Hi to all, I finally picked up Chester on Sunday. It was great. However, things aren't great now. Chester is holding in his urine for hours - four or five then doing a huge puddle in the living room. I'm taking him out every ten minutes or so for five minutes but he simply will not go on the concrete yard Also, he's sleeping a lot and eating less than he should, about half I'd say. Please help.
Re: help needed Hi John, firstly, young puppies do sleep a lot , I used to worry when Sam was a baby but its natural . Re the food , are you feeding Chester four small meals per day as this is what he should be having , but they all differ in their appetites , so if he is playing and alert , I wouldnt worry too much . Re the wee problem , again he is very very young to be housetrained , try taking him out every 30 mins instead of every ten and if he does manage to do a wee , massive praise and use a key word like Wee or Toilet as you see him doing it , he will cotton on eventually . Whip him outside as soon as he wakes after a nap and also after food , its all about repetition and patience with them , he will get there .
Re: help needed Hmmm that's a tricky one, I'm sure someone will be along soon with some better advice but here's my two cents... When he goes to the toilet does he ever go outside or has it just been accidents in the house? I wonder if he's having problems identifying the concrete area as the toilet area. Do you know if the breeder had started attempted to housetrain the puppies and if they used newspaper or puppy pads at all? Young puppies such as yours find it difficult to associate a different type of surface for toileting than what they've been used to if the breeder started the training. For example if he had been used to using a puppy pad at the breeders then he may have difficulty initially identifying where he is supposed to go. Puppies are ok to sleep a lot, they have a lot of learning and growing to do and they do this when they sleep. When I first brought my pup home she could only stay away for about half an hour at a time, and then would have to sleep for an hour to recover! How much are you feeding him and in how many meals? Perhaps he can't manage the amount that you are offering him at the moment? Is he well in himself with firm poo, and drinking ok? If yes to those questions I wouldn't overly worry unless he's really not eating anything at all. Have you taken him for a check up with your vet and to start his vaccinations yet? Might be worth mentioning it to them and seeing what they think.
Re: help needed He will eat less than you thing he should at the moment as he has moved away from his Mother and siblings and a wee bit stressed, also he is not in competition with his siblings at the food bowl! Puppies sleep a lot and enjoy the peace Edited to add, that Penny+Me was writing at the same time and I think her suggestion to check with the vet and start his vaccinations is a very good idea.
Re: help needed Hi John Pleased to hear that you've got your lad at last. As has already been said, it is early days yet and everything is new to both of you. Lauren makes a good point about the possibility of him being trained to use puppy pads, perhaps the breeder could throw some light on this. Or is it possible that some other animal has used your yard as a toilet in the past? and this is putting Chester off. You wouldn't be able to smell it but Chester could. Another thing to think about, is he always weeing in the same place? Once they have weed somewhere if you don't clean it up very carefully the smell (for them lingers) and it becomes the place they SHOULD wee. You need an enzyme cleaner like Simple Solutions to eradicate the smell. Are you feeding Kibble? When Molly came home she was on 60 grams 4 times a day. It doesn't look like much because it has been dehydrated. Welcome to Chester, I'm waiting for the pictures now. Let us know how you get on. You'll have another worry next week, we all, do it is part of being a dog owner.
Re: help needed I would be tempted to put a bit of soft astraturf in the yard - some dogs like a soft place to wee/poo.
Re: help needed [quote author=Boogie link=topic=6893.msg93688#msg93688 date=1404758230] I would be tempted to put a bit of soft astraturf in the yard - some dogs like a soft place to wee/poo. [/quote] Was just thinking - was he on grass to pee at the breeder's place.
Re: help needed Oh welcome to the early puppy days, John! I've nothing to add to others' good advice, but please know you are not alone... We all worried massively about everything in the first few weeks!
Re: help needed I agree he probably doesn't like the concrete. Could you put a small patch of woodshavings on your yard for him to wee on? (I'm thinking of horses - many won't urinate on a bare floor). Lovely to hear you've got your pup at last.
Re: help needed How about a couple of spades of earth on the concrete? It might fool him. It is a quick and cheap fix, he doesn't need to know it is concrete underneath the earth.
Re: help needed Remember he's tiny; he's lost his mother and family; EVERYTHING is new to him. Just be kind and patient. It will all work out.
Re: help needed Thinking back to the first couple of days with Maisie, she didn't wee for quite long periods of time, but then as she settled she started weeing a lot more frequently. Perhaps it's just that she just needs time to feel settled at home.
Re: help needed Hi John, as others have said its almost certainly the concrete. A box with a bit of turf in it if he is used to grass, or puppy pads will be a temporarily fix. Feeding him outdoors may help as many puppies will want to wee immediately after eating. It can be helpful to take a chair and a newspaper outside and sit down. That way he will start to relax and not just be waiting for you to take him in. It is also a good idea to keep him out of the living room until he has got into the habit of going outside. Especially if your living room is carpeted.
Re: help needed Thanks Pippa and all. The encouragement really helped at a time when I was a bit shell shocked really. I read the first couple of posts but I have been so busy with so many things that I have had no chance to reply to the posts properly until now. Its definitely the concrete. He was indeed brought up on grass. I am going to have to get some puppy pads I think as I'm not too sure how I could source a bit of turf in a box. I had to spend about an hour and a half in the yard with Chester this afternoon to get a wee out of him in the yard (only his 3rd in three days on concrete). I gave him plenty of praise but forgot to bring a treat out with me...what a dummy Still its been a lovely day on the whole. Spending time with Chester is a real delight now, even though he's real intent on peeing all over my laminate flooring
Re: help needed Reply to Tina re' Kibble - I was given a bag of his ration by his breeder and when I weighed it was about 100 gram, which I was instructed to give him 4 times a day. Today he ate about 270 grams - which if he was getting around 60 grams not 100, 4 times a day, would be about right for a 9 week old boy wouldn't it i.e 270/4= 67 ish grams?
Re: help needed Is there somewhere you can get a bag of sand or soil or a piece of artificial turf? Glad you are enjoying him. Being shell shocked at first is totally normal!
Re: help needed I've never used but there are a few relatively cheap/small turf options on amazon; http://www.amazon.co.uk/Puppy-Potty-Trainer-Indoor-Training/dp/B00GYDGHR2 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Artificial-Grass-Matting-Mat/dp/B000NZBV0K/ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thoresby-20mm-Artificial-Grass-metres/dp/B0062XH4AI my only concern about them would be Chester grabbing them and moving them around/chewing them, I know Kenzi does that with an old outdoor floor mat I have and it looks a similar size to the items above. however, until he gets used to concrete it might work not sure how much dogs go on texture of the surface vs shading.
Re: help needed Sand, as Rachael suggests, might be practical. Most garden centres will sell playsand (for child sandpits), which is clean (builder's sand can have nasties in it). Plus easy to scoop up the soiled bit of sand to keep things clean.
Re: help needed It sounds like Chester knows what he is doing. Molly was on 60g x 4 times a day when she was nine weeks old, so he's getting it right. Clever boy knows what's best for him. It varies slightly from brand to brand. You can buy turf by the square metre. A cat litter tray filled with soil and topped with a piece of turf would provide a temporary relief for both of you
