Hello all, I'm back!

Ollie is settling in quite well (playing with his toys, sleeping well, sitting on command (most of the time!) etc) but I have a few questions and I have read different things in different books so thought I'd ask the experts :D

1. Night-time weeing

Ollie has been quiet for the last two nights from about 11.30 to 6.00am, which is good because I've slept! But...not good because he obviously does his wees. He hasn't pooed inside - always does that outside (so far!). Should I be setting my alarm and going in at say 1.30 and 3.30 and taking him out or should I just leave the training to the daytime?

2. Naughty humping of my 4 year old daughter's leg

Ollie has taken a liking to my 4 year old daughter Chloe. So far he hasn't tried it on with me or with my 6 year old who is bigger than Chloe. Chloe doesn't like this and I can't say I'm that impressed but I do realise that it's kind of natural behaviour but what are the reasons behind it? Is he trying to assert himself over Chloe because he sees her as lower than him in the "pack"? He's only 7.5 weeks old as well! Anyway, how can I best stop this or at least stop him doing it with Chloe? Could it be anything to worry about, leading to agression with her maybe?

3. Mouthing

Ollie bites us a lot (not proper bite, play biting) and grabs our clothes. I know this is normal, just wondered if there were any tips to stop it. At the moment we are removing his mouth saying a firm no and walking away from him, but he tends to keep chasing and bites us again and again!

4. Growling

Ollie has occasionally growled at things, i.e. his toys, the garden soil :) and also my younger daughter. Is this also anything to worry about?

5. He hates his crate!!

I keep Ollie's crate in his room with the door open so he can go in and out, but I take him in it in the car. But he whines and barks and scratches the whole time. I have done short trips with rewards at the end and also giving him something to nibble, but he just doesn't settle. Any tips?

6. Milk - skimmed, semi-skimmed, full dat, goats milk?

Ollie has a weetabix with milk before bedtime but what milk should it be? Does it really matter?

7. Other treats

Can pups this young have other treats such as bonios, rasks etc? Some say not suitable, some say nothing...

Wow, few more questions than I had planned! Any advice / tips would be fab. Am taking Ollie to the vet this afternoon so will see what he has to say to.

Thank you!

Sarah.

Deleted due to Parkins duplication.

Deleted due to Parkins duplication

Hi Sarah,
Yep, he's a normal puppy! :D

I'll have a go at your queries (bear in mind this is what I would do, and others may do different things...)
1. Night time weeing. I must admit I have never got up in the night and woken the puppy to take him outside.If he's crying, I'll take him out. If he isn't - well, we all need our sleep, and I'll mop the floor in the morning.

2. Humping Chloe's leg. Remove him from her by holding his scruff, say a firm "No, naughty" and put him in his bed. He won't stay there, but the moment will have passed and it should be a while before he does it again. This isn't a particular dominance thing - it's just something they do to their littermates (from about 4 weeks old - that's really funny!). If you stop him without making a big deal of it, he'll grow out of it. He's choosing her because she's the smallest so closest to him in size, so he sees her as more of a pal!

3. Mouthing. Again, normal, and will carry on, though getting less and less, until he has changed his teeth. There are loads of theories about how to stop this, and they all work in the end and in about the same timescale! I have always just said "No!"and given the pup a game with a toy instead.

4. Growling. Some dogs are more vocal than others - yipping, growling etc are all part of a dog's vocabulary. You'll be able to tell from his behaviour if he's cross or excited. The growl you get when playing tuggy is utterly different to the threatening growl.

5. Crates - can't help, I've never used one, but I imagine he'll get used to it in time. Have you tried feeding him in it sometimes?

6. Milk. Goats is supposed to be the best, as it is richer and fattier than cows milk. I've always used either Lactol (or one of the other puppy milk powders from the petshop) or ordinary silvertop, with no ill effects.

7. And mine have always had a Bonio last thing at night, and have been fine.

Hope this helps!
:)

PS: Have you got a copy of The Perfect Puppy, by Gwen Bailey? You'll find it invaluable.

Hi Sarah, glad to hear Ollie is settling in. It's a long time since I've had a puppy but the biting/mouthing issue struck a chord - our last dog was, as a pup, a VERY mouthy Golden (as I believe Ollie is?) and we really did have huge success with the 'yelp and ignore' method. Working on the principle that pups let their littermates know when they're playing too rough by giving a loud yelp, that was what we did every time Casey nipped one of us. We yelped loudly and turned our backs on him so any games, attention etc came to an abrupt end. If he persisted, so did we. What we found worked was if we yelped and quickly left the room. After a few seconds we would return, IMMEDIATELY give him a command for something we knew he understood ('sit', 'come' etc) and reward him for obeying the command by resuming playtime or whatever we had been doing. We saw an improvement in a matter of a couple of weeks, so that by the time he was about 3 months old, we could hold our hand out in front of his muzzle and he would turn his head away slightly. We never scolded him, never held his mouth shut, never shouted - we literally just yelped and walked away from him EVERY single time he did it. By this method, you are teaching the pup to be responsible for his actions - if he wants playtime or pleasant attention to continue, he has to keep his mouth shut. This was also useful in teaching him to settle to being groomed - we did the same thing if he attempted to bite the brush.

Good luck, whatever method you choose.

Hee hee ! They joys of owning a puppy !! :D

1. Leave him be as JG said just mop it up in the morning. He is a boy so it will take a little longer as with all breeds of animals!! ( only joking :D:D) He will learn in time !
2. A firm NO then get him off and distract him . He will again grow out of it. Try and get your daughter not to react when he does it if possible and walk away.
3.Do as you are doing but try and put a nice chewy toy, a rope or something similar so he can get his chops around that.
4.The growling will almost certainly be playing as he is almost talking by doing this asking for what ever he is woofing at to play .

5.Never used a crate so can't answer ! Well did try once with MB the latest pup but after a day gave up !

6.Have never really given milk to any of my pups.

7. Bonios etc are Ok just keep an eye out when he is chomping in case he bites off more than he can chew !! :)

Sounds although you are having great fun ! :) Enjoy !

Lucy

hello sarah,
im the proud owner of a 9 week old boxer. he has his very own crate which he loves. from day one he has been fed in there, his bones are chewed in there. when hes had enough he will go into his crate and sleep if it is to noisey in the lounge. it has to be one of the best things i have purchased. it gives me the peace of mind good luck
there are times i wouldn't mind being in there in all honesty
em