Joined
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72 Posts
Hello!
I just joined, and you can find my initial post in the introduction section to see a brief history of why I got this little critter.
A few of the concerns I have for my dog are:
-Poop eating (I know, common among puppies and "normal" for dogs). I have been working on breaking this habit with "leave it" and pulling him away. Obviously he hasn't yet learned a lot for commands being only 8 weeks old. Also, I saw some of the poop he did eat, and it had worms in it...so I am taking my pup to the vet at 0900 am this morning to get a full work up. Everything I can possibly get done that day I will. He is due for his 3rd set of vaccines on the 16th.
-I am worried about his diet too, he seems skinny compared to some of the puppies I have seen online his age. I was given eukanuba large breed puppy food from the breeder, but I am switching to the Wellness Super5mix large breed puppy food and treats.
-Crate training, I work in a hospital, and live 10 minutes away, so sometimes checking every hour is impossible (for potty breaks). I usually check AT LEAST every 3 hours, but I know that's way too long for a young pup. He won't yet go into the crate on command, but I can put a few treats down and he will go in without a fight. He has pooped in the crate twice in 4 days time, and of course he ate it all. If he does whine when he is in it or alone without me, it's only for a few minutes. He does get extremely excited when I let him out. I just want to make sure I avoid making the crate seem like a punishment, and also want to keep him from getting any seperation anxiety. I know I seem paranoid, but I just don't want him to have any issues because he will be going for protection training (PSA I am guessing), agility hopefully, and tracking. All of that I obviously don't worry about for a long time, but I want him to be completely capable of being safe and able to protect myself and my family if needed. Right now I have an XL crate with the majority of it blocked off, leaving him enough room to lay down, stand up, and turn around. Is it ok that I feed him first thing in the morning (10-20 minutes), plus water, take him out to potty, crate him, go to work and return to him @ lunch time, then feed him after I get off work (10-20 min)? Let me know if I need to change something please!!! I do this to keep the accidents to a minimum.
-Biting! I know this is normal for puppies, but I cannot seem to keep him from trying to rip my skin off. I have several toys and a flirt pole for him to play with, sometimes he will just bite the toy and go straight for my hands. Annoying, but I know it's normal. I don't hit him, I have tried to use the clicker and treats to teach, no, off, leave it, etc...but I guess he is really too young to absorb a lot.
I am sure I am missing some stuff, but I will ask as this thread goes on when I remember.
Here are some pictures of him from day one until recently:
I just joined, and you can find my initial post in the introduction section to see a brief history of why I got this little critter.
A few of the concerns I have for my dog are:
-Poop eating (I know, common among puppies and "normal" for dogs). I have been working on breaking this habit with "leave it" and pulling him away. Obviously he hasn't yet learned a lot for commands being only 8 weeks old. Also, I saw some of the poop he did eat, and it had worms in it...so I am taking my pup to the vet at 0900 am this morning to get a full work up. Everything I can possibly get done that day I will. He is due for his 3rd set of vaccines on the 16th.
-I am worried about his diet too, he seems skinny compared to some of the puppies I have seen online his age. I was given eukanuba large breed puppy food from the breeder, but I am switching to the Wellness Super5mix large breed puppy food and treats.
-Crate training, I work in a hospital, and live 10 minutes away, so sometimes checking every hour is impossible (for potty breaks). I usually check AT LEAST every 3 hours, but I know that's way too long for a young pup. He won't yet go into the crate on command, but I can put a few treats down and he will go in without a fight. He has pooped in the crate twice in 4 days time, and of course he ate it all. If he does whine when he is in it or alone without me, it's only for a few minutes. He does get extremely excited when I let him out. I just want to make sure I avoid making the crate seem like a punishment, and also want to keep him from getting any seperation anxiety. I know I seem paranoid, but I just don't want him to have any issues because he will be going for protection training (PSA I am guessing), agility hopefully, and tracking. All of that I obviously don't worry about for a long time, but I want him to be completely capable of being safe and able to protect myself and my family if needed. Right now I have an XL crate with the majority of it blocked off, leaving him enough room to lay down, stand up, and turn around. Is it ok that I feed him first thing in the morning (10-20 minutes), plus water, take him out to potty, crate him, go to work and return to him @ lunch time, then feed him after I get off work (10-20 min)? Let me know if I need to change something please!!! I do this to keep the accidents to a minimum.
-Biting! I know this is normal for puppies, but I cannot seem to keep him from trying to rip my skin off. I have several toys and a flirt pole for him to play with, sometimes he will just bite the toy and go straight for my hands. Annoying, but I know it's normal. I don't hit him, I have tried to use the clicker and treats to teach, no, off, leave it, etc...but I guess he is really too young to absorb a lot.
I am sure I am missing some stuff, but I will ask as this thread goes on when I remember.
Here are some pictures of him from day one until recently:
I had saved a week of vacation for when I brought my puppy home, but decided to work a half day so that I could extend the week into 2 weeks! I think my puppy has amazing control though. Even when he was 8 weeks old, he wouldn't have an accident if left for the morning while I went to work. At night, I tried getting up every 3 hours, but he wouldn't even go at the midnight and 3 am trip so I finally just ... quit and didn't take him up all night until about 4 or 5 am.
