Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 14
  1. #1
    Puppy
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Indiana
    Posts
    1
    Thanked: 0

    New 7 week old puppy

    We got our chocolate male last Saturday at 6 weeks and we are getting a chocolate female at the end of the month. We have a 12-year-old beagle who I can't walk without a prong collar. Anytime I try she yanks and pulls and if off the leash, she runs off. I did manage to teach/train her to sit, stay, lay, come and other basic commands and they work when she is not distracted.

    We started potty training immediately. He seems to understand and has started going to the sliding door when he needs to go out. When he does his business outside he gets praised and a treat. I have been working with him on not biting. Anytime he bites I try to give him a toy or chewy to have. The biting seems to be a little less.

    We don’t have a fenced in yard, so we wanted to get him able to stay near us without a leash. It seems to be working, so far in that he has stayed in the yard. But we have a small yard and live in the city. So, walks are a must. We started teaching him to walk on a leash on Sunday but I think I am screwing it up. I take him around the block. We can go 3-4 houses with him walking next to me but then he starts pulling, yanking, lunging. When he walks next to me I give him treats every few steps but he still leaves my side. I call him back, give a treat (his food) and try again but again he tries taking off.

    My husband and I go hiking and camping in state parks every year and we can’t have him acting up. I am thinking I just need to wait until he starts falling asleep and try again. Any suggestions?

    Also, is it normally for them to throw a “temper tantrum”? Last night he was playing/chewing a bush in front of the house. He would not come or leave the bush, so I picked him up. He was growling, fighting and trying to bite me. I said nothing (I was a little afraid). I just carried him back into the house and put him in his crate for a time out until he calmed down (about 2-3 minutes). Once he was calm and laying down I opened his crate. Tonight, he was trying to eat goose poo. I removed it from his mouth. He ran to another part of the yard and found more poo. Again, I removed it. This time he started the growling. I picked him up to take him in and he kept growling, started fighting to get down and biting. I repeated last night’s actions. I am wondering if this is normal behavior and how I should be handling it.

    We are scheduled to start puppy training classes when he is 10 weeks at PetSmart. I am afraid/worried that I am screwing up or causing habits to form that will be difficult to break.

    Thanks for any help/advice you can offer.

  2. #2
    Senior Dog Charlotte K.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    somewhere out there
    Posts
    938
    Thanked: 581
    Welcome! I bet he is cute! However: If you are afraid of a 7-week puppy, please don't get a second one until this guy is truly mature and well trained. Yes, even puppies growl in play and in back talk. If you do not want him to learn to wander away, do not let him loose off lead in an unfenced or large area.

    A good puppy class will let you see other normal puppies. It is a good foundation if done well.

  3. #3
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    8,136
    Thanked: 5108
    WElcome to the board. You might have extra trouble with him biting as bite inhibition is something they learn some of from their mother and siblings and he was taken away from them too soon. Actually, it's illegal to sell a puppy under 8 weeks old Indiana.

    Table of State Laws Concerning Minimum Age for Sale of Puppies | Animal Legal Historical Center

    I agree with Charlotte that if you are asking such questions now and are a bit afraid of him then a second so close to the same age is not a good idea. It would be hoped as well that you would not patronize a breeder who sells illegally again. ON this board we would tell anyone that two puppies at the same time is a lot of work, more than double the work. You really need to do so many things separately with them that training would tax the time a normal family has. Separate training, separate crates and on.

    He (what's his name?) does seem to be very smart about potty training. Not many of us were ever lucky enough to have a puppy walk to the door at that age and show so clearly he needs out. Good boy.

    Even with a puppy obtained at a proper age, there is usually biting. They can be awful. You are doing the correct things, if you can foresee a bite coming try to get the toy to him first, not after the chomp. Unfortunately this can take months for puppies to learn and it might surge up again when he starts teething at 4 - 5 months old.

    No matter how well trained I think my puppy/ dog is, I would never expect to keep him safely in an unfenced, city lot off leash without extremely close supervision. Even with supervision, one errant squirrel, dog chases, gets hit by a car, dog dead. It's not worth the chance. REmember he is very young and right now wants to be with you but he'll get more confidence and will decide on his own where to go. Actually, while he is so young now and wants to be near you is a perfect time to teach him recall, even though I would never trust him off leash alone in your lot.

    Snowshoe's Album: Teaching COME

    Also, at this young age, your puppy really doesn't need leash walks. Play in a safe place is adequate but if walks are the only option the five minute rule is good to follow. 5 minutes per month of age allowed twice a day of forced exercise. Forced being anything on leash, straight line, constant pace, hard surface, compelled to keep up and consider heat and cold too. Play off leash on soft surface umlimited. This is to avoid strain on unformed joints. If you must take walks what does the breeder and your VEt say about safety concerns, disease from other dogs, before his vaccinations are complete?

    Yes they have temper tantrums. They get tired and cranky just like little kids. I think you did the right things. They also get the zoomies where they run around like they're wild, crazy and demented and those are fun for them but they may get growly and biting in them too. That's how puppies play with other puppies.

    Good luck, I think it would be a good idea to buy a good puppy book because there's a lot ahead of you yeat that you haven't even asked about yet. I used Good Owners, Good Dogs by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson (Wilcox?) and found it helped prepare me.
    Hidden Content

    Castilleja's Dubhgall Oban, the Black Stranger of The Little Bay
    Oct. 15, 2007 - June 13, 2021
    Oxtongue Rapids Park. Oct. 2019 Hidden Content

  4. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Snowshoe For This Useful Post:

    Annette47 (03-23-2017), Scoutpout (03-27-2017), Tanya (03-23-2017)

  5. #4
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    2,598
    Thanked: 2588
    The breeder let the pup go home too soon, so you'll have quite a bit of extra work with the puppy. Typically most states its illegal to sell a puppy before 8 weeks. Hopefully you aren't getting puppy #2 from the same place at 6 weeks as well. Stay tuned for a lot of advice, between bite inhibition issues and dealing with 2 puppies at once, you have y our hands full! I would also make sure you find a good obedience school where both you and your husband can go for classes, even better on different days....

  6. #5
    Best Friend Retriever silverfz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    Land of Holes
    Posts
    618
    Thanked: 182
    2 pups...good luck.

    this website is a great resource , find a trainer and start them young.

  7. #6
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    2,366
    Thanked: 1096
    Yeah... no. I don't think I'd want two puppies at the same time. There is some sort of weird math with puppies and children. The difficulty isn't additive, it goes up by orders of magnitude.

    My young puppies are almost never off leash, neither in nor out of doors. I want to know where they are and what they're doing... it has to do with noticing when they look like they're going to pee or poo. When they're not attached to me, they're dragging a leash. So if I see them lunging for some poo, I can stop them, call them, give them a treat and tell them what a FABULOUS little pup he is, and we all come out winners. No growling or struggle.

    If you get into a p1ssing match with him, you have to win it. (You own what you condone!) So it's just better not to get into one. (I'm not talking about being punitive. Just not letting him get his way.)

    It's pretty intense to do it right. Hard enough with one. It's almost a full time job. I'm pretty sure I couldn't do it with two.

  8. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to TuMicks For This Useful Post:

    Annette47 (03-24-2017), annkie (03-24-2017)

  9. #7
    Senior Dog
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Central NJ
    Posts
    2,603
    Thanked: 2277
    Quote Originally Posted by TuMicks View Post
    It's pretty intense to do it right. Hard enough with one. It's almost a full time job. I'm pretty sure I couldn't do it with two.
    Yeah .... I’ve done it with two, but these were my 5th and 6th dogs, and I had their mother here helping raise them. I wouldn’t recommend it for most people.
    Annette

    Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
    Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015

    Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009

    And remembering:

    Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
    Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015

    And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014

    Hidden Content

  10. #8
    Best Friend Retriever silverfz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    Land of Holes
    Posts
    618
    Thanked: 182
    I also think without experience you end up with a bonded pair more often. i want my dog to be bonded to my family period.

  11. #9
    Best Friend Retriever annkie's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Pennsylvania
    Posts
    565
    Thanked: 274
    Quote Originally Posted by TuMicks View Post
    Yeah... no. I don't think I'd want two puppies at the same time. There is some sort of weird math with puppies and children. The difficulty isn't additive, it goes up by orders of magnitude.

    My young puppies are almost never off leash, neither in nor out of doors. I want to know where they are and what they're doing... it has to do with noticing when they look like they're going to pee or poo. When they're not attached to me, they're dragging a leash. So if I see them lunging for some poo, I can stop them, call them, give them a treat and tell them what a FABULOUS little pup he is, and we all come out winners. No growling or struggle.

    If you get into a p1ssing match with him, you have to win it. (You own what you condone!) So it's just better not to get into one. (I'm not talking about being punitive. Just not letting him get his way.)

    It's pretty intense to do it right. Hard enough with one. It's almost a full time job. I'm pretty sure I couldn't do it with two.
    Totally agree with this comment! I have an 8 week old pup myself. I'm starting to realize that this is the Toddler stage. They're testing boundaries. They're stubborn. They want their way and if they don't get it they get feisty. You have to stand your ground and establish boundaries and follow through. Calmly and consistently.

  12. #10
    Senior Dog sparky's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    SW Ohio
    Posts
    2,012
    Thanked: 1626
    With an 8 month old in the house now we would NEVER consider having 2 puppies at the same time but that is us We have a 3 year old lab too so that has saved us from the dreaded labrashark stage. She still bites but most of it is directed at Mocha! We are very blessed that he is such a laid back big brother.

    I have to agree with others that 6 weeks is way too early to take a puppy away from it's mother. The mom might be done feeding the pups but she teaches them manners (to a point)
    Hidden Content
    Mocha:Born 7/13/14 Gottcha 9/13/14 Latte: Born 7/15/16 Gottcha 9/9/16
    Labs- "Hearts of gold, heads of stone, cast iron stomachs"

 



Not a Member of the Labrador Retriever Chat Forums Yet?
Register for Free and Share Your Labrador Retriever Photos

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •