My adorable puppy is making me CRAZY!!

butters

New Member
Hello, I'm writing because I'm being driven crazy by my new puppy. I got a 8 week old Cocker Spaniel about a week ago. I've been reading soooo much information on what I need to do so I thought I was well prepared when I got my puppy, but I don't how to let it not drive me insane, because I dont want to make any mistakes but I feel that I really am. I don't subscribe to the belief to punish a dog by pushing its face into its mess, or anything like that, and Im really open to your advice. I'm living in South Korea now, and I have a job where I'm out of my house from 3:30pm to 8:30 or 9pm.

I've been using crate training and taking him outside to eliminate when I first got him, but I learned that because my puppy only has his 1st shot, I can't take him outside (especially here, it can be of questionable cleanliness and I don't want him to get sick). I bought a pad for him and I've been trying clicker training to get him to use it. I can get him to sit on the mat (during trainging), and occaisionally he will use it but when he pees off of the mat its over before I can do anything. He shows very little sign that he's going to pee and frankly I can't move fast enough.

How do I deal with him, if I can't catch him peeing? When I see him peeing and pick him up or say something to startle him, he still pees and if I bring him to the pad, I have a pee trail following me. I think that he has been making far more mistakes now that I've been encouraging him to use the pad. If I were to reprimand him how exactly do I do it effectivley?

Also I've been trying to figure out a good feeding schedule where he won't need to eliminate while I'm gone for 5-6hours. I've read that although its not recommended a puppy can hold its waste for 7-8 hours and he was doing great with not eliminating in his crate until last night when he drank too much water (my mistake, I know), and I thought that I had a great schedule figured out for him for today, but he eliminated again in his crate! I'm worried that I may be damaging him as I heard that it can lead to behavioural problems later. Am I over-reacting and should I stick to the schedule I made? (1st feeding and watering is at 6:30am, second at 1:30am and third is at 8:30) I provide a little water for him about every hour or two. I planned it so that he would eliminate before I go to work at 3:30 and that he can eat when I come back at 8:30. I haven't been going to sleep until around 2-3am.

Really I want someone to give me exactly what I should be doing, I've read so much, but I dont know what I should do from here.
 

fickla

Experienced Member
First of all, take a deep breath! Secondly, I think that it's a big mistake to not take him outside until he has all his shots. I know that I dont know much about South Korea, but the vaccines used now for shots are a lot more effective then they were years ago (the mom's immunity isn't interfering as much). But regardless of that, the importance of socializing your puppy is SO great that I think it's worth any risk. Besides the fact that paper training is a middle step that you are basically just teaching your dog it's ok to go inside the house!

If you do want to stick with paper training, I would stop teaching your dog to sit on it. You want your dog associating the papers with the bathroom, not sitting. Basically just do paper training the same way you were doing it outside, and if you can't watch him, then he should be tethered to you or put back in the crate. If startling doesn't work to interupt the flow of pee, then I don't think there's anything you can do about it. Just watch him like a hawk for sniffing and circling, and even if you dont' seem him doing those signs lead him there at least every hour.

As for the feeding schedule, I have no idea. But generally a pup can only hold thier bladder for their age in months plus maybe 1. So at 2 months, a lot of pups hold it for 3 hours during the day. If your crate is small enough so he's not peeing away from where he's sleeping you're probably just having him in it longer then he can physically hold it. Your times of feeding sound just fine though. Even though if he's going to bed at 2 and getting up at 6:30, that's not very much sleep for a puppy! He should be able to hold it for at least 6 hours at night.

Just relax, he's a puppy and things will get better. You're not going to ruin him for life!
 

butters

New Member
Thanks fickla! I've been wondering about the socializing aspect too. I really don't want to have him poorly socialized but I have had the unfortunate experience of purchasing a pup here in Korea before who had distemper when I got him. I guess you could say that I wasn't naive so I'm trying to do better this time. The immunization process here are sometimes skipped with some shady people. He will be getting his second shot this sunday, do you know if it is at all safer to meet other dogs depending on the having the first or second shot? Does it matter if I wait a little over two weeks to start socializing again?

Yeah the schedule needs to be tweaked still, its too little sleep for him and me, so I'vebeen trying to bring it to 2am to 9:30am and feed him at 9:30am. He usually sleeps a lot during the day and I want him to sleep at work.

And a quesiton about relating the pad to washroom... how do I do it? ha ha. I started off my making him sit/stand on the pad and attached a cue word "pad", from here I was going to use that word when he started having an accident and take him there, is that the right idea?
 

fickla

Experienced Member
I don't know what the shots are like over there, but in the US they have improved so that really after the first shot there's not that much of a risk. Basically the pups have some immunity from the mom and when they get their shots the mom's immunity interferes with the shot. So there is some time period where they are not being protected from either the shot or the mom so they are vulnerable which is why they vacinate multiple times to make sure. However, the vaccines have improved so that there is a lot less interference then there used to be and most vets highly recommend taking them out once they have that first shot. THat being said, I"m not a vet and this is just what I've read and i have no idea what korea is using.

Regardless of how protected your pup is I would still take him out if he was my dog. It's heartbreaking to loose a dog, but the socialiation window is very small, really by 12 weeks old it's over so it's so important! They can still obviously learn stuff after that time, but it's LEARNING that people, dogs, etc. are good, not socializing anymore (so it takes longer).

I really don't understand your question about pad to washroom. If you're getting rid of the potty pads, then just take him straight outside. I don't know why you would want your dog to preform a trick on the pad (stand or sit) because you're teaching him the pad is do a behavior and get a treat and not pee and treat.
If he has an accident, and you catch him in the act, just rush him outside (or to pad if you want) but you don't need to say anything. I would just take him outside (or to his pad) all the time and if he goes reward him. If he doesn't go (and you think he has to) I do a 2mn-10mn rule. Basically he gets a short amount of time to go (so they don't play ouside first and forget to pee) and if they don't go I bring them back inside to thier kennel (where they won't pee) to build up his bladder. I keep alternating that until they pee outside and then they get rewarded by getting to play! Most pups learn very quickly that they must pee first and THEN play not the other way around.
 

makakoa

New Member
I think that the big question here is not so much the quality of the vaccines available, but perhaps more importantly, the risk of infection. Butters, I strongly suggest that you have a detailed and frank discussion with your veterinarian about the chances of your dog contracting a serious canine infectious disease before he has completed his first set of vaccines.

In the USA, the vaccines are effective, but more important is the concept of "herd health."
If 99% of dogs are already immune, and not carrying infectious organisms, you don't stand
much of a chance of contracting disease. But, if immunity is not as common in South Korea, and if virus particles are common in the environment, there is a specific and serious danger to a pup with incomplete immunity. Socialization is very important--but not at the risk of potentially life threatening disease.

Could you create a dedicated area outside (perhaps protected from other animals in some way--tarp over it? Fence it?) that you could carry the dog to if necessary?

Again, I urge you to ask your local veterinarian how to deal with this question, since this individual should be the most knowledgeable about your dog's risk level. If there is a veterinary college in South Korea, they might be a good source of info, as well.

Good luck! :doghappy:
 

snooks

Experienced Member
get patricia mcconnell's puppy primer. she explains the calculated risk of not socializing versus vaccines being complete. plus if u walk outside everything is coming in on ur shoes anyway. the bad aspects of no socialization are worse than disease risk. he should still have some immunity from mom unless he was a rescue and u don't know mom's history.

great free download with potty advice http://www.siriuspup.com/beforebook.html
 
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