Puppy Questions

[saljazz]

Hi Fellow dog owners, i have just brought home a new puppy she is 7 weeks old, I got her at 6 weeks because her mother had a litter of 12 and was having trouble looking after them all and keeping herself healthy.

She is a bullmastiff x rotty and her name is Jazz.

She sleeps inside at the moment in her own bed in our ensuite and is really good only wakes up a couple of times and wants to go to the toilet so she is very clever and very rarely has an accident inside.

As it has been a long time since I have had a puppy I am just after some tips.

as all puppies do she bites our hands all the time, I have read on here that some people spray their puppies with water bottles I just want to know if this could effect the puppy when it comes to liking water for swimming purposes. I dont want my dog to be scared of water.

What do I do if she is not responding to me saying no. I am really scared she is not going to like me.

What ages is the best age to really start training a puppy, what age gets the best results.

The most important thing for us is for the dog to be great with people especially children.

Any other tips will be helpful and yes I have checked the puppy tips on here but I would love to hear from other and their personal experiences.

[shekhina]

as all puppies do she bites our hands all the time, I have read on here that some people spray their puppies with water bottles I just want to know if this could effect the puppy when it comes to liking water for swimming purposes. I dont want my dog to be scared of water.

I don't use this method on my dogs, it works for some, I just choose not to use it. When my two were puppies I would make a yelping noise when they bit me. It worked for one dog, and not the other...the second puppy was a very dominant and pushy boy. If the yelping noise doesn't make your dog back off then say no in a firm, growly voice.

If these things don't work you can also turn your back on the puppy, cross your arms and ignore her...don't look at her, don't talk to her, nothing. You can also try putting her away for time out. Best method I found though was growling, it's how dogs communicate with other dogs.

What do I do if she is not responding to me saying no. I am really scared she is not going to like me.

Your dog wont dislike you for saying no, puppies like to test the waters and see where the boundaries are. Your puppy is going to be one very big, powerful dog, so you MUST get ontop of things very early. You need to make sure that she sees you as the alpha of the pack, that you are the leader. Do a seach on here for NILIF (nothing in life is free), that should return some good results for you to show you how to ensure your puppy sees you as the leader.

What ages is the best age to really start training a puppy, what age gets the best results.

Right now

The most important thing for us is for the dog to be great with people especially children.

Make sure that you socialise Jazz well, having her meet new people, children, cats, other dogs, new situations, places, noises, objects etc. etc. etc. Ignore any unsure or frightened responses and praise the good ones.

And welcome to DOL

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At this age, the most important thing is socialisation. Give her lots of oppurtunities to play with other dogs to make sure she knows how to socialise with them when she is older. Make sure she is exposed to dogs of all sizes, ages and genders, but just be sure to always properly supervise (both you and the owner of the other dogs) just in case your little one gets scared or any of the dogs become aggressive. Unless the dogs know each other well, all socialisation should be on a leash to begin with, just to be safe.

It is also important to socialise her with lots of different people, and of course, lots of supervised play with children. Make sure the kids know how to handle the dog, eg not pulling her tail or ears. Very young children will often think of the pupy as some wonderful new toy. It is important that all puppy's experiences with children are positive ones, so make sure everyone is playing nicely. Kids under 10 (give or take a few years depending on the maturity of the kid) should be supervised at all times. Make play sessions short, as a young puppy will tire quickly. A puppy that is sick of playing but is forced to play anyway, may grow up not liking kids. ("Oh no, not those kids again! They never leave me alone!").

Puppy preschool is a great way to meet other puppy owners, and for your dog to make friends. It also gives you a chance to talk to the instructor about any problems, and it may also involve some obedience training.

If you don't want to squirt your dog with water, another tactic is to make a high pitched noise when Jazz bites. Apparently, this is similar to the noise other puppies in her littler would make if she bit them too hard. Another DOL member gave me this idea, although I can't remember who it was (sorry!).

Edit: reading the post above, I just realised who gave me the idea lol

You're dog probably doesnt respond to you saying no, because she doesn't know what it means. It is your tone of voice that is important here. Try to sound like you are growling when you say it, using a deep tone of voice. This makes you seem doninant. However, I think it is much more useful to actively correct a dog's behaviour than just to intimidate them into stopping. Training is the key. You can't punish your dog for doing something she didn't know she was supposed to do.

Your dog will still like you if you correct her behaviour rather than just punish.

The best age for training varies from dog to dog, personally I think a dog is never to young to be trained, however at a younger age, the puppy has a much shorter attention span and gets bored easily, so training sessions must be limited to about ten minutes at a time. This may mean it takes a bit longer to train a young puppy. But its still possible.

Edited October 24, 2006 by pitty_lover

[saljazz]

Thanks Pitty lover and shekhina your answers we so detailed and helpful. I dont think she will be too much trouble to train, its just when I say no to her she had these beautiful brown eyes that make me feel bad oh she is just too cute.

I am so glad I found this website.

[shekhina]

No worries

There is one problem though...we need photos of your puppy...ESPECIALLY as it's a Rotty X

[saljazz]

Here is one for you, I am biased but she is a cutie. When I get some more I will post them on

[shekhina]

She looks very sweet curled up in there

[saljazz]

I had her at work with me for a week, coz she is so little, but yesterday we had a bbq at work and she kept heading out to the warehouse by herself to find the sausages and she cried everytime I left the office to serve a customer so my brother is looking after her during the day until we fix her yard up and get her some good toys.

[♪♫LMBC♫♪]

She is very cute