Our puppy seems a little off today

Stab*City

Hi All,

We got a Norwegian Elkhound recently. She is 13 weeks old we have her 3 weeks. She has settled in well and is an awesome dog. At night we keep her in a crate in the back room. Every morning when we get up she barks to be left out and has went toilet in the crate over night (number 2) when we open the crate she rushes out to play and devours her breakfast.

This morning she was very reserved didn't fly out of the crate and wasn't too interested in her brekkie. She did have a few treats and a drink. But was more interested in a cuddle. As me and the missus are at work we are very worried because it will be the afternoon before we can take her to the vet.

She has been wormed and vaccinated and is due a booster next week. We have been taking her on walks in the evening which she loves. Am i just being paranoid of could it be something?

niallb

So long as she's drinking comfortably, I wouldn't be immediately worried, but you know your
own dog best, and should always keep an eye on a sudden change in behaviour.
Realistically, at this age though there can be lots of changes!

Anything else different in the house? Visitors, anything new in places she usually spends time?

By the way, how long is she in the crate overnight?
What time does she have her last meal of the day?
What time is her last trip out to do her business?

By any chance did you get her a crate that will be big enough for her as an adult?
If the crate is a bit big for her, she's far more likely to soil it as it won't feel exclusively like her sleeping place.

Feeding in the crate works for some people as a deterrent for soiling too.
One of ours would try to take her food back in to her crate if we fed her outside it.
She just prefers to eat in there.

tk123

Stab*City wrote: »

Hi All,

We got a Norwegian Elkhound recently. She is 13 weeks old we have her 3 weeks. She has settled in well and is an awesome dog. At night we keep her in a crate in the back room. Every morning when we get up she barks to be left out and has went toilet in the crate over night (number 2) when we open the crate she rushes out to play and devours her breakfast.
?

For starters you can't post any questions about puppies here without supplying photos!! :pac::pac:;)

Just an observation from your post - are you leaving her in the crate all night long without taking her out to the loo? You should be taking her out at least once or more often depending on the dog. When my girl was a pup she only needed to be taken out once a night for less than 2 weeks then slept all night without any accidents. I just brought her out when she cried - some people are more organised and bring them out at regular intervals during the night. The whole idea of the crate is that you're confining them and taking advantage of the fact that they won't want to soil where they sleep and will ask to be taken out.

Is she sick?! It could be something or nothing tbh.. I (well the vet lol) saved my dog last year by going with my gut that something was wrong and taking him to be checked out so I'd be in the play it safe camp and take them over for peace of mind. She could have eaten something that's made her feel sick or could be teething and out of sorts/in a bit of pain when she eats. Has she had her boosters recently? Have you tried her with something more tempting or even just added some water to soften the food?

andreac

To be honest, at 13 weeks, she shouldnt be left in a crate all night just yet as that is far too long to be expected to hold it in. You really need to let her out during the night for another few weeks until her bladder etc gets stronger.

Also, when you say walks, how far are these walks? Again, at 13 weeks old, walks shouldn't really be happening just yet either. Only really a couple of minutes around the block for more of a wander really. The rule is 5 mins per month of age per day, so at 13 weeks that would be a total of 15 mins per day.

Just noted, shes due her booster next week? So that means she was out on walks before her vaccinations were finished?? To be honest, she should be out for walks until these are finished as she risks picking up infections. I would urge you to bring her to the vets as soon as possible.

Stab*City

niallb wrote: »

So long as she's drinking comfortably, I wouldn't be immediately worried, but you know your
own dog best, and should always keep an eye on a sudden change in behaviour.
Realistically, at this age though there can be lots of changes!

Anything else different in the house? Visitors, anything new in places she usually spends time?

By the way, how long is she in the crate overnight?
What time does she have her last meal of the day?
What time is her last trip out to do her business?

By any chance did you get her a crate that will be big enough for her as an adult?
If the crate is a bit big for her, she's far more likely to soil it as it won't feel exclusively like her sleeping place.

Feeding in the crate works for some people as a deterrent for soiling too.
One of ours would try to take her food back in to her crate if we fed her outside it.
She just prefers to eat in there.

No nothing different really. She goes into the crate at around 23:00 - 23:30 and is out again at 07:00. She has her last meal around 22:00-22:30 after i get home from walking her.

I did get a big crate but section it off one side for toilet and the other for bed and generally she is pretty good at keeping it off her bed. Thanks for the reply!!

Stab*City

tk123 wrote: »

For starters you can't post any questions about puppies here without supplying photos!! :pac::pac:;)

Just an observation from your post - are you leaving her in the crate all night long without taking her out to the loo? You should be taking her out at least once or more often depending on the dog. When my girl was a pup she only needed to be taken out once a night for less than 2 weeks then slept all night without any accidents. I just brought her out when she cried - some people are more organised and bring them out at regular intervals during the night. The whole idea of the crate is that you're confining them and taking advantage of the fact that they won't want to soil where they sleep and will ask to be taken out.

Is she sick?! It could be something or nothing tbh.. I (well the vet lol) saved my dog last year by going with my gut that something was wrong and taking him to be checked out so I'd be in the play it safe camp and take them over for peace of mind. She could have eaten something that's made her feel sick or could be teething and out of sorts/in a bit of pain when she eats. Has she had her boosters recently? Have you tried her with something more tempting or even just added some water to soften the food?

LOL photos on the way just uploading now!

Yes she is in the crate all night and being honest there isnt a peep out of her all night. Soon as she hears us come down the stairs in the morn she is up and about and ready for a rub or a trip out the back.

She didnt throw up or anything but we found it really odd she didnt devour her food and instead just want a quite cuddle.. Usually the food is gone in seconds her bowl is outside her crate. And she is jumping up to me for runs and play. So you can imagine how odd it was when she was so reserved.

Thanks for reply!!

andreac

Stab*City wrote: »

No nothing different really. She goes into the crate at around 23:00 - 23:30 and is out again at 07:00. She has her last meal around 22:00-22:30 after i get home from walking her.

I did get a big crate but section it off one side for toilet and the other for bed and generally she is pretty good at keeping it off her bed. Thanks for the reply!!

That is the worst thing you can do.The whole point of a crate is that they don't go to the toilet in them, so you shouldn't be encouraging this at all. That's why people use crates a lot of the time, to toilet train, so by letting them do this is defeating the purpose really.

Stab*City

Stab*City

andreac wrote: »

To be honest, at 13 weeks, she shouldnt be left in a crate all night just yet as that is far too long to be expected to hold it in. You really need to let her out during the night for another few weeks until her bladder etc gets stronger.

Also, when you say walks, how far are these walks? Again, at 13 weeks old, walks shouldn't really be happening just yet either. Only really a couple of minutes around the block for more of a wander really. The rule is 5 mins per month of age per day, so at 13 weeks that would be a total of 15 mins per day.

Just noted, shes due her booster next week? So that means she was out on walks before her vaccinations were finished?? To be honest, she should be out for walks until these are finished as she risks picking up infections. I would urge you to bring her to the vets as soon as possible.

Ok thanks for all the advice. As for walks probably 25-30 mins around the estate. And being honest it takes her 10 mins to get used to the cars and then she is rearing to go by the time the walk is nearly done..

Stab*City

andreac wrote: »

That is the worst thing you can do.The whole point of a crate is that they don't go to the toilet in them, so you shouldn't be encouraging this at all. That's why people use crates a lot of the time, to toilet train, so by letting them do this is defeating the purpose really.

I was told to gradually decrease the size of the toilet area (we use pads) until they wont go any more in the crate.

Zillah

Stab*City wrote: »

I was told to gradually decrease the size of the toilet area (we use pads) until they wont go any more in the crate.

???

Sounds like mental torture to me. How long before she gives up trying to squeeze herself into where you've trained her to go? One night she can't fit into the toilet section and then has to hold it for the rest of the night where before she used to be able to go whenever she likes?

andreac

Get rid of the pads too.

Honestly, you should just encourage toileting outside form the word go. Letting them go inside confuses them altogether and makes training them even harder and prolongs it. Put it this way, you let her go inside now, then all of sudden you are saying no, you want her to go outside and she's thinking, but it was ok to go inside until now? So you are best to train them to go outside from the start.

Stab*City

Zillah wrote: »

???

Sounds like mental torture to me. How long before she gives up trying to squeeze herself into where you've trained her to go? One night she can't fit into the toilet section and then has to hold it for the rest of the night where before she used to be able to go whenever she likes?

Ok well the last thing i want to do is torture our new addition to the family!! I do some more research on this and see what i can dig up. There are so many different opinions and methods its hard to know what to do.

Stab*City

andreac wrote: »

Get rid of the pads too.

Honestly, you should just encourage toileting outside form the word go. Letting them go inside confuses them altogether and makes training them even harder and prolongs it. Put it this way, you let her go inside now, then all of sudden you are saying no, you want her to go outside and she's thinking, but it was ok to go inside until now? So you are best to train them to go outside from the start.

Ok so what about if i move the pad outside and try and tempt her to use that from now on? Then remove the pad completely? Also should i then cover the whole of the crate with her bedding to stop her from going in there?

andreac

Stab*City wrote: »

Ok so what about if i move the pad outside and try and tempt her to use that from now on? Then remove the pad completely? Also should i then cover the whole of the crate with her bedding to stop her from going in there?

You really dont need pads of any sort. A puppy will go to the toilet when it needs to. Just bring the pup out as often as you can and use a command. Make sure you bring it out after every meal, drink, play session and when they wake up. These are the usual triggers so once they get in to a routine, they will look to go outside. It will take a while to do this but you are much better off as pads etc just confuse a puppy.

Yes you can cover her whole crate with bedding, but, just remember, at this age they cannot hold it in for more than a couple of hours, so you need to ensure you get up earlier, or during the night to let her out, so as to stop her from going in the crate.

Stab*City

andreac wrote: »

You really dont need pads of any sort. A puppy will go to the toilet when it needs to. Just bring the pup out as often as you can and use a command. Make sure you bring it out after every meal, drink, play session and when they wake up. These are the usual triggers so once they get in to a routine, they will look to go outside. It will take a while to do this but you are much better off as pads etc just confuse a puppy.

Yes you can cover her whole crate with bedding, but, just remember, at this age they cannot hold it in for more than a couple of hours, so you need to ensure you get up earlier, or during the night to let her out, so as to stop her from going in the crate.

Ok looks like we really need to change things around. But back to my original issue. Ill let you know how she is doing after we come home from the vet after work.

andreac

Stab*City wrote: »

Ok looks like we really need to change things around. But back to my original issue. Ill let you know how she is doing after we come home from the vet after work.

Hopefully she's ok, but she shouldn't really be out on walks yet at all if she is not finished her course of vaccinations.

tk123

OP i'd advise you to associate a word/phrase when she does actually go to the loo outside (ours is 'busy'!) it's save you LOADS of time in the long run - my girl goes when I ask her, my boy could be there all day circling to find the perfect spot :rolleyes:

Stab*City

Ok herself is home from work and puppy seems back to normal i can hear her on the phone barking and the missus says she is eating and acting normal. Im going to hold off on walking her till she completes the vaccinations. Also try to get her to do the business out the back and keep the crate for bed.

Dubl07

Stab*City wrote: »

Ok herself is home from work and puppy seems back to normal i can hear her on the phone barking and the missus says she is eating and acting normal. Im going to hold off on walking her till she completes the vaccinations. Also try to get her to do the business out the back and keep the crate for bed.

If you can get her to associate a command with go pee or go poop and just for a very few short weeks take her out at midnight and 3am it will stand you for the next ten years or more. It's well worth the bother.

Stab*City

Quick update all seems ok thank god. Had her in the sitting room for playtime last night instead of going for a walk. Took out the pads from her crate and took her out a couple times for toilet before i went to bed around 12. Got up this morning no poo in the crate and she went straight out the back and went. Thanks to everyone for the advice and hopefully with some more work i can get her to where she needs to be training wise.

intheclouds

Stab*City wrote: »

I was told to gradually decrease the size of the toilet area (we use pads) until they wont go any more in the crate.

Please dont take any more advice from whoever told you this - its just awful. That would be so confusing for the poor pup.

Stab*City

intheclouds wrote: »

Please dont take any more advice from whoever told you this - its just awful. That would be so confusing for the poor pup.

No worries. i only want whats best for her as she is really a part of our family now after only 3-4 weeks!

andreac

Great news. Sounds like she's a clever girl. Owning doggies is all about learning and its great to get advice from people along the way. Glad to hear she's in good form.

intheclouds

Stab*City wrote: »

No worries. i only want whats best for her as she is really a part of our family now after only 3-4 weeks!

Yes pets do grow on you. I was only thinking last night when the cat was sitting on my pillow touching my face for attention that the "no pets in the bedroom" rule fell away very quickly and became "ok, pets in the bedroom but not in the bed!" which then became "Move over! The cat doesnt have enough room on the bed!"

toadfly

OP she is gorgeous. Advice here all very good. Enjoy your new family member

niallb

Great to hear things are picking up.
Keep the thread open for as long as you like and keep posting pictures.
She's absolutely gorgeous!