So I'm at a complete loss.

I have a 9 week old Doberman who is putting me through the ropes. I have had two other puppies who have been raised exclusively with the Leerburg practices. Both have grown up to be solid, well mannered dogs, who heel, fetch, and come on
command.

I currently own 'your puppy 8 weeks to 8 months' 'basic dog obedience' & 'establishing pack structure..', but nothing seems to explain how to obtain the calm & submissive puppy. All I could find on the puppy videos were to keep him crated until he was calm. This works until he comes out. Then he's a tornado of teeth, claws, and energy again.

I'm currently looking forward to when i can walk him openly, in hopes to burn this excess energy, but with the weather as it is, it will be a couple more weeks.

Until then, I have been playing with him with tugs, squeaks, kongs, and a couple rope toys. When he is not on leash, or in crate, he's in a baby playpen by my side.

I have scoured this site, looking for some type of 'first couple weeks' guide, but it seems everyone only lists tethering, potty training and love.

Should I not be worrying about the leaping forward / tugging while on leash, the whining while on and off leash, and the incessant nipping? I am attempting to refrain from harshly correcting or restraining his prey drive, but I'm coming up short.

Make no mistake, this is one of the more active pups I have owned (also the first male), and I'm loving it. My hopes are to one day enroll him in Schutzhund or agility training.

My focus with this post is to become further educated, as to handling this energy this pup has, and how to create outlets for him, not to punish or dominate.

Any tips or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance,
-Vagelie Karatzas
Spokane, WA

I would get him outside on at least 1 or 2 walks around the block. At 9 weeks, they don't need to go THAT far to wear them out a bit. A tired puppy is a good puppy. That is a quote I see regularly on this board and have found it to be completely true.

The weather can't be that bad...I've already been out twice today here and it's not even above freezing even though the sun just poked out.

understandable. It's 35 here, and I was unsure if this was too cold for a pup with little hair. Also, in Spokane here, there's been scare of Parvo. Outside of that, if both conditions are nothing to worry about, I'll take him for a walk now, lol.

Well, as far as Parvo goes, keep the pup away from other dogs (they'll only scare him anyway...) and maybe get the little guy a sweater for the rest of the winter! But, I think that on short jaunts he shouldn't get too cold.

Most of you discribe above is normal puppy behavior. Be patient & enjoy your pup. Work on bonding, houstraing & playing with your pup. They are only puppies for a short time.

Take him for walkes around your backyard. Young pups shouldn't walk too far anyway. Take him where you usually don't see other dogs. Like the middle of a field & carry him out there before you put him down. Most owners walk their dogs around the paramiter of fields & not out in the center it it. Parvo is a serious illness for a pup & can live in the ground for something like 7 years & usually only effects pups although adult dogs can carry the disease.

Have you read about marker training? There are some great DVDs here that teach that training. Using that method to train makes the dog think & that wears them out too. You can marker train your pup to walk on a leash, also.

Enjoy your pup.

ETA.... My female GSD shipped to me @ 9 weeks old, in the middle of a blizzard & was out for walks the next day in almost 2 feet of snow & loved it. She had no hair on her belly either. No big deal.

"The power of..." series is next on my list for purchase. I thought not much of it applied at this age, though...

I have started all my pups at 8 or 9 weeks of age with marker training,as have others here. It is all motovational fun training for them. They love it. What's not to like it's fun & they get really great food treats. They don't even know that they are training, they are just having fun. You just work in multiple very short sessions throught the day,as pups have very short attention spans.

I don't want to scare you or anything about the Parvo, but Anne is correct, it does stay in the dirt and in my part of the country, it is almost every where.

My friends pup recocvered from it this summer. Luckily, she noticed very early that the dog didn't eat her super on night, the next morning the pup didn't eat her breakfast, so she took her straight to the vet. The dog had not yet started vomitting or runny poop. So, be extremely cautious in watching for any change in behavior or eating until pup is out of danger (as much as you can be) of Parvo.

You may want to do a google search for your area to see how prevalent Parvo is. Good luck.

Sorry this wasn't anything to help you with your original request, but I am just scared to death of Parvo now since friend's dog.

so do I focus on vaccinating for parvo, focus on keeping him home and near dogless areas for a few months, or ignore it all and hope for the best? I know the leerburg stance is no vaccines, but how is parvo handled? is it just something pups get, and it's just a matter of time? Does good food bolster the immune system enough to ignore this illness?

This fear was my main concern for walks and such at this early of a stage....parvo and wierd winter weather.

I keep pups off of public grassy areas and other places that are heavily used by dogs or wildlife.

I did vaccinate for parvo at about 12 weeks and rabies at 1 yr with both of my boys. Parvo is bad in my area and we also have a heavy fox and raccon population so rabies is a concern for me.

Really though it just comes down to your situation, your dogs risk factors and what you feel comfortable with.