[JuliusDog]

Hello everyone!

I had a couple questions I was hoping someone can help me with. This is my second post about our lovely puppy Julius. He is currently 12.5 weeks and does not want to take walks farther than a couple houses down from our home. He puts his head and body in front of my legs and jumps on me to pick him up. Also, he only poops and pees in the back yard of our home or in the house if we don't catch him on time.
Im not sure how long this behavior will last. please help. thanks all!

 

[desinif]

Structured walks/exercise can be very tiring very quickly for pups that young. The recommended forced exercise length that I have seen is no more than 5 minutes per month of age, but don't force them if they seem tired or don't go as long as that, go at their pace. Forced being anything on leash, constant pace, constant speed, hard surface, etc. Free play is free game! The puppy can go at their own speed and slow down when they desire, which is much better on their joints.

Also, please be careful where you take them for walks! Without full vaccinations, they are vulnerable to all the nasty stuff out there on the ground, from other dogs, etc.

It's good he knows the back yard is where he should go! He has a very tiny bladder, so if you don't catch him or pre-emptively bring him outside often to let him go, he will go in the house. If you keep it up, he will learn that outside = yes and inside isn't where he should go. Just stay consistent and reward him for going outside every time. If you want to train him to use a different area, take him to where you want him to start pottying. You can even begin to work on teaching him a potty command (which just takes time and gets much easier as they are older and get to know where/what they're doing with potty training!)

I believe the recommended assumption is that a puppy can "hold it" for about 1 hour per every month of age. So at about 12 weeks, up to around 3 hours or so. However, I wouldn't expect that standard. Play, activity, more water consumption all lead to a puppy that will potty more frequently and without holding it. I assumed my pup would only hold it while crated, and gave frequent potty breaks outside for a chance to go before any play/activity and before resting.

The behavior is all normal if you ask me. And it will get better as he gets older with proper training and attention.

I hope these help, and I learned this from my own questions and research on this forum. There's a wonderful search function that you can find tons of other experience as well from others! If I didn't properly answer anything, hopefully someone else will chime in.

 

[Suzy25]

Are you sure he is asking you to pick him up? My advice would be to never pick him up. only super occasionally so he doesnt flip out when you or a vet need to lift or carry him in the future.

Where do you keep him in the house? Does he have a smallish area that he is contained or does he have free run of a full floor (or even full house)?
it could be that he isn't fully understanding the house training and you are giving him too big of a space to roam.
I just got a lab puppy and she is either in her crate or blocked off in the kitchen when she is inside, the first couple days I didnt close her in the kitchen and she was having many issues with the housebreaking. as soon as I implemented the rule of either in the crate or in the kitchen (which is a fairly small kitchen) she has had one accident in the house, and is only 9 weeks old
Have a good schedule doing for potty breaks, before play, after play, after waking up, after coming out of crate etc..

Keep the walks short and do mostly training and some play. start training how to properly walk on a leash at this time, it will help when you start taking longer walks so he knows he can't jump on you and it will help as he gets older

 

[Malibu]

Hello everyone!

I had a couple questions I was hoping someone can help me with. This is my second post about our lovely puppy Julius. He is currently 12.5 weeks and does not want to take walks farther than a couple houses down from our home. He puts his head and body in front of my legs and jumps on me to pick him up. Also, he only poops and pees in the back yard of our home or in the house if we don't catch him on time.
Im not sure how long this behavior will last. please help. thanks all!

IMO, I wouldn't walk him anywhere yet. Home is the place you need him to feel comfortable @ so don't rush the walks. As far as going potty in the yard. My GSD is 5 years old and I have not seen her poop anywhere but in her own yard. I rarely even see her pee away from her potty spot. Pottying in the house well I am a believer that it is always the owners fault pretty much..

 

[Katsugsd]

I agree with not taking him for walks just yet. I remember seeing a gif of a puppy elbow from 8 weeks to I think 1 year and it really showed me how little formed their joints are. For now, maybe on a leash in the backyard/front yard to go potty?


My two, I had a designated potty spot outside that I took them to when they were young. Before and after food/naps/playtime.