2 pups one house
ok to start out i would like to say hi this look’s like a great place to learn what to do with my pups. to start off ill tell you a lil bit about them. Bently, my boy, is a 15 week old yellow lab, the only problem that im havin with him right now is that after i take him out, he poop’s on the kitchen floor right after he comes in he has no problem going #1 outside and he let’s me know when he needs to, the other problem is when ever my girlfriend comes home all he does is barks at her and he never listens to her, goes potty in the house when they are home alone, now shes here at nite and im here all day. my other pup bandit is 6 weeks old, lab/rotty, i found him and his litter this past weekend on the side of the road and i had to bring him home, he’s just flat out not eating he’ll drink water and then go play with bentley but just wont eat, now bentley did this when we 1st brought him home for a day bandit has been here for 3 so, and when i put him in his cage he screams like he’s hurt or some thing but he is fine, any help would be much apprecated. i havent had a puppy in almost 16 years since i had gotten my 1st dog and i dont realy remember what we did with him cause i was very young, but i am willing to devote as much time as needed into getting my boys trained right as you can probobly see cause it is 10 to 5 in the am thank you again in advance.
kylewentworth
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First, congratulations on your pups! They can be such a joy and so much fun, but they’re also a TREMENDOUS amount of work and no small expense, either. Raising one puppy can be exhausting, but raising two is likely to test your patience to the max.
The first thing you need to do, if you haven’t already, is get your pups to the vet for a full exam, puppy shots, and deworming. Make sure you get them the full series of puppy vaccinations. Don’t forget any of the booster shots, and get them all on time.
Talk to the vet about Bandit’s inappetance. A 6 week old puppy who hasn’t eaten in 3 days is already in trouble. You need to get some nourishment into him NOW. Try soaking puppy food in hot water until it’s mushy. Feed it to Bandit while it’s still warm, one piece at a time, by hand. If he still won’t eat, get some puppy formula from the vet and see if he’ll drink that (warm that up for him, too). If he still won’t eat, the vet may find it necessary to tube feed him.
Crate training will make your life much easier, but you need to do it correctly in order for the pups to accept it. First, just take the door off the crate (or tie it open) and put food, water, toys, and a snuggly blanket in the crate for the pups. Make the crate a place they associate with all their favorite things - a place they want to go for goodies. Let them go into the same crate together for now if they want to. Bandit is too young to have even been properly weaned, much less locked in a crate by himself, but he may accept it better if he has Bentley to keep him company.
Sit on the floor by the crate and toss toys into the crate for Bentley to retrieve. Bandit may follow him in there. Once the pups are going into the crate on their own to eat, drink, and grab toys, you can start locking them in the crate for just a couple of minutes at a time. Keep the crate time very brief at first, but only let them out when they are quiet. Do NOT let them out while they’re screaming to get out. Try to time it so you let them out before they start screaming, if possible.
As they get used to the crate, you can leave them in for progressively longer periods of time. Remember, though, that puppies have very little bladder and bowel control and need to be taken outside VERY OFTEN to relieve themselves. The rule of thumb is for them to go outside *at least* as often as they are old in months, which means that a 6 week old should go out at least every 1 1/2 hrs, and a 15 week old every 3 3/4 hrs. Of course, they should also be taken out immediately after they eat, drink, wake up from a nap, play vigorously, or leave their crate.
Not surprisingly, if you’ve read any of my other posts to this board, I’m going to strongly recommend puppy obedience classes for Bentley, and I’m going to recommend that BOTH you AND your girlfriend attend classes with Bentley. That’ll be the quickest, easiest, and most fun way for the three of you to learn to communicate and enjoy each other’s company. By taking the class together, you and your girlfriend will be learning the same training techniques, so there will be consistency in how you handle Bentley. His barking will stop, and he’ll listen to your girlfriend as well as to you. Best of all, you’ll be learning all the stuff you’ll need to teach Bandit as he grows up, too, so he won’t learn bad habits! It’s a win-win solution all the way around!
Good luck with your boys. You’re in for one heck of a ride!
Tempest
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Yes, please, take him to a vet as soon as you can (there are intestinal parasites that suppress a dog’s appetite). In the meantime, go to a pet store and get him a puppy booster (high calorie supplement). Are you feeding them only dry chow, by any chance? Some puppies will reject hard or crunchy food, especially when very young. Try beef cat food, it has more protein than dog food and a stronger smell and flavor which dogs adore. And, make sure you are feeding him four times a day. As to the house breaking, it takes time and not all puppies learn the same way. The best way is to put in a huge effort for a week or two. Watch them all the time, you will learn to predict when he’s going to go by his behavior and just be faster than them. Pick them up, rush them outside, and while they ‘go’ repeat the same phrase over and over (I tell mine “go do peepee”). Once they do go outside, make a big deal out of it praising them a lot. Only scold them if you catch them right smack in the middle of the act and if you do, pick them up (even if you have to clean up a trail of urine -or worse- after) and rush them outside while you say “NO, NO, bad dog, go do peepee”. They will learn real soon (although at six weeks, a large breed puppy just does not have the sphincters mature enough for him to control,yet).
As to the crates, any particular reason why you want to crate them? I mean, if you are home during the day and your girlfriend is home during the night, what’s the need for a crate? Like Tempest said, 6 weeks is very young for a puppy to be by himself (especially a large breed, they mature much more slowly than small breeds -both physically and emotionally) and, personally (and I know that most people do not agree with me), I think that crates are cruel and completely unnecessary when raising well-adjusted dogs. I also don’t agree that having two pups is harder than having only one (but then, I am a trainer and have seven dogs so I’m not what you would call a normal dog owner). As a matter of fact, I think it’s easier… and not only for the obvious reasons (they keep each other company, they play with each other, etc) but also because I firmly believe that the best way to live with a dog is to reproduce, as best you can, their natural social structure. And, having siblings is part of that as it’s the natural way for a puppy to grow (only toy breeds which were created by man, have single puppies). It provides them a place in an instinctually known social structure which, in turn, makes them feel secure. And security and structure are the foundations of a well adjusted dog (translate into a great pet). Even more so than love as we know it.
Good luck!
Bibi