Raising a Puppy - Sixth week in his new home

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Raising a Puppy - Sixth week in his new home

A day and a life with Bruno the Boxer puppy. Bruno's sixth week - 12 weeks old, 24 pounds, 15 ½ inches from the ground to the highest point of the shoulders (the withers)

About 2 1/2 Months Old

Bruno Visits Knoebels Grove

At exactly 12 weeks old, Bruno visited Knoebels Grove Amusement Park in Elysburg, PA. It started off a tad stressful, but quickly got better. As we were pulling our RV down the lane to the parking lot Bruno decided to pee on the camper floor! "NO BRUNO!" Unfortunately the kids didn't announce this in time for any successful correction. Bruno was done before I realized what had happened. I proceeded to clean it up. We parked, and the kids walked the dogs unknowingly into a patch of poison ivy. It was time to break out a bar of soap and walk them down to the stream to get it off of their legs. Those two things were the only stressful parts of the day, the rest just kept getting better and better...

What a wonderful place to socialize a dog. Free parking, free admission, dogs are allowed, food is excellent in both taste and price, plenty of shade, and dog lovers everywhere. You are even allowed to bring your own picnic lunch. They provide an array of picnic tables, which are relatively close to where you park your cars. Hundreds of people came over to pet Bruno, from infants to seniors. The lights, the noises, other dogs, there was just action going at every angle. There was a brief passing thunder storm. This was Bruno's first experience with thunder and lightning and he did very well considering. We were under an overhang when the storm hit. Bruno didn't know what to make of it and ran further under the bench away from the rain. I pulled him out and picked him up. People were petting him and he soon seemed to forget about the storm, which only lasted 10 minutes.

I could see Bruno was not going to last walking the entire day, and I didn't trust him enough to leave him in the RV, SO for only $5 we rented a wagon.

It didn't take long for Bruno to realize the wagon was for him. When we first put him in it we told him to "Stay" and two of the kids walked beside him as I pulled the wagon to make sure he didn't jump out.

For the first hour or so, Bruno mostly wanted out of the wagon and walked on his leash as the kids went from ride to ride. It was early in the day and he still had some energy, however as the day went on Bruno became more tired out. To my surprise, Bruno actually began to climb up in the wagon on his own and would lay down for a nap. We would pull him from ride to ride and he would stay in the wagon. He would wake up for a second wind, want out of the wagon, than back in for a nap over and over again. I would allow people to pet him even when he was sleeping. Bruno never minded this at all. Hundreds of hands all day long reaching out to pet him and he loved every minute of it.

By the end of the night Bruno was beat, but still enjoyed watching people walk by.

Jumping on People

While at Knoebels, in the beginning Bruno would try and jump on everyone who came to pet him. By the end of the night I noticed Bruno was no longer jumping, but giving them just one paw. I will accept a paw, but not jumping. Bruno was getting it. When Bruno would jump, I would yank is leash down and say "Bruno Down!" Very often Bruno would lay on the ground. At first I didn't understand why he was doing this, I simply didn't want him to jump, but was not asking him to lay on the ground. Later I realized the kids had taught Bruno the "Down" command. Ok, time to change the jumping command to "No Jump" instead of "Down".

The times Bruno would jump up, in most cases, after I told Bruno to get down the person petting him would state, "It's ok, I don't mind, I love dogs." However it was not ok, because Bruno was not going to stay little. In a few months his jumping would become very annoying and may actually hurt a young child. Now is the time to teach no jumping.

Puppy Biting

I received a tip on the puppy biting issue. When a puppy is play biting a human, tap them under the chin and say "No Bite". If the tap does not do the trick, do it a tad harder until they get the idea. Apparently dogs do not like getting tapped under the chin. This does seem to work if I can get my hand near his chin without him biting me first!

Outgrowing his Crate

At 12 weeks, Bruno has clearly outgrown his crate. He can no longer stretch out his legs. He has to keep them curled in order to sleep. Time to replace his crate with the next size up. Our original plan with the crates was to use this new crate when we first got Bruno and use the divider it came with to make it smaller. However someone had conveniently given us a smaller crate so we were able to use the smaller one instead of the divider. Most crates come with a divider which can be adjusted as the puppy grows.

Bruno is able to stretch out his legs in his new crate.

Bruno in his old crate (left) Bruno in his new crate (right)

Housebreaking

Bruno was in the house playing with Allie, our older Boxer. We were watching Bruno closely knowing he might pee at anytime. Sure enough Bruno squatted and started to pee. I immediately charged at him yelling "BRUNO NO!! NO!!" Bruno stopped peeing and ran to the kitchen where I caught up with him. On the way out the door I showed Bruno the Pee, "No! Bad Dog!" After taking Bruno to the grass outside, the proper place to pee... "Bruno, Go Pee!" Bruno squatted and peed in the grass. "Good Boy Bruno, Good Boy." Hoping this will make an impression on him and he will begin to really understand he is not to pee inside.

12 weeks and 2 days old - Upon switching Bruno from his old crate to his new one, I discovered he had peed in his crate at some point. I am not sure when he did this. He is only in his crate at night at bedtime. I am assuming he did this last night. Oh Bruno.... Time to bleach his bedding again...

12 weeks and 3 days old - This morning Bruno Yipped to come out of his crate. When I let him out I realized there was warm pee on his bedding. Apparently Bruno is a tad backwards. He wakes up, pee's in his crate, than yips to come out away from the pee. He's only 12 weeks old, which is very young. At least the pee is in the crate where it's easy to clean up.

12 weeks and 3 days old - Bruno was inside playing with Allie, our older Boxer. I was watching him closely. He suddenly squatted and peed on the dining room floor. I charged at him yelling, "No Bruno! NO!" He ran under the kitchen table where I caught up with him. I took him to the pee and let him see it saying, "No, BAD BOY!" I put him outside and told him to "Go Pee". Bruno immediately squatted and peed, which means he had not finished inside. I had caught him and he had stopped mid pee, which is very good in terms of helping Bruno understand where he needs to eliminate.

12 weeks and 4 days old - It was raining and Bruno was on the porch. I just happened to look over in time to see Bruno squat and pee on the welcome matt! "No Bruno! Don't Pee There!" Bruno stopped in mid pee. I picked him up and plopped him down in the grass. "Bruno, Go Pee!" Bruno squatted and peed in the grass giving me that sulking look. "Good Boy Bruno." Bruno still has a lot to learn, where to pee and where not to pee. The porch is outside, however it is not where you pee. Bruno is doing well considering he is only 12 weeks old.

It's raining, so rather than go out to the grass where he will get wet, Bruno decides to poop on the porch. Time to hose the porch off. Bright side, at least it was not in the house, right?

12 weeks and 5 days old - For the first time ever, Bruno slept as late as 9am! I started to get a little worried and went to check on him. He was awake in his crate, but just laying there. I opened his crate expecting to find it peed in. However it was dry! "Bruno Outside... Bruno Outside" Bruno followed me outside. He walked into the driveway on his way to pee. He turned and looked at me once as he was walking as if he was thinking, if I pee on the driveway mommy will yell at me. He walked to the very edge of the grass and peed in the grass. "Good Boy Bruno!"

I feel like we are making some good progress. When Bruno is inside the house and he starts to wander around I get up and follow him. As of yesterday and today, when he looks like he is searching for a spot inside the house to pee, I notice him looking up at me and it's as if he suddenly remembered he cannot pee in the house. He looks at me as if I startled him. That's when I call him outside and give him the "Go Pee" command in the grass. Bruno may still have an accident in the house, however I see his attitude changing as if he is starting to understand.

Remember I caught him peeing on the welcome mat... Yesterday it was pouring rain. I let Bruno out to go to the bathroom. Bruno looked like he had peeing on his mind. He ran around to the side of the porch were I could not see him. I called his name, "Bruno!" Bruno suddenly reappeared from the side of the house (it's a wrap around porch) and ran into the rain in the grass and peed. "Good Boy Bruno, Good Boy!" - Progress...

Housebreaking Peeing on Command

12 weeks and 4 days old - Bruno is doing very well with the "Go Pee" command. I take Bruno out to the yard and say, "Bruno, Go Pee" and he knows what I am asking him to do. Usually, within 1 minute he squats and pees. This especially comes in handy on rainy days.

Today is a chilly, rainy day, therefore Bruno will be spending most of his time indoors. I will need to take him outside to pee every half hour to an hour and tell him to "Go Pee".

Training - Easily Confused

12 weeks and 6 days - Bruno has been doing extremely well with the "Go Pee" command. So well in fact, for the last week, when I would say, "Bruno, Go Pee!" and point to the grass he would walk over and pee within 30 seconds of me giving the command. Even if he didn't have to go very badly, he would squat and try to pee. For 12 weeks old, this is excellent.

Suddenly in a matter of a half hour, Bruno became confused with the "Go Pee" command. My 6 year old Boxer Allie had to go to the vet in the morning. I wanted her to pee before putting her in my car. I took her outside and told her to go pee. Bruno was outside with us. I noticed Bruno had peed the first time I told Allie to pee. I had told Bruno "Good Boy", however Allie still had not gone. I kept repeating, "Allie Go Pee, Allie Go Pee" and pointing to the grass as I usually do. Allie was so excited she kept running back to the car without peeing. I would call her back to the grass and try again. Sometimes Allie would sit down on the grass and sometimes she'd run away from me, back to the car. Bruno was there jumping at her wanting to play. I was telling Bruno "No" and telling Allie to Pee. The excitement of knowing she was going for a car ride and the puppy jumping on her, Allie would not pee for me. I was getting frustrated and it was showing in my voice. A big No No when dealing with a dog. I finally realized I needed to give up and take her to her appointment before we were late.

Later on the same day I took Bruno outside and told him to "Go Pee" the same as I had done for the past few weeks. I could not believe it when Bruno acted exactly like Allie. He would not pee, he would either sit down or run under the car. I tried over and over but soon realized Bruno was totally confused from the morning episode. I had been telling Allie to pee while Bruno was there. Bruno had already peed for me the first time I asked him to. What Bruno didn't understand was, I was not talking to him. I was talking to his older sister Allie.

How to fix this... I believe the best way to fix this is to start over as if Bruno does not know the "Go Pee" command at all. I need to do this for both dogs. Later on the same day I took both dogs outside. I waited for them to pee on their own. First Allie started to pee, while she was in mid stream in a sweet voice, "Good Girl Allie, Go Pee, Good Girl, Go Pee, Good Girl!". Within 10 seconds I notice Bruno squatting to pee, in mid stream in my sweet good boy voice, "Good Boy Bruno, Go Pee, Good Boy! Go Pee, Good Boy!"

This example really shows how easily a dog can become confused and how important consistency is. By me telling Allie to "Go Pee" over and over in front of Bruno and Bruno had already gone pee, this confused Bruno and was not consistent with my normal reaction after he pees outside. This training set back can be fixed. Sure, it's frustrating as he was doing very well, but it can be fixed...

The next day... I have been working with Bruno on his "Peeing on command" and he is doing very well once again. I am careful and only say the command when he looks like he is going to pee anyway. I will have to do this for a few days to reinstate this command into him.

Dressed Up

Bruno sporting his nifty new jacket, which is actually a hand me down from his older sister Allie, who is now 6 years old. (Bruno Left at 3 months old, Allie Right at 4 months old)

Bad Puppy Moments

12 weeks and 1 day old - "Bruno, DROP IT! Those hand sheers are NOT a toy!" Bruno miraculously finds anything left out in which he is not supposed to have. He seems to take them to his dog bed, however I wonder how many other things he took somewhere else that we may never find again, or find months or years from now!

12 weeks and 4 days old - I walked outside to check on Bruno, only to find him chewing on a dead bird in his dog bed! (courtesy of the cats) "YUCK BRUNO! GROSS, Don't Chew On That!"

Rainy Day - Bruno is inside a lot today. He laid down next to the cabinet and started chewing on the corner. "Aaaaatttttt!! NO!" Bruno turns and looks at me. Ten seconds later he's chewing the cabinet again! "NO BRUNO, AAAATTTTTT. Don't Chew That!" Bruno laid down on the ground for a minute before he was back up playing with his toys once again.

I looked out the window and what did I see? A 12 week old Boxer puppy running across the driveway with a shoe in his mouth. I grabbed my camera and went outside. As soon as Bruno saw me he dropped the shoe as I snapped the picture and before I even had the chance to say anything to him. His face and demeanor were saying, "What? I'm not doing anything wrong. I didn't have that shoe mommy!" I stood there waiting for him to pick it back up so I could yell at him. But, NO GO, he was not going to touch that shoe while I was standing there. He sat down a few feet from the shoe and just looked at me. Seems Bruno is getting sneaky! Gotta love that Boxer personality ;-)

I walked outside only to find Bruno had gotten into the fire pit. There were ashes on the porch and unburned pieces of logs in his bed. There was even a paint brush! I have no idea where he found the paint brush! I began to clean up the mess. I could not yell at Bruno, he would not understand why I was yelling. I didn't catch in in the act. The only thing I could do was yell if he started chewing on the paint brush or log again. I got out the broom and Bruno proceeded to bark at it, jumping around like a nut case. He finds brooms very fascinating.

I walked over to the fire pit where Bruno stole the logs and waited for him to go back in the pit. Sure enough he did and then and only then was I able to explain to him that going into the fire pit was off limits. "No Bruno, Get Out of There!" Bruno ran out of the pit. This was the first time he was told the pit was off limits. Bruno ran to Waffle, the only cat, out of 23 cats, who seems to actually like him. Not sure if that one time correcting was enough to keep him out of the pit. Only time will tell.

Bruno! Now what do you have? "No Bruno, Drop It!" Bruno stole Bob's safety glasses. Bob works here as a grounds keeper a couple of days a week. Bob says he put his glasses down for only a second and they were gone. Turned out Bruno had stolen them! I explained to Bob, now that Bruno is around you cannot put anything down or he'll take it.

A few seconds after I had taken the safety glasses away from Bruno, he ran down to the yard and came back with the string that holds the safety glasses around your neck. Seems Bruno did some chewing on it. It was wet and slimy. Bob says Bruno is still his little buddy even if he stole his glasses and chewed his strap.

Visit with the Vet

Bruno saw the vet today. He was a very good boy. He received his last series of shots, however because Bruno had an allergic reaction to his shots the last time, we gave Bruno a shot of Benadryl as well.

Bruno was sure one tired pup for the next several hours!

Raising a Puppy Main

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