[rahauge]

I just got my puppy home, and "Malley" has been a lot of fun to have around. She loves her crate and loves to play with toys on the floor. Overall housebreaking has been okay, as just once or twice a day I catch her starting to squat indoors and rush her outside to finish - but she really seems to like her crate. I do have some questions I'd love help with. Here they are.

1. She bites a lot - I've been just giving her another toy and occasionally saying ouch when she bites hard, anything else I should be doing?

2. Is it bad to have her travel already to another person's house? I can bring the crate, just thought it might be a new experience to bring her to my parents this weekend.

3. Should she be playing with or exposed to older dogs - my buddy wants to come over and bring his spaniel to hang out, is it healthy and developmentally good for her to be around older dogs at 7 weeks old?

4. I'm only feeding her twice a day - she gets the amount on the back of the dog food bag ( 1 cup / day) but she always seems hungry. My breeder said the pups always gobbled up no matter how much food he gave and didn't over feed - is this everyone elses experience? She also seems to have an endless desire for water - should I give her unlimited access during housebreaking?

I appreciate all those willing to provide advice to this and all other questions I've posed on this forum.

Thanks-

 

[loriwolfelabluv]

Hi here's my advice!
1. Say ouch no bite all the time not occassionally!! It will take sometime but in a month or two Malley will learn bite inhibition (mouthing)
2. I would take her to your parents for sure, the socializing is great, stay close to her though your parents house may not be puppy proofed!
3. If the spaniel is healthy, sure, but make sure you keep a close eye on the rambunctious puppy!
4. I think lab pups 'are' always hungry. i feed raw, 3 times per day. You could try increasing the amount a wee bit and/or frequency to 3 times per day.Just watch Malleys waste line if she starts getting chubby then decrease. Water - untill my Gus was housetrained (about 2 -3 weeks) i picked up his water after supper till morning. I gave him an ice cube or 2 in the evening if he was looking for his water dish.
Good Luck!

 

[steveandginger]

I second, for what it's worth, all of loriwolfelabluv's suggestions!

Steve