New Puppy Owner Questions

My wife and I recently got a yellow lab/golden mix 6 wk old puppy. I had a few questions I wanted to ask everyone.

We put him in a box the first nightor two but moved him to his crate the last 2 nights. He does pretty good for the most part and will wine when he needs to go to the bathroom in middle of the night. I am trying to get him use to his crate more and feel better about it. Any suggestions?

We have been feeding him about 1/4 cup 4 times a day. Is this a good amount usually?

We have gotten him some toys but he definitely nips still with being pet and other things. Does anyone have suggestions to help with this? I have heard of some bitter thing you can spray on things you don’t want him to bite to help. Is it ok or bad for the dog? He tries to eat leaves and mulch sometimes. I try to prevent as much as I can.

What do You suggestion putting in the Kong, treats or about chew toys?

Last what are some good training methods for leash training, basic commands etc?

 

I'm not much help since my pup is still with his bio-mommy for 2 more weeks, but I did want to tell you to confirm his age. I believe the board policy is to not provide advice for puppies under 7 weeks old, your post sounds like he might only be 6 and a half weeks or so but I could be wrong. Hopefully you get some good advice, I'll be watching since I'll be in your position very soon. Best of luck!

 

State law for us prevents any dog being removed from his mother and sibs until 8 weeks. Your puppy has missed a huge amount of training by the mother in house training, and bite inhibition.

At that age it will be at least a month before he can last more than 2 hours without a potty.

That doesn't sound like enough food. When we got ours at 8 weeks, he was eating 3/4 cup three times a day. Now he is eating 1 cup three times a day(four months) AND IS GAINING a pound a day.

Your dog is starting to teeth. He will put ANYTHING on the ground or floor in his mouth. Its only at 4 months in mine getting somewhat discriminating as to whether its something he can chew. The biting will be worse for you because your puppy missed the biting inhibition training s/he gets from Mom and sibs in the 6-8 week period.

Pippa has lots of good books here you can purchase, or there are YOU Tube videos for almost everything.

 

It is indeed our forum policy not to give advice regarding puppies obtained at 6 weeks or younger. We do recognise there are sometimes valid reasons for having younger pups, for example, rescue pups, however, our stance is below.

Please do not hesitate to come back and chat when your pup is a little older

Moderator Note: Moderators note

Sadly, in some parts of the world there is a tragic trade in tiny puppies barely able to walk. On the Labrador site we frequently get comments from people who have purchased puppies as young as 21 days old. Their owners will usually need help from a qualified veterinary professional if the puppy is to survive and thrive.

Our forum policy is to encourage people to wait until their puppy is eight weeks old before collecting it from the breeder. To make sure we are not encouraging the trade in underage puppies, nor depriving these puppies of essential veterinary attention, we have the following rule.

If a forum member’s puppy has been removed from the breeder/ mother before the age of seven weeks, that member must wait until their puppy is seven weeks old before posting about him or her on the forum

We recommend that anyone with a puppy under this age contacts their vet without delay for instructions on feeding, general care, and medical treatment. We understand that members want to help these puppies, but the forum is not the right place to be distributing specialist advice of this nature.[\mod]