Five months ago we adopted a Japanese Spitz from a breeder. His toilet was newspaper/pads and he usually aimed it correctly although his poop normally missed by a few centimetres. He learned how to sit, lie down and stay when we took him to puppy pre-school. At about 12 weeks or so he was staying in a penned area in a large room inside our house with lots of sunlight, a radio, hot water bottle, bed/blanket, toys, food, water and newspaper/pads; and our 10 month old Persian Cat. Recently we've kept him in the backyard, and we'll let him inside the house a couple of hours when we come back from work. I have a few questions:
1. Have I missed the toilet-training timeframe? We'd like to have him inside the house but he's wee'd on a rug a couple of times (away from the newspaper) and on the floor a couple of times.
2. He sometimes chases the cat he's grown up with and the cat seems a bit annoyed (arched back, front paws up but claws are not out), is there a way to socialise them or get the Spitz to stop chasing the Persian?
3. In the backyard he's pooped on a pebbled area which I'd prefer he didn't do so I cleaned the area and spread some repellant on there a few times but he still does his business there, is there a way to make him do his business elsewhere in the backyard? The backyard has some concrete, a paved area, a dirt area (unfinished) and some plant area.
4. Is it normal for a dog to bark at you for no apparent reason? Sometimes I go out to the backyard and he's waiting, he'll run a couple of metres away then bark, then do it again when I walk towards him.
5. When I walk him outside on a leash, he tends to tug on it. I stand still when he does so and he sits or lies down. When we start walking, he tugs on the leash again.
6. He knew how to sit, lie down and stay. Now when I say sit, he'll sometimes lie down. What's going on? i use "down" to get him to lie down .
Sorry about all the questions, it's our first puppy.
