puppy care

[badger]

so it seems I may have bit off more than I can chew

I got the pup last night, he's a 4 month old Mastif/Pit cross and weighs roughly 30lbs. Hefty fella.

He's not sick at all, and he's like a toy wound up zipping back and forth and back and forth. I never had a moment to sit down since I got him. He's never been introduced to toilet training, so he seems to pee wherever/whenever, and it's always when I have my back turned. He at least slept through the night and kept his kennel clean.

Not sure if I can commit to the 2 weeks, I was ready to throw in the towel last night, but hopefully we can get used to each other soon. He doesn't have a name yet, though the rescue woman wants to call him "Shrimp". His brother's name is Anchovy...

Pic to hopefully follow if I don't go home to armageddon during lunch time. (he's in the bathroom with his kennel door open, I'm guessing I'll have a few things to clean...)

[Maxxxie]

Give the puppy a million chew toys. Encourage him to use them. If he goes for something that's not a chew toy, say "leave it!" in a firm voice, take it away from him and immediately replace it with a chew toy. Praise him for chewing the toy instead of the inappropriate object. Your puppy will eventually learn two things: 1. "Leave it" means exactly that, and 2. Chew toys are way more fun than your shoes.

As for toilet training, every time he has a meal, take him outside. When he does his business, give him insane levels of praise. He'll get the message. Somebody else here mentioned that puppies have small bladders. This is true and you can expect to have to do the toilet/praise thing many times a day. Your puppy will eventually come to realise that you are the person who opens the door to let him out, and he will come to you when he needs to go to the toilet.

The most important thing for puppies is to give them consistent discipline. I don't mean discipline in the punishment sense, I mean it in the "setting rules and boundaries" sense. Dogs like boundaries, but they need to know what they are. That means you must demonstrate and/or guide them to good behaviour. Reward good behaviour with heaps of praise. I'm not a fan of punishing dogs for bad behaviour. It's far less effective than positive reinforcement. Never create a situation in which your dog genuinely fears you. You must create an environment in which your dog wants to please you. Rewards and praise are the best way of doing that.

I know your puppy's stay with you is only short-term, but I think that you and the pup will both get a great deal of joy from your interactions together. And please post a pic

Max

[TsPoet]

As for toilet training, every time he has a meal, take him outside. When he does his business, give him insane levels of praise. He'll get the message. Somebody else here mentioned that puppies have small bladders. This is true and you can expect to have to do the toilet/praise thing many times a day. Your puppy will eventually come to realise that you are the person who opens the door to let him out, and he will come to you when he needs to go to the toilet.

Max

I've had several friends put bells on a ribbons down their door - they all swear by it. What happens is when you open the door to let them out, the bells ring. Dogs figure out that when the bells ring the door opens - so when they want out they nuzzle the bells and you hear that they want out. No barking, no door scratching.

[tulip]

I've had several friends put bells on a ribbons down their door - they all swear by it. What happens is when you open the door to let them out, the bells ring. Dogs figure out that when the bells ring the door opens - so when they want out they nuzzle the bells and you hear that they want out. No barking, no door scratching.

My dog does that, but he's a 4-year old Border Collie with lots of training under his belt.

I don't know what kind of work you do, but if I worked in an office and someone brought in a non-housetrained puppy for two weeks, I would cry foul. The first day would be cute, but after that it would be too distracting. And if I were the person's boss, I would seriously wonder how much work they were getting done.

Puppies are alot of work, as you are finding out.

[NbyNW]

I hope you're not feeling too overwhelmed. You're doing a good thing. Hopefully this puppy's time with you gives him a chance at finding a permanent home!

[badger]

I AM feeling overwhelmed, actually.

He's actually a very good dog, but I'm just so inexperienced in the housebreaking that it's literally just breaking ME.

I've followed suggestions of crating him, then letting him out on the hour and taking him to the same spot. If/when he pees, praise like mad and give him a treat.

But I couldn't really keep him crated forever, so I would let him free (supervised, of course) , and he would just pretty much pee whenever the moment struck him. I thought I had gotten him to pee on the piddle pad and that would be it, but he peed in the bedroom just a little while ago (a step back).

At work I pretty much just walked around with a wad of paper towel cleaning up his puddles. I ended up putting him in the car for the last hour and a half, which was the best thing as he was passed out when I checked in on him.

He's a restless bugger, too, never settling down, laying down, or sleeping unless he's crated. Never had one so restless before.

If not for his un-house brokenness and his restlessness, he'd be a heart stealer, but I'm just really tired right now. Not sure if I'll last a week let alone two.

This is good to know, as I said I've said I didn't want puppies, and I've been proven right. I so much prefer the slower, older ones.

thanks for letting me vent.

[Selkie]

Sounds like a normal, healthy puppy you got there, Badger. You might want to keep him in the crate more when you're at work. At that age, they don't understand the concept of holding it because peeing/pooping makes them feel better. He's still an infant, for all intents and purposes. I know how hard it is at this stage and it is exhausting for the humans. Sending you lots of good karma.

He sounds smart---he's not messing in his crate. He'll likely catch on quickly, once he has more bladder capacity and an increased attention span.