Hi There , I just purchased a welsh terrier puppy a month ago. He is so cute and cuddly... he also has that very hyper side to him thus far. I want to make sure i do things right with training him.. I purchased him from a breeder in texas. It's confusing because my new welsh terrier seems to be very "preoccupied" as he does not have a high attention span at all.. right now he is so into nipping at our heels when we walk, biting anything around him, chasing things.. its hard to even start to train him right now. When I say sit.. he sits for a minute and then is back to jumping around.. any other experiences like this with a welsh or a terrier or a puppy in general? Can anyone give any advice? He is also not doing well with house breaking. We crate train him but as soon as he is out of the crate playing, he pees twice every 20 minutes on the floor. We grab him and bring him outside. Any advice? Thank you, Summer211@aol.com

Wow - for a puppy to sit for a minute you're doing really well - don't set your expectations too high - it's like expecting a 3 year old to sit and write a whole page - they just aren't ready to concentrate for too long, so make sure you grab those opportunities and make the most of them as many times in the day as you can - little and often ;)

With the house training, each time he has to pee indoors, he's learning the wrong thing - so take him outside every 15 mins when you're playing with him.  Try not to grab him, but encourage him to follow you to the door and go outside with him so you can praise him as he does the right thing in the right place.  If you always grab him, he'll get to think that is how it works - he squats, you grab!  He's got to be given the opportunity to learn for himself.

HTH

LOL - you practicing your speed typing!  :D

Hi Summer,

You don't say how old your puppy is - over here (it's a UK site) most pups leave the dams at 8 weeks so I'm guessing your boy is around 12 weeks?

>seems to be very "preoccupied" as he does not have a high attention span at all

that is common with young pups - gnats have a longer attention span!  It's something you will be able to work on and build up over time - usually with copious amounts of treats initially to keep their attention and gradually tailing off the amount to random rewards as the puppy learns.

>When I say sit.. he sits for a minute and then is back to jumping around

a minute is a long time for a puppy - so don't despair - I've got adults (different but high energy breed) who struggle to do something that boring for so long :P

>We crate train him but as soon as he is out of the crate playing, he pees twice every 20 minutes on the floor.

You've highlighted the problem yourself there - if he pees every 20 minutes indoors when not in his cage then you have to take him out religiously every 15 minutes ;)  When he performs in the correct place, i.e. in your garden/yard or when out for a walk, use a command word such as "busy" as he starts to pee/poo and then praise lavishly.  In time he will have better bladder and bowel control and will also have learned to associate the command word with performing - great when you're in a rush and don't want to spend half an hour + while he thinks he's out for a good old romp!

HTH, Teri :)    

Hi Summer the Welsh is a specialist breed, as you
are in the USA,  There are a few good Welsh Groups
you could join on line with members inTexas, if you need
any help in the future with trim & grooming  this is the link below
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/welshterrier/
Garry

Wholeheartedly agree with Glenhafod re: speaking to other Welshie owners for advice and reassurance because the little devils were born to be the exception rather than the rule!  The Yahoo group is an excellent place to start, many highly experienced US & Canadian breeders, obedience and agility folk and many, many pet owners - everyone of whom remember exactly what it felt like to bring home their first Welshie pup. 

Stay sensible, have fun and put as much work in as possible for the next 18 months and like fine wines the Welshie vintage just gets better and better.  Enjoy!