My 7 week old Golden Retriever puppy

Question
QUESTION: My puppy is very smart but he pees without warning, I take him out and he pees outside, someone told me about these pads you can buy so I did and I lay about 6 on the kitchen floor and he has learned to pee on them or poop.  I reward him for that but I am wondering how to not confuse him with the pads and going outside, also he gets us up at 3:30 or 4:00 in the morning and wants to play.  Any suggestions on both issues?

ANSWER: First of all, I don't know who gave you a seven week old pup, but he is too young to have been removed from his litter, unless there was no choice.  In fact, some states have laws that prohibit dogs leaving their dams until they are eight weeks old.  I think you will confuse him by using pads.
You may want to check out these links for hints on house training a puppy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT0prOa641w
http://www.clickertraining.com/housetraining
http://www.clickerlessons.com/housetraining.htm
As to the dog waking up and wanting to play, I would not indulge that.  If you quietly put him back into his crate after pottying, he will learn that night time is for sleeping, and will not develop the bad habit of keeping you up at night;-)




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: eveningThank you for your reply.  I did not realize he should not leave the litter until 8 weeks but she had 8 pups and they were all being sold.  He does go outside and he does his business and he gets rewarded, he does use the pads in the house and he gets rewarded.  He goes in his crate around 8:00 in the evening after being outside because we have to get up early for work but not at 3:30-4:00, if we put him back in his crate after taking him out potty at that early morning hour he just barks and barks for about 10 minutes then he settles down.  I think we are on the right track with him, he knows to go outside and in the house he knows to go on the pads.  He also bites at our feet and pulls at our clothes, we tell him NO, he will stop for a few minutes then he does it again.  We keep using the word NO and he is learning.  We have two areas of the house he is not allowed in our bedroom and the livingroom and we have a baby gate for the living room, he gets mad when he can't come in the livingroom when we are in there and he tries everything to get in, then he will settle down and just sit by the gate.  Since we got him I am very tired,  mostly because of getting up at 4:30 to take him out but I guess that is the price you pay for getting a puppy I don't know if it has anything to do with his age.  

Christina

Answer
Hi Christina,
It does have to do with his age.  The older he gets, the longer he'll be able to hold it.  Also, if you continue to ignore him at night, except for just the potty trip, he will learn your routine and the barking should stop as well.
I usually don't like to use "no" and "correct" puppies.  I'd rather teach them to inhibit their bite in the same way other dogs do.  When the pup nips, I yelp (if he bites hard, I yelp loudly), and then I take all my attention away for at least three long seconds.  Then, I go back.  If the pup bites again, I repeat.  Some dogs, Goldens included, are apt to grab at your pant legs as youngsters, and I deal with that in the same way, except that I might choose to slip into the bathroom or a closet, leaving puppy on the other side of the door:-))  Any attempt to correct puppies by scolding or by pushing them away can lead to the pup assuming either that you want to play, or that you are aggressive.  That isn't your aim.  Another thing you can do with a nippy pup is to put a chew toy in his mouth as an acceptable chew object.
Hope that helps you some more.
Anne