I have what I believe to be the smartest and cutest lab puppy in the world. Louis 10 weeks chocolate. I am sure most puppy parents feel that way ;D Training and integration after 6 days at home is going really well but there are 2 things that concern me 1. He is sleeping a lot like 7,5 hours at night almost non-stop and another 9-10 hours during the day so about 16-17 hours total - . Is that normal? - he is usually pretty active 05:30-7:30, then sleeps 7:30-10:00, pretty active 10-11 or 12ish, then pretty much sleeps only interrupted by potty breaks until around 18 where he from 18-20 mixes sleep and activity, then 20-22 active again. Night is full sleep 22-05:30 except for 2 potty visits-. - it is quite hot in Chile as its summer downhere and even with aircon on, inside its about 20-25 degrees in the coolest rooms (where he is) and more in the hotter rooms (where he is not) and outside its above 30 degrees from 12ish to 18ish - he eats, drinks, pee and poos normally 2. He has a hard time paying attention and looses focus easily I realize that he is a pup with a short attention span and maybe we and my girl friend should not expect too much but if he is doing something he is not supposed to do, he does not respond to his name at all and even during play and training he often will not respond. Even with treats and toys at hand. I think I gave him too much freedom and exposure to distractions early on and have now started having him largely in low distraction environment and much in leash so he is close to one of us, as well as always hand feeding him - it is helping but I still feel that he is paying less attention, not responding to us and looses focus easily. However, when he is focusing and listening (e.g. when very hungy or low distraction) he is very good behaving e.g. sit, recall (step 1) and down are coming along nicely - and potty training also going really well. So trying to figure out what level of attention and response is "normal"? I know it is very intangible but for me it is a bit like this: - high distraction environment: pretty much no response to his name and no ability to focus on me - medium distraction environment: probably 2-3 out of 10 times he will respond to name and I can maintain focus for 15-30 seconds - low distraction environment: 70-80% response rate and focus for a couple of minutes Of course, key is to spend a lot more time in low distraction environment which we will do -- but trying to understand if the above is normal or should be a concern and also what advice you have to improve response and focus? Thanks
Re: 2 questions: How much do/did your puppy sleep? How well did he listen/respond Puppies sleep a lot, sounds normal to me. I wouldn't spend more time in low distraction environments, I just wouldn't bother to try to train him outside a quiet room at home. Coping with distractions comes much later. At this age he needs exposure to as many new experiences, and to go to as many exciting places, as possible, but you can't expect anything of him at all.
Re: 2 questions: How much do/did your puppy sleep? How well did he listen/respond [quote author=JulieT link=topic=9537.msg137433#msg137433 date=1421424982] Puppies sleep a lot, sounds normal to me. I wouldn't spend more time in low distraction environments, I just wouldn't bother to try to train him outside a quiet room at home. Coping with distractions comes much later. At this age he needs exposure to as many new experiences, and to go to as many exciting places, as possible, but you can't expect anything of him at all. [/quote] Thanks a lot Julie. So what you are saying is that accept that response and focus will be low or non-existing for the time being in high distraction environment so do not attempt any training or expect much -- but do socialization to such environments. I suppose it still means that socialization does not mean doing bad stuff like mouthing on the alu door frame to the apartment and on the plants outside? Yesterday we went to airport to pick up my girl friend. We spend an hour there, he got lots of exposure The guy crashed hard in the car on the way back home
Re: 2 questions: How much do/did your puppy sleep? How well did he listen/respond Yes, just get him out and about as much as possible, and just don't worry about whether he can focus on you or not. Just concentrate on the socialisation. If he gives you any attention though, reward him with a treat. Over time, he'll give you more attention because it's rewarding to do so. Little puppies chew stuff, they are exploring the world and they do that, in a large part, by putting stuff in their mouths and chewing stuff - it's not bad, exactly, it's just what puppies do. Just keep him away from anything that might hurt him.
