5 week old puppy

SeaBreeze said:
The pups I have experience with have usually been 7-8 weeks old when I got them. I never had one who was taken from his litter and mother at such a young age as 5 weeks, even now at 6, he's just a baby and you can't expect to seriously train him at such a young age.

They depend on you for leadership, and to show them how to please you. They don't understand your words, but will respond nicely with positive training, calm and confident attitude. They sense when we're annoyed, nervous, upset, etc. The more secure he feels with you at home, the better he will respond to you.
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I have not attempted to do any serious training, but I have successfully taught him "Come" and "No".
I will now SLOWLY, begin to leash train him. He doesn't like the leash one tiny bit. If he feels the slightest resistance , he will thrust out his legs and refuses to move. So, every day I put him on the leash for no more than 5-6 minutes and when he stops, I hold out a treat and say "come".
 

I have read that house training a puppy should not start until 12-16 weeks.
I tried feeding him in the pen and waiting until he at least pooped in the shredded newspapers in one corner. THAT is NOT working; he howls until I give up and let him wander around the living/kitchen rooms.
 
‘he will thrust out his legs and refuses to move, he howls til i give up and let him wander around the living/kitchen rooms’...

hmmmmm....are you raising a dog or a kid????? 🤣😂
 

Lizzie00 said:
Your puppy posts made me laugh because your puppy sounds so much like a stubborn human toddler who struggles to get his/her own way. So in jest, I asked if you were raising a dog or a kid. Sorry for the confusion!
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Boy, oh boy. He certainly is a stubborn little fellow. I can only hope that is NOT a sign of things to come.

The other day, I discovered one good thing. As I was changing the foam pad on my chair, I threw the old one on the floor. He immediately took to it. It now lies in the middle of the living room and he spends 95 % of his time sleeping on it.
 
I had used an old pillow with homemade cover for our old dog,, before she died.
She seemed to like that.

With the new pup same set up, crate with old pillow & cover.
Spring in Pa .was cool & damp so a fleece blanket that he liked went in with him at bed time.

At 7 months he wants his blankets on the the area rug.
He makes a 'nest' of them where he takes short naps.

Recently bought a kennel pad for his crate, fits tightly in it.
He can't drag that out .

Expect that a doggie bed to replace all the blankets he has.
 
Sliverfox said:
I had used an old pillow with homemade cover for our old dog,, before she died.
She seemed to like that.

With the new pup same set up, crate with old pillow & cover.
Spring in Pa .was cool & damp so a fleece blanket that he liked went in with him at bed time.

At 7 months he wants his blankets on the the area rug.
He makes a 'nest' of them where he takes short naps.

Recently bought a kennel pad for his crate, fits tightly in it.
He can't drag that out .

Expect that a doggie bed to replace all the blankets he has.
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I am so incredibly frustrated with my new puppy. I have tried and tried to give him a nice comfortable place to sleep and chill out when I am busy.
No matter what I do, he insists on pooping/peeing on his own bed.
For a while I thought I had solved the problem. I changed the foam in my chair and he immediately took right to it. But too soon he starting peeing on it. GRRR !
So, what to do ? This minute he is tied to his leash, in the living room and he has a 7 foot wide circle to move about BUT no bed. ?????????????? (Living room floor is ceramic tile)
PS: he insists on moving to the very limit of the leash, pulls against it and eventually falls asleep with leash being taut.
 
SeaBreeze said:
The pups I have experience with have usually been 7-8 weeks old when I got them. I never had one who was taken from his litter and mother at such a young age as 5 weeks, even now at 6, he's just a baby and you can't expect to seriously train him at such a young age.

I blocked off the kitchen with a baby gate, had a papered area for potty, and used that technique until my pups were trained. Training a dog takes a lot of time and hard work, but to have a well trained dog, who is not fearful of you and knows what you expect of him, makes a wonderful companion. For up to the first month of having a new pup, you really need to rearrange your schedule and make sure you're not neglecting the needs of the pup. In your case, he needs to bond with you, and have the comfort and security that he would have with his mother.

They depend on you for leadership, and to show them how to please you. They don't understand your words, but will respond nicely with positive training, calm and confident attitude. They sense when we're annoyed, nervous, upset, etc. The more secure he feels with you at home, the better he will respond to you.

Please be patient. Show him in a calm way what he can and can't chew on. Correct him gently, in the moment by taking away something he's chewing on and having a replacement in hand of something acceptable. I always kept tiny rawhide chew bones in my pocket at home, to have one on hand to correct chewing problems. When they drop it and walk away I pick it up for next lesson. Works like a charm. I never leave them alone with the rawhide, it can be a choke hazard especially for a young pup.

You can attach a small light-weight leash to his collar for a short amount of time during the day, under your supervision. Just dragging it around for a half hour at a time will get him used to it, if he starts to chew on it, calmly tell him no, you chew on this, while giving him something he can chew on.

With each passing week, your baby will be more mature and understand better what you want from him. Dogs are very loyal, they are very willing to please their masters, it's important that you guide them through the learning process with love and patience. Good luck, save the serious training for another couple of weeks when he's older.
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Thank you for your excellent post and great advice.🐶
 
oldpanightowl said:
In my experience pups take a good while to be truly housebroken. You might want to limit his water and food intake. I do not mean starve him but he would probably do all right with one or two meals a day. Feed him at the same times and take him out shortly after he eats. As a pup he should be taken out to use the pot every four hours. Take some of the soiled paper from the kennel out with you when you take him out and put it where you want him to go. Try to feed him and take him outside at the same times daily. Try to catch undesirable actions while he in the act. Please no hollering or hitting when he has an accident as with any undesirable behavior just let him know you are not happy. Use words that do not sound alike for commands and reprimands.

It takes time and a lot of patience to house break a dog. Each breed is a little different. It took close to six months for my Chihuahua "Boo" to finally get it. A pup is like a little baby. It comes into the world with limited understanding. You are the one who supplies the patience and understanding. Keep in mind most dogs want to please their owner. Read all you can about raising pups.

Like anything else, while raising a dog we reap what we sow. Show it love it will show you the same. My buddy Boo passed a couple of years ago. We were together pretty much twenty four seven for twelve years. It was a very trying time for me. I loved him very much. Like children they depend on us, their owners for everything. Hang in there. The reward is tenfold. I hope this helps.
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Thank you for your great post as well as SeaBreeze's post.
But
I disagree somewhat with cutting down on the number of meals.....down to 2 maybe.....but not down to 1.....maybe adjust the portion size if needed.
 
senior chef said:
I am so incredibly frustrated with my new puppy. I have tried and tried to give him a nice comfortable place to sleep and chill out when I am busy.
No matter what I do, he insists on pooping/peeing on his own bed.
For a while I thought I had solved the problem. I changed the foam in my chair and he immediately took right to it. But too soon he starting peeing on it. GRRR !
So, what to do ? This minute he is tied to his leash, in the living room and he has a 7 foot wide circle to move about BUT no bed. ?????????????? (Living room floor is ceramic tile)
PS: he insists on moving to the very limit of the leash, pulls against it and eventually falls asleep with leash being taut.
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The life of a puppy.......gota love them to bits.
 
senior chef said:
I may have bitten off more than I can chew. Indy has PLENTY of room in his pen to poop/pee on shredded newspapers at one end of his pen. But , NO ! Dummy will poop and pee right on top of his soft bed.
10 minutes ago, he did it AGAIN. We had just returned from his walk and I put him in his pen. Within 5 minutes POOP right on his bed.
Jeez, I thought that all dogs had enough common animal sense to poop/pee AWAY FROM ITS BED .
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That’s not how it works. A puppy can only hold it for every hour of its age. Therefore your puppy had to be taken out every hour which you were unwilling to do.

At 2 months puppy has to go out every two hours. Etc. now that Indy is going in his crate it will be almost impossible to stop that from happening. Indy is not a dummy, he’s a puppy. This is why is almost impossible to house break a puppy bought from a pet shop. They learned to go where they sleep.

Do I think you have bitten off more than you can chew? Yup. I am an experienced dog owner and I would never have taken such a young puppy-it would be more than “I could chew” for sure.
 
Not to worry. Indy is getting plenty of food. 3 meals/days. He attacks it like a starving wolf. He is gaining 1.5-2 ounces/day.
I seem to have stumbled upon the right way to control him. I have him on a 4.5 foot long leash, in the middle of the living room. His bed is made of my old T-shirts which I have recently worn. And at the opposite end of the leash is his pile of newspapers. He often "misses" the newspapers but I think he MAY have the general idea.
 
Why keep him on a leash indoors when you have a ceramic floor, can you not make a large pen for him indoors? you should look at dog play pens, $43 on amazon. I do not think it is kind to keep him on a leash indoors. We have only had one dog as a puppy but I was much younger and up to the task, though I spent many sleepless nights listening to the little guy crying in the kitchen. When our last dog passed away we went for an older dog although he was two when we got him, he had never been on a leash or trained not to poop indoors, he learnt very quickly. I am blessed.
 
RobinWren said:
Why keep him on a leash indoors when you have a ceramic floor, can you not make a large pen for him indoors? you should look at dog play pens, $43 on amazon. I do not think it is kind to keep him on a leash indoors. We have only had one dog as a puppy but I was much younger and up to the task, though I spent many sleepless nights listening to the little guy crying in the kitchen. When our last dog passed away we went for an older dog although he was two when we got him, he had never been on a leash or trained not to poop indoors, he learnt very quickly. I am blessed.
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I did make him a pen for indoors. He absolutely hates it. Believe it or not, he is much, much happier being on a 4.5 foot leash. That gives him a 9 foot wide circle to move about. What he REALLY wants is total free reign of the entire apartment, I actually tried that and he leaves poop and pee everywhere. NO thank you !
He is now ALMOST 8 weeks old. Thus far he has gained 50 % of his body weight.
He fully comprehends "NO !" Also, he will come to me if I make high pitched kissing/smacking sounds. Some times, though not every time, he will COME if I say come.
Unfortunately , he does not get held as much as he would like because he bites me hard with needle sharp teeth, AND he jumps from my lap to my face, does back flips AND dummy that he is, he will leap out into space, only to fall 2 feet to the ceramic floor. I understand that is only puppy chewing behavior but gee wiz it hurts.
 
MickaC said:
The life of a puppy.......gota love them to bits.
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Indy is now almost 8 weeks old.
Today, for the 1st time I saw very thin white worms in his poo. And he vomited up his breakfast.
I took him to the vet, only one block away, and the vet gave the puppy a half of 1 tablet. I am supposed to give the other half in 1 week.
I can't imagine how he could have gotten worms. He has NOT been anywhere near another dog.
PERHAPS, he had larva in his gut when I got him 3 weeks ago ?
 
senior chef said:
I did make him a pen for indoors. He absolutely hates it. Believe it or not, he is much, much happier being on a 4.5 foot leash. That gives him a 9 foot wide circle to move about. What he REALLY wants is total free reign of the entire apartment, I actually tried that and he leaves poop and pee everywhere. NO thank you !
He is now ALMOST 8 weeks old. Thus far he has gained 50 % of his body weight.
He fully comprehends "NO !" Also, he will come to me if I make high pitched kissing/smacking sounds. Some times, though not every time, he will COME if I say come.
Unfortunately , he does not get held as much as he would like because he bites me hard with needle sharp teeth, AND he jumps from my lap to my face, does back flips AND dummy that he is, he will leap out into space, only to fall 2 feet to the ceramic floor. I understand that is only puppy chewing behavior but gee wiz it hurts.
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He sounds like a Wonder Pup!
 
senior chef said:
Indy is now almost 8 weeks old.
Today, for the 1st time I saw very thin white worms in his poo. And he vomited up his breakfast.
I took him to the vet, only one block away, and the vet gave the puppy a half of 1 tablet. I am supposed to give the other half in 1 week.
I can't imagine how he could have gotten worms. He has NOT been anywhere near another dog.
PERHAPS, he had larva in his gut when I got him 3 weeks ago ?
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Yup puppies are born with worms, which is why I said, before, take him to the vet and have him wormed
 
Aneeda72 said:
Yup puppies are born with worms, which is why I said, before, take him to the vet and have him wormed
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Ah, ha. Ok, I must have missed that info about worms. I never knew dogs could be born with worms.
In any event, the vet has given the puppy 1/2 tablet and I will give the other half in 1 week.
 

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