Puppy help

I hate to say it, and obviously don't do it hard, but a light smack on the mouth and a loud "NO!" will go a long way.

Training a puppy is hard work. Do not be shy about consulting the professionals.

 

You guys ARE my professionals.

I'm going to take him to obedience classes, but the ones at the Humane Society you can't go until they're six months old. So I'm on my own for three months.

 

I had a dog for 14 years. He was never a biter, but when he misbehaved, a light smack on the mouth with a magazine worked pretty well. To be fair, I got him when he was nine months old, so I was in an easier spot than you are.

 

Oh, trust me, I thought of the relation to spanking kids there, too. No matter how often people think of pets as children, that is a completely different animal, bad pun intended.

Amazing how quickly they learn to get EVERYWHERE, isn't it?

 

If you can train him to go to the crate as a puppy, do it... It's one of the things I wish I had done with my dog.

My cousin has a lab and all he has to say is "crate" and the dog runs there like it's the most exciting news he's heard all day. Every time the dog goes to the crate they give him this toy that has frozen peanut butter in it. The dog goes after it like it's heroin.

 

I call it "bed" and just have to pat in there and he runs right in. Usually.

 

Like most men.

 

OK, another question.

I fed him this morning at 7 a.m. I'll feed him again around 4:30 or 5. I gave him the recommended amount on the bag given to me by the vet. But he keeps trying to eat the cat food.

He's so short, I certainly don't want him to be obese. But he's obviously still hungry. What to do?

 

Stick with schedule. Dogs will always eat if food is put in front of them.

Just be sure you are using recommended amount for puppies at his weight. I've always found recommendations to be accurate.

You might have to find way to not leave cat food out.

 

he's not hungry. he's a dog. he wants to eat, simple as that.

you're going to have to move the cat food for a while.

btw, what are you feeding him?

 

Plus if you feed him too much he won't be as responsive to treats used for training purposes.

 

I got some Science Diet shit from the vet that he's eating. I had also gotten some of the good stuff (with the protein as the first ingredient, natch) from the AHS, and he ate that Wednesday night but didn't touch it Thursday morning. So at least he's eating this.

Bad thing is since he's so small he just gets like 1/4 cup of food each time I feed him. Barely covers the bottom of the plastic bowl.