Puppy Questions

leaughxp

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#1
I know that puppies chew and bite but Gunner bites a lot! He is good around other people or when outside but when inside the house he will attack you! He'll bite your leg, arm, face, back, toes, and hair; he doesn't care. Sometimes he'll just be sitting there calmly chewing on his nylabone and then all of a sudden he's biting your face! Lots of times he will sneak up from behind to attack. Any suggestions on how to stop this? We are signed up for puppy training class but that doesn't start for another two weeks.

Gunner was doing good on housebreaking. At the shelter they said the puppies had been going outside and the first few days here he didn't have many accidents. Sometimes he will go to the door and I think he knows he's suppossed to go out but sometimes he just doesn't. The last two days or so he has been wetting in the house. There are puddles everywhere and it seems he can go two or three times in an hour. He doesn't go that much all day but I can take him out and he potties outside then 10 minutes later he potties in the house. He also has stayed in his crate for a few hours and kept it dry so I don't understand why he goes in the house and how he goes so often.

Also I was given a bag of science diet puppy from the shelter where I got Gunner. When I took him to the vet and told him what I was feeding him he just said to get large breed puppy food, so I got the science diet kind. He didn't suggest any type of food but that's what the shelter gave me and my last dog was on it his entire life so that's what I got. A few days a go I read on another forum that science diet is bad food (I think I saw that posted on here too)! So I would like to know if anyone has good information on what type of food is best or any recommendations on what to get? Has anyone heard of Nutro? I got free samples from petsmart and wanted to know what others thought.

Last question, I was told I should get him rawhides to chew on but I thought I remembered being told when we had our last dog that dogs shouldn't have them? Are they okay or not?
 
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#2
Just a thought to add to Serena's great advice: he may be pottying in the house to mark his new territory. You don't say what kind of dog he is, or how old he is, but I've had dogs (even a female, Buffy) who started marking at a very early age, especially if they smelled another dog's odor.

Skip the Science DIEt and the Nutro. You can get much better quality at the same price with the brands Serena mentioned. Natura Pet, the company that makes Innova, also makes California Natural and Karma to the same standards.
 

leaughxp

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Thank you. I am going to research those foods and what makes a good dog food. As for the biting, I do tell him "NO" but it can be very hard to get him off of you. He does this even when your not playing with him or giving him any attention. He does seem to want attention 24 hours a day so I'll try leaving the room next time. I have tried to "trade" him toys when he bites or chews something he's not suppossed to but he's less than enthusiastic about his own toys after he's had the other "toys".

Our kitchen, dining room, and living room are all pretty much open so it'd be hard to block any part off for him with the gates. He doesn't go down the hall much and I try to keep bedroom and bathroom doors shut. I do have him on a schedule for going out as far as as soon as he's out of his crate and after he eats. I have a book that says to take him out after "vigorous playing" any idea how long he can play before I should take him out? Also I take him out after he wets in the house and when he does potty outside which is everytime we go outside, I tell him "good boy Gunner" and pet him, sometimes jump up and down or clap my hands, kinda make a big deal about it.

Gunner gets scared easily by noises outside. Certain noises scare him enough to run straight in the house distracting him from eating everything in sight. Things like the lab next door making any noise what so ever, neighbor skatebording, cars, garbage trucks scare him and he hates going out in the rain. Is there anything I can do to help him? He likes other dogs that he's met at the vet and the petstore and there were lots of loud dogs at the shelter when he was there so I was thinking maybe he needs more time to adjust to life without his sister. I would have loved to adopted them both but I live with parents who would only agree to one dog (I was lucky I got one).
 

leaughxp

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Renee750il said:
Just a thought to add to Serena's great advice: he may be pottying in the house to mark his new territory. You don't say what kind of dog he is, or how old he is, but I've had dogs (even a female, Buffy) who started marking at a very early age, especially if they smelled another dog's odor.
Well this thought crossed my mind but he's only 11 weeks old (or so the shelter said, he's 9 1/2 lbs though so I don't think he could be mush older though). He is a lab/hound mix. Can they do this that young? There are no other dogs in the house right now. We did have a Westie, Bailey, who died back in June. The carpet has been replaced since then and Gunner has all new toys. I'm reusing the cage but washed it with bleach and rinsed well. So I don't think he would smell any other dog odors in the house.

I took him to the park today and even a 1 mile walk didn't wear him out! But I am concerned he is very scared of other things, geese, ducks,and birds; bikes; and cars all scared him. Poor puppy would freeze up with his tail between his legs and sometimes he would walk behind me. I kept telling him it was okay and stoped and pet him. He does love people though. Any suggestions on how to build up his confidence so the little noises outside don't scare him?
 
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#5
Just keep walking with him and reassuring him like you're doing. He'll start building more confidence as he gets more accustomed to everything and learns that you won't let anything happen to him. It's a good sign that he loves people.
 

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