New Pup

Hi everyone,

Just thought I'd share a few photos of my family's new addition. Our 9 week old Cav pup called Rio.

As you can see he is a tricolour and is male.

As he was raised also with cats, we had a little cat bed from a family member who gave it to us and he took to it immediately, and adores it.








So far it has taken him a good few days for him to settle into the house, but he is housetraining very well indeed, using the special mats that you can purchase from pet shops and has a large hallway with plenty of toys and space to run around.

Our only concern is that he doesnt drink any water, he sometimes takes it only if we dip our fingers in his bowl he licks it off and his urine seems to be very yellow, he also was off his food for 2 days but we think this may have been due to the worming powder and his booster at 8 weeks.

This coming Saturday he is getting his next vaccinations that will soon allow him to go outside. We have a large park next door to us and the sea and beach. My Dad is also planning to take him to the Isle of Arran and let him run along the long clean beach there.

He is a boisterous little pup and for the first few days we thought he was ruling the roost, his biting inhibition is getting better we now coax him with his nylabone as he is of course teething, we tap his nose if he does anything wrong but this is very rare. He is actually calming down considerably well and adjusting to his new surroundings.

How can we try to coax him not to bite the bottoms of trousers and shoes/slippers and not to try and bite when he is being played with?

Does anyone have any suggestions ? :?

Thank you

Melissa :flwr:

Hi there Melissa, and welcome! What a handsome boy you've got there!!

I've never had any of my dogs play-bite my pants or shoes, so I'm afraid I am not much help there. I bet there are some folks on here that can help you out tho. I wonder if you had a toy or a chew toy handy to give him, when he did that, if that would help to divert his attention to the toy and not the trousers/slippers?

hi

rio is lovely :luv:

Bitter apple spray works pretty well but you have to spray everything she likes to bite which can be annoying.
As for drinking water, my little girl hardly drank any water when she was on soft food because it has so much water in it. Now she drinks like crazy because she is on hard food. Hope that helps!

What a cute pup Rio is !! Welcome to you both. Bitter apple does work sometimes. I think play biting the pants leg etc would be the same as when they play bite your hand. A loud "ouch" and stop moving so don't feel the need to continue the chase.

Re the drinking, could he be scared of the bowl? Although it seems mostly to be the girls who suffer from bowl-phobia, perhaps your little one has it too. If he has wet food, I wouldn't worry too much about his drinking, but watch the sugar content as it can be poison for their teeth. If it's dry food and he's not drinking, experiment with different bowls. Holly will drink from a stainless steel cat bowl (won't eat from it though), but she barks at the red plastic one at my mum's when it's filled with water (but will eat from it.) My pup is a greedy guts and will eat or drink from anything, for which I'm deeply grateful...

Welcome to you and little Rio!

Thanks !

Hi guys

Thanks again for all the wonderful info on the biting and water drinking.

Miraculously he drank water from the bowl last night and I had to refill it twice in 10 minutes :lol:

Must've been thirsty 8)

He has some little attitude my mum has had to spank him a few times, and tends to go in a sulk if he doesnt get on the couch with you while we eat. Is it alright to discipline him like this ?

To tap his nose? To say "naaannnaah" or "No?" or the odd tap on the head?

I would appreciate any suggestions as to what you all may have done since you all had pups themselves.

Some more pics for all of you to drool over







Thanks

Melissa

Rio is a little sweetie!! How cute!!

icon_welcome

Re: Thanks !

msunter said:

He has some little attitude my mum has had to spank him a few times, and tends to go in a sulk if he doesnt get on the couch with you while we eat. Is it alright to discipline him like this ?

To tap his nose? To say "naaannnaah" or "No?" or the odd tap on the head?

I would appreciate any suggestions as to what you all may have done since you all had pups themselves.

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Please do not spank your dog, and do not allow anyone else to do it either! There is no reason to hit or even tap a dog; you will destroy the dog's trust and future relationship with you, and may cause him to snap at you and others.

If the puppy is behaving in a way you do not want, you should ignore the behavior. One way to ignore the puppy is to put him in 'time out' for a short while in an x-pen. He can be right in the same room with you, but in an x-pen. When he calms down, he can come out. Any type of attention to your puppy's behavior tends to actually reinforce the behavior, while ignoring tends to extinguish behaviors. Be sure to use praise and treats to help your puppy learn what you want! :flwr:

There are lots of threads about puppy behavior and training; please read them for ideas.

If possible, take him to puppy kindergarten classes after he has had his shots and the vet says he is safe to go.

aww he is such a gorgeous boy!!!!!! such a cute face!!!

i agree...please do not spank your dog at all!! one of my dogs also had a bit if a teething thing that lasted (well it seemed like) forever!!!

If the puppy is behaving in a way you do not want, you should ignore the behavior. One way to ignore the puppy is to put him in 'time out' for a short while in an x-pen. He can be right in the same room with you, but in an x-pen. When he calms down, he can come out. Any type of attention to your puppy's behavior tends to actually reinforce the behavior, while ignoring tends to extinguish behaviors. Be sure to use praise and treats to help your puppy learn what you want!

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..yes i agree with this too..with my dog i tried the ignoring thing (didnt seem to work to well with me but in your case it could be different)..i also tried the "time out" idea..that worked well for me ..after a while (it can take some time) monty seemed to get the idea..and he does not chew on anything now except his toys (oh and his brothers ears of course! )..i recommend you try out both these ideas if the problem goes on for a long time..but since your dog is only 9 weeks at the moment and it is only natural that he be going through this..i think what you are doing at the moment by diverting his attention to his nylabone is a very good idea..if he then begins to chew the nylabone immediately reward and praise him so he know he has done the right thing...

Good luck! let us know on your progress! :flwr:

He is a gorgeous little boy!!!
Julie and the girls

Oh his little button nose,,, He's adorable