How would you have handled this?

[lengel]

Zooey went to puppy kindergarten tonight. She was already tired, then she got lots of liver treats at the class. An hour after we returned home, she refused to come with us of the kitchen and into the living room. She wasn't interested in "cookies" and was clearly fighting sleep (she's hyper-vigilant). I very calmly approached her to guide her by her collar but she ran around the kitchen island - twice. I didn't think that it was a good idea to drag out the interaction and she obviously needed to be crated for the night as she wasn't going to go to sleep on her own which has been an issue since we got her. So, I picked her up and carried her to crate, gave her a treat stuffed Kong and thirty seconds later, she was fast asleep.

Obviously, I'm not going to be able to do this for very long and have never done it before. Any ideas? She is 16 1/2 weeks old.

PS This is not a result of lack of training. We have her in three different classes a week now - puppy kindergarten, formal beginning obedience and pre-agility and we train constantly at home. She is the star of two of her three classes. However she was described by her foster mom as being "in a world of her own". She is very intelligent so I'm assuming that this is a level of independence which wasn't exhibited by her littermates.

[moondog]

Well, it sounds like you did just fine. Three different classes a week is quite a bit for a 4 month old puppy.....I'm sure she gets overtired and overstimulated. Take care not to make too many demands on her at this age. When you do your training at home, keep the sessions very short and happy, and give her time to enjoy being a puppy.

If she's the star of two of her three classes, that doesn't sound to me like a puppy who is in a world of her own. It sounds like a puppy who is trying very hard to please you.

When you get home from class, how about sitting down on the floor with her and giving her a nice, relaxing massage to help settle her so she can sleep? She just might need a little help "coming down" after class.

[lengel]

That's a really good idea. Thank you.

I truly believe that Zooey is one of those super smart dogs who needs to be challenged at every opportunity - or else she'll find her own challenges. She's a serious puzzle solver type. When she was nine weeks old, she figured out that she could jump from the treadmill to the ottoman to the couch so that she could join us (acceptable in our house). She didn't mess with pawing our legs or whining or nipping, she just figured it out. We love that about her and encourage it.

[alice's mommy]

If this happens only after class (understandable, as they're usually stuffed full of treats/excitement from class lol), how about keeping the leash on her when you return home? Bring her from the car into the living room (or wherever you have her crate), give her that massage that moondog suggested and off to the crate afterwards. Maybe she'll get in the habit of wanting that massage and knowing that crate time follows? Just like kids, I think these puppies need routine. :)

[CleasMommy]

ok this may sound stupid, but what's the best way to give a pup a massage? It sounds like a great way to bond and make them calm down, and something I'm going to start doing!