And for crap's sake, please get a collar that fits the poor dog!

We cant seem to find any collars that fit. That's a leerburg flat collar. He's sorta in between..


Thanks both of you for your replies. We are taking anything said into consideration

Nick & Heather,
a puppy that young should not be allowed to explore the house on his own.
He should be thethered to one of you at all times so you can keep and eye on him, or at the very least limited to the same room you are in.

 Quote: From Heather's post

When he is inside the house, he wants to walk around the whole house and smell the carpet (we have carpet throughout the whole house). Whenever I am in the kitchen putting dishes away or loading up the dishwasher, he can hear the noise and just barks non-stop. He seems to play better inside the house than outside.

I am taking that to mean that you allow him full access to the house? Meaning you allow him to wander around?

And 3am or not...you should've talked to the vet more about what the pills were for Nick and asked about possible side effects.

If you feel the pup isn't getting enough to drink, do what (shoot i think it was lynn) advised and bait some water for him.

and keep the puppy tehtered to you, or at the very least keep him confined to the area that you are in, but thethered is best.
if he's tehtered to you the housetraining will go much easier.

and if the collar doesn't fit properly take it off!! That's a hazzard waiting to happen. Buy one that does fit for now and save the leerburg one for when he grows into it!

ok, so you say the pup is pooping fine, but your wife says he is straining at the end. which is it? And by fine to you mean his stool is normal now?

JMO: that video does not show a lethargic puppy. How much actual playing are you doing with him? I don't mean training I mean playing with a ball or something? I would jump around and bit the leash too if I was a puppy, outside and you were just walking me around! ENGAGE with your pup Nick! Bring out a toy, heck bring out 5 toys and let him have some running around and chasing them!

Wendy:

He's not loose in the house he's tethered but wants to explore and we let him sometimes. Sorry heather wasn't clear on that.

No I said he's pooping good meaning the poop is starting to look normal. He does strain a bit. If you watch the video closely it might show that. We didn't mean for her to video him pooping she just pressed record and at a silly time ..

I know I messed up on not asking about the pills. I do the same thing with my self when I'm at the doctor sometimes. Too trusting I guess. Stool is soft but looks almost normal.


Ok

 Quote: Nick Logan

We cant seem to find any collars that fit. That's a leerburg flat collar. He's sorta in between..


Thanks both of you for your replies. We are taking anything said into consideration

Have you been to the petstore? They have a pretty big selection, you know. A nylon adjustable collar would work perfectly.

My pup had several appropriately fitting collars prior to getting his LB leather collar.

It's an accident waiting to happen.

The video tells me you are not engaging with this pup. Evidence:

a. No praise for the outside poop. he's still learning. My pup got at least a 'good boy' and a pat for the first month. At this point in your pup's training there should be a mini-party.

b. Tug with the retracta lead? This is a mal. Get him a tug toy now. A rag will do, and that's free. This behavior will cause nothing but trouble later on.

c. No reward or engagement for him bouncing back to you. He's asking for it, give him some attention. Now is a great time to start teaching a solid recall.

d. You can't find an appropriate sized collar. Really? I bought my pup's first collar at Petco the day I picked him up. It fit him great for his first three months, with no snagging ends. Cost about $12.

e. How are you dealing with his kid interactions? I could see him start to chase the running child (a very normal pup behavior) but this is something you need to think about now. Do you want your adult mal to chase down running kids? I am NOT advocating correcting for this behavior. Just to start thinking about teaching an appropriate response to screaming, running children.

He's a nice, engaged, perky little pup. Get him a puppy collar, a long line, and a few tug toy (rags or go to a local pet store). Start to engage with the little guy. Play with him. He's barking out of frustration. He is not barking out of aggression.

Feed him. He is still too skinny. I do not like seeing the hip bones that pronounced in even my race-weight dog. You should not be able to feel the backbone between the back hip bones. If you can (and I think you can) he is too skinny. He is a growing pup and if this continues you could affect his growth and future health.

I'm hoping you'll take some of this advice for this nice pup's sake. Otherwise, I wouldn't waste my time.

I don't want to bury the post above.

The pup's skinniness: I don't know if we know the puppy is eating now, but I think another meal needs to be added. (Not a meal made larger -- another small meal added.)

We need to know how much kibble is in the meals now. At this point, if the food is not largely balanced kibble, then the lack of calcium in the rice gruel must be addressed.

So we need to get meal assessment now.



PS I can't believe MANY things here, but all the times you've been told, Nick, to praise and party for good potty? WTH? Come ON.

I'm not an expert but even I cringe at what I see in this video:

1. You know your dog does not understand English? It understands body language, but just standing there saying, "Good Boy" you might as well be saying nothing. The words mean nothing to the pup;

2. Use some common sense and get a properly sized collar for your puppy. That looks ridiculous and is dangerous;

3. The retractable leash is putting constant tension on the leash, so if you want a dog who pulls, you are doing the right thing. When I see retractable leashes I say to myself, "Lazy, irresponsible owner creating a problem for another handler in a year or two when they give up the dog because they, 'can't take him out for a walk'." He even has tension on the leash when he is toiletting! Also, if he does lunge or charge at something on that leash, how do you know you are going to be able to actually stop him?

4. That is a four month old puppy? Why can I see his ribs? This is a condition that predates the food change last week. How big is this puppy supposed to be at maturity? How big were his parents?

5. What are you doing with him on that leash? You are kind of following him around, and then, when he runs after your child and gets tangled in the leash, you untangle him. After you untangle him, he bites you and you yell. What are you teaching your dog here? How are you engaging him? How are you helping him understand what is wanted and unwanted behaviour? Why don't you have a single toy, or tug, or anything to bring the dog to you and give the dog something to do with you that will be rewarded?

6. Why does your wife give you a warning signal, "Daddy". You don't have a problem with your temper do you?

I feel so bad for this puppy. I remember, on earlier threads, you said you had trained dogs before, that you had some experience as a dog handler "I had a 3 week old German shorthair puppy in a 25 acre field with knee high grass which is above his head. The dog would get about 10 feet a head of me look back for an OK and I would JUMP UP wave my arms forward in sorta rapid motion while having a party for him in a puppy voice saying keep going go keep going. Eventually that pup who's my dads dog after 3 to 4 days of doing that was about 300 yards out. I've taught sit/stay/come and whoa with that dog.", and "when I was a teenager I helped my uncle with his PPD guard dogs from the time I was 15 until I was 21. I've had experience with these types of dogs", and that was why you felt ready for the challenge of this breed of dog. But everything you have been posting since you got this puppy has been evidence that you do not have a clue what you are doing. You even put your puppy's life in danger by trying to switch foods too quickly. You can't even purchase a properly sized collar. You are using a retractable leash.

I mean. This is all very hard to watch. I feel for the puppy, but I'm really angry at you Nick Logan John Caven. Please pull up your man-pants and use some common sense with this puppy. Search out your own information and stop using this forum as your personal tutorial for raising a puppy. And stop putting this pup's (and your kid's) lives in danger!

" ... stop using this forum as your personal tutorial for raising a puppy. "

This would be less frustrating if any of the advice was read and followed.



"And stop putting this pup's (and your kid's) lives in danger!"

This is the part that everyone is reacting so strongly to. Completely ignorant about puppies (and I don't care about his father's dogs), making tragic mistake after tragic mistake because he's not listening to the clear advice here.


I've never seen anything like this, here or on any board.



"This is all very hard to watch. I feel for the puppy, but I'm really angry at you"

Join the crowd.


NICK: You need to resolve the diarrhea/feeding issue. Since nothing here gets through, you need to get the dog to the vet and tell the vet what the dog is eating and how long he's been eating it. I no longer know, so I am unable to advise, but you or your wife -- with the vet -- need to get a handle on this NOW. This is a growing puppy, at the age when diet is critical.

We don't even know what made the vet prescribe Albon. YOU don't even know.

Kiersten:
a:
I said "good boy" to him when he pooped. I did not pet him after words. I'll start doing that more often thank you for the advice. I did petting him after he pee's so I'll just keep at it. We are both learning and I'm used to telling my dogs "good boy!" and that's it. I've had luck with that in the past but I feel this dog does need more.

b:

He was trying to play tug I wasn't and I should of redirected him. He holds his leash and it's issue we need to work on. Once I can get him on treats working marker training things will be SO much better!!! He has very little toy drive besides tug. I only took him outside to video tape and go to the bathroom. I also have a normal flat LB leather leash. He chewed the other leash I've had for 10 years in half. I've tried redirection with toys. He has more of a food drive right now. How hard can I play tug with him? I don't want to damage his teeth so I've been being gentle. He on the other had will leap about 3 feet in the air and gap the tug in mid air. He's a brave dog! I've tried to reward him with praise but he wants food.

d: I can't find a collar we bought him one that almost fit but it was about the same fitment as the leather one. I put more holes in the leather one to get a OK fit. I know you want to get two fingers in the collar. I've fitted collars before on my other dogs.

E:
At first he was a maligator and bitting everything. I told my kids to say OW!! if he bites as we all have been doing to nip that in the bud. He's around my kids constantly and we are socializing him with them all the time. To me he barley looked at my daughter but we will work on it. They are always screaming around him and stuff like that.


We upped his feeding to one more feeding. We are feeding him 7 times 3 1/2 cups a day total. My wife said it looks like he's filled out a little bit. He had a log poop today.


When should we consider upping his 1/2 cup of food to 1 cup per serving? Should we wait another week?

We are watching the DVD's.
I was responding to this thread at 6 pm CST but I had to postpone it.


We had a stranger stop his car and look at our children twice the other day so I've been proactive about our security and haven't been able to spend much time on the forum reading your questions and responses. The police are involved ect