Puppy Tips Blog

We have a beagle/lab mix that we've had for almost 3 weeks now. She is about 7 lbs and 11 weeks old. We got her from a rescue shelter where she was rescued with her litter mates. We don't know much more about her history. We live in a two-bedroom apartment and we keep her in her kennel at night, in the second vacant bedroom. When we got her, the rescue shelter told us not to put any sort of bed or anything in the kennel with her at night because it gives them an absorbent area to go to the bathroom on. She has been barking all through the night every night. We can't sleep and I'm scared I'm keeping the other people in our building up at night too. We put a washcloth in with her to give her a little something soft to lay on, and that helps a little, but she still wines/barks every night and it's been almost three weeks now. We've even tried the ticking clock next to the kennel. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

If you spoil your dog like me, to get it to stop barking all you have to do is put the dog on your bed and rub behind its ear. They will become relaxed and will either go to sleep or just stop barking.

We've just rescued to puppy from the SPCA and he occasionally has some mishaps on our carpet. Have been showing him to the offending spot and stirnly saying 'no' then immediately leading him to the lawn in our garden so he gets the message. Is there any other tips you can share please? Thanks.

I had this problem and it takes about a week or two to get it into their fluffy heads. Keep doing what you are doing and it will pay off, but make sure you catch them in the act and don't shout at them when you see a recent wet patch on the floor as they won't know what you are on about.

A good tip that works for me is to give 'weeing' a name. So when he/she is in the garden urinating you say 'wee-wee's' or something like that as he she is doing it. It is good because if i am leaving the dog behind when i go out i can take her in the garden an say wee-wee's and she will go. Then i know it won't be a problem when i leave.

Also, prepare for your house hold to be chewed in the next couple of months.

we got a new 5 month old lab/pit bull mix puppy a couple days ago. We adopted him from a rescue group. We have a 3 year old golden and I am unsure if they are getting along. The puppy bullies the golden by nipping/biting at him on his face, and body or he takes whatever the golden has. My golden is very jumpy and DOESN'T stop the behavior but the golden seems very nervous around the puppy. My golden will run towards us and gives us this look like "help". Right as my golden sits or lays down the puppy runs and jumps on him. Sometimes the puppy will come up lick his face and keep going, the golden still even jumps or seems extremely nervous about this too. The puppy was in a foster home with two older dogs and did fine, the golden has played with friends dogs many times and was fine. The odd thing is that my golden is not fixed but the puppy is. Should I be worried and what can I do??

The best suggestion I have to offer is be patient. The two of them are getting used to each other still. Likely, the puppy is trying to be playful, and the golden isn't yet sure what to make of the puppy. With the puppy jumping on the golden, it does seem like its being friendly and playful, and the golden may not be used to such a fiesty youg pup. Give them time, and they will quickly be good friends. Unless they outright fight, I wouldn't be conserned, and even then they may just be establishing dominance. Most fights are all bark and show, not actual intentional damage. Don't reassure the golden too much, or it will just rely on you to handle everything. Make sure the dog learns to handle the situation on its own. But, from the sound of it, they will be getting along great in no time.

My husky puppy stayed at the vet for 2 days when we were gone. I know she is happy to be home. Since being home she is crying for no reason, and barking more. She is not sleeping either. She is biting us more and jumping on us. What should I do? Is she excited? How long will this take before it stops?
my puppy was boarding for 2 nights at the vet.
She is almost 12 weeks.

Was the puppy kept in a kennel the majority of the time at the vet? Probably so. If she isn't normally kept in a kennel a good portion of the day, this in combination with the new surroundings and missing you is a big change for your puppy. The biting is pretty typical of puppies. Try bitter apple on your hands. Another technique recommended by my vet was to reach in the puppies mouth and clamp down on the lower jaw pressing the tongue down. This is very affective and harmless to the pup. This will end eventually when the puppies teeth fall out. The barking….well she has been in a kennel full of barking for days. Get your puppy back into a routine and things will get better soon enough.

see, 2 days ago i adopted a 4 month old puppy, its a Goldden Retreiver male mix…im keeping him inside with me but when i take him outside to pee or poop he just wanders around or just sets there…one time i walked him for like a whole hour..but he didnt do nothing…but when i took him in he pooped in my room….i just need some good tips or differnt ways of getting him to poop or pee outside. thx

Crate train him. Just look in resolved answers. Basically you need to crate him in the house and not let him have free run. Take him out after eating and when he wakes up. If he doesn't "go" after 5-10 minutes, you take him back in on the leash and crate him. Try again in a couple hours.

he obviously knows he's suppose to go outside, he also knows how to hold it. but i feel he thinks he can go inside, if he just gets rid of the evidence before i find it. he's never really left alone for more than a few minutes, and when i'm gone, he's crated. but sometimes i'll smell it on the carpet and smell it on his breath. how do i get him to stop doing this? or how to i get him to tell me he wants to go outside other than standing by the back door?

you can get some stuff from the vet to sprinkle on his food it's tastless when he eats it, but it makes the poop repulsive (as if it wouldn't be on it's own..lol), but anyway the dog won't eat it. it only takes a couple of weeks to break the behavior then you don't need to put it on the food anymore. My puppy was doing the same thing and it worked like a charm.

I just got a puppy a few weeks ago. When my dad leaves in the morning around 6 (my mom already left for work) she barks untill somebody wakes up to play (me and my brother are left alone) Anyway to get her to stop? Do you think that this is a phase? I just don't want her to not grow out of it.

It's a puppy thing. Its ready to start its day. take it for a walk. then go back to your sleep.

How long does it take to train a Boxer puppy to let you know he has to go potty.. example.. scratching the door or ringing a bell that's hanging on the door. Sometimes ours does it, sometimes not.. he's 5 months old. What do you think???

I have two Boxers they are my babies. My three year old took about 7-8 months to get it down pat (no mistakes at all). My baby boy who's almost six months barely has the hang of it. He knows not to go in the house, however as the owner you have to stay on top of them. It's your job to read their mind, if you see them sniffing or wondering away from you immediately put them outside. Be sure to have lil' treats to praise them when they do go outside(that is very important) Also remember a puppy does not have control of their bladder until about 5-6 months. Good Luck!! Boxers are soo much fun!!

7 month old female toy miniature schnauzer. Crate training, and doing well with eliminating outside. As we have given more freedom in the house, while we are tending to her… she has been just getting into everything…eating the newspaper, chewing on sofa pillows, eating the plants. We have tried clapping or shaker noise to startle, or water spray to face. Still doing these bad behaviors. I know puppies just like to investigate, but how do you train to avoid these things? She has been good with basic training (sit, stay….).

Your problem is the "freedom." Do NOT give your puppy freedom. She needs to be with you at all times. They are just like little kids–you leave a baby/todler to roam the house and things will get ugly or they will get hurt. Put up babygates in the rooms you are most frequently in. If you are cooking in the kitchen, keep her in there with plently of toys but do keep her in that single room. Do this wherever you go. If you can't keep an eye on her, she will become destructive. You can teach her to avoid things by buying a product called "Bitter Yuck" or "Bitter Apple Spray" that is scent-free and not noticable when you put it on plants and furniture, and she will not like the taste once she bites/chews. However, the most garunteed thing to work would be keep her with you at all times/no freedom.

Growing up, my father used to always take care of this and I never paid much attention. All I know is that my father now says, "Condo" and the dog runs to his cage like and he loves it. He even naps in there and doesn't cry at all about going in there. What tips do you have for me to get my puppy to behave this way? Thanks

Start by putting puppy in and offering a treat that it likes, at the same time say 'bed' or whatever command you are going to use. Keep the door open and continue to 'play this game' until, when you say 'bed' the pup goes in happily on his own. Then shut the door for a short while and leave him. Let him out and make a great fuss of him, then start all over again. I have an 3yr Lab trained this way and when she sees a crate she still rushes in and lies down ! Training has to be fun and rewarding, that way you can train a dog to do anything.