Got a new puppy!!!

A couple weeks ago my stepson found a dog in the woods and he brought it home with him. It was a miniature longhair dachshund and it was the absolute sweetest dog I ever met! Her ultimate goal in life seemed to be getting you to rub her belly. We fell completely in love with this little cuddlebug. My stepson's mom was looking for the owner, but we told her that if she couldn't find the owner that we would happily keep her. The owner was found, and while we were happy that the dog would get to go back home, we missed her like crazy and decided we wanted to get a puppy of our own. We rent and technically pets aren't allowed, but we rent from my inlaws so we got them to bend the rules ;D I had thought that if I ever decided to get a dog, that I would do a rescue from a shelter. But we fell so in love with that little wiener dog that we decided to get a puppy of the same type from a breeder.

So here's my new little guy Bandit.

 

Congrats on the new furkid - he is adorable.

 

Aww... great choice! I have a 7 1/2 month old short haired, black and tan weiner named Finnigan. He is a character. They have great little personalities, but just take care to train them or they will train you!
Congrats!

 

He's precious! Congratulations!

 

A bit of warning about doxies...... once they pick up a scent on the ground, they are GONE! Train well, train often....

Cute little bugger.....

 

We just got him on Tuesday evening and he is already doing so well with training. We're crate training and he LOVES his crate! He goes running right into it as soon as he's done with playtime. And as soon as he comes out I take him outside for potty breaks and I also take him out after he eats or drinks and he didn't have a single accident yesterday and none so far today. Either myself or my husband is always home so thankfully we have a lot of time to dedicate to him.

LyndaB....we noticed with the lost dog that she would take on a different personality when she was outside. It wasn't surprising that she got away from her owner, she would go so crazy. Bandit is only taken out on a leash and we got him a collar tag with our info on it just in case.

 

Awwww Erica, your new puppy is so sweet!

 

Have him microchipped, too....

 

Have him microchipped, too....

+1!

 

Yeah, his vet appointment is next week. I'll have to to ask to have that done too. Thanks for the reminder!

Thanks for all the compliments on him from everyone. I certainly think he's a cutie

 

What a cutie! That dog is cute enough to get away with anything

Is microchipping optional in the US? It is compulsary for all cats and dogs in Australia.

 

Happy New Puppy !!!

 

Aww! Congrats on the puppy.

 

Cute pup!!!! That's awesome!!!

 

My hubby and I have had Dachshunds for 30 years, rescued most of them and we are besotted with the breed!!! That is a cute little fur-ball for sure. They are little toughies regarding training so as was said previously, train a lot and often.

 

Nawwwww. If Bandit ever happens to spontaneously disappear, I stole him ;D

Is microchipping optional in the US? It is compulsary for all cats and dogs in Australia.

It is? Our dog isn't even registered!

 

Absolutely gorgeous. My fella has a long hair dashie .. super sweet and turning 10 this year.

 

He's adorable! Congrats

 

Very cute. Glad the owner of the prior pup was found - I'm sure they were heartbroken while it was missing.

 

More pics of Bandit!

He had his first vet visit today. He was such a good boy! He didn't even flinch or whine for his shot or getting his nails trimmed! When I was checking out and needed my hands to dig through my purse, all the girls in the office jumped up to offer to hold him, lol.

 

Thank you so much for doing the right thing... There are so many people who will just keep a lost puppy.... and your new doggy is ADORABLE!!!

 

My husband and I are strategizing on how to steal the Bandit..... we already have a blood parrot named Bandit, we need a little doggy to complete the family. PA's only a few hours from CT, you know....

 

Nawwwww. If Bandit ever happens to spontaneously disappear, I stole him ;D

My husband and I are strategizing on how to steal the Bandit..... we already have a blood parrot named Bandit, we need a little doggy to complete the family. PA's only a few hours from CT, you know....

If anyone tries to steal my Bandit there will be consequences ;D

Although I couldn't blame you, I don't know how anyone could not love that face and those little legs. I seriously have people stop their cars in the road when they see me outside with him to ask about him.

He is afraid of everything though! If he hears any strange sound, even another dog barking, he runs and hides under our porch step. And I can't get him to leave the yard to go on walks. He's an odd little dog, lol, but I love him.

 

Awwwwwwwww Bandit is adorable!

Thanks for sharing the photos Erica!

Ken

 

He is afraid of everything though! If he hears any strange sound, even another dog barking, he runs and hides under our porch step. And I can't get him to leave the yard to go on walks. He's an odd little dog, lol, but I love him.

He just needs to be desensitized. Fear can develop into fear aggression, so it's best to nip it in the bud, while he's young. Introduce him to noises and then maybe you can use clicker training for it. Noise..... click.... treat. Works every time. Do the same training trying to teach him to go for a walk. Don't drag him. If you nudge his rear end a tiny bit with your toe, he should step forward. Step..... click.... treat. Anything to keep the momentum going and teach him that he's safe.

If you don't have a clicker, I have plenty..... so maybe he should come live with me..... arty0049:

 

I don't have a clicker, but I've been reading a bit about doing click training. He's only just past 9 weeks old (I know now that he was sold younger than he should have been, but I didn't know that at the time) though and I was told that at his age to keep training to just crate training and housebreaking. He doesn't mind the noises as long as we are the ones making them, like my husband mowing the lawn or me vacuuming. He just finds the big unknown outside world scary.

I do want to to figure out a way to help him get over it though, but another odd quirk of his is that he doesn't care much about treats. At 8 weeks old, he was only 3 pounds so the first problem is that pretty much all treats out there are too big for him. I tried crushing up biscuits and things, but he still wouldn't eat them. I tried treats that are actually called training treats that were chicken flavored....no interest. I tried pieces of his dog food...no interest. So I read online about what I could use for training treats for small dogs and found that some people were using cheerios. We've been avoiding giving him people food, but I was desperate to find something he would like and decided to try it. He does like them and will eat them most of the time, but he still doesn't get excited about them. And occasionally he won't eat them at all.

Another problem that may have caused him to have issues with other dogs barking is that our attempts at socializing him with other dogs have not gone well. First we had a family friend bring his dachshund over. We had met her multiple times before and she was a sweetheart and she lives with another dog so we thought she would make a great buddy for Bandit. Wrong. He loved her initially and followed her everywhere, but she had no interest in him. At one point she had jumped up on our ottoman and he was trying to get up too so I picked him up and sat him next to her and she started growling at him. Then later they were on the floor walking around and he got in a playful mood and got in her face trying to play and she snapped at him. I kept him away from her until she went home after that.

Our second attempt, we took him to my in-laws. They have a toy Yorkshire terrier, Max. Max immediately seemed annoyed that another dog was in his territory, and was growling at Bandit. I was completely on edge about them being around each other, but my husband and his parents just kept saying that he wouldn't hurt him. I stayed right beside Bandit the whole time though. At one point my husband started playing with Max, getting him all roweled up, and Max ended up bumping into Bandit while he was running and he turned around and snapped at Bandit. I had already been reaching down to pick Bandit up and I'm pretty sure I just barely kept poor little Bandit from getting his face bit.

The only dog he has met that didn't growl and snap at him is my parents dog Alex. Alex however is not a good playmate though because he's a chocolate lab. And as kind and sweet as Alex is, I would be too nervous to let them play due to the size difference and Alex didn't want to play with him anyways. Alex lives in the country so his version of fun is running through the fields, not hanging out with a 3 pound puppy, lol.

So yeah, dog socialization is not going well. My vet has a lady that does puppy classes, but they're completely overpriced for very little time.

Bandit is adorable and incredibly well behaved, but I'm definitely hitting some roadblocks with him. Sorry this was so long. I've grown up always having dogs, but this is my first time being responsible for one so I'm clueless in many ways about what I'm doing.

 

So I read online about what I could use for training treats for small dogs and found that some people were using cheerios. We've been avoiding giving him people food, but I was desperate to find something he would like and decided to try it. He does like them and will eat them most of the time, but he still doesn't get excited about them. And occasionally he won't eat them at all.

We fry up bacon, chop it into tiny pieces and put it in with the cheerios. Then we take a paper towel, soak it in the bacon grease and put it in a baggy with the cheerios and shake it until the cheerios are coated in bacon flavour.

I haven't met a dog yet that didn't want those bacon flavoured cheerios and with the odd bit of bacon in there it's enough to keep them interested without boredom setting in.

If he still doesn't want treats .. no worries. Find a toy he likes and reward him with that OR if you're his favorite thing reward him with your attention, love and petting.

Ignore fear behaviour (no talking to him not even soothing words, no touching, no petting), reward brave behaviour (lots of "good boy", pets and cuddles).

Good luck and keep trying. He's definitely at the best age to start socializing A LOT. 8 to 12 weeks is when they learn all their social behaviour with their litter mates.

Without any litter mates he really needs some kinds of puppy socializing (not with adult dogs but with other puppies) so he can learn social skills.

Most cities have a good dog trainer who is doing puppy social classes which also include basic puppy training like sit, come and some leash work. The goal is to socialize them without stressing them.

Have strangers give him treats or pet him. Have people come over and make noise, bring kids, wear strange clothes .. etc .. etc. Pull out the halloween costumes early and umbrellas and cats and new year's eve noise makers. All of it done low key with lots of petting when he's brave and ignoring when he's acting scared.

You might try finding other puppy owners who are willing to socialize in a group setting. If you can find several other puppies of similar size and age the best thing you can do is just turn them loose and let them sort it out.

Just make sure everyone has their vaccinations!!!

He's adorable ..

 

Then later they were on the floor walking around and he got in a playful mood and got in her face trying to play and she snapped at him. I kept him away from her until she went home after that

Keep in mind she "snapped" .. she didn't bite. This is dog language. She is teaching a puppy that she doesn't like his behaviour. She is doing the right thing. No worse than a human mom saying "NO" to her kids.

If you keep him away from dogs that are growling or snapping you are preventing him from learning the lessons he needs to learn.

Dogs growl, dogs snap .. it's language. As long as no one is biting they are simply teaching him and that's a good thing. It's stuff he needs to learn. If he pushes their buttons too far they might nip him to really get the lesson home.

But .. he's a puppy, he also has language. He licks his lips in submission, he yelps (don't hurt me I'm a puppy), he rolls belly up (don't hurt me I'm little) .. it's all good language and nothing he needs rescued from.

Usually an older dog will growl or snap and then the puppy responds with his language. When older dogs see this behaviour they usually leave the puppy alone and walk away or lay down.

Try to relax your worries. Dogs have some incredible communication skills that people interfere with.

Sorry I got long winded. I used to be a dog trainer and the biggest part of socializing puppies is teaching the people to just let the dogs be dogs. They've got it all worked out between them. It's hard to teach people to stop picking them up, stop carrying them around, stop rescuing them. They need to fall down, get snapped at, tumble and roll, eat dirt .etc.

The only thing we don't recommend is taking a puppy to an off leash park and turning it loose with a group of adult dogs. The puppy is sure to get hurt in this senario. Groups of puppies are great .. not groups of adults and a puppy.

 

Thank you for all of the advice!!!

So with the bacon thing, you don't actually add the bacon? You just just shake the cheerios with the greasy paper towel? I'm definitely going to try that! Who can resist bacon? lol

He does love people, even strangers. We occasionally get a crew of my sons neighborhood friends of various ages at the house and Bandit is wonderful with them. And local people out walking their dogs or jogging always stop to see him and he always greets them with a wagging tail.

I haven't met anybody yet with a puppy though so I guess I'm going to have to sign him up for puppy classes.

Thanks again!

Edit because I just saw your second post. I understand what you mean about the dog language, but I just don't think I can take the chance of a larger dog biting him. He's just so darn little. I can't help it. I'm an overprotective mommy. I've always been that way with my human son too, lol.

 

Excellent advice from MzMolly!

Erica, I understand how difficult this can be, please don't be offended by what I'm going to write, but it really sounds as though you are reinforcing his fear. When you intercede you are telling him there's something to be afraid of. He can sense you are worried which confirms there is indeed something for him to be afraid of.

I would encourage you to try again with the friend's dachshund. If she jumps up on something to get away from him don't put him up there too. Let her have her space, let him get used to seeing another dog. It likely won't be instant but over several visits I bet you will see a difference.

My 7 year-ol bouvier weighs almost 70 pounds. My mother adopted a young mixed breed dog (he looks like a wirehaired dachshund unless you know better) He weighs about 15 pounds. They play together very well but first she had to teach him the limits. She sounds very fierce but she never once hurt him. Once he respected her boundaries they began to play... now they wear each other out.

 

I'm not offended at all. I completely understand what you're saying and my logical mind knows that you're right. It's just hard for me to let my emotional side give in to the logical, lol.

Next weekend the other dachshunds owner is having a cookout and we will be taking Bandit with us to it, so we'll have another chance to let the dogs get used to each other. I'll try to keep in mind the advice I've been given here and not be so overprotective.

 

He's so cute! It makes me want the same breed.

 

So with the bacon thing, you don't actually add the bacon? You just just shake the cheerios with the greasy paper towel? I'm definitely going to try that! Who can resist bacon?

You can add the bacon .. chopped up small so with all those cheerios he gets a piece of bacon once in a while. It's like hitting the lottery and it keeps them interested.

When we're training a lot .. we only give one cheerio at a time. Not a bunch. The idea is to make them work for as little food as possible but still reward them.

Most people use food rewards because most dogs are food motivated but some dogs are simply not food motivated. That's when you try toys or yourself as reward.

TigerLily is right .. it's really hard to be a tough love mom but just remember .. if you give in .. you pay the price. An adult dog with separation anxiety will destroy your house and make your life a living nightmare.

Over-mothering will create this anxiety in your dog. Try and remember your children. I'm sure you mothered them but there came a time when they had to go to school and hang out with the other kids and learn their lessons on the playground.

As small as your puppy is physically, he's the mental equivalent of a kid in grade one or two. Trust me, they are far more resiliant than people think and I think you'd be surprised .. very few adult dogs will hurt a puppy. The puppy might scream like he's being eaten alive but it's all for show and it's their best self-defense mechanism so they use it. Check them over later and there's not a mark on them. Great actors!!!

 

MzMolly is spot on. Dogs can teach other dogs better than we can. That's why Cesar's "power of the pack" works so well. Whatever you do, don't protect the pup from everything that you perceive as a threat. Otherwise, you will end up with a fear aggressive dog. I adopted a St Bernard that had fear aggression. It's an awful thing to watch an adult dog go through, being in fear of everything. Help Bandit discover his strengths. As you said, he was taken from his mom too soon. She and his siblings would've helped teach him lack of fear.

 

MzMolly....Doesn't the bacon rot if you leave it in there? Or do you cook fresh everyday?

I will take all of your guys advice. I really don't want Bandit to end up with issues. I'm glad I decided to bring it up here. I had no idea I was doing anything wrong. I'm sure I'll need more advice from you guys soon so keep an eye on this thread for me x

 

MzMolly....Doesn't the bacon rot if you leave it in there? Or do you cook fresh everyday?

I store it all in the fridge when I'm not training.

You can do the same thing with a hotdog. Slice it super thin, place it on a paper towel and microwave it until the slices are cooked into hard chips. Then put the papertowel in the bag of cheerios and shake. (btw, I take out the paper towel after, in case that isn't obvious). Then I mix the cheerios and cooked hotdog slices all together.

You can make as little or as much as you need at one time and store extra in the freezer and just thaw as needed. Saves repeated cooking messes.

 

I was told that at his age to keep training to just crate training and housebreaking.

I missed this first time around... training happens all the time whether intentional or not. (I'm not referring to formal obedience training.) Behavior that is rewarded is more likely to re-occur.

My litter of bouvier puppies knew "sit" by 7 weeks. I noticed when they sat, labeled the behavior ("sit") and rewarded the pup(s). One puppy was here longer since she was going to Australia and I kept two pups for myself. It was quite cute to see the three sibs lined up, sitting patiently, waiting for their spoonful of yogurt. My big mistake was neglecting to shape a behavior to clean up the drool. LOL

Day to day training can be a real kick. Human and canine communication is fascinating. Dogs are far more observant than we realize. Reading their subtle signs and the give and take between us is so rewarding to me. There are days I know my dogs train me better than I do them. LOL

Good Luck, Erica. Bandit is adorable and I'm sure he will be a wonderful companion.

 

claudicles--no, Microchips are not required in the US, at least not in the State I live in. I volunteered at an Animal Adoption Center and the calls we got to see if we have found their lost dog or cat was sickening. And, no they were not microchipped nor did they have a collar most of the time.

 

My big mistake was neglecting to shape a behavior to clean up the drool. LOL

I totally agree with this post. For my personal dogs, I rarely set aside "time for training" .. I just trained them all the time with every interaction. I made them wait while I opened the door and they didn't go out until I said ok. I made them wait in a sit while I put their food down and they didn't move until I said ok. I took them everywhere all the time and let them interact constantly but always with good behaviour expected.

Dogs are so smart and it's so easy if you just watch them. I go to put the food down and if they move I just lift up the food and say nooo ... they stop and will usually sit naturally but I'll accept standing quiet from a dog that doesn't know sit. I move to put the food down again, if they move I lift it up again. Pretty soon they know to just stay sitting and the food will come much faster if they do.

Same thing going in and out doors. I start to open door and if they move I say nooo and close door. They stop and look at you like you're insane. I do it again and again until they just stand there waiting for me to say OK!! After a bit the door is wide open and they're not moving. I never have to worry about a dog rushing out into traffic on me.

The trick is consistancy, never letting up and always loving them with boundaries firmly in place. All day, every day!

My dogs were mutts and we got invited to this breed obedience thing one day. Normally it was for CKC dogs only and this time they invited anyone who wanted to come so my mutts were sort of looked down on but welcomed for that day.

I walked in and layed my dogs down by the wall and went over to see if I could help with set up. Some woman yelled at me, "You can't leave your dogs there."

I turned and said, "Oh sorry, is there a problem with where they are."

She says, "No but they won't stay there" .. I laughed and said, "They better" and went about my business. They never moved an inch.

The "obedience" dogs started coming in and I noticed they were all crated. With conversations, I realized that most of them were crating their dogs a lot, training them during "sessions" and the rest of the time just letting them run wild doing whatever they wanted.

Their dogs were very poorly behaved unless they were in the ring or they recognized a training session.

My dogs, on the other hand, lived and breathed good behaviour. When I walked into the ring with my Holly I looked at the judge and asked what do I do? She was bug eyed .. you've never been at an obedience trial? NOPE. My Holly went home with her certificate that day and some of the other people were furious .. they had been trying for months/years to get a certificate and still hadn't achieved it. Holly was two and had never had any formal training at all.

To say the least .. they never had an open trial like that again I think they were embarrassed.

I was offered a job with the local dog trainer :;co

 

I just noticed that I received a reputation point on this thread. It said something like "fantastic advice" so I'm pretty sure it wasn't meant for me and was meant for someone here giving me advice. Just wanted to let whoever gave the reputation point know what happened so that they can give the point to the person who earned it