New dog, a few questions?

[AL-53]

Puppies nipping is common..they are cutting teeth and playing but it is good to correct this habit soon....get your puppie a nyla bone...do not give him a shoe or any thing else but a hard toy of his own...no greenie bones for a young dog also..I do not like them period..seen more dogs get intestinal blockage from them...they do not digest ....

The puppie will lose his puppy teeth at around 4 months..then it will be cutting his adult teeth and the chewing will begin..also some Marrow bones are good..get them at the meat Dept or a butcher shop....

As far as dog food goes....brands that are good....Wellness...Innova....Canidea...Merrick these all have Human grade meat..and not meat meal or by products..or corn gluten....

Also canned food should be given once a day..they need the meat protien for a healthy digestive tract...you can do 1/2 a can in morning 1/2 at supper time....Remove what they do not eat after 1 hour and refridge it..or bacteria can set in....

When buying a good food look at the ingredients...first item should say Chicken....turkey...Lamb....this means it has whole meat and not meat meal which could be all parts ground up....I have 2 American bulldog Stafforshire terrier mixes 1 year old..and feed them Wellness by Old Mother Hubbard and Innova Evo..which is free of grains.....also they eat raw food....chicken.. lamb....chicken livers...and veggies...believe me they do eat veggies sweet potatoes..carrots..green beans..with yoguart ...no grapes raisons or onions as they are toxic to dogs....

foods with corn are not very good for a dog..the corn is used as a binder to make the poop very solid....when feed a good food as I mentioned ..the poop will be a like soft server ice cream...showing that they have used up all the nutrients and essential amino acids...

Also for puppy food..Royal Canin Natural puppy chow is pretty good food...


Hope this helps.....here is some food ingredients http://www.nhratterriers.com/goodfood.htm

Al

[Accumulator]

Originally Posted by CarWeenie

I do have a question. The puppy is really nippy. Is that normal for an 11-week old pup?

Yeah, but it's a good idea to start getting it *over* the idea that it's OK to bite on you. Gently dissuade it and give it something more appropriate to bite on. You're not a littermate that they can bite on, you're the pack leader with whom they can't get away with that stuff


For the next few days I'd be taking him out all the time just in case he really does need to go. You want him to get it right as often as possible so he learns that it's supposed to happen outside. He'll learn this by always being outside when he goes, so it's self-reinforcing. Heh heh, the problem is that the mistakes are self-reinforcing to, as in "I can go inside when I need to because I just did" So minimizing the mistakes will hasten the day when he figures it out and lets you know he needs to go outside.

[Pontman43]

Originally Posted by Neothin

Thanks for all the replies guys but I've got some bad news. My mom has cried her eyes out the past two days whenever she sees molly laying in the doggy bed that our old dog used to sleep in. That, and the fact that she howls for all hours of the night. My mom talked with my dad this morning and took her back to the humane society this morning before I even woke up. So now our house is petless again :'( It's got me all bummed out again because I was the one picking up the little toys and pig ears and putting them back in the cabinet. anyways, thanks for the advice, but Molly is gone

VERY sorry to hear. I volunteered at a animal shelter not too long ago and I have to say that its very sad how some of these animals are just left or "returned" for some very dumb reasons. Raising a dog isn't easy, but after the first couple of months its well worth it. Most dogs will howl for the first several nights in a new house, especially one that has been beaten. It eventually goes away though. A human baby also does a lot of crying, but you dont just give that up for adoption.
If you give the dog a chance, you will grow to love it and it will grow to love you. I dont think I could live without a dog.

As for a breed, I think a Labrador would be a great dog for you. I have one now (black) and have been raised with one (yellow). They are kinda expensive, but they are great dogs, very loving, tame, smart, easy to train and aren't that vocal.

[CarWeenie]

Hey gang, thanks for all the good info.
I am currently feeding it Purina Pro Plus. Probably not the best food - eh?
The puppy is a pretty finickly eater. Eat a few bites, then come play with me, then go
back again. Bad "table" manner - just like my kids.

Yeah, but it's a good idea to start getting it *over* the idea that it's OK to bite on you.

Yeah, I tried the alpha male thingie (growl at him and push him away). Does not seem to do the trick. Perhaps, I need to bite him when he does that.

You want him to get it right as often as possible so he learns that it's supposed to happen outside.

I went home today at noon and have him outside the whole time. He did his #2 but not #1. I think he already learns that "slick wooden floor" = "I can pee anytime". The funny thing is that I don't think he wants to be outside that much. Also, the darn puppy ate anything in the yard (leaves, dirt). He managed to destroy much of my viola too (there was a pattern there - he was attacking anything with primary colors in sight).

I volunteered at a animal shelter not too long ago and I have to say that its very sad how some of these animals are just left or "returned" for some very dumb reasons.

You are good man. I do not think I can handle that kind of heartache - just give them donation - a bit more impersonal. (that is why I never go near any pet stores that sell puppies/kittens).

[Sarcazmo]

The pup needs to know biting you is not acceptable. If redirecting his attention elsewhere doesn't work, then give him a swat. Not hard, but enough to let him know. (I might get crucified for that statement, but I'll leave it at that).

As far as dog foods, Meals are preferred to meat.

Pet food labels found in grocery and mass marketers like to use Chicken or Lamb to represent real meat. –(Containing 70% moisture). This leads you the consumer to believe that their product is meat based. Chicken or lamb meats are heavier than grains prior to cooking. The moisture contained in the meats (70%) is reduced by 2/3rds after the cooking process, leaving the total formula as a grain base food after processing.

vs.
Meal
[Chicken Meal and Lamb Meal are dry and 50% to 65% protein] meat protein!
Canidae Pet foods list Chicken Meal & Turkey meal as the first ingredients. Chicken, Turkey and Lamb meals are dry and are less than 10% moisture and contain 50% - 65% meat proteins. In processing the meat meals do not shrink below the grain weight, producing a true meat based formula for your carnivores.

Purina isn't the best choice... I'd try a local feed store as they generally carry very high quality foods.

And puppies go to the bathroom ALL the time. When they wake up, take them out. After you play, take them out. If it's been a while, take them out! Make sure to praise them like no other when they go outside. If they go inside, don't correct them unless you catch them immediately. Just ignore them and clean with a product that gets rid of the trace smells completely.

[Pontman43]

Originally Posted by Sarcazmo

The pup needs to know biting you is not acceptable. If redirecting his attention elsewhere doesn't work, then give him a swat. Not hard, but enough to let him know. (I might get crucified for that statement, but I'll leave it at that).

I agree, when we (my family and I) raised my current dog (Chevy, ya Chevy) and he bit us we would hold his muzzle tightly and say no. Now he will never bites anyone and if he does it by accident, he knows it was bad and lowers his head. He is in no way effected by that punishment other than him stopping biting.

[Sludge]

CarWeenie:

Accumulator has put out some really good information in this thread. His recommendation to get a quality book on raising a puppy is something you should really consider. You have also received information on changing your puppy's diet. I would recommend you consider continuing to feed your present puppy diet until you see a veterinarian and get his or her expert opinion. Within the next three weeks your puppy will need further vaccinations (puppies are not fully immunized at 11 weeks), a fecal exam to rule out intestinal parasites and a complete physical exam. Randomly changing puppy diets will give you a stool a lot thinner than soft serve ice cream.
Good luck with your new puppy. I never did figure out what breed pup you have. I know beagles were mentioned, but I'm not sure that you have one. Check out the book Accumulator recommended and realize you are getting puppy raising advice on a detailer's forum. For what its worth I am a noob detailer who has practiced small animal veterinary medicine for the last 30 years. OCD helps in my profession and I am feeding my illness .

[CarWeenie]

Yes, I have a few books - "Art of Raising Puppies" and "Good Owners Great Dogs" among them. We got a Sheltie puppy.
Yes, it seems that I am in the backyard all the time.
And yes, I am not planning to switch puppy food until I have a talk with the vet (should be soon). May be I can feed it pizza?

[Accumulator]

Originally Posted by Sarcazmo

The pup needs to know biting you is not acceptable. If redirecting his attention elsewhere doesn't work, then give him a swat. Not hard, but enough to let him know...

Originally Posted by Pontman 43

.. we (my family and I) raised my current dog (Chevy, ya Chevy) and he bit us we would hold his muzzle tightly and say no. Now he will never bites anyone..

Holding the pup's mouth shut and giving it a swat under the chin/lower jaw can work when nothing else does. Just don't do it too hard (but hard enough to get its attention). Coming up from underneath like that is better than a downward swat that the dog sees coming. You don't want it to think you're gonna beat it and swats that come up unseen out of nowhere don't, in my experience, give it the idea "you're beating me" but rather "you're disciplining me for doing something really bad".

Similarly, grabbing the pup by the scruff of its neck and giving it a bit of a shake is very similar to what its mother would do. But again, this is something that you want to do correctly lest you freak it out. I hesitate to post this sort of thing as you don't want to make the dog fearful and it's pretty early in your ownership experience to be resorting to this kind of correction. But dogs are pack animals and you gotta instill the pack hierarchy somehow. Watching how other dogs and/or the parents of a pup put it in its place can be interesting and informative....they treat the pup like a young dog, not like a child They can be pretty rough and yet things work out just fine. But then, being dogs, they know what they're doing.

Something we do to demonstrate dominance is: put the pup on its back and lie down with your neck across the pup's neck. Hold this position until it submits; it'll go limp and quit struggling. You can growl while doing this if you can do that without sounding silly (you want the pup to think you mean it, not to think you're fooling around). Don't let it get away from you or otherwise avoid submitting, that'd give it the idea that it might not have to obey you.

Sludge- Nice to see someone with your background posting on this thread Heh heh, I got a kick out of your " realize you are getting puppy raising advice on a detailer's forum"

[Sludge]

CarWeenie:

Shelties make excellent pets. They are usually very smart and also very sensitive requiring very little if any physical punishment. I don't think you could have picked a nicer breed for a family with children. They are also beautiful. What color did you get? All of them are nice looking. Their biggest vice is becoming obese as adults. Hopefully the kids will run the calories off your puppy.
People who feed pizza to puppies go straight to hell.
Hope you enjoy the Sheltie for many years.

Accumulator:

Just here to learn and have fun!

[DFTowel]

A solution for nipping and chewing undesireable objects is a wonderful miracle product called "Bitter Apple." This spray is the greatest invention since car polish! It's all natural and will not stain or damage fabrics. Just spray a little on the object you don't want the pup to chew and, believe me, they will stay far from it. For instance, if he chewed up a slipper don't throw it away, spray it with the Bitter Apple and leave it on the floor, he'll learn very fast that shoes are a no-no. Also spray on the garbage, sofa and chair legs, wherever. It works! You can find it in any pet store and don't buy anything but this, none of the others work.

[CarWeenie]

Heh heh, I got a kick out of your " realize you are getting puppy raising advice on a detailer's forum"

Yep, must be something about dog and tires - oh, never mind.

Similarly, grabbing the pup by the scruff of its neck and giving it a bit of a shake is very similar to what its mother would do.

Yep, did that and it seems to work quite well. He will try to bite then look at me quickly and change his mind.

put the pup on its back and lie down with your neck across the pup's neck. Hold this position until it submits; it'll go limp and quit struggling.

Yep, worked pretty well last night too. I heard him said uncle.

What color did you get?

It is a tri. At first, my wife berated me and the kids pretty severely for picking that colour (she wants a sable). After seeing the pup, all is forgiven.

A solution for nipping and chewing undesireable objects is a wonderful miracle product called "Bitter Apple."

Yes, I practically showered with that stuff. However, my girlfriend (or is it my wife - just kidding!) complained "bitterly" about that.

Well, I am going home right now to give the pup the lunch break.
Thanks for sharing great info/insight!!!