So I got a puppy...

[IcarusSomnio]

Yep.
I got a puppy.
Today.

A freakishly adorable 8 week old cutie pie
(has no self control

)


The story on him is that he's a LabxWeim, but I think he may have a touch of Chow in him going by the way his tail is held occasionally. He has some funky spots on his tongue and gums. I quadruple checked on that it's like a birthmark, not some funky disease. Labs are supposed to have them on occasion.

He is SUCH a sweet puppy, VERY mellow but intelligent, fun, and brave. Not a dominate dog, but not a wimp either.
Black with a splotch of white on the chest

Will be huge. He weighs a ton already, has a broad chest, heavy bone, lovely little head. Really a nice mutt dog, I see birds in his future.


So! I have this eight week old cutie pie sleeping behind me on the floor. I wormed him today with a full-spectrum dewormer and will be getting his shots soon. I want him to get clear of worms and get the few ounces he should have on him before hand. No ticks, maybe some minor fleas, will be getting Frontlined ASAP, of course. No fleas in this house!

I got a couple questions regarding him, it's been so long since I've kept a pup.

1. Any tips on housebreaking? What time should I get up in the dead of night to take him out?
I've been training myself to watch him 100% of the time instead of 98.8% of the time. I'm just to trusting with my two year old and five year old doggies. He's pee'd twice in the house today, I caught him in the act. A firm (but not too firm, it's not his fault after all) pop on the rump to stop the flow, a scolding "No!" then a rush outside. I've just about praised myself hoarse over him, my neighbors must think I'm nuts.

2. Tips on crating?
I've crated him when I left the house for no more then 2-3 hours with Duke, my very 'bombproof' Weimaraner. He has a huge kennel and the pup really trusts him, he likes following him around when we all trek outside. Duke is just basking in the attention, Hazel's a bit jealous (SHE'S all about playing).
He goes absolutely bugnuts when you leave. A firm "NO." is doing the trick and settles him down very quickly. He does it for the attention-all out howling, real heart breaker. I don't have a really good sized kennel for him at the moment, and Duke's kennel is a pain to move, so I figure I'll just set the alarm for in the night and get up to let him out. Routine, routine, routine!

3. Tips on feeding?
I've decided to put him on a thrice-a-day feeding. One cup of Iams puppy kibble (he hasn't finished a bowl yet) and nearly unlimited water. I have water out 24/7 for my big dogs (they get full access to food too, the puppy is far to short to get into the auto feeder). He pretty much sticks by me so he generally drinks when I wander into the other side of the house. I think I'll limit it when he gets more independent. Right now he's fast asleep, stretched out on the carpet

And, of course, he chews on everything BUT the tiny rawhide bones and doggie chew toys. He's gnawed on computer parts (dad has fans and gizmos all over the place), shoes, pants, the other dogs, and barked at the cat (cat is greatly amused by this). Just need to find his 'special' toy I suppose

Pictures promised! Gotta feed the baby bunnies now, then off to bed for me.

 

[Akane]

Doesn't matter how many or how desireable of toys you give a puppy. If you don't keep things picked up they become chew toys. It's pretty much guranteed that at least one item of high value will be destroyed before the puppy is grown up no matter how careful you are. For my akita it was a calligraphy pen and for our shiba it was a several $100 pair of sunglasses. Both objects were knocked down by the cat so they weren't even left within reach. If you don't pick things up and supervise that number probably goes up to a dozen items. Best thing for a puppy is to be supervised or crated/penned 24/7. We just spent $2100 on surgery to remove ingested items and that was my adult dog who rarely gets in to things she shouldn't. We've had to make the shiba puppy who does get in to everything vomit through use of hydrogen peroxide a few times. Our house is covered in toys, chewies, and they spend several hours a day chewing up raw bones. Doesn't keep them from grabbing anything the cat knocks down or taking apart the trash can if the mood strikes them. Eating computer parts probably makes a nice vet bill and if you don't catch the problem immediately such things are highly likely to end with a dead dog. My sister's friends who didn't supervise or take their dogs to the vet when they thought they might have gotten in to something went through 3 puppies and 1 adult in 3 years due to ingested objects before they decided dog ownership wasn't for them.

Any tips on housebreaking? What time should I get up in the dead of night to take him out?
Don't pop him or anything. You will just make a dog that won't pee in front of you or spooks at your hand when you want a dog that pees when you tell them to outside. It will make your trips outside a lot shorter if he doesn't think he will get in trouble for peeing in front of you. Just give a negative noise or short no and haul them outside. Keep a towel handy to stick under them if need be so you don't dribble pee through the house. If accidents are happening take them out more often. If that isn't enough then if they haven't gone in awhile start sticking them in a crate in between trips outside until they do go potty. Then they can run around again. Take them out immediately upon waking up or releasing from the crate and shortly after eating or drinking a lot.

2. Tips on crating?
Every dog should have it's own crate and not get used to sharing. Use lots of treats and praise. Feed them their meals in the crate. Once a day collect all toys and throw them in the crate so they have to go get them. Note-this only works if you are keeping the house picked up like you should be otherwise it will only encourage finding random objects to chew on instead. The crate should be their own personal little safe spot. Never send them to the crate as punishment and try not to force them out of it unless it's an emergency.

3. Tips on feeding?
The only specific feeding I ever did for our puppies was just to limit water right before bed and not leave it out overnight. It cuts down on accidents and makes it a lot sooner that you don't have to wake up in the middle of the night.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

My number one new puppy advice-

Peeing / pooping in the house is boring and lame. Peeing / pooping outside is the most amazing fantastic praiseworthy, fun, rewarding, biggest deal ever! Pottying outside deserves a big rukus with lots of clapping and praise and fuss. Pottying inside only gets no acknowledgement except to be zipped outside swiftly if caught in the act. ( that's only beause we trained on a praise-only basis.) our pup was potty trained within a few weeks and at three years old he has NEVER gone potty in the house. We still like to make a fuss when he goes outside sometimes too, it makes him happy

 

[geepy]

Quote:
So totally agree. My pup only had two accidents. He's now 13, and the best friend ever.

 

[RabbitMage]

Quote:
Get him on something better than Iams.

 

[Tala]

For housebreaking, the best tool is the leash. Some call it the umbilical cord method. The dog is always always always leashed to you so he can't sneak off to pee while you aren't looking. Also I never wanted to encourage rough housing inside the house either. Even though our Lab was 4 and well trained, we still did the leashed-to-me training for his first couple of weeks here. We cooked and washed dishes and lounged around the computer. Part of it is housebreaking, but part of it is teaching him to be calm in the house and not running around like a banshee.

Puppies go after eating, after sleeping, and usually when playing. If he's not leashed, he's in the crate.
General rule of thumb, they generally learn to hold it for an hour + 1 for every month old they are. At 8 weeks, you should expect something at least every 3 hours - which includes the LAST thing you do before you go to bed (and he goes in his crate) once during the night, and the FIRST thing when you wake up. Teach him to potty while on the leash, then after he goes let him off and have outside rough house playtime. Walk him as long as you have to (keep it kinda "boring" though) until he goes, that will reduce accidents if you make sure he goes. Afterwards, let him play enough that he wants to nap when you come back inside. You know how puppies are they romp like crazy and then take power naps. As he gets older if you have a fenced yard you can graduate him to unsupervised potty time like I assume your older dogs do

If the puppy goes inside, it's YOUR fault. Don't punish him. If possible grab him up mid-accident and whisk him outside. If he doesn't go when you get outside, keep him leashed for a boring walk around the yard but don't reward him with playtime. Playtime is part of the "praise" so to speak. Part of the reward.

When you're inside and he's expected to be right with you, don't totally ignore him. Do spend time teaching him to sit and lay down and stuff like that, just interact with him in a calm kind of way. Don't reward him for interrupting you though. If you're watching tv, don't reward him for begging for attention. When you're outside having playtime make it a point to do "crazy" fun hyper stuff that isn't allowed inside. He should pick up on the difference. Be calm inside, have fun outside.


Preferably the crate should not be so big as that the pup can poop in one corner and still sleep comfortably away from the mess. Smaller is better for the housebreaking period. We had 3 sizes of crates as our pup grew up (small, medium and XL) She was pretty well house PROOF by the time she got out of the 25# medium one so we got her the biggest airline crate so she could have maximum room to relax. We still use them occasionally for short company visits or when a repair guy comes, but Dusti still thinks of it as her den and often goes in there to sleep on her own. Teach a command (ours is "go to bed") and give a treat. Make the crate a nice place to go. Don't use it as punishment. I agree each dog should have it's own crate, it's own safe spot, it's own den. We also feed in the crates to make sure there are no squabbles over dinner. If you travel, bring the same crate. They generally appreciate the comfort of having their own familiar place in a strange place.

Having a puppy in potty training is much like having a baby, your life pretty much revolves around him for a while.

I don't know much about chewers, and we raw feed so I couldn't tell you a lot about kibble feeding.

 

[IcarusSomnio]

Quote:
The computer parts are NORMALLY out of reach, but like you, we have a cat. He was really a spur-of-the-moment adoption, so no time to pre-puppy proof the house! I've been wanting to get a nice pup to raise, I just haven't been actively looking.
The only thing a little pup could try to fit in his mouth would be my large metal organizer sitting next to me on the floor. It's free of the little organizer compartments (they needed to be washed) and he quickly discovered that a metal corner isn't something to be gnawed on

The dogs get crated when I leave the house. They're absolutely devilish the second you set out the door. I came home twice to something or another shredded (usually napkins, for whatever reason, Duke liked to eat eggshells out of the trash

) and it was 'Always Crate' ever since. They're with me all the time when I'm home, so no chewing/eating things they're not supposed to issues there. They get more then enough natural and rawhide bones and pig ears to satisfy chewing needs. I have to hound them out of the kitchen whenever I sleep, then they lurk in the doorway and wait for the exact moment they can sneak back in again.

This little guy will be getting his own, real, kennel/crate soon. I do have one, but he can't really stand up or comfortably turn out in it. Forget sitting! It's more for cat or rabbit transport.

I've been taking him with me on car trips as much as possible. He'll be going to the same auction I adopted him at, lots and lots of new and puppy-loving people there. He'll be getting introduced to the neighbor and her dogs soon as well, socialize, socialize, socialize!


Quote:
Get him on something better than Iams.

Advice? Selection is greatly limited. We have Purina, Iams, and Ol' Roy

. The store that carries Science Diet is closing down, did a sale on dog food and completely sold out.

He's on Iams Healthy Naturals. Closest thing I could find to "No weird fillers".



Only one accident this morning, only because I was too slow finding my jacket to take him outside. Caught him mid-pee and whisked him outdoors, praised heavily when he finished. Brought him back in, fed and watered, then back outside (pee'd and pooped). He's been playing with Uncle Duke and Aunty Hazel for the past half hour. Been monitoring his behavior closely and taking him out when ever he starts drifting off on his own.

Him and Hazel chased each other a bit. Hazel's like 10x his size, and yet they bounced around the yard like a couple of fiends. Duke is incredibly tolerant of the little guy trying to bite his ears, climb on him, pouncing on his little tail. Duke's such a mother hen

And he actually responds when you call! No name yet, but comes running at a whistle or when where in the house, the same click I use with my horses.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Quote:
The computer parts are NORMALLY out of reach, but like you, we have a cat. He was really a spur-of-the-moment adoption, so no time to pre-puppy proof the house! I've been wanting to get a nice pup to raise, I just haven't been actively looking.
The only thing a little pup could try to fit in his mouth would be my large metal organizer sitting next to me on the floor. It's free of the little organizer compartments (they needed to be washed) and he quickly discovered that a metal corner isn't something to be gnawed on

The dogs get crated when I leave the house. They're absolutely devilish the second you set out the door. I came home twice to something or another shredded (usually napkins, for whatever reason, Duke liked to eat eggshells out of the trash

) and it was 'Always Crate' ever since. They're with me all the time when I'm home, so no chewing/eating things they're not supposed to issues there. They get more then enough natural and rawhide bones and pig ears to satisfy chewing needs. I have to hound them out of the kitchen whenever I sleep, then they lurk in the doorway and wait for the exact moment they can sneak back in again.

This little guy will be getting his own, real, kennel/crate soon. I do have one, but he can't really stand up or comfortably turn out in it. Forget sitting! It's more for cat or rabbit transport.

I've been taking him with me on car trips as much as possible. He'll be going to the same auction I adopted him at, lots and lots of new and puppy-loving people there. He'll be getting introduced to the neighbor and her dogs soon as well, socialize, socialize, socialize!


Quote:
Get him on something better than Iams.

Advice? Selection is greatly limited. We have Purina, Iams, and Ol' Roy

. The store that carries Science Diet is closing down, did a sale on dog food and completely sold out.

He's on Iams Healthy Naturals. Closest thing I could find to "No weird fillers".



Only one accident this morning, only because I was too slow finding my jacket to take him outside. Caught him mid-pee and whisked him outdoors, praised heavily when he finished. Brought him back in, fed and watered, then back outside (pee'd and pooped). He's been playing with Uncle Duke and Aunty Hazel for the past half hour. Been monitoring his behavior closely and taking him out when ever he starts drifting off on his own.

Him and Hazel chased each other a bit. Hazel's like 10x his size, and yet they bounced around the yard like a couple of fiends. Duke is incredibly tolerant of the little guy trying to bite his ears, climb on him, pouncing on his little tail. Duke's such a mother hen

And he actually responds when you call! No name yet, but comes running at a whistle or when where in the house, the same click I use with my horses.

when do we get pictures of the cutie patootie?????