Shitzu Puppy

Question
QUESTION: We just brought home a 9 week old Shitzu male puppy.  He is adorable and has done pretty well on pads; however, we have him in an exercise crate at home in our kitchen.  The pen is about 2 foot x 3 foot.  We both work.  Is this too large of an area for him?  We put the pads on one end and have a lambskin sleep pad on the other with toys and a clock to keep him company.  When I get home from work (usually 9 hours later)he has pretty much pulled his toys into his messes and tracked poo around his bedding.  I've washed and cleaned it every time, but I'm not sure if this is the correct way to train him.  Also, we have an 8 year old male Shitzu at home who absolutely despises the puppy.  He doesn't sniff him or pay any attention to him.  If the puppy approaches him he will growl or actually snap at the puppy.  He hasn't physically attacked him.  What are your suggestions?  We thought the puppy would help our adult male dog have company and keep him young, but we are finding that the puppy wants to be friends, but Patches isn't interested.

ANSWER: I guess I would make the pen slightly larger so that I could put in a small crate that has the door removed. Put the bedding in the crate so that he has an obvious place to sleep. Keep the toys to a minimum and maybe tie one or two to the side of the fencing so that it hangs there but cannot reach the floor.

The best way to do this is to have someone come in at lunch time to let the puppy outside and to play with him for a few minutes. Since it is summertime, maybe one of the neighborhood kids would like to earn a bit of money doing this.

As to the older dog, just ignore him. He will probably come around in a few weeks once he realizes that the baby isn't going anywhere. Just be sure that he continues to get his share of attention.

Karen

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

QUESTION: Karen:
When puppy gets up in the middle of the night and I take him outside to go potty it seems all he wants to do is to be up.  I don't play with him, I just walk him around the lawn so that he can do his business.  Last night he was up at 1:00 so I took him outside for 20 minutes - no results.  He barked, begged and cried from 1:20 until 2:10 when I got up again thinking he might be thirsty.  I gave him some water and put him outside again; however, he still didn't go.  We put him down about 10:30 in the evening.  Please give me suggestions - I don't want to be doing the wrong thing or teaching him unhealthy habits.  I know he is just a puppy and I shouldn't have too high of expectations.  Any good books I should read?

Answer
When a puppy makes noise in the night that it wants/needs to go out, it absolutely must be taken out. This should be done quietly and with no fanfare or playing. If the dog potties, it should be praised quietly and then put back into the crate. If it doesn't potty after a fair amount of time (I don't think *I* would last 20 minutes!), then it should be put back quietly in its crate.

If it continues to hollar, it needs to learn that this is NOT acceptable behavior. I either throw something like a shoe at the crate, or hit the crate with a fly swapper to startle the puppy, as I tell it loudly to "BE QUIET!" If it starts fussing again later, I will repeat the entire process. (It really is not uncommon for 9-week-old puppies to have to occasionally go out during the night.)

You will eventually learn the difference between the "I don't want to be in here" cries and the "I need to go out NOW!" cries. When I first hear a fussing puppy, I tend to ignore it for a few minutes to see if it will quiet down. If it really needs to go out, the cries will become loud and frantic, and then one needs to run like *ell to get that puppy out<G>

Here I cut off all food by 4:30/5:00 PM (and never feed beyond 6 PM), and I totally cut off all water by 8 PM.

A good book for all new puppy owners is "How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With", by Rutherford and Neil.

Karen