I am so worried about my dog situation

I am so concerned....we have a great little puppy, 9 months old, but honestly she's a horror. She's been trained with the best trainer you can get and even he admits to her being like ' a bull in a china shop' - which is funny because she's this tiny little thing - SO cute, but just terribly behaved. She is still not housebroken. You have to watch her every second. And she's VERY talkative. She sleeps in bed with us because I swear after a month of listening to her whine I couldn't bear it any longer. She does sleep through the night, but when she wants up - that's it - and she starts w. the low bark and the whimpering. You can't just put her down on the ground at that point because she'll just pee and poop everywhere.

Please dont' get me wrong - I love her. But she barks constantly when people are eating or when she wants something. She barks at her toys, she barks when you close the door to the bathroom, she barks when you get in the shower because she wants to go in there. She brings toy after toy to be played with...it's endless. I am SO worried about the baby joining this circus. The dog wouldnt' hurt a fly (not that I'll let them hang together on the floor or anything), but she's just such a baby herself and so insistent on my attention. I know when I get up at night for the baby she's going to get up with me and just bark at me or whine and cry.....and then of course she wants to play....

Anybody facing this dilemma?

Jenny, this sounds like the makings of a stressful situation in your house. I wish I had some advice, but we don't have any pets. I definitely think that it will be very difficult for you to have such a demanding dog AND a small newborn who NEEDS your attention to survive. I would be nervous that such a needy animal would become jealous of the baby.

Can you speak to the trainer again, and see if there's a way that you can begin introducing the concept of the baby NOW, so that the dog can get used to it? I think this is critically important. And, I also think you need to get this dog out of your bed before the baby comes. JMO. I wish you the best of luck with this transition...it is very difficult to train a dog, and I cannot even imagine how torn you are feeling!

Torn is the word - because I do love her....and I am really tremendously patient for the most part.

The one thing I can say in her favor is that though my description sounds clingy...she's not much of an 'I want to be with my people all the time' kind of dogs. She just wants to get off the bed and run and play a lot. She sometimes spends an hour on her own just exploring, eating a chew toy, etc. She doesn't jump up to be on your lap or anything like that - which is nice. She'd much rather be left to her own little projects.

Also - we leave her at home during the day - so by the time we get home she is DYING for attention. Maybe when I am home more often she'll not be as demanding? Ugh...it's super scary...

Did you train her using a crate? Some of those problems sound like maybe crate training might help, if you haven't tried it already.

Also, she's still young. When she gets a bit older she probably won't be as demanding.

What kind of dog is she Jenny? Perhaps you can look for a breeder in your area who has some expertise in with this type of dog.

As many of you know my cat is very needy and since I have been home since May she is even more needy. She is rarely in a room alone and when she wakes up in the 'morning' (i use the term loosely becaues 5am is still nightime to me) she wants me up with her. She will go back to sleep after she is feed, but sometimes she only wants to play.

I am very little advise except that you have your hands full and will need additional help. Have you tried to crate her at night? I know that worked for my friend's dog and she got used to it after a few weeks. Yes, you have to listen to the 'crying' but better now than when the baby is sleeping and you are trying to sleep too.

That'a a very tough situation. Arnold is also very demanding, but at least he's house broken.

I wish I had advice, but all I can offer is and the listening ear of a fellow dog mommy.