don't mean to wear you guys out-but I keep having these things come up!
My new pup, (gsd, schutzhund prospect) is home, and we are adjusting. The breeder as well as all literature I've read said not to let him get dominated by other dogs. I have two others-one toy poodle bitch(whimper...what was I thinking?) and one spayed mutt. All seems well, the poodle is play, play play, older dog just eyeballed him and casually lifted her lip, and pup ignores her.
HOWEVER, I neglected to supervise the darn cat. This is a tactical cat and I should have guessed she'd do something like this. It commenced a sneaky attack and nailed him. He cried a lot and ran. Is he ruined?
I did comfort him-is that ok?
Holy cow, this schutzhund raising is more complicated than I thought!
Also he cries about a lot of things...is this normal for working bred dog? I mean lots of things. He is barking or whining or yelling all the time unless he gets total one on one attention. Being next to me on the leash is not enough, there must be interactive play ALL THE TIME.

A tactical cat - I love it! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> What a shame, he's ruined for good now. Just kidding!

When a pup feels sorry for himself and cries/whines (assuming he really hasn't got an eyeball hanging from the socket), I prefer to distract him with play. Make yourself interesting, just like you would with a kid, and they'll forget about their woes.

If you respond to the pup's insistence that you interact with him all the time, you will be conditioning him to whine/cry/bark every time he wants something. And be aware that if you resist his cries for, say 45 minutes, and then you can't stand it anymore and you give in, you are conditioning learned persistence. What the pup learns is that he really SHOULD hang in there and keep making a fuss, even if it doesn't appear to be working, cuz you'll EVENTUALLY give in to him. I'm a believer in letting pups have time alone each day, perferably in a kennel, away from me, where he learns that I will not come rescue him and he has to stand on his own four feet, so to speak. The earlier they learn this, the easier life is after that.

No eyeballs hanging out, thank goodness!
Thanks for the advice-it seems I need lots of it...
Hey, does this site sell some kind of arm guards for this puppy biting period? Sheesh. I got little holes up and down my arms now. Guess my squeaker is better than the ones in his toys.

Winter jackets for the upper bod, and hiking boots for the ankles - a must for every puppy!

OK Karmen,

I was hoping you wouldn't have caught the "eyeball hanging" post.

The tactical cat story had me laughing because I too have one of those cats.......he delights in ambushing unsuspecting dogs, especially puppies!! But the bottom line is that you will end up with a much better dog for having a cat like that. I can't tell you how many adult dogs, not raised with cats can't be trusted with them. Since I always have a cat around, this has prevented me from taking some older working prospects into my home. Everyone lives in the house here and must (to some extent) tolerate each other.

A great way I found to introduce crabby cats to new dogs or pups is to give the cat some catnip right before I bring the dog in. Ed got video of this and it's pretty hilarious. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Hope I didn't stray too far off topic.......oops. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />