hi all :)

well i have had monty my now 8wk old Min Schnauzer pup since Saturday...He is beautiful and i have a couple of questions.

1)Although he barley messes in the house it is only because im always watching him, he knows what to do when i take him out. When will he let me know he needs to go out? He whimpers at night to let me know but not during the day?

2)He is very clingy, too clingy. If im sat on the floor he needs to be with me (but not just next to me he needs to be climbing all over me and nipping), after his night wee he goes back to sleep in his bed but only after he has fallen asleep with us (then i move him) Im thinking that perhaps a pen would be good as he cant come over to us. I dont want him in there all the time, but i feel as tho i have been taken over by a pup and i cant find time to do ANYTHING as i have to watch him for the toilet, playtime, other dog and cats. I think it might do him good and he will have to learn to be left alone..Do you think a pen would work?

3)He is such a nipper, and its really starting to hurt, he is 8wks is he teathing? or is it a bad habbit? When will this stop? He has a nylabone and a puppy ragger that he likes to chew and when he nips me i say NO! and give him something appropriate to chew on, am i doing this right?

Apart from that he is great, he is beautiful (especially when sleeping! lol) im hoping that things will become easier as he grows older, when can i expect for him to be a little more indipendant?

Thanks, Roxanne *yawn!*

I find that you need to watch pup constantly for two weeks to get the basics reasonably grounded. Yes, you do feel like you've been taken over, because you have!! It's like having a new baby in the house - your life will change. Housework etc is done when he is having his naps.

I'm hoping you have a copy of The Perfect Puppy? It will answer many of your questions, and you can refer to it over and over again.

Re his 'clinginess' - if you think about it he has just come from an large family of mum and siblings (and breeder + family) to be with 24/7. Now he has no dogs to play with and only a few strange humans. Is it really a surprise he wants to behave with you as he behaved with them? He's behaving like a puppy. If you bring him up well he will behave like a grown-up dog when he is one.

:)

In response:

yes i do have the perfect puppy, perhaps i should read it again! i do have an older Mini Schanuzer Boston who is 8 (i got the pup as a pal for him) but he wont have anything to do with him, he keeps running away, i think its because the pup is nipping all the time and he does not like it.

so basically i have to persivere! Perhaps when he is a little older they will get on and i can have a break! :)

Ill keep on going then, Roxanne

HI, All puppies "play bite" arn't the teeth sharp, it's not the first time ive had blood from pups play biting, glad to see your pup is getting on well with house breaking, your pup will be missing its brothers and sisters and that is why it is climbing all over you, thats the way puppies lie when they are born all over each other, I could show you a photo of mine doing that just now, they keep warm that way snuggling into each other. Teething usually starts about 14 weeks of age you will find the baby teeth start to fall out sometimes you dont even notic e, a good tip for teething is to either get a rope tug or tie some old socks together and soak them in water then put in the freezer, when frozen give to the pup to chew, this also helps to cool down the gums, bonjella is also good for the gums, that is, if you can get into the pups mouth in the first place, LOL. I use a cage when training puppies and a few years ago was really against this, but, now I think they are brilliant, feed pup in the cage and buy a kong they are really good especially if you have to go out shopping, I would introduce the pup to the cage gradually as I said if you feed in the cage it associates the cage with good things, and put his favourite toys in as well. If you have housework to do in another room its a good idea to pop the pup in the cage with his kong with a few titbits, leave the room, and come back in about 15 mins, don't talk to the pup when you come back, just lift him out of his cage, take him outside and say "do a pee" if he does lots of praise and "good boy". A lot of people make the mistake when they are going out by talking to the dog saying "be a good boy i'll be back soon" dont, just walk out and again when you come back no fussing the puppy at all. I always leave a radio on as well if the pup barks it drowns out the barking. I hope this has helped a bit, good luck with the puppy they are lovely at that age and its so easy to start making mistakes at this age and then when you realise its harder to get the puppy out of the bad habits. Oh! dont let anyone laugh and make a fuss of a puppy if it starts chasing trouser legs or shoes, tell if off, with a NO, and take it away and try and distract it from the legs/feet with a toy, all puppies do this as well so its normal "fun behaviour" for the pup, but, not for the person whose leg/shoes the pup is trying to bite.

Sounds like your doing really great . Our pup is 11 weeks and although clean at night (he sleeps in a dog crate) during the day i just cant seem to get his toliet outside sorted . He goes a wee every 25 mins. Im going potty.

I remember when I first got my mini schnauzer Stan as an 11 week old pup. He got the hang of toilet training in no time although still had the occasional accident. I was ecstatic because it took me six years to get my whippet toilet trained (!!). I don't think Stan ever showed me he needed to go out, I just started to leaver longer gaps beteween taking him out as the weeks wore on, and found he could hold himself for quite long periods. He does now whimper or bark at the back door when he wants to go out (very occasionally gets caught short between walks but can hold on for a long time normally), but he learned that from my whippet a bit later on, believe it or not.

He was always very nippy as a puppy and it took a few months for this to wear off. It's just going to be a question of time, and reprimanding him with a loud NO when he starts nipping. I'm convinced you're doing the right thing, but don't expect miracles...you really do have to be patient.

Stan was very clingy as a pup and followed us everywhere. My partner, who has never lived with dogs, found this aspect quite tiresome at first, but he's now learned to watch where he steps all the time, as Stan was constantly getting under our feet. He'd even follow us to the loo and would be most indignant when we locked him out. They do grow out of this eventually, but looking back it's only been the last couple of months that he doesn't follow us around so much, and he's almost two years! We put a dog gate in our living room to keep him there on occasions, and boy, did he create. They are so nosey, they just don't like being left out of anything when they are young. Maybe I wasn't firm enough with him when he was a pup, but he could be quite sensitive to harsh reprimanding, so I relented with him quite a bit.

I remember feeling very blue for a week when I first got Stan and realised I'd lost my independence for a long time. It took a week for this to wear off, but i was so down and every little job seemed such a huge task, as I had this little fellow glued to my feet demanding attention. It will suddenly wear off, and you'll feel much better again...honestly.

It's natural your other dog will resent him at first, but he will come round and they will be great playmates.

Chin up..it will get easier and you'll actually begin to enjoy their antics. You forget what they are like as pups don't you?

Ahhhh..Everything you have said puts me at ease. Monty sounds just like your Schnauzer and i appear to be going thru the same emotions as you did.

Its nice to hear that with time this will end. When you said about not being firm enough, thats what i feel. I am telling Monty off and he does listen, he nipped me this morning and when he came over later instead of biting he simply licked, which is better :)

Its the training aspect that makes me think i should get a pen. They say the foundations are laid when they are this young and i dont want him to get used to me being there all the time. Altho i dont work i do like my dog to be able to spend time alone away from me so i can do my own thing or go out without worrying that he is fretting and upset. Thats why i thought if we got a pen now it would solve two problems. 1) i can answer the door without the pup! lol! - do my own thing if i need to and 2) he will learn to cope on his own.

What do you think? Has this worked for you?

Monty is MY first pup as Boston my 8yr old was bought when i was 12 and lived at home, and he moved out with me when my husband and i moved in together. So i didnt really have much to do with him, training wise as i was at school. I have always had kittens (i admit im a cat person not a dog person) which is why i think im finding this pup quite demanding and im getting quite down about it. Ahh well, i hope he grows soon and then we can be best friends like Boston and I are :)

Thanks, Roxanne

I would definitely get into the habit of leaving him on his own for a while. Do quarter of an hour for the first day, 20 mins the next, half an hour the next, 40 mins the next and so on and so on. I tried to use a crate at first but he didn't take to it, so I didn't persevere. However, I know many people on this board have had success with crate training, so it's probably a very good idea.

I kept Stan in our large, safe kitchen when I went out. It was carpeted and he had his own bed in there, so it was a comfy environment for him. When I first went out he cried and howled, but I was firm and didn't come back until the allotted time, by which time he had quietened down. I repeated this every day, and although he still cried when I left, he did settle down.

Both my dogs now have the run of the house except the living room when we're out, as they no longer do any damage. They're both used to being on their own during the day (they get a walk at lunchtimes), and have settled well into this routine. We certainly have to make up for it in the evening though (both go out for a long walk in rain or shine), but even then after a certain time, they both settle down with us in the living room and leave us in peace, because that's the routine we've set for them.

I really believe if you introduce them to a fair but firm routine they will adapt to what you want them to do. Start as early as you can. Monty will eventually learn to do his own thing, but he will want to be there if someone calls at the door. I don't think you will be able to exclude him from this, as it's far too exciting for them.

I'm a cat person too, I've decided.

Your feelings of being overwhelmed are so similar to mine. But you've come to the right place for help. I'm glad I came here and whined a bit, everyone was so nice and put me at ease and reassured me that what I was feeling was perfectly normal.

We've had our little Shepherd mix (she's tiny, only 18 pounds at 10 months of age) for two months now. At first I felt like it was a big mistake my ever getting a dog in the first place. No matter how much I paid attention to her and played with her, she seemed to want more. She seemed insatiable, and I felt like I'd just turned my life over to her, and I didn't even like her all that much. Why oh why didn't we just get a nice little kitten?

Now I have to admit, I sort of like having her around. I like looking down and seeing her there, lying at my feet. I've even stopped resenting all the time I spend walking her around the neighborhood - it's been great for my health!

I think dogs can sense how we feel. Now that I've begun feeling more positively towards her, she seems much less needy.

Good luck, and be reassured, things will get better!

Judy

Hi, my mini schnauzer sounds just like yours. I have been using a puppy pen (not a full crate) since I got my 8 week old mini schnauzer in February. It's kept in the kitchen, there plenty of room for him to move in it, he gets fed in there and he sleeps in there at night. It is also the place used for "cooling off" when he gets a bit too nippy and if I want to separate him from smartly dressed friends who are visiting. When I go out, we pop him in. He doesn't spend a long time in there, but we are both able to get some peace and quiet when we need it. He is now 4.5 months old and the pen has been excellent in my opinion, allowing "people traffic" to come and go in the kitchen so that he gets used to the disturbance. I am not sure how I would have survived without it. He also hasn't chewed anything in the kitchen and I am convinced this is because he has a good selection of nylabones etc. in his pen. I have just started taking him to training class and in the next couple of weeks or so I will be removing the pen, gradually removing the sides to leave the piece of carpet and toys and then removing the carpet etc. I have already placed a new basket in the proper place in the kitchen together with a small rug so that he has got used to it being another sleeping place. As for the biting/mouthing, this has got much better as he has got older and I am convinced that it will probably disappear in a few months. The training is proving really useful - fortunately, mini schnauzers are really treat oriented so it is proving easier than I thought. He certainly is a nicer dog with a bit of discipline. Persevere with it - I think I would miss the clinginess if it goes completely.

Just wanted to say a BIG Thankyou to all of your kind words and encouragement. Well we have been together now for over a week and things are getting better, he is learning that sometimes 'quite time' is needed not playing and he simply flops himself down somewhere, Toilet training is going well and twice now he has sat next to the door needing to be let out :) (good boy!) night times are fine (tho i must admit he does come to bed with us *gasp!* lol!)

hubby and i have been out with out the pup and he has been fine, not a whimper (sleeps all the time i think! lol) so we have been able to have some time off. I have been leaving him on his own a couple of times a day only for 5-10mins just so he realises i will come back and today i went back in and he was happily chewing on his Nylabone :) (dont think he even noticed i was missing lol)

Im going to order a pen off the internet just so that i can take my eyes off him once in a while (hubby has been home for a few days so i have been able to have a bit of time to my self) so i think that a pen would be something that would work for us, especially when he starts teathing and that way he cant give me an excuse to be cross with him.

His nipping is getting better, we have been and bought MORE toys lol! and he is responding well to loud No's...and has started to lick us instead of nipping which i can cope with :)

His personality is really starting to come thru now, and i must admit tho i was not too keen when we got him last week his puppy eyes are starting to bring me round.

So thanks again to all of you for your suggestions and encouragement and im looking forward to the next few months where he grows and becomes more like a pet than a pest :)

Roxanne