Puppy Questions

[Shamad]

I am the proud owner of a seven week old Shitzu / Lhaso puppy. She's very cute - but this is my first puppy and I have alot of questions. I was thinking about making the one thread and just replying with more questions whenever I come up with them - but I'm also having trouble with a name for her. So until I come up with a name hopefully no one will mind another 'Generic Puppy Questions' thread.

--

1. The puppy belongs to my girlfriend and I and it currently stays in a sharehouse with us. All of the people that stay in the house are very loving and I have no fears that they will mistreat the puppy - quite the opposite. Unfortunately different people treat the puppy in different ways and I'm worried there is going to be no consistency with the puppy's training. Does anyone have any experience in this kind of situation - and how did you deal with it? I'm kind of looking for some concrete rules that I can tell them - but it's very difficult as I have no experience with puppys really and we're all playing by ear.

2. There is one other dog in the house already, an adult Shitzu / Maltese who is incredibly submissive. Unfortunately, while we thought that the new pup and he would be great friends - its been a week and he's still terrorfied of the new puppy. We've tried to socialise them but he just runs away from the pup. If we hold onto him, or put them both in a confined space (like the bathroom) then the older dog (Mickey) either uncomfortably sits in the corner or bares his fangs at the pup. He's also tried to bite her when he gets cornered. I'm not really sure what to do as he's obviously afraid and I dont like forcing him, but at the same time everything I've read says its important to socialise them.

3. When it comes to toilet training, she's doing pretty well - but I do have some questions. Unfortunately, sometimes she doesnt poo when I think she should. Should I just wait until she waits at the door or squats, or should I persist and try to make her poo? She's pretty good with wees and will at least always try to wee when we take her outside - but for some reason she really doesnt seem to poo very often. It's currently nearly four hours after she ate and still nothing.

[Shamad]

Sorry - I understand that pics are pretty much compulsary around here

[Rysup]

She looks like a Shih Tzu to me. Its spelt Lhasa Apso by the way

You need to set the house rules about the dog. Things like no table scraps or treats, so she will end up the size of a house. Maybe post them on the fridge or something.

I would not force her on the older dog. Let them be - if he wants to stay away then so be it. If you push it you may make him more aggressive towards the puppy.

As to the toileting thing........not sure I can help. Just take her out as much as possible and as soon as she does a poo, praise her like mad.

Good luck!

[jillybean]

As Rysup said, it's a good idea to set the rules so that everyone's treating your pup the same. Even things like what commands you're going to use (eg. does drop mean lie down, or does it mean drop the toy she's carrying?) and where the pup is allowed or not allowed to go (allowed on the couch, beds?) so that she's not getting confused.

Pup's tend to poop after they've eaten or after a little bit of exercise, but you might just have to let her do her thing when she wants to then try to take her out at about the same time every day.

[Guest Tess32]

Puppies don't always poo when the books say they should While most puppy books say the pup will poo after a meal, mine poops at least 4 hours later, so there is no chance I"m standing out in the yard waiting for non pooping pup. Just work out what YOUR dog is likely to do.

[SUPERKAZ]

1. The puppy belongs to my girlfriend and I and it currently stays in a sharehouse with us. All of the people that stay in the house are very loving and I have no fears that they will mistreat the puppy - quite the opposite. Unfortunately different people treat the puppy in different ways and I'm worried there is going to be no consistency with the puppy's training. Does anyone have any experience in this kind of situation - and how did you deal with it? I'm kind of looking for some concrete rules that I can tell them - but it's very difficult as I have no experience with puppys really and we're all playing by ear.

First up - go to a Puppy Preschool so YOU get trained, then you will know first hand what the rules need to be. Simple things like only YOU feed the dog, if it wants something it must say "Please" and it says Please by sitting, consistent obedience training - initially only YOU should do it, and then they must use the same commands etc as you. Consistency is the KEY with puppies - and the reality of your situation is that you just CAN'T offer the same consistency as say I can, because I don't have kids, housemates etc. It will just take a little longer, but be patient. I think you should have a light hearted but serious (if you know what I mean) "house meeting" and do a little ceremony where your housemates are appointed as Godparents (Dogparents?) and charged with the responsibility of supporting Puppy to become a worthwhile citizen. Do a "Raise your right hand. After each promise give the response "We Will". We promise to be responsible about Puppies nutrition and let Mum and Dad do the feeding exclusively, no treats. - We Will. We promise - [insert the key ones]" Keep it light hearted, but then if someone backslides, you can say - "you promised". Getting buy in and committment is surprisingly effective.

2. There is one other dog in the house already, an adult Shitzu / Maltese who is incredibly submissive. Unfortunately, while we thought that the new pup and he would be great friends - its been a week and he's still terrorfied of the new puppy. We've tried to socialise them but he just runs away from the pup. If we hold onto him, or put them both in a confined space (like the bathroom) then the older dog (Mickey) either uncomfortably sits in the corner or bares his fangs at the pup. He's also tried to bite her when he gets cornered. I'm not really sure what to do as he's obviously afraid and I dont like forcing him, but at the same time everything I've read says its important to socialise them.

Give them time, and supervise them when they are together. The older dog is displaying fear aggression, and you don't want an attack to damage your puppy and it's attitudes to other dogs. Socialise your pup with other dogs and let this relationship develop slowly, from afar.

3. When it comes to toilet training, she's doing pretty well - but I do have some questions. Unfortunately, sometimes she doesnt poo when I think she should. Should I just wait until she waits at the door or squats, or should I persist and try to make her poo? She's pretty good with wees and will at least always try to wee when we take her outside - but for some reason she really doesnt seem to poo very often. It's currently nearly four hours after she ate and still nothing.

See if you can interest her in water as well at mealtime, it should help the poo. Play this by ear. All dogs are different. Mine never poo's immediately after food. They seemed to need abit of movement as well to get things moving.