Assistance from Veteran dog owners

[Loneforce]

Originally Posted by cb919er

Please forgive my ignorance, so I'm guess as the pup gets older, he's ability to hold it gets better, and generally they don't develope the habit of going inside?

You are correct in one way but kinda wrong on the other. If the Pup thinks it is ok to go inside, then it will continue to go inside. Yes when they get older they can hold it alot longer.

[msvette2u]

Originally Posted by cb919er

Please forgive my ignorance, so I'm guess as the pup gets older, he's ability to hold it gets better, and generally they don't develope the habit of going inside?

The potty pad is scented so they go there. When it's not there they are smart enough to realize it's not and will go where you direct them to.
You eventually move the pad outside and show the dog it's there, and they learn that's the new place to go.

Again, this is for your own ease of training as you view him as "stubborn", and also to avoid the puppy getting parvo or worse from being outside in a high-dog-traffic area while not fully vaccinated.

[cb919er]

Originally Posted by msvette2u

The potty pad is scented so they go there. When it's not there they are smart enough to realize it's not and will go where you direct them to.
You eventually move the pad outside and show the dog it's there, and they learn that's the new place to go.

Again, this is for your own ease of training as you view him as "stubborn", and also to avoid the puppy getting parvo or worse from being outside in a high-dog-traffic area while not fully vaccinated.

Generally we don't have a lot of dag traffic around the apartment. I know a few people that them, but I don't see many. I haven't taken him to the dog park yet as he hasn't been vaccinated.

I'll pick up some puppy pads on my way home today and use those till I can get him into the vet. I do want a healthy puppy... My new best friend needs to be my buddy for a long time!

A friend of mine with boxers suggested after we go out and play, to gently massage his hips, and it should help with displasia when he's older. Is there any truth to this? usually when we come in, he's a little tuckered, so I sit on the floor with him, and try to massage him a little, even though he's still a pup

[Castlemaid]

I'm not a fan of puppy pads. If there are outdoor areas for you that do not get much dog traffic, that will be fine for potty training.

Pups can be unpredictable sometimes. I wouldn't get too worried about his sitting down outside. He may be a mellow pup that likes to just sit and take in his surroundings. Hard to know without having seen him, if you are concerned, you may need to see a vet.

I would avoid the dog park like the plague. You do not want your pup to have even one single negative experience with other dogs - he needs to grow up feeling safe and secure. Being or bullied by other dogs as a pup is how puppies grow up to be reactive and fearful.

Massaging the hips won't do anything to prevent hip displasia - it is a genetic condition, so he either has it, or does not. No harm in a bit of a massage if you both enjoy it, but it won't revert or prevent it if the genetics of your pup has cause for displasia to develop.

[Thorny]

It sounds like you reached out in this thread because your pup made a mess in the crate. I would not worry too much about 1 accident in there. The pup may have drank more than usual or it's bowels might be growing and moving things along at different speeds that one time. Not an issue, but frustrating none the less.

Outside I took my pup to the same place every time and used the same name for his deed. It doesn't take them too many days to learn the name of the deed and #1 has a different name than #2. At night when you want to go back to bed and he wants to sit and chew grass can be a frustrating time. but the routine will be established quickly and the frustration will subside.

If you think movement will help stimulate the bladder or bowels try tossing a ball, dragging a stick, running in front of him, or whatever you've found works to draw his attention and cause movement.

[Kejasa]

Bring some treats with you when you take him outside and give him one whenever he comes when called. Zukes makes some really little training treats that work perfectly for this. He'll start wanting to come to you. He may just be scared right now. My pup didn't want to venture too far from home when she was brand new. She'd get nervous and sit down and not want to walk further. It makes sense because wild pups should stay close to their den and not get lost, right? Once he builds up his confidence he'll be fine.

[Lauri & The Gang]

Since he is still a BABY I wouldn't really expect him to go for 'walks'. Anything up to a couple 100 feet would be the limit i would expect a puppy to 'walk'.

Try putting the puppy on a long leash (or just tie some rope to the collar) and take him outside to PLAY instead of walking. Run around with a toy, get him to chase you. That will be a great way to start working on the Come command.

I'm big on not EVER letting a puppy go to the bathroom inside a house if you expect them to always go outside when they are older. Less confusion for the puppy.

If the puppy has an accident get him outside right away to finish (if possible) then go back inside, clean up the mess and smack YOURSELF on the head for not watching the puppy close enough to prevent the accident.

[msvette2u]

I'm big on not EVER letting a puppy go to the bathroom inside a house if you expect them to always go outside when they are older. Less confusion for the puppy.

Neither am I, which is why I'd recommend the puppy pads

We've used them quite successfully here with puppies too young/small to go out, or not vaccinated, or recovering from a bout of parvo, and it didn't confuse them at all...if you've never used them, you'd probably not know how that works, though.