Hi
I wonder if anyone has any advice for the following:(new puppy - 12 week old cocker spaniel)

(a) Barney hates going in car - what is the best way to take the puppy in the car? In his bed?
(b) Barney is happy and sleeping through the night (he sleeps on the sofa) - but only really interested in eating breakfast  -not any other meals...
(c) Barney is not interested in eliminating outside at all - he will only go on pads in the same spot
(d) Barney is 12 weeks old and he is still sleeping a lot   - and when he plays he is quite crazy....

sorry a lot of questions but would appreciate some advice.
thanks

Hi Guest.
Everything you have said is perfectly normal!

A/ Cars. Obviously travelling in cars is not "Normal" for dogs so is almost sure to cause a certain amount of apprehension. Lots of short journeys, just around the block is far enough, will help. A drive to the park with a nice run he gets there will start him thinking that cars are nice! Don't always finish up at the park though or he could start to get over excited in the car, sometimes just drive around the block and straight home.

b/ Food. Are you giving him a little too much? The best guide is the "Touch Test" feel his ribs. If you cannot feel them he is too fat! If you can feel hard edged ribs he is too thin. Just right is when you can feel the outline of the ribs blurred by the layer of flesh. Aim to feed enough to maintain this condition in four (or at least three) even sized meals. Obviously you will need to increase the food amounts as he gets bigger until he reaches the point where he has stopped growing. At that point you will need to cut down a little to just maintain him.

c/ toileting. Don't wait for him to go out, take him as soon as he wakes, as soon as he's eaten and at any time he looks as if he is looking for somewhere to go. Start using a command, I use "Be Quick" and praise him as soon as he performs and he will soon get the idea.

D/ Mad moments. Normal. A puppy's time is divided into three. 1/ feeding, 2/ sleeping and 3/ mad exercise! One thing I will say about this is, it will get easier!

Best wishes, John

Read through your post and was just going to answer...but John's said it all!!

Go with his advice and you won't go far wrong.

Best of luck

Lisa

When my boxer was a tiny pup, I used to take him out in the car quite often to get him used to it - he has a beanbag bed, which I used put on the floor of the car in the front - he used to curl up on it and felt secure, and at the same time he was safe from falling off chairs etc, as he was already on the floor! 

These days though, he sits on the back seat, looking out of the window, like Lord Muck :)  I'm sure one of these days he'll give a royal wave ;)

Just a word of advice -I would be careful if pup is sleeping on the sofa alone as they can hurt themselves when they jump off .