A Few Questions about our Pup!

[*Lisa*]

This is going to be a long one!

We've had Jazmyn home for just about 2.5 weeks now (She's almost 11 weeks old). She's a doll and we're so in love with her. She is my first dog (I've been seriously deprived all these years) so I have a few questions!

Born: Nov. 11/2011
Home: Jan. 7/2012

Coccidia
On January 9th, we took Jaz to the vet and found out she had Coccidia. She was given dewormers (Advantage & another one), a probiotic (Forti-Flora), metronidazole, and Sulfadimethoxine tablets. We're all done the dewormers and the metronidazole, and we'll be done the Sulfa tablets this weekend.

She has had an accident in the house (#2) and I used a steam cleaner to santize. We're also using this to sanitize her bed, dishes & toys.

My question is about sanitizing the yard. We're diligent about picking up poop after every potty break and are going to use a bleach/water solution this weekend (now that the snow is gone). My question is, will spraying the mix on the grass harm her? (I'm not worried about it harming the grass, shes more important) She is really mouthy and eats everything she can get her mouth on outside.

Also, we are signed up for puppy class to begin on February 7th (just after her 12 week shot). Her diarrhea has completely stopped, and the vet said we should be fine to proceed with the puppy class. If the runs return, we'll withdraw from class to keep the other pups safe.

Socialization
This weekend marks the date when we're going to start bringing her places with us (avoiding dog populated areas of course). We've been really hesitant to take her places with her Coccidia to prevent other dogs from picking it up. I don't like that we've been nervous to take her places the last 2 weeks or so, but I'd hate to have other dogs come in contact with it in a park, etc.

Is it a bad thing to let her interact with my sister's puppy (Paisley is 6 months old), once her medication finishes on the weekend? We want to get them acquainted since they'll likely spend a lot of time together. I definitely don't want to put Paisley in harms way though. We'll wait if its recommended. Jazmyn gets her coccidia recheck in 3 weeks.

Our Routine
We are so lucky right now that hubby is home with Jazmyn to get her potty trained and some basic obedience in. Here is what an average day looks like for us:
8am - Breakfast
8am to 6pm - Hubby is home with her training, playing, crate training, and potty breaks every 1.5 hours or after playing/naps, etc
6:30pm - Dinner
7-9:30pm - Training, Playing, etc
9:30pm - Last Potty Break & Bed
1:30am - Night potty break
5:30am - Morning potty break
7:30am - Wake up & Repeat LOL

Does this seem like an okay schedule for an 11 week old pup? Before last night we were getting up twice per night (usually at midnight and 3am), but she kept on going last night so we let her. Is 4 hours okay to let her go during the night?

We have an ex-pen that she spends some time in playing by herself and napping so he can get things done around the house. He's also getting her used to spending some time in her crate during the day, to prepare for when he heads back to work full time.

Training Tips/Tricks
We've realized Jazmyn is really food driven. With a treat in hand, anything is possible. She has a really good sit & lay down going, even with minor distractions in the room. However, I don't think she understands her name. We spend time with her saying her name, and treating when she makes eye contact after we say it (we're also using a clicker. Is this right?

Outside, we definitely do not trust her recall so shes on a leash. We're working on come, leash walking and general acceptable behaviour outside. She is never outside unattended.

Thanks in advance for any answers/suggestions!!

[Emoore]

When I was teaching name, I didn't wait for eye contact at 11 weeks. Name, treat, name, treat, name, treat. That way they learn that the sound of their name means they need to come running over to get something nice from you. Once she's reliably coming to you when she hears her name, start saying her name and then withholding the treat until she looks up at you. But you really really want to get her to where she comes running when she hears her name. Like you, I just use the dog's name for a "watch" word. Some other people choose to use "watch" or "watch me".

She should be fine to interact with your sisters's puppy, but make sure your protect your puppy from the rowdy, rambunctious play of the bigger pup.

You want to make sure the bleach/water has completely dried in the yard before you let her out there. Can you let her potty in the front yard for several hours after you spray the back yard?

[*Lisa*]

Thanks for the tips on the name! We really want to try to get it down before our classes on Feb. 7th begin.

Paisley (sis's pup) does tend to get a little crazy, so we'll let them interact with strict supervision.

We can definitely let her potty in the front yard until it dries. Hopefully we only have to treat this once, but I know its common for 2 or 3 treatments.

My hubby just texted me with a few other questions:

Eating Everything/Anything Outside
Jazmyn attempts to eat everything! Grass, sticks, leaves, dirt, branches attached to the trees, etc. Any good suggestions to have her "leave it". She's beginning to understand the leave it command when we're practicing with treats, but does not yet relate it to other things (feet, hands, toys, etc lol)

Collar vs. Harness
We looked into getting a harness originally but I didn't want to give her one that would only encourage her pulling. With Jazmyn so far, its not necessary pulling way out in front of us. She'll stop DEAD, and go crazy wriggling to attempt to get out of her collar and off the leash. She is also a leash biter.

Paul wants to know if we should get a hardness for a little bit to ease some pressure off her neck. We don't pull/drag her along, but she can fight pretty hard moving backwards sometimes. We'll try and keep a short leash, but again, worry about the pressure on her neck.

Thanks!

[jprice103]

One thing that I noticed is that you feed her 2x a day. At that age, it is better to split her meals into 3x a day. I didn't move to 2x a day until after 6 months.

[PaddyD]

You could get a harness for the short term but it wouldn't be a good investment because she should not be in it for long. Up to you. Since you are going to classes soon use the benefit of the trainer to teach her leash manners among other things. There is no hurry. I don't see that bleach is necessary in the back yard, you might just try very warm water with a little pet safe soap that is also biodegradable. It is normal for puppies to pick up everything and explore with their mouths. Good luck with everything and happy puppy times!

[*Lisa*]

We were only going to be using the bleach to kill the coccidia to prevent reinfection for a little while. Wont be a long term cleaning method.

I thought the same thing with the harness. She is going to grow so quickly, that it seems like a waste of money. She does well with the collar 50% of the time, its just when the crazy takes over she gets a little wild LOL

We went to 2 feedings a day because she seems to do better that way poop wise. We started with 3 feedings her day, but she had very loose poop (also was likely caused by the coccidia). Her breeder advised to switch down to 2 meals, and it seemed to make a pretty big difference. We handfeed/train with her kibble during the day. Right now she is on Royal Canin Maxi Puppy. She gets:
AM - 3/4 Cup Kibble (she gets a small scoop of wet food currently for her pills)
PM - 3/4 Cup Kibble
1.25 cup of kibble throughout the day as training treats (and a few in her Kong Wobbler to keep her occupied)

[Rua]

Originally Posted by *Lisa*

Any good suggestions to have her "leave it". She's beginning to understand the leave it command when we're practicing with treats, but does not yet relate it to other things (feet, hands, toys, etc lol)

Once she understands the "leave it" command with the treats (and by that, I mean you can literally throw the treats around the room, and she won't eat them once you've given the command), try practising with various items that she shouldn't have, but might be inclined to grab. Tea towels, kid's toys, and shoes are all good things to try. The method is the same: Tell her to sit. Then you drop treat or tea towel on the floor and tell her to leave it. Reward her when she doesn't go for the item, or halts when you say "leave it".

Eventually she will associate the "leave it" command with any item you do not want her to have. The trick to making this command work however, is to never let her have the items you have told her not to touch. (ie: Don't practice with her own toys or any other item that she IS allowed to have.)


As regards the leash biting: I have found it helps to walk with a short leash where you are holding the handle with the left hand, but are walking the dog on your right side, with your right hand half way across the lead to shorten it further and guide your dog. (I hope that makes sense! lol) It lifts the lead above their head so they can't bite it.

Hope this helps. Welcome to the boards, by the way!

[BowWowMeow]

I wouldn't use bleach in my yard ever (unless it had parvo, I guess). I don't use it in my house either. It really is terrible for you, the environment, your animals and wildlife too!

Coccidia can be picked up from bunny poop so it's really impossible to avoid it. Luckily most dogs immune systems are strong enough to withstand it. It's usually only puppies or dogs with weaker immune systems who are susceptible and it's not usually a big deal in older dogs.

[*Lisa*]

I'm hesitant to use the bleach as well, knowing that everything outside attempts to go in her mouth. A lot of the coccidia sites say to put the mixture in a spray bottle and just spray the small areas when she poops outside. I'm definitely not going to treat the whole yard.

I did read that it can be picked up from bunny poop and I've seen a small bunny by the back fence before! She has never been allowed in that area behind the shed, so we'll keep her away from it. Hopefully her immune system can fight it and we won't have to worry about it again.