Latest Addition To The Family !

[dekaffe]

Hello all!

We made our way up to Kurri Kurri from Sydney on saturday to adopt our 9 week old Pembroke Welsh Corgi. He's the most adorable thing!

However, as all new puppy owners will experience, we have run into a few problems which I am sure are not uncommon. I have read through the forum and used the Search function but perhaps a few answers more specific to my questions would be appropriate now And thankyou so much in advance for taking the time to help me and Juggy out.

1) Eating

Juggy's diet currently consists of half a cup of Hills dry puppy food + 1/4 cup of mince mixed well with a bit of hot water. During breakfast I also give him some lactose free milk. However I am finding that Juggy seperates all the meat from the dry food and eats up all the meat while leaving a bit of dry food. Is this normal - perhaps I am giving him too much?

Apart from that, what kind of variations do you suggest for the little boy in terms of his diet? I can iamgine that what he is getting at the moment could be quite boring. He seems to like vege's aswell.

2) Toilet!!

Probably one of the hardest things to train a dog to do!

So far Juggy has only pooped inside the house! We feed him his 3 meals a day and find that no matter how long we stand outside with him after the meal, he usually wont poop. Instead it is some time later on that we find a little surprise inside. What's going on there?

3) Sleeping

His current sleeping arrangements are as follows; We have a plastic see-through storage container (no lid ofcourse!) - about 80cm long x 40cm wide x 20 cm high (obviously padded with blankets). Since he is a corgi and at that only a pup, he has alot of trouble getting out of the container with his very short legs - is this a similar principle to the crate? The only problem I can see with this is if he needs to goto the toilet he will end up going it in his little bed. Do you guys have any better suggestions (well obviously you do - your all pro's!)?

4) Training

I know dogs prefer to be rewarded rather than reprimanded, but where exactly do we draw the line between how often we should be reprimanding him? I am a bit worried that I am overwhelming and expecting too much of the poor bugger on only his second day in his new house, but I really want this baby to be very well trained and figure I should start asap. Is this the right approach - or is it best to let him settle in and perhaps on the first or second week start again?

When he bites my finger, i give him a firm "NO" with the pointed finger. I am sure with time he will figure outwhat I am saying. Sometimes if he is persistent on biting I grab a bit of his loose skin above his neck and give it a little ring until I can see he is a little uncomfortable.

Thanks so much if anyone can offer me and my little friend some help

Cheers

Sameer

[ish]

I'll have a go at answering a couple of your questions

1) Eating

I would guess that he's seperating the meat out of the bikkies, because the meat is the extra yummy bit! Who wants boring bikkies when you can have meat! Perhaps try cutting the meat back and see if he then eats all the dry - that way if he eats it all you'll know you're over-feeding him. If not and it is just because he likes the meat more, I would go with a tough love approach. If you let him be fussy now, you'll be battling with finding things that he'll eat for his whole life. Hills is complete and balanced as it is, without adding meat or anything else - so I would feed him just the Hills for a week or two. If he turns his nose up at it and decides he's not going to eat it, too bad. Give him 15 minutes and if he doesn't eat it in that time, take it away and don't offer him anything else until his next meal time. I know it sounds horrible, but he won't starve - after a few days of realising if he doesn't eat what hes given, when he's given it he'll go hungry, he should start to eat better. Once he's eating the dry food well, you can reintroduce the meat, vegies, etc. Its common for pups to go off their food for a few days when they arrive in their new home, so maybe give him a few days to settle in before trying the above. If in doubt, check with his breeder, they might have some more advice for you.

2) Toilet!!

The key to toilet training is to be consistent. Take him outside EVERYTIME after he eats, drinks, wakes up from a sleep and after a big play (or if you catch him sniffing around, carrying his tail high, sooking etc). Praise him heaps when he does go outside. You can use a command like 'empty' when he is in the act outside, and he'll eventually cotton on that when you give him that command outside, thats what he's to do. While he's still so new, keep him confined in one area of your house so you can keep an eye on him and know when its time to go outside. Also, don't carry him outside if you can possibly help it, call him over to the door and the desired toilet area outside so he'll learn where to go himself - after a few days hopefully he'll start making his way over the to the door by himself.

If he doesn't go to the toilet while you're outside, I wouldn't make a fuss - take him back inside and continue on as normal, keeping in mind it will be even more important to get him outside the next time he wakes up, or has a drink etc. I've found that pups tend to poop after a big run around, and whilst I don't recommend you make him gallop around too much after a meal, if he still hasn't had a poo a few hours later, you might want to try a big chasey game or something and remember heaps of praise when he does go.

3) Sleeping

I personally don't like the idea of a bed he can't get into easily by himself and I'm not sure what you're gaining by this. My puppies have tended to fall asleep where ever they stood when they were brand new rather than finding their bed! I'd suggest, if you're worried about him wrecking a good bed while he's a baby, a cardboard box with the front cut out and blankets inside - if he chews or wrecks it, no harm done and its warm and secure. When he's ready for his next bed, you can transfer his blankets and it will be familiar to him. If he falls asleep somewhere else, gently move him to his box so he'll get the idea that when he's sleepy thats where he's to do. Crate training is fantastic and I suggest you give it a shot - you can put his bed in his crate even. If he can't get out of his storage container to go to the toilet and has to go in his bed, it will upset him and make toilet training harder. Toilet training with the crate works by the pups natural instinct not to want to soil bed and if they can't get out and find a quiet corner of the house to go, they're more likely to hold on and wait for an appropriate opportunity to go away from their bed - but the owner still needs to be there to keep an eye out for signs that the pup needs to go outside and take them. Hope that makes sense.

4) Training

I agree its hard to know if you should be letting the pup settle in and ignoring bad behaviour or start teaching him whats right and wrong right from day 1 - maybe someone else will have an idea.

With your biting hands example, I have a suggestion. Try not to point your finger at him when you tell him off for this - to him, you're waving your hand at him, the one he's just been biting -so you must be playing right? You're giving him your finger to bite, thats how this game works?!! Instead, say "NO!" firmly, take your hands away for a second so he knows you're not playing and then give him something he is allowed to bite, like one of his toys and have a game with him. That way, you're turning it into a positive - here Juggy, you're not allowed to bite me, but you can bite this and then you're a good boy. Personally, I don't mind scruffing if the pup is really naughty - but lots of people are against this.

Same principle with jumping up - teach him to sit as soon as you can (its easy, get him focused on a piece of food in your hand, hold it at his nose height at slowly move it up above his head so his head goes up, bum goes down and as his bum touches the ground, say "Sit!" and repeat lots!). When he jumps up, tell him 'NO!', turn away to ignore him and when he's not jumping, tell him to sit and praise him - he'll soon learn that if he wants attention from you, he's got to sit.

I hope that helps

[dekaffe]

Hi ShepHead!

Thanks for the detailed advice. I think though I'm a bit confused about the crate training. What exactly is crate training? I've obviously got it a bit mixed up re: the sleeping thing. If you or somebody else could expand that would be great!

Cheers

[dekaffe]

(11pm: I just went to the laundry and transferred him from the container-bed to a laundry basket in which I have modified and cut but removed sharp edges so that he can easily walk in and out of it. blankets ofcourse!)

[dekaffe]

Hi Guys

Any other useful tips regarding toilet training?

Anything at all would be appreciated, seriously. He has only so far crapped inside the house. While I am training him to crap outside, is the best place a grassy area or concrete?

Cheers

Sameer

[Dogsfevr]

If hes toileting in the house its simply because your not watching for the signs or allowing thim o show the signs & waiting to long before reacting.

Do you have a doggy door or is the door open for outside access??If he has access outside you need to allow him to walk the access path & take him to a desired area & basically keep watching & waiting.

For me i would place pup on the lead & give a key word"Toilets"etc when done lots of praise.

I find by placing pup on lead they dont get distracted & go off playing instead having to focus & your there.

You must continously show pup the door access even if it doesnt want to go NEVER CARRY,it needs to learn the access ,a puppy will genearlly have a wee each time taken out & once it understands the door to outside it will go out on its own but still persist with the training even after its got it .

Feeding as already said be firm ,give less meat ,it also may be teething & often the bikkies are a tad tougher on its teeth but the main thing is it no longer has competition for food so you now need to be the replacement,if it doesnt eat in set time remove & dont give the pup any scrapes,treats etc if it isnt eating its proper meal.

There are certainly things you can add but pup needs to get into a routine on the breeders diet first & then contact the breder for maybe alternatives but adding things like tuna in oil ,natural yoghurt cant hurt.

Training does start from day 1 but your expectactions need to be realistic,pup has gone from an environment it new & trusted to a new house,new people no freinds ,different voise tones & owners that arent sure.Basic training is a must but it needs to conquer the basics first .dont confuse the pup with trival areas.

Puppy biting i agree dont wave finger its jjust encouraging it & ithasnt a clue why the finger is being pointed, agood firm no with eye contact is simple enough