New Puppy

[proudmamaof3boys]

We got a new puppy a 8 week old male chocolate lab. We already had a male Chihuahua for 5 years now. He hates the puppy. He hides from it all day and night. Well the puppy went and is sleeping in his hiding place and Rocky is mad. He walks by and makes noises at the puppy. How long do you think it will take for Rocky to like the puppy? He loves other dogs, no matter the size or gender.
Another thing is Rocky the Chihuahua is loosing hair like you wouldn't believe. We brush him everynight. He just seems to loose the hair.
One more thing. how is the best way to get the puppy trained to go to the bathroom out side.? Some one said newspaper on the floors. I am a clean freak and don't want to smell dog poop or pee in the house.. Is there anything out there to keep the smell out after we clean up his little messes?

 

[Corgi411]

I never used newspapers for my corgi puppy. I just stayed on top of it and took him out every 30 minutes to an hour. Absolutely must shower him with praise when he eliminates outside...I always felt training your pup to piddle on pads or newspapers is giving him the idea it is ok to go inside as long as he is on the papers...Also makes it harder to train them to go outside.
As for the stain/smell if they have an accident I prefer woolite pet stain remover. Then hit it with a shot of Febreze.

 

[YorkieLover]

Great answers given above, we use Nature's Miracle to clean up the stain and odor. I would definitly not paper train unless you want them going in the house. We piddle pad trained ours and although they go outside when we put them out, if they don't feel like being cold, wet or yucky they will pee on the pads. Which is good since it's not my carpets but those pads do cost money.

 

[Zoom]

It's going to take some time for the Chi to accept the fact that there is a new dog in the house...not to mention the fact that this new dog is already twice his size. It's different in your house because this is "home territory" and not someone he's meeting in a neutral spot. Right now he's most likely thinking that some interloper has just inavded his space. Just make sure that you are still giving your Chi food and attention first, and that he gets to walk outside first and things like that so he becomes more comfortable knowing that he hasn't been replaced in his pack order. If the new puppy does things like take the Chi's toys or his sleeping spot, then take away the toy or move him. Make sure you give the puppy a toy of his own in exchange.

Newspaper training is rather confusing to a puppy, because it will get used to going inside and then when it goes somewhere not on the paper, it gets scolded. Dogs don't generalize well and he won't make the connection very easily. It's best to just start training him outside and avoid that problem all together. To start with, take him outside immediatly after waking up, eating, playing and taking him out of his crate (if you are crate training). During the day, start by taking him outside every 30 minutes, set a timer if you have to. But go outside and tell him "go potty" or whatever command you want to use. But make sure you pick one and stick with it.

When your puppy does go outside, make a huge fuss over him! "Ohhhh, good puppy! Good potty, you're such a good doggy aren't you!" Things like that, maybe toss in a treat. Pretty soon he'll get the idea that this going outside thing is pretty darn cool. If he does have an accident and go in the house, which will happen at least once because he's a puppy, don't go ballistic. If you *catch him in the act*, then clap your hands and say "No!" It should startle him long enough to make him stop peeing so you can pick him up and run outside. If he finishes the job out there, remember to praise. If you don't catch him in the act, then just sigh and roll your eyes for forgetting to watch him. At 8 weeks he's only going to be able to hold his bladder for a short amount of time.

Nature's Miracle has worked very well for me in cleaning up accidents with no residual smell.

Good luck!

 

[RoxyBoxer]

With roxy we took her out alot and when she would pee we would treat her like she just saved the world and use the pee word alot 'good girl you pee'd' and so on for about 2 minutes outside...and kept doing this..after about a week id look at her and ask if she wanted to pee and she'd run to the door or look at me funny lol.

 

[Denaluvscorgis]

I agree with Corgi...I used piddle pads at first and wished that I hadn't. Just take the puppu out every 30 minutes, the minute he/she wakes up from sleeping and after eating. Reward...reward....reward!! I just takes time and patients. Good luck!

 

[YorkieLover]

It most likely will take some time for your chi to warm up to the puppy. I bet it was a good couple months before our 2 older guys would even let the puppy stand beside them without growling or snapping at him. Now, on occassion they will actually allow him close enough to lick them (but not for very long)... I seriously doubt they will ever play together but if they can at least be in the same area together without noises or looks that is alot..

 

[aurorab]

We had Baby 1st (chi mix), then got Mira (also a chi), Baby was a bit unsure of her at 1st but then they got along great, maybe a wk or so. Then we got Jake (boxer puppy). Baby is 8lbs, Mira, 6lbs.... Jake was 9 when we got him, now 2 months later he's 30lbs!
Baby did not like him at all. She wouldn't do anything to him but would hide on the one chair, w/ the ottamon jake can't get to her. Plus when they would go out side Jake would try to dive bomb them when they tired to pee. I either take them out seperate or the girls go 1st and I spend some quality time w/ Jake. Then he get to go and since he just watched them he learned real fast.
Baby and Jake are finally starting to get alone (yes 2 months later). Mira likes him but she gets scared when he tries to play w/ her. All 3 now sleep together next to me on the couch.... I have no room! of course my husband has plenty of room on his chair.
One thing that I did that helped was to get Jake tired, usually after play and at night, then I'd have a hold of him and get the girls to come over and they could spend time together. I would pet one then the other. soon they would be right next to each other. If Jake got too much I was in btwn them w/ Jake being tired he usually was calm around them.
This really seemed to help. Plus I made sure that mu husband and I spent quality time w/ the girls. This helps w/ the jealousy.

 

[Dixie]

As for puppy training, remember he is 8 weeks old so again, no discipline and no harsh voices, puppy will learn through fun and games.

What I commend you is with puppy in the home, this will give pup countless opportunities to be reminded whos the boss, and he will learn to deal with everyday stresses.

Start training pup NOW. Start with teaching "sit" (trust me pups this age can learn, and usually learn fast.) Have him on a leash so you can control his actions, then command "sit", pull up on the leash, and down on the bottom, and command "sit", when he's in position, praise him. Repeat 1,000 times. You can also teach the pup to stay by simply extending the sit command. Have pup sit, then slowly back away to the end of the leash, while commanding "sit". If pup lies down, walk up to him, pull him back up and command "sit" and back away again. If pup comes to you before youre ready for him, go back to the spot and reseat him again. When youre ready, command "here". Repeat 1,000 times.

Also start working on the "here" command- while he's exploring command "here" and tug on the leash, when he gets to you, praise him. Repeat 1,000 times.

And yes, you can teach pup to heel at this age as well.

Plan on going out for a walk with pup, on leash. While walking, everytime his head hits your leg, command "heel". Should he go in front of you like most pups do, simply pull him back towards you, short-snatch back into heel position and command "heel". Should he fall behind, command "here", then when he is even with you, slightly pull back on the leash into position and command "heel".

These are simple commands that you can teach pup, which will make the rest of his training much easier.

Make sure pup masters one command before moving on to the next one. You must condition pup to these commands daily, usually a 10 minute session in the morning and a 10 minute session in the evening and pup should be well on his way to being a good citizen.

After pup has mastered all of these commands, you can string them all into one drill that can be done to keep his OB skills sharp.
Start off with pup beside you, command sit, then, walk 15 steps out, then command "here", then "heel", then do walking heel, turning figure eights and circles, then stop at starting point, and command "sit" again. You can do this drill for a 10 minute OB session, but make sure pup has mastered these commands before stringing them together.

Now as for potty traning - take him out to do buisness every 30 mins (his bladder is small) and everytime you change activities. When hes peeing/pooping command potty and praise him. Also this might be ideal to teach him "kennel" as well. Put him in a crate/kennel that is just big enough for him to sit, lie down, and turn around in, otherwise when you do this he will pee on one end and lie down on the other. Now what you do is when your done playing with him, or when you need to go somewhere, take the crate and pup. Everytime you put him in the crate, command "kennel", close the door and command "kennel" again. Leave him in there just for 5mins, then gradually extended the time by adding another minute everyday. Be prepared to have an accident. If he goes in his kennel, he will likely not like it, thus will hold it until you come and take him out. And when he does have an accident, simply clean it up, and DO NOT DISCIPLINE pup, this is self taught. He will learn on his own that if he holds it, relief will come. And if he goes in the house, simply clean it up, and DO NOT DISCIPLINE pup. Prasie him profusely when he goes outside, he will learn that if he goes outside, he will get praise and good things happen.

Im glad you chose a Labrador, and I wish you well with your new puppy.

As a reminder I dont use discipline or harsh voices before 4 mos of age, but I do teach pup through fun and games.

Good luck,
Dixie

 

[proudmamaof3boys]

That is alot of great tips. We do have the kennel. So far so good with that. We put him it that at night and he wakes out twice to go outside.
What is the best chew toys. I have bought him many so far, and you know what he likes best shoes and cords.. So we have to make sure they are away...
With the kennel, our other dog who we had for 5 years now. Well we have a small kennel he goes in at night.. it is for a cat. Ok. he will go poop and pee in it. I don't know why he does it. He goes out before bed. Then when he goes out at 6 in the morning there will be pee and poop in it. The people we got him from weren't nice to there pets. Rocky was locked in a kennel all day with his brother. It was a small one too. They claimed it was because they didn't want the females to pregant. They never went outside, they would take them to the basement to poop and pee... That is the whole reason I took him. I felt sorry for him.. He hate most men. Loves our kids, but doesn't like other peoples kids, and barks like there is no tomarrow.

 

[Chithedobe]

My chi won't pee in his kennel, but he is clever enough to hike his leg and aim out the wire door to pee on the floor. Such a booger is he!
You're gotten great advice on potty training, I don't think there is anymore that I can add.
But I can tell you that Petri, my Chi has always been a neurotic little mess and is very picky which dogs he will play with. About 4 months ago I brought in a female Doberman pup. It took several weeks before Petri would walk by her without growling at her. They are great buddies now but he is ever in charge and lets her know with no uncertain terms when she's gone too far.

Since he is smaller and not nearly as playful as the pup, I've made him a few "safe places". He is allowed on the sofa all the time, she is only allowed up with an invite. This way, if she gets too rough with play or he just doesn't want to be bothered by her, he can escape from her and still remain with the family. I play with them both but also try to set aside individual time for him. The pup takes a lot of time away from him, when I walk her, I am focused on training her so he doesn't get to come along. I try to make sure to take him out for short walks alone at least a few times a week. So far, so good... Good luck!