crate on his bed turned off the light and closed the door, at 6.45am I went down to let them both out for a wee and there was no mess :) she even waited for Drym to come back into the house first, usually she would have attacked him on the way back to the house and then barged past him, he seems to realise that something is different too as he peed over her pee, something he has never done before and she nuzzled his mouth, something she has never done before :)

I am sooooo happy x :)

Everyone needs a crate :)

> One day whilst still a puppy he slipped through a half open gate, collected a pair of my sons pants, dashed into my daughters room, jumped on her bed, thrust the pants in her face then peed on her bed with excitement!!  Good job she loved him...

that made me laugh so much :)

When we moved to this house three years ago the kitchen being too small for a washing machine meant I had to put it outside in the outhouse, we all put out washing out there and one day I left the door open, Drym being the helpful boy he is decided that the washing pile needed a good sorting and he rummaged through it, then finding a pair of my knickers he trotted over and handed them to my neighbours son and all his mates who were in  the garden having a few beers, when I arrived home from work I popped out into the back garden to the sounds of cheers and my knickers being waved around, I was mortified lol

Drym was wagging his tail like he was the best dog on the plantet (which he is obviously lol)

Ah then your puppy is a cross breed(Newfoundland x Bernese Mountain Dog & Border Collie)not really a collie as such from what I gather they are called Welsh Mountain Dogs by the woman who thought up the cross, she also used to breed Loughlanders(sp)(Newfoundlands x Bernese Mountain dogs) Aren't they called Welsh Mountain Dogs ? There used to be a website but it seems to have disappeared

I can't find the website either, I will ask my friend who is a farmer as he has quite a few dogs but most of them look like Kelpie or Kelpie cross

Your puppy is simply being a puppy & needs to be trained that is all It is not a nightmare puppy at all. 

I know that now, when I first posted this thread I was too caught up in my own drama to realise that I was creating a nightmare not the puppy x

Isn't it great when every thing starts slipping into place :)
Well done you for seeing it through and taking onboard all the advice. 
Keep up the good work :)

> when I arrived home from work I popped out into the back garden to the sounds of cheers and my knickers being waved around, I was mortified lol

OMG, how embarrasing!!!!!! LOL

Isn't it great when every thing starts slipping into place 
Well done you for seeing it through and taking onboard all the advice. 
Keep up the good work 

Thank you it really is fantastic, I know I am going to really enjoy this puppy she has the potential to be a really amazing girl, I have found some puppy classes too which I am going to enrol in today :) I feel like I am back in the driving seat now and I am sure the puppy is much happier with some boundaries and a safe haven to sleep and play :) 

We all need a crate lol x