Puppy Question

greengoddess

Hi there,

We got our adorable 7 week old puppy last week and so far she's doing amazing! I have a couple of questions tho if anyone could help me.

First, when she gets excited she's nipping the kids. I have tought them to say "OW" and give her a toy to bite when she does it. It has worked "kinda" so far. I think she sees them as playmates and she loves to play with them. Yesterday my friend called over with her toddler. Sheba ran over to the toddler, wagging her tail and jumped up on him. I guess we just dont let her get near young children?

I am out at work in the mornings. We dont leave her any more than three hours alone and she always pees and poops while we're gone, even tho we bring her outside just before we go out and make sure she's peed and pooped. I dont like the idea of crate training her because I hate to think of her being cooped up for so long. Is there any way of training her to wait or is she still too young?

We get up at night to bring her outside but like that three hours seems to long to leave between pee breaks.

When can we start to bring her out for walks? She had her first injections on Saturday.

thanks in advance

ecaf

maybe you could try paper training her? Our dogs are pretty good with that and now that they are older they usually hold it unless they are are left too long, in that case they use the paper.

Wouldn't worry about the over playfulness too much, when they get a bit older they learn to play with toys instead and get used to the word NO.
(Unless they are a cocker spaniel! - I have one and she's still as cracked as ever)

getz

you can get a tray and poo sheets from the pet shop she will soon get the idea -also its importent for you that she interacts with as many people as possible -as for nipping tap your finger on her nose and say NO she will soon understand i have had a lot of dogs over the years and they all lived to an old age love you dog because she will always be there for you

jenpup

Puppies that young need to go out at least every hour, so as others have said paper etc would be your best option if you're not going to be there.

When you are there, bring her out at least once every hour and tonnes of praise when she goes in the right spot.

I've read that puppies don't have full bladder control until they are 6 months old, but I could be wrong on that.

Amimad

Firstly the jumping up & nipping.
the kids are doing the right thing, say ow/ouch in a squeally voice & withdraw from the game, if she takes the toy reward her by starting the game again.
If she is persistant, explain to the kids to play musical statues, if they stand still, arms in, the dog will get nothing from them & give up on the behaviour. Reward her for sitting in front of them or standing without jumping bytstarting the game again or petting her camly, if she jumps agann, stand still again.She'll soon pick it up.

Toilet training- What goes in must come out( however little it is!)
Make sure she releives herself just before you leave her in for any lenght of time, & when you come in to greet her, say a calm hello & put her out, when she goes let her in again with a big fuss.
I dont like training to paper/pads , I feel they cause conflict.What does the dog do when they suddenly disappear?, why not teach them what you want from the begining?
A puppy that young cant hold their bladder or bowel for a long time, the idea is to give the dog every opportuninty to get it right & reward them.

Good luck, you sound like you have you hands full.

Sharpshooter

Where the nipping is concerned l would not tap her nose
at all , that is not the way it is dealt with amongst animals themselves.
Having had numerous dogs and cats from an early age ( cant thank my parents enough ) l did observe them a lot and found that the alpha male would always have a different growl for different misdemeanors where the other dogs were concerned , and it always worked.
Our Pomeranian Shadow is 8 months old now but when she was around the 4 month mark and was nipping and
really hurting l started to growl at her very quietly at first , it got her attention and when she tried it again
l growled a bit louder and showed her my teeth.
She immeditaly stopped and tried to curry favour , as only pups know how to do , but she got the message.
l guess what l am trying to say is try the language they
understand and see what happens. Try it in the home
when she is nipping and see what happens but whatever you do if she goes all coy dont feel sorry for her and say
ahh to her as she will realise she has one up on you.;)
Do try it l have found it works really well and Shadow is
really well adjusted and a very happy dog.
She doesn't nip anymore and was never once scared of me.:)
7 weeks is very young and pups will nip but at that age they don't mean to hurt.
Lots of chewable toys and plenty of play , remember Shadow was quite a bit older when she started
so my advice is only a guide if she is still doing it later on as she gets older.
Good luck with her and l hope you have many years of happiness to come.

return guide

Hi

Just found your post. We have Tiny, Sheba's sister. She just had her first dry night. Can't believe it. She held it from 11 last night to 7 this morning. Hope it wasn't fluke.

Good luck with yours and hope the nipping stops.

~Thalia~

return guide wrote: »

Hi

Just found your post. We have Tiny, Sheba's sister. She just had her first dry night. Can't believe it. She held it from 11 last night to 7 this morning. Hope it wasn't fluke.

Good luck with yours and hope the nipping stops.

I don't mean to rain on your parade but this is too long for a seven week old puppy to have to hold it.

You should be getting up during the night to let her out. When my girl was a pup, we crate trained her and she still sleeps in her crate but I would set the alarm for three times during the night to let her out to give her a chance to do her thang!

WHile it's commendable that she had a dry night, at this young stage, she really shouldn't have to.

I'm not meaning to be critical in saying this just letting you know and your pup is gorgeous!

return guide

~Thalia~ wrote: »

I don't mean to rain on your parade but this is too long for a seven week old puppy to have to hold it.

You should be getting up during the night to let her out. When my girl was a pup, we crate trained her and she still sleeps in her crate but I would set the alarm for three times during the night to let her out to give her a chance to do her thang!

WHile it's commendable that she had a dry night, at this young stage, she really shouldn't have to.

I'm not meaning to be critical in saying this just letting you know and your pup is gorgeous!

Thanks this little pup is a little doll. She is the 7th dog I have owned and seems to have "been here before" if you know what I mean.

My little pup 'really didn't have to' go through the night - she just did it of her own accord. I stand out the back almost all day (half hourly when I can). She seems a very intelligent little dog and has already got the grasp of the toilet training idea - i.e. she gets a little bit of her dry food as a treat when she 'does her thang' out the back. I have another dog who she follows around all the time and is learning from her. They also get their doggie biscuit after their evening feed they both "sit" for this too. I also get them to sit and wait for their meals and they don't mind.

I know about the crate training as I have done this previously helping out with being a puppy walker for guide dogs. These dogs are quick to learn also and will hold it for 6-8 hours at a very young age. You get your guide dog pup at about 5 weeks old and by the end of the first week they will keep their crate clean from about 12 at night to first thing in the morning. After that your day begins out in the garden again. There is a lot of time put into this idea but works in the end. I see what you mean about getting up during the night and have no problem with this but all she does is curl up in a ball outside and sleep again.

I'm not saying she is brilliant she just had one dry night and may not have another one for a long time to come but heres hoping.

~Thalia~

return guide wrote: »

Thanks this little pup is a little doll. She is the 7th dog I have owned and seems to have "been here before" if you know what I mean.

My little pup 'really didn't have to' go through the night - she just did it of her own accord. I stand out the back almost all day (half hourly when I can). She seems a very intelligent little dog and has already got the grasp of the toilet training idea - i.e. she gets a little bit of her dry food as a treat when she 'does her thang' out the back. I have another dog who she follows around all the time and is learning from her. They also get their doggie biscuit after their evening feed they both "sit" for this too. I also get them to sit and wait for their meals and they don't mind.

I know about the crate training as I have done this previously helping out with being a puppy walker for guide dogs. These dogs are quick to learn also and will hold it for 6-8 hours at a very young age. You get your guide dog pup at about 5 weeks old and by the end of the first week they will keep their crate clean from about 12 at night to first thing in the morning. After that your day begins out in the garden again. There is a lot of time put into this idea but works in the end. I see what you mean about getting up during the night and have no problem with this but all she does is curl up in a ball outside and sleep again.

I'm not saying she is brilliant she just had one dry night and may not have another one for a long time to come but heres hoping.

She sounds like a doll. Best of luck with her

return guide

Thanks Thalia.

greengoddess

Hi

Just found your post. We have Tiny, Sheba's sister. She just had her first dry night. Can't believe it. She held it from 11 last night to 7 this morning. Hope it wasn't fluke.

Good luck with yours and hope the nipping stops.

Congrats to Tiny! Sheba is improving at night too, its during the day when she gets overexcited she forgets!

About the nipping, the kids come home from school at about three oclock and for about half an hour she gets soo excited! They are learning not to give her attention till she calms down, its working slowly!

Thanks for the help guys, in all honesty we need to learn a whole pile more than the puppy!

greengoddess

Firstly the jumping up & nipping.
the kids are doing the right thing, say ow/ouch in a squeally voice & withdraw from the game, if she takes the toy reward her by starting the game again.
If she is persistant, explain to the kids to play musical statues, if they stand still, arms in, the dog will get nothing from them & give up on the behaviour. Reward her for sitting in front of them or standing without jumping bytstarting the game again or petting her camly, if she jumps agann, stand still again.She'll soon pick it up.

Thanks for that working a treat!

joannesmakeup

Hi there, my german shepherd is now 7 mths old and was a terror for nipping both me & the kids when he was younger, I have scars to prove it.:(
Dont forget the reason your dog is nipping is because its still a baby and it is teething. Try to nip this behavour in the bud as soon as possible as it may lead to dominance & agression.Dont go buying lots of chew toys, only have one toy for him to chew, this way he wont get confused by different textures and think its ok to chew everything.
When he nips use your fingers as a BITE. This means you give a firm (but not as to hurt him) quick poke to the side of the neck and say sush. This is how dogs teach each other who the alpha is. By doing this it breaks their concentration from what they are doing and shows them you are the boss, not them. Repetion is key here, this tactict works for most disobedient behavours.
Gud luck and let me know how you get on.:D