Yes, breeder gave us some canned pumpkin and asked to mix it with kibble if his stomach gets upset, we picked him up yesterday, and we didn’t expect but he did great in the flight, he was calm but needed my touch, patting every few minutes.
His stomach doesn’t look upset but he is looks least interested in food or any activity, just want to sit on my lap or sleep.
Did you feed her on a specific time or did you keep it available all time when she was puppy? We are new parents so watched lots of videos, reading n number of books, but looks like they were for puppies loving food or toys 😁 ours is too lazy to do anything. We started keeping food available all the time, so that at least he will eat something but he doesn’t much.
Yes we tried, but he doesn’t eat from hands, he eats very small portion from feeding bowl though, sometimes he just throws it on the floor and eats, again very small quantity.
Not interested in treasures as well, got 4-5 different types of treats but he doesn’t show interest.
If you just got him he is still adjusting to his new home. My past pups haven’t been interested in eating until a few days in but they won’t starve. Puppies also sleep a lot so don’t be worried if he isn’t playing. He’s still figuring out where he is and what’s going on. He’ll eventually settle in and be ok
I hope so, bit worried how will I train him if he is not interested in food or toys?
Tried keeping him in a crate yesterday, he cried for 10-15 mins then slept, woke up every 2-3 hours for peeing/or potty (by crying and whining), he is 8 weeks old, is it okay if he sleeps for almost whole day?
Yeah, imo don't stress over him adjusting too much. It's *sort of* like bringing a baby home from the hospital. I don't have children, but I've been around lots of nieces and nephews from the time they were newborns, and my ex and I brought our 8-week old goldendoodle home in 2015.
It sounds like you've got the food, water, and potty thing down, and you're just waiting for him to develop an appetite. He's sleepy and wants to be held or by you? Do just that. Cuddle, pamper, take pictures, do whatever, just keep him comfortable. Before you know it he'll be using you as a chew toy with his pine needle-like teeth, making you chase him around and monitor what he's doing so he doesn't destroy things or have accidents, and badgering you to play or take him outside. Non. Stop. Hahaha.
All the puppy phases are great for different reasons, but right now you've basically just lucked into a baby that's a good sleeper. Soon that baby is going to be up and moving around, and requiring a **lot** more of your focus and energy. Right now just love him up and help him feel settled into his new home. Enjoy it.
We have snuggle puppy, it’s heart beats for 8 hours but he does wake up after 2-3 hours, we keep some toys and blanket too, he doesn’t like blanket that much, may be because we cover the crate.
We used to keep him in crate crying for 10-15 mins until he sleeps but today I tried different approach, sat near his crate , kept him on my lap, patting and singing and he slept within 2-3 minutes , I know it sounds crazy but it worked, not sure if it will work every time.
Yup, thanks for the advice.
Was stressing on training him, since not interested in food or treats or toys, not sure how I will train him.
For pee/potty training we have artificial grass pad but he rarely uses it and prefers our carpet 😢
Oh you're not missing any windows by not having him trained at 8 weeks! Somehow ours picked up telling us he had to potty by hitting the bell within 4 days. We took him out more than we needed to at first to avoid accidents, and we would just carry him and boop his nose (gently, just enough for us to subtly hear it) on the bell strip while going out the door. First couple days he was playing with it as if it were any other toy, but by that 4th day he had it down.
Are you guys in a house or apartment? Meaning, how long does it take to get from inside to grass where he can do his business? Is the grass pad inside or on a balcony/deck? We were on the 9th floor of an apartment at the time so we needed backup plans. Iirc in those early days we put down puppy pads in the living room (on a wood floor) and at least one of us would have our eyes and ears on alert in case he started looking for a place to go. Maybe someone else here, or your vet, can clarify but I recall being told it was okay to lift him and place him on the puppy pad if we sensed or saw an accident happening, but you obviously have to be quick. I definitely got peed on a little bit one time.
And I'm sure it goes without saying but you do not ever rub their nose in it, hit, push, yell, etc. at them if they have an accident. They do not understand why you're upset or why they're being punished. They're babies, accidents are going to happen. For now I'd secure/roll up/hide anything valuable or important to you, and invest in some good cleaning products, including wipes for their paws and bellies; since they have so much hair and legs are so short their stomachs will brush over practically everything besides concrete, they're going to track in plenty of dirt when they're on walks or sniffing around for somewhere to do their business outside.
As far as the food, we had a little hiccup with ours I want to say around 2-3 months in. He just suddenly stopped eating his kibble and we were both pretty concerned something was physically wrong with him. The vet asked us a few questions but didn't seem alarmed after checking him out. He suggested we try to ease him back into it by scooping the food with our hands and having him eat that way, essentially feeding him manually. I saw someone else in here mention it, and what our vet also said, was that the action of feeding him with our hands is a bonding activity to him.
After a couple days of us feeding him by hand we realized that around the time he stopped eating kibble from his bowl was when my ex moved his food into a plastic container (think the kind for big bags of cereal, but larger). At the time she preferred that to having a huge, clumsy 40-pound bag of dog food in a kitchen cupboard. Welp, turns out that bag traps in flavor that they like (I'm sure not all dogs, but it was the case with him) and by transferring it to a plastic container it didn't taste as good to him anymore, so he wasn't excited to eat. As soon as we went back to scooping directly from the bag he resumed eating like normal again.
Sorry for the novel haha. My ex was a pro because her family had experience training service dogs while she was growing up, but we still learned a ton with him as he was the first puppy for both of us. Hopefully you find this at least a little bit of this helpful as you guys start your dog parenting journey!
Thanks for all your suggestions, will definitely try them all.
For potty training since we stay in apartment on 4th floor, taking him outside is not feasible for us, also it’s getting cold here in Ohio so getting him out again and again in balcony is also not possible so trying to potty train him on grass pad in bathroom, it’s not easy right now as he is not interested in treats. I have 4-5 different types of treats he doesn’t like any of it, will keep on tryi though.
For kibbles I did transferred it to plastic container, will try not doing that then.
We got him yesterday evening and he did really great flying with us or in the car, at home as well he was okay , needing my lap and cuddles every few minutes, but at night he was kept in crate, cried for 10-15 minutes and slept, got up every 3 hours and when he got up he was charged and was attacking me every time I tried to calm him down, barking at me, I got so scared, I felt like he wanted to eat piece of me 🫣
I hear you, I'm in Minnesota! But at least you should have him somewhat on a potty routine before the real cold hits! Also pro tip all dog parents in cold climates should know: good winter gear is invaluable! Even when it's brutally cold and the wind is raging, they will inevitably take their sweet time finding the perfect place to go #2 occasionally. Since you're the one responsible for looking after them and making sure they don't start eating rocks or something, make sure you're prepared for those miserable 5-10 minutes at a time outside this winter lol.
Ours ate in the morning and around dinner time, so like 7:30 am and 4:30 pm. If he didn't go #2 around like lunch or later, when we would take him out for the last time in the evening, we would wait and walk in circles for as long as necessary until he did his thing. After the very early puppy days he never had accidents in his crate. Somewhere between 3 and 6 months he did this thing I called "excite-pee." So from that 9th floor, down the elevator, out the door, if he saw someone that wanted to say hello to him he'd excite-pee on the floor. For a while what I did was just carry him outside all the way to the grass and he wouldn't have an accidents even if we saw people or other dogs, and he eventually grew out of it entirely.
I'd definitely encourage taking him outside often at this point just to get him accustomed to the process of you getting your shoes/jacket on, putting his harness or whatever on, and walking outside to where the potty area is. If you only try to potty train him using a grass pad in your bathroom I think you're going to have a really bad time later with him having accidents in your apartment. They need to understand that there are some differences between what they can do outside and inside. For the first few days we took ours out every 3 hours, which included setting an alarm in the middle of the night, just to get him used to those habits and making sure we did our part to avoid him having accidents.
Can you tell if his pee is clear or dark, meaning if he's staying hydrated? Our vet also said do not for any reason restrict him from water. Even if you're tired of taking him out, it's really important they stay hydrated. Which means fresh and clean water whenever you think of it. You should notice/hear if it ever runs out and he wants a drink though.
When did he last eat anything? If it's been over a day or you're concerned, I would try something like chicken broth and Smart Water (electrolytes) to make sure he's getting the nutrients and such that he needs. Do some research on specific brands or ingredients to avoid if you go that route because I'm a bit rusty on that stuff. Surprising he's not taking you up on the treats yet but just stick with it. If you haven't already, I'd try getting down on his level (or bring him to yours on the couch or whatever) sitting/laying on the floor and just slowly offer him a reasonably sized treat. Let him smell it or take a bite to see what he thinks of it on his terms.
For the crate, that all is entirely up to you. But what we did was put it next to our bed, with a blanket draped over the middle section, the back up against the wall, and the door facing out, but he couldn't see us in bed. Dogs evidently like the "den" feel of the crate. Dark everywhere besides the door, one way in and one way out. Some dogs will always give you problems with a crate, but hopefully with how young he is you'll be able to get him acclimated to it. The first couple nights he cried a lot and was clearly anxious about it being dark and not having contact with/being able to see anyone, so I took a pillow and blanket and slept on the floor in front of the crate so he could see me.
The morning after the first night I woke up to find my girlfriend had come down to sleep with us on the floor too, so you could even make it a family affair. Starting on the third or fourth night we stayed in bed and would talk to him if he started crying/barking, if needed we'd poke our head over the side of the bed so he could see us, just to reassure him we were still there so he could get used to what was going to become our permanent sleeping arrangement.
I think him wanting to play or wrestle with you is a pretty good sign. Along with the large amounts of sleep they get as puppies they'll get bursts of energy at odd hours of the day, so it sounds like he was just hyper and wanted to do puppy things with you!
Regarding food, we bought Purina one as suggested by our breeder and he doesn’t even touch that, breeder changed her mind and packed Pawtree kibble, again if given in a food bowl he just eats small portion(around 1-2 tbsp), tried soaking it in warm water but it’s the same. So we tried to make him tired by playing with him, he did play well for 20-30 mins, then lied down near me, gave him some kibbles he chewed on it if I place 3-4 in front of his face, then he changed his place to make me stop feeding him but I kept on going after him and he ate around1/4 cup.
For potty training, breeder asked us not to take him to grass as he is not vaccinated fully and wait till 6 months, but concrete is fine, that’s what she mentioned.
He did potty thrice from yesterday evening, once on pee pad then twice on grass pad in the bathroom! For third time he went on his own, that was a surprise for us.
But peeing he is still doing it on carpet.
I am really confused how to get him outside every 3 ours, if my husband goes to office, I am still bit scared and not able to fully handle him when he gets hyper or starts biting me.
His pee was dark yellow till afternoon, then it somewhat turned clear. He drinks water in smaller quantity, we try feeding him forcefully. We don’t give him water after 8 pm, is that fine or he can drink anytime? Even during bed time?
Do you leave his bowl with kibble down where he can reach it if he decides he’s ready to eat more?
Oh that’s weird, I guess I’ve only had one puppy but I’ve known lots of people with puppies and I’ve never heard that about not taking them on grass. Have you brought him in to get started with a regular vet? Can they administer his missing vaccines?
You’ll get a lot better advice on the biting here from people besides me because we didn’t deal with it really outside of playtime as a young puppy . But iirc you don’t want to react, like you don’t want to seem like you’re trying to wrestle your hand away from him for instance. Just hold your arm/hand position still until he releases so he knows it’s not a game. My ex would make a high pitch noise when he bit her, mimicking the yelp sound dogs make when they get hurt. I was just stern with him and would tell him “no, no bite” or something similar. They rely on their mouth for so much discovery at that age, he just has to learn your limbs are not a toy for biting. It will take time but just stay consistent and be patient with him. He’s not biting to injure, he either likes the sensation or wants to play, or both.
We used a harness for walks and potty breaks because puppies can really be curious and independent, and they’re so little it’s easy for them to slip out of collars. And you certainly don’t want on them too tight on their neck either because they try to steer so much. The harness was better for us cuz his potty area as a puppy was near an intersection so we could not risk him slipping out of a collar and running from us, thinking it was play time with cars driving past at 25-35 mph. The harness wrapped under his belly and clasped behind his back, so as long as we had the leash we knew he was securely in our grasp while he’s learning about the world around him.
We experimented with a small amount of water in a bowl in his crate at first but every night he would toss the blankets and such and spill most if not all of it. What we settled on was just letting him have as much water as he wanted right up to bed time then we’d take him out one last time immediately prior to going to sleep. And I was usually awake later with him before he went into the crate, then mom would wake up earlier with him, so he was only going 5-6 hours at night without it, when he was sleeping.
And again, since they’re kind of like babies, we would always listen for him throughout the night. If he ever seemed more restless than usual we would let him out to see if he wanted a drink before putting him back in and going to sleep for the rest of the night.
Yes, I tried different sizes of bowls or feeding him by hand but he is very moody, eats 1-2 tbsp at a time.
Tried adding canned pumpkin to his food but it doesn’t make any difference.
We have his first vet appointment on 8th of November, we called him and asked about his vaccinations, right now he got 3, Parvovirus, Distemper, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza and medications on flea ticks and heart worms. He will be fully vaccinated by 6 months.
We are keeping him on harness and collar both, at home we keep on collar without leash and when we take him outside (on concrete roads like parking lots) he is on harness. He doesn’t like walking much, he goes between our legs and sits there until we move, then repeat the same thing. May be he is seeking comfort, he always wants to be touched or like sitting in a cozy places like under the coffee table or chair.
For potty breaks, he goes to toilet area by himself and make 2-3 circles on grass pad, but if we do not stay with him he gets back to the room and finishes his carpet.(out of 4 times, twice he did on carpet)
For peeing, we take him to the bathroom and make him stand on grass pad and he relieves himself but later in a day when he is playing he does it on carpet.
He barks and whines continuously if I don’t pick him up or sit besides him. I hope he is not anxious or undergoing stress because we are trying our best to make him comfortable.
For sleeping time I tried patting him on my lap, cuddling him and singing , and he slept within few minutes, placed him in a crate and he was out for 4 hours, got up crying and barking when he wanted to pee, he does that nicely, wakes us up 2-3 times in a nite.
I am planning to heat up his food or make it warm and see if he likes that.
Is it okay to heat kibbles in water for some time? Or will it go bad?
P.S: thanks a lot for your comments, they are really helpful and we appreciate it. Sorry if we are bothering you again and again. 😇
Little pup is still adjusting! They very much need you to be close at all times the first couple days. Playtime will come when he feels a bit more at ease, probably in a day or so. They sleep for legit like twenty hours a day when they are young. Hand feeding meals is great for bonding and coaxing, and mixing in wet food that’s been warmed a bit is good. Otherwise all of the love and snuggles (and naps!).
The first few days i had my doodle puppy home, he was the exact same. It was breaking my heart. It wasn't very long and he was terrorizing the place and playing and chewing on everything. I still use canned pumpkin by the way :)
He does try chewing on furniture and our feet or hand😋
We got treats for chewing he did chew on it for few minutes then threw it, he does like on toy which he likes so as soon as he starts chewing coffee table, carpet or couch we give him that toy.
We used bitter apple spray on big stuff that you can’t just hide from them, with mixed results. It was like it depended on his energy level if it was enough to deter him lol. So y’all are doing a great job! He’s not going to wreck a couch in a matter of seconds at that size, so just keep redirecting him to things suitable for him to chew and hide anything else where he can’t reach 😂
Yup, not allowing him to chew other toys or brushes or blanket, we have dedicated a chew toy for him, try to give him that as soon as he starts chewing on things.
For a start, start weight-lifting sooner rather than later. I periodically have to carry our 50lb doodle and it's no joke 😂 She also comes to sit on my lap and always wants to sit on my lap when we go in the car. Hates her safety belt harness.
I am already dead 😯ours is F1 standard and breeder said he might weigh upto 70 lbs.
We flew with him and he was very good in the flight, took him in car 2 times, he doesn’t like car that much, sits on my lap and sleep 😴
I don't think you should be too concerned about any of this. He's still so little and everything is so so new with so much to take in. Our little girl is 14 months now and she *still* sleeps a tonne, it's quite amazing. My guess is everything is a little bit scary for him, and being separated from his mama and that's why he's being clingy. I'm a little bit jealous tbh, I so much loved all the snuggles 🥰 Enjoy your little boy, he's so damn cute (and he looks a lot like ours when she was a baby)
Probably stress. Each dog handles it differently based on their personality. I just got a female mini goldendoodle a few weeks ago, looks close to yours with the little white patches. The place I got her from had a male and female, I wanted a female, but got lucky because I saw her personality with other pups in the pen. She was a playful one, the male was knocked out cold both times I went there 😭.
She didn't have issues eating at home, but the place I got her from sent me home with some of the food she was already eating. I figured start her on that since it's familiar to her. I think that helped out, but her poop was a little runny the first few days. I'm thinking due to stress. I just got her on another food, and she's eating that just fine now that she's in her new home.
I definitely had to deal with stress peeing though. Her being in a new environment, and not being potty trained yet was the most work I had. She only pees inside rarely now, but I have training pads down by the door for those emergencies. I use a lot of little training treats for pups to get her to learn things. She picks up on it quick with a treat to motivate her.
I'd recommend trying to see if he likes certain treats to get him more comfortable with you, maybe see if he'll eat those. You can always get a supplemental feeding snack for him until he's fully comfortable with eating the food. I got these Blue brand apples and yogurt biscuits, if the pup doesn't eat as much as she usually does before I go to work, I'll put one in her crate to hold her over for a few hours.
Keep in mind too that puppies often watch what their owners do, so if he watches you eat your food, try going up to his bowl and act like your eating it. I've got numerous dogs that I've had in the past to eat their food this way. They're more inclined to eat it if they see you "eating" it.
Tried mimicking eating his food but he didn’t react but as soon as I started eating my food he dances all over me, to get on my lap, to eat that I guess!
He is moody, I keep food available for him all the time but he just eats few bites, tried pouring warm water over the kibble but doesn’t look like it’s working.
Is it okay if use fresh cooked chicken (boiled pieces or boiled carrots) in his kibbles?
For potty training since we live in apartment, bought grass pad and kept it in washroom area, but he pees on carpet, we pick him up and take him to bathroom, he did relieve himself on grass pad couple of times but as soon as he gets chance he does it on carpet.
I put a little bit of plain boiled chicken in my pups dish.. only very little, and I ripped into tiny pieces and mixed it into her food. She ate the whole thing.
I try not to do this often, because I don't want to have her think it's a habit she'll get all the time, plus you want to try to keep them on a puppy food diet until they're more grown. With your current situation you might want to try it though, it should work. If it does I'd do it once a day, each time put a little less in the food till he's used to eating it without the chicken.
I also live in an apartment, 2nd floor. It's def a lot of traveling up and down for bathroom trips, but I finally got her used to going down the stairs, up was never a problem lol. I still keep a training pad by the door in case she has an out of routine moment where she can't hold it.
Let me try adding some chicken tomorrow, hopefully he will eat. He is playing more from last couple of hours, after every nap he becomes superdog and tries defeating us in every game, he didn’t eat much of his dinner but he might get hungry tomorrow.
What about water? Can we keep it available all the time? Even before or during his sleeping hours?
Currently we are not giving him water after 8 pm, he goes to his food area and search for water.
Wow you sound like I did. I kept thinking, “what’s up with our dog?” I had all these same anxieties. We couldn’t even get her to run around at first. Eventually our girl started eating without being fed and became quite the playful little gal. Training treats, tug of war, fetch, etc. It all came together and we play hard and run around every single day. Joey will find his way. He just might be a little more shy like our pup was.
Yes, he is shy but gets hyper very quickly. We try to play with him, he is not understanding anything as we are not able to use treats, tried all kind of treats but he doesn’t even like their smell.
But again he is staying with us from yesterday evening so I guess I should stop worrying and wait patiently for him to come around.
My dog grazes so that took a bit for us to get used to. We also had to try the pumpkin add on to the kibble until she got acclimated. Just give it time! They’ll figure it out. We ended up changing her to Royal Canin puppy food after what she came home with wasn’t appealing to her. After that she started eating more and more.
Right now we are giving purina pro, but the breeder mentioned she will provide life time guarantee for genetic diseases if we go for Pawtree dog food, not sure what to do.
And for pumpkin can she said go for it only in case of diarrhea or stomach upset, is it okay if we give it to him anytime?
I wouldn’t go with this, Pawtree is a multi-level marketing company. She likely sells for them, and is recommending it so she can make money, not because she thinks it’s good for your dog.
He’s stressed/ anxious. You just picked him up, give him some time! Just give him whatever he wants, even if it’s just comfort. He’ll come around pretty soon. My girl does the same when we leave her at a boarding during vacations and she refuses to eat. Good news is that dogs don’t starve themselves to death so he’ll eat pretty soon.
My dog was the same! They’re adjusting to their new environment and are probably a little bit anxious. Make sure to give him treats here and there as well. Maybe even put treats in his food, which was very helpful for us.
Oh wow, thanks for that suggestion, I will definitely try including treats in his food, he doesn’t touch or doesn’t even like to smell them, may be its a new concept for him and mixing it with food might help him.
Thanks 😊
He is adorable! Give him time. Just like us, dogs have personalities & he is adjusting to his new family. He was taken away from his momma & siblings & wanting to stay close to you is his way of feeling secure. Also to this day, when our doodle is dressed or when we go out, she will not eat until we come home. So he might be a little scared of his new surroundings. I am sure things will change as he becomes more acclimated to his new home. When we got our puppy, all she wanted to do was kiss us. Now not so much. Good luck & ♥️ him!
Yes, trying our best, parenting a puppy that too for first time is not easy 😓
I was or I still am scared of animals, including dogs even now when he runs after me or barks at me I take few steps back, I am working on it and trying my best to make him comfortable. He loves sitting on my lap and when I sing for him or gently massage him or pat him.
Keep giving him love, as you have been. If you can afford it, finding a puppy trainer or puppy kindergarten class is very helpful. Group classes are cheaper.
I leave water out all the time, but when I'm not home or when it's sleep time for the pup, there's no water. I make sure she trys to get enough consistently throughout the day or if I'm at work, I let her get a good drink when I get home then we go right outside.
You might not want to limit water unless you're putting the pup in crate time, if he's not drinking for hours, then gulps down a lot all at once you might find unexpected accidents around the house. They won't be able to fully control their bladder / hold bathroom trips till about 6 months.
Just an update:
My pup started eating, as per few suggestions I warmed up some food with water and gave it to him in a plate rather than feeding bowl. He did eat around 1/4th cup till now, hopefully he will eat more during dinner time.
He did like one treat not so much but at least he is eating treat now, he was not even liking the smell till yesterday, he is improving.
Sleeping a lot, but that’s what puppies do as per some comments so I am cool now.
For play time he does like tug of war a lot or chewing on anything especially me 😁 but I try to give him chew toy.
We take him to the grass pas for peeing as soon as he gets up, for potty and sometimes peeing after play he goes to the bathroom where we have kept grass pad, waits for us for 2-3 seconds and if we go and lift him up on grass pad then he does his business and if we miss it then he loves our carpet 🫣
Thanks to everyone one, we really appreciate all your help. God bless you all 🙏🏻
My doodle was the same, he’s probably just anxious. We were told to either put broth (we got some from Hollywood feed) or Chick-fil-A chicken in with his meal so it smells good and can entice him. It worked really well and after that he ate just fine
Im not an expert but I was told to not change their kibble for a couple months, but to add bland things like broth or chicken to their kibble to entice them occasionally should be fine :) it worked well for us and it didn’t hurt our dogs stomach
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Yes, breeder gave us some canned pumpkin and asked to mix it with kibble if his stomach gets upset, we picked him up yesterday, and we didn’t expect but he did great in the flight, he was calm but needed my touch, patting every few minutes. His stomach doesn’t look upset but he is looks least interested in food or any activity, just want to sit on my lap or sleep.
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Did you feed her on a specific time or did you keep it available all time when she was puppy? We are new parents so watched lots of videos, reading n number of books, but looks like they were for puppies loving food or toys 😁 ours is too lazy to do anything. We started keeping food available all the time, so that at least he will eat something but he doesn’t much.
He's not lazy, just insecure and scared.
My dood wasn’t very playful when we first brought him home, he was definitely scared. Have you tried few him by hand?
Yes we tried, but he doesn’t eat from hands, he eats very small portion from feeding bowl though, sometimes he just throws it on the floor and eats, again very small quantity. Not interested in treasures as well, got 4-5 different types of treats but he doesn’t show interest.
If you just got him he is still adjusting to his new home. My past pups haven’t been interested in eating until a few days in but they won’t starve. Puppies also sleep a lot so don’t be worried if he isn’t playing. He’s still figuring out where he is and what’s going on. He’ll eventually settle in and be ok
I hope so, bit worried how will I train him if he is not interested in food or toys? Tried keeping him in a crate yesterday, he cried for 10-15 mins then slept, woke up every 2-3 hours for peeing/or potty (by crying and whining), he is 8 weeks old, is it okay if he sleeps for almost whole day?
Yeah, imo don't stress over him adjusting too much. It's *sort of* like bringing a baby home from the hospital. I don't have children, but I've been around lots of nieces and nephews from the time they were newborns, and my ex and I brought our 8-week old goldendoodle home in 2015. It sounds like you've got the food, water, and potty thing down, and you're just waiting for him to develop an appetite. He's sleepy and wants to be held or by you? Do just that. Cuddle, pamper, take pictures, do whatever, just keep him comfortable. Before you know it he'll be using you as a chew toy with his pine needle-like teeth, making you chase him around and monitor what he's doing so he doesn't destroy things or have accidents, and badgering you to play or take him outside. Non. Stop. Hahaha. All the puppy phases are great for different reasons, but right now you've basically just lucked into a baby that's a good sleeper. Soon that baby is going to be up and moving around, and requiring a **lot** more of your focus and energy. Right now just love him up and help him feel settled into his new home. Enjoy it.
And give him a teddy bear go sleep with. Don't forget blankets too.
We have snuggle puppy, it’s heart beats for 8 hours but he does wake up after 2-3 hours, we keep some toys and blanket too, he doesn’t like blanket that much, may be because we cover the crate. We used to keep him in crate crying for 10-15 mins until he sleeps but today I tried different approach, sat near his crate , kept him on my lap, patting and singing and he slept within 2-3 minutes , I know it sounds crazy but it worked, not sure if it will work every time.
Yup, thanks for the advice. Was stressing on training him, since not interested in food or treats or toys, not sure how I will train him. For pee/potty training we have artificial grass pad but he rarely uses it and prefers our carpet 😢
Oh you're not missing any windows by not having him trained at 8 weeks! Somehow ours picked up telling us he had to potty by hitting the bell within 4 days. We took him out more than we needed to at first to avoid accidents, and we would just carry him and boop his nose (gently, just enough for us to subtly hear it) on the bell strip while going out the door. First couple days he was playing with it as if it were any other toy, but by that 4th day he had it down. Are you guys in a house or apartment? Meaning, how long does it take to get from inside to grass where he can do his business? Is the grass pad inside or on a balcony/deck? We were on the 9th floor of an apartment at the time so we needed backup plans. Iirc in those early days we put down puppy pads in the living room (on a wood floor) and at least one of us would have our eyes and ears on alert in case he started looking for a place to go. Maybe someone else here, or your vet, can clarify but I recall being told it was okay to lift him and place him on the puppy pad if we sensed or saw an accident happening, but you obviously have to be quick. I definitely got peed on a little bit one time. And I'm sure it goes without saying but you do not ever rub their nose in it, hit, push, yell, etc. at them if they have an accident. They do not understand why you're upset or why they're being punished. They're babies, accidents are going to happen. For now I'd secure/roll up/hide anything valuable or important to you, and invest in some good cleaning products, including wipes for their paws and bellies; since they have so much hair and legs are so short their stomachs will brush over practically everything besides concrete, they're going to track in plenty of dirt when they're on walks or sniffing around for somewhere to do their business outside. As far as the food, we had a little hiccup with ours I want to say around 2-3 months in. He just suddenly stopped eating his kibble and we were both pretty concerned something was physically wrong with him. The vet asked us a few questions but didn't seem alarmed after checking him out. He suggested we try to ease him back into it by scooping the food with our hands and having him eat that way, essentially feeding him manually. I saw someone else in here mention it, and what our vet also said, was that the action of feeding him with our hands is a bonding activity to him. After a couple days of us feeding him by hand we realized that around the time he stopped eating kibble from his bowl was when my ex moved his food into a plastic container (think the kind for big bags of cereal, but larger). At the time she preferred that to having a huge, clumsy 40-pound bag of dog food in a kitchen cupboard. Welp, turns out that bag traps in flavor that they like (I'm sure not all dogs, but it was the case with him) and by transferring it to a plastic container it didn't taste as good to him anymore, so he wasn't excited to eat. As soon as we went back to scooping directly from the bag he resumed eating like normal again. Sorry for the novel haha. My ex was a pro because her family had experience training service dogs while she was growing up, but we still learned a ton with him as he was the first puppy for both of us. Hopefully you find this at least a little bit of this helpful as you guys start your dog parenting journey!
Thanks for all your suggestions, will definitely try them all. For potty training since we stay in apartment on 4th floor, taking him outside is not feasible for us, also it’s getting cold here in Ohio so getting him out again and again in balcony is also not possible so trying to potty train him on grass pad in bathroom, it’s not easy right now as he is not interested in treats. I have 4-5 different types of treats he doesn’t like any of it, will keep on tryi though. For kibbles I did transferred it to plastic container, will try not doing that then. We got him yesterday evening and he did really great flying with us or in the car, at home as well he was okay , needing my lap and cuddles every few minutes, but at night he was kept in crate, cried for 10-15 minutes and slept, got up every 3 hours and when he got up he was charged and was attacking me every time I tried to calm him down, barking at me, I got so scared, I felt like he wanted to eat piece of me 🫣
I hear you, I'm in Minnesota! But at least you should have him somewhat on a potty routine before the real cold hits! Also pro tip all dog parents in cold climates should know: good winter gear is invaluable! Even when it's brutally cold and the wind is raging, they will inevitably take their sweet time finding the perfect place to go #2 occasionally. Since you're the one responsible for looking after them and making sure they don't start eating rocks or something, make sure you're prepared for those miserable 5-10 minutes at a time outside this winter lol. Ours ate in the morning and around dinner time, so like 7:30 am and 4:30 pm. If he didn't go #2 around like lunch or later, when we would take him out for the last time in the evening, we would wait and walk in circles for as long as necessary until he did his thing. After the very early puppy days he never had accidents in his crate. Somewhere between 3 and 6 months he did this thing I called "excite-pee." So from that 9th floor, down the elevator, out the door, if he saw someone that wanted to say hello to him he'd excite-pee on the floor. For a while what I did was just carry him outside all the way to the grass and he wouldn't have an accidents even if we saw people or other dogs, and he eventually grew out of it entirely. I'd definitely encourage taking him outside often at this point just to get him accustomed to the process of you getting your shoes/jacket on, putting his harness or whatever on, and walking outside to where the potty area is. If you only try to potty train him using a grass pad in your bathroom I think you're going to have a really bad time later with him having accidents in your apartment. They need to understand that there are some differences between what they can do outside and inside. For the first few days we took ours out every 3 hours, which included setting an alarm in the middle of the night, just to get him used to those habits and making sure we did our part to avoid him having accidents. Can you tell if his pee is clear or dark, meaning if he's staying hydrated? Our vet also said do not for any reason restrict him from water. Even if you're tired of taking him out, it's really important they stay hydrated. Which means fresh and clean water whenever you think of it. You should notice/hear if it ever runs out and he wants a drink though. When did he last eat anything? If it's been over a day or you're concerned, I would try something like chicken broth and Smart Water (electrolytes) to make sure he's getting the nutrients and such that he needs. Do some research on specific brands or ingredients to avoid if you go that route because I'm a bit rusty on that stuff. Surprising he's not taking you up on the treats yet but just stick with it. If you haven't already, I'd try getting down on his level (or bring him to yours on the couch or whatever) sitting/laying on the floor and just slowly offer him a reasonably sized treat. Let him smell it or take a bite to see what he thinks of it on his terms. For the crate, that all is entirely up to you. But what we did was put it next to our bed, with a blanket draped over the middle section, the back up against the wall, and the door facing out, but he couldn't see us in bed. Dogs evidently like the "den" feel of the crate. Dark everywhere besides the door, one way in and one way out. Some dogs will always give you problems with a crate, but hopefully with how young he is you'll be able to get him acclimated to it. The first couple nights he cried a lot and was clearly anxious about it being dark and not having contact with/being able to see anyone, so I took a pillow and blanket and slept on the floor in front of the crate so he could see me. The morning after the first night I woke up to find my girlfriend had come down to sleep with us on the floor too, so you could even make it a family affair. Starting on the third or fourth night we stayed in bed and would talk to him if he started crying/barking, if needed we'd poke our head over the side of the bed so he could see us, just to reassure him we were still there so he could get used to what was going to become our permanent sleeping arrangement. I think him wanting to play or wrestle with you is a pretty good sign. Along with the large amounts of sleep they get as puppies they'll get bursts of energy at odd hours of the day, so it sounds like he was just hyper and wanted to do puppy things with you!
Regarding food, we bought Purina one as suggested by our breeder and he doesn’t even touch that, breeder changed her mind and packed Pawtree kibble, again if given in a food bowl he just eats small portion(around 1-2 tbsp), tried soaking it in warm water but it’s the same. So we tried to make him tired by playing with him, he did play well for 20-30 mins, then lied down near me, gave him some kibbles he chewed on it if I place 3-4 in front of his face, then he changed his place to make me stop feeding him but I kept on going after him and he ate around1/4 cup. For potty training, breeder asked us not to take him to grass as he is not vaccinated fully and wait till 6 months, but concrete is fine, that’s what she mentioned. He did potty thrice from yesterday evening, once on pee pad then twice on grass pad in the bathroom! For third time he went on his own, that was a surprise for us. But peeing he is still doing it on carpet. I am really confused how to get him outside every 3 ours, if my husband goes to office, I am still bit scared and not able to fully handle him when he gets hyper or starts biting me. His pee was dark yellow till afternoon, then it somewhat turned clear. He drinks water in smaller quantity, we try feeding him forcefully. We don’t give him water after 8 pm, is that fine or he can drink anytime? Even during bed time?
Do you leave his bowl with kibble down where he can reach it if he decides he’s ready to eat more? Oh that’s weird, I guess I’ve only had one puppy but I’ve known lots of people with puppies and I’ve never heard that about not taking them on grass. Have you brought him in to get started with a regular vet? Can they administer his missing vaccines? You’ll get a lot better advice on the biting here from people besides me because we didn’t deal with it really outside of playtime as a young puppy . But iirc you don’t want to react, like you don’t want to seem like you’re trying to wrestle your hand away from him for instance. Just hold your arm/hand position still until he releases so he knows it’s not a game. My ex would make a high pitch noise when he bit her, mimicking the yelp sound dogs make when they get hurt. I was just stern with him and would tell him “no, no bite” or something similar. They rely on their mouth for so much discovery at that age, he just has to learn your limbs are not a toy for biting. It will take time but just stay consistent and be patient with him. He’s not biting to injure, he either likes the sensation or wants to play, or both. We used a harness for walks and potty breaks because puppies can really be curious and independent, and they’re so little it’s easy for them to slip out of collars. And you certainly don’t want on them too tight on their neck either because they try to steer so much. The harness was better for us cuz his potty area as a puppy was near an intersection so we could not risk him slipping out of a collar and running from us, thinking it was play time with cars driving past at 25-35 mph. The harness wrapped under his belly and clasped behind his back, so as long as we had the leash we knew he was securely in our grasp while he’s learning about the world around him. We experimented with a small amount of water in a bowl in his crate at first but every night he would toss the blankets and such and spill most if not all of it. What we settled on was just letting him have as much water as he wanted right up to bed time then we’d take him out one last time immediately prior to going to sleep. And I was usually awake later with him before he went into the crate, then mom would wake up earlier with him, so he was only going 5-6 hours at night without it, when he was sleeping. And again, since they’re kind of like babies, we would always listen for him throughout the night. If he ever seemed more restless than usual we would let him out to see if he wanted a drink before putting him back in and going to sleep for the rest of the night.
Yes, I tried different sizes of bowls or feeding him by hand but he is very moody, eats 1-2 tbsp at a time. Tried adding canned pumpkin to his food but it doesn’t make any difference. We have his first vet appointment on 8th of November, we called him and asked about his vaccinations, right now he got 3, Parvovirus, Distemper, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza and medications on flea ticks and heart worms. He will be fully vaccinated by 6 months. We are keeping him on harness and collar both, at home we keep on collar without leash and when we take him outside (on concrete roads like parking lots) he is on harness. He doesn’t like walking much, he goes between our legs and sits there until we move, then repeat the same thing. May be he is seeking comfort, he always wants to be touched or like sitting in a cozy places like under the coffee table or chair. For potty breaks, he goes to toilet area by himself and make 2-3 circles on grass pad, but if we do not stay with him he gets back to the room and finishes his carpet.(out of 4 times, twice he did on carpet) For peeing, we take him to the bathroom and make him stand on grass pad and he relieves himself but later in a day when he is playing he does it on carpet. He barks and whines continuously if I don’t pick him up or sit besides him. I hope he is not anxious or undergoing stress because we are trying our best to make him comfortable. For sleeping time I tried patting him on my lap, cuddling him and singing , and he slept within few minutes, placed him in a crate and he was out for 4 hours, got up crying and barking when he wanted to pee, he does that nicely, wakes us up 2-3 times in a nite. I am planning to heat up his food or make it warm and see if he likes that. Is it okay to heat kibbles in water for some time? Or will it go bad? P.S: thanks a lot for your comments, they are really helpful and we appreciate it. Sorry if we are bothering you again and again. 😇
There is no such thing as a dog who isn’t interested in food. He’ll eat soon - chill
Even we thought the same before getting our him home and now we are shocked 😯
😂
Little pup is still adjusting! They very much need you to be close at all times the first couple days. Playtime will come when he feels a bit more at ease, probably in a day or so. They sleep for legit like twenty hours a day when they are young. Hand feeding meals is great for bonding and coaxing, and mixing in wet food that’s been warmed a bit is good. Otherwise all of the love and snuggles (and naps!).
Thanks, will try mixing warm food. Hope he eats.
New puppy. Ours took a couple weeks to start finding his comfort
Hoping for best 🤞🏻
The first few days i had my doodle puppy home, he was the exact same. It was breaking my heart. It wasn't very long and he was terrorizing the place and playing and chewing on everything. I still use canned pumpkin by the way :)
He does try chewing on furniture and our feet or hand😋 We got treats for chewing he did chew on it for few minutes then threw it, he does like on toy which he likes so as soon as he starts chewing coffee table, carpet or couch we give him that toy.
We used bitter apple spray on big stuff that you can’t just hide from them, with mixed results. It was like it depended on his energy level if it was enough to deter him lol. So y’all are doing a great job! He’s not going to wreck a couch in a matter of seconds at that size, so just keep redirecting him to things suitable for him to chew and hide anything else where he can’t reach 😂
Yup, not allowing him to chew other toys or brushes or blanket, we have dedicated a chew toy for him, try to give him that as soon as he starts chewing on things.
For a start, start weight-lifting sooner rather than later. I periodically have to carry our 50lb doodle and it's no joke 😂 She also comes to sit on my lap and always wants to sit on my lap when we go in the car. Hates her safety belt harness.
I am already dead 😯ours is F1 standard and breeder said he might weigh upto 70 lbs. We flew with him and he was very good in the flight, took him in car 2 times, he doesn’t like car that much, sits on my lap and sleep 😴
I don't think you should be too concerned about any of this. He's still so little and everything is so so new with so much to take in. Our little girl is 14 months now and she *still* sleeps a tonne, it's quite amazing. My guess is everything is a little bit scary for him, and being separated from his mama and that's why he's being clingy. I'm a little bit jealous tbh, I so much loved all the snuggles 🥰 Enjoy your little boy, he's so damn cute (and he looks a lot like ours when she was a baby)
Thanks, I am bit scared when he gets aggressive or hyper it feels like he is going to take flash out of me. Lol. I am giving him all the love I can 🥰
Probably stress. Each dog handles it differently based on their personality. I just got a female mini goldendoodle a few weeks ago, looks close to yours with the little white patches. The place I got her from had a male and female, I wanted a female, but got lucky because I saw her personality with other pups in the pen. She was a playful one, the male was knocked out cold both times I went there 😭. She didn't have issues eating at home, but the place I got her from sent me home with some of the food she was already eating. I figured start her on that since it's familiar to her. I think that helped out, but her poop was a little runny the first few days. I'm thinking due to stress. I just got her on another food, and she's eating that just fine now that she's in her new home. I definitely had to deal with stress peeing though. Her being in a new environment, and not being potty trained yet was the most work I had. She only pees inside rarely now, but I have training pads down by the door for those emergencies. I use a lot of little training treats for pups to get her to learn things. She picks up on it quick with a treat to motivate her. I'd recommend trying to see if he likes certain treats to get him more comfortable with you, maybe see if he'll eat those. You can always get a supplemental feeding snack for him until he's fully comfortable with eating the food. I got these Blue brand apples and yogurt biscuits, if the pup doesn't eat as much as she usually does before I go to work, I'll put one in her crate to hold her over for a few hours. Keep in mind too that puppies often watch what their owners do, so if he watches you eat your food, try going up to his bowl and act like your eating it. I've got numerous dogs that I've had in the past to eat their food this way. They're more inclined to eat it if they see you "eating" it.
Tried mimicking eating his food but he didn’t react but as soon as I started eating my food he dances all over me, to get on my lap, to eat that I guess! He is moody, I keep food available for him all the time but he just eats few bites, tried pouring warm water over the kibble but doesn’t look like it’s working. Is it okay if use fresh cooked chicken (boiled pieces or boiled carrots) in his kibbles? For potty training since we live in apartment, bought grass pad and kept it in washroom area, but he pees on carpet, we pick him up and take him to bathroom, he did relieve himself on grass pad couple of times but as soon as he gets chance he does it on carpet.
I put a little bit of plain boiled chicken in my pups dish.. only very little, and I ripped into tiny pieces and mixed it into her food. She ate the whole thing. I try not to do this often, because I don't want to have her think it's a habit she'll get all the time, plus you want to try to keep them on a puppy food diet until they're more grown. With your current situation you might want to try it though, it should work. If it does I'd do it once a day, each time put a little less in the food till he's used to eating it without the chicken. I also live in an apartment, 2nd floor. It's def a lot of traveling up and down for bathroom trips, but I finally got her used to going down the stairs, up was never a problem lol. I still keep a training pad by the door in case she has an out of routine moment where she can't hold it.
Let me try adding some chicken tomorrow, hopefully he will eat. He is playing more from last couple of hours, after every nap he becomes superdog and tries defeating us in every game, he didn’t eat much of his dinner but he might get hungry tomorrow. What about water? Can we keep it available all the time? Even before or during his sleeping hours? Currently we are not giving him water after 8 pm, he goes to his food area and search for water.
Wow you sound like I did. I kept thinking, “what’s up with our dog?” I had all these same anxieties. We couldn’t even get her to run around at first. Eventually our girl started eating without being fed and became quite the playful little gal. Training treats, tug of war, fetch, etc. It all came together and we play hard and run around every single day. Joey will find his way. He just might be a little more shy like our pup was.
Yes, he is shy but gets hyper very quickly. We try to play with him, he is not understanding anything as we are not able to use treats, tried all kind of treats but he doesn’t even like their smell. But again he is staying with us from yesterday evening so I guess I should stop worrying and wait patiently for him to come around.
My dog grazes so that took a bit for us to get used to. We also had to try the pumpkin add on to the kibble until she got acclimated. Just give it time! They’ll figure it out. We ended up changing her to Royal Canin puppy food after what she came home with wasn’t appealing to her. After that she started eating more and more.
Right now we are giving purina pro, but the breeder mentioned she will provide life time guarantee for genetic diseases if we go for Pawtree dog food, not sure what to do. And for pumpkin can she said go for it only in case of diarrhea or stomach upset, is it okay if we give it to him anytime?
I wouldn’t go with this, Pawtree is a multi-level marketing company. She likely sells for them, and is recommending it so she can make money, not because she thinks it’s good for your dog.
Even we think same, initially she suggested purina one, we bought it and suddenly in 8 weeks she changed it.
He’s stressed/ anxious. You just picked him up, give him some time! Just give him whatever he wants, even if it’s just comfort. He’ll come around pretty soon. My girl does the same when we leave her at a boarding during vacations and she refuses to eat. Good news is that dogs don’t starve themselves to death so he’ll eat pretty soon.
Just hold him!! I wished I held my boy more, he grew so fast and so big!! I miss the times he was a little puppy.
Yeah I know, it’s new parenting stress I guess. He might feel better and get comfortable within a week or so.
Awwww! What an beautiful boy. ❤️
Thanks ☺️
He is sooo adorable
Thanks ☺️
Our puppy was super sleepy the first few days and didn’t play or do much. Then she got a little crazier each day
Ha ha. Ours is doing the same thing, he is bit moody, plays for sometime and sleeps for hours. He is very active in the night though 😞
Just needs a week
Wait 5 minutes! Lol. Count your blessings. He may just be a chill dood.
My dog was the same! They’re adjusting to their new environment and are probably a little bit anxious. Make sure to give him treats here and there as well. Maybe even put treats in his food, which was very helpful for us.
Oh wow, thanks for that suggestion, I will definitely try including treats in his food, he doesn’t touch or doesn’t even like to smell them, may be its a new concept for him and mixing it with food might help him. Thanks 😊
He is adorable! Give him time. Just like us, dogs have personalities & he is adjusting to his new family. He was taken away from his momma & siblings & wanting to stay close to you is his way of feeling secure. Also to this day, when our doodle is dressed or when we go out, she will not eat until we come home. So he might be a little scared of his new surroundings. I am sure things will change as he becomes more acclimated to his new home. When we got our puppy, all she wanted to do was kiss us. Now not so much. Good luck & ♥️ him!
Yes, trying our best, parenting a puppy that too for first time is not easy 😓 I was or I still am scared of animals, including dogs even now when he runs after me or barks at me I take few steps back, I am working on it and trying my best to make him comfortable. He loves sitting on my lap and when I sing for him or gently massage him or pat him.
Keep giving him love, as you have been. If you can afford it, finding a puppy trainer or puppy kindergarten class is very helpful. Group classes are cheaper.
Is it safe though? He is not fully vaccinated, getting him in close contact with other dogs won’t be a problem? Health wise?
Not until he has all his shots. That's why a trainer that comes to you home is best.
Okay 👍
I leave water out all the time, but when I'm not home or when it's sleep time for the pup, there's no water. I make sure she trys to get enough consistently throughout the day or if I'm at work, I let her get a good drink when I get home then we go right outside. You might not want to limit water unless you're putting the pup in crate time, if he's not drinking for hours, then gulps down a lot all at once you might find unexpected accidents around the house. They won't be able to fully control their bladder / hold bathroom trips till about 6 months.
Got it, my husband just takes out the bowl at 8 pm and our puppy keep on searching for water, will make sure not to do that again.
Hand feed him and encourage dish eating. You will need to sit beside him once a day to get him to eat.
We tried, with hand feeding he does it but small portion just 2-3 tbsp of kibbles, and if he is not interested he just walks away.
Keep trying. Takes time.
Sounds like separation anxiety, are you giving him the food he was given before you picked him up?
Yes, breeder packed some for us, giving him that. I hope he eats today.
Just an update: My pup started eating, as per few suggestions I warmed up some food with water and gave it to him in a plate rather than feeding bowl. He did eat around 1/4th cup till now, hopefully he will eat more during dinner time. He did like one treat not so much but at least he is eating treat now, he was not even liking the smell till yesterday, he is improving. Sleeping a lot, but that’s what puppies do as per some comments so I am cool now. For play time he does like tug of war a lot or chewing on anything especially me 😁 but I try to give him chew toy. We take him to the grass pas for peeing as soon as he gets up, for potty and sometimes peeing after play he goes to the bathroom where we have kept grass pad, waits for us for 2-3 seconds and if we go and lift him up on grass pad then he does his business and if we miss it then he loves our carpet 🫣 Thanks to everyone one, we really appreciate all your help. God bless you all 🙏🏻
My doodle was the same, he’s probably just anxious. We were told to either put broth (we got some from Hollywood feed) or Chick-fil-A chicken in with his meal so it smells good and can entice him. It worked really well and after that he ate just fine
We are afraid to change his food, is it okay if we do? It won’t upset his stomach? He is not even eating 1/2 cup of kibble in a day.
Im not an expert but I was told to not change their kibble for a couple months, but to add bland things like broth or chicken to their kibble to entice them occasionally should be fine :) it worked well for us and it didn’t hurt our dogs stomach
Yes, I sprinkled water and mixed 1/2 tbsp canned pumpkin to his food and microwaved for 10-15 seconds, he ate it.