New pet puppy... advice needed

tadhgl

Hi

I got a beautiful new great dane puppy at the weekend, he is two months old and already 20Kgs!!! We called him Scooby and fell in love with hime the second we saw him. We've had him for a few days now and he hates being on his own. He continuously pines and howls when we leave him over night or go out during the day.

Im sure the poor lad misses his mother and siblings (we picked him up from the breeder and there were still three in the litter and a protective mother). My main question is will he grow out of the pining and how long will it take??? My heart breaks for him when I hear him but think tough love is the best approach but I may be wrong. Any advice gladly received.

Also with house training what is the best method to follow, I've been told to either a hold his nose over the foul or to bring him outside at regular intervals until he connects outside with toilet!!! How have you guys training your dogs and help them with the pining???

Thanks in advance

Lenny

Nody

tadhgl wrote: »

Hi

I got a beautiful new great dane puppy at the weekend, he is two months old and already 20Kgs!!! We called him Scooby and fell in love with hime the second we saw him. We've had him for a few days now and he hates being on his own. He continuously pines and howls when we leave him over night or go out during the day.

You need to make the breaks waaaay smaller to get him used to being alone. Secondly look into how to do crate handling; plenty of threads in this forum.

Also with house training what is the best method to follow, I've been told to either a hold his nose over the foul or to bring him outside at regular intervals until he connects outside with toilet!!! How have you guys training your dogs and help them with the pining???

Who ever told you this is a person you should completely ignore for any and all future advice on dogs because they are clueless. You should bring him out every hour and cheer him on every time he goes, bring him out directly after eating, before sleeping etc. and you need to bring him out at least once if not twice at night as well. He's still a baby so he does not have the bladder control required for all night stays.

tadhgl

Hi Nody

Thanks for the advice I thought as much which is why I wanted to ask the question it seems a bit mean on the dog to hold his nose over it.

Pining is the biggest concern as I don't want him to be sad

volchitsa

I'm only a beginner dog owner myself, and I'm sure the puppy's personality also plays a role, so I think we may have been lucky more than anything else, but a couple of things I did because I'd seen them suggested as being effective (and maybe you've already done this) was I bought a pheromone diffuser, I got it in a pet shop, it's exactly like those plug-in antimosquito systems, but it supposedly delivers mother-dog hormones that calm the puppy when he's in the room where it's plugged in.

We have it in our living room, in fact I put it away after the first couple of weeks because she was doing so well, and after a week or so I felt she was getting a bit hyper so I plugged it in again on Sunday. So we'll see if it makes any difference or if it's just that she's getting more confident and a bit bossy!

The other thing I did the first few nights was I put a hot water bottle under the cushion in her bed - that's to make them feel there's someone else there with them. Apparently you can even buy a cuddly toy called a Plush puppy (I think) that has a ticking sound like a heart beat, and some of them really love that.
Obviously that may not help the anxiety during the day, or not directly, but I expect that if they're able to feel confident at night that will likely have a knock on effect on their stress levels during the day as well.

The plug-in pheromone spray I got was expensive (about 40€ iirc) but if it was even part of the reason she settled in so quickly then it was worth it (and we'll never know for sure but it certainly didn't make her worse!) and anything that prevents or reduces problems that can really affect your quality of life is worth a go, IMO.

And hopefully you'll get more ideas and advice from posters with more experience than me as well.

tadhgl

Thanks volchitsa

I appreciate you responding, i hope a hot water bottle will work over the next few nights and ill invest in a pheromone plug if he doesn't calm down. he's only settling in I hope he will get comfortable soon.

VonVix

I'm going to assume this is your first puppy, it probably isn't, but that's just how I'm going to approach this post so don't mind me if I'm telling you things you already know.

How long are you leaving him alone for? Where do you leave him? My GSD puppy was always up in my bedroom (in a crate) during the night with me. He could see me and only ever cried during the night if he needed to go to the bathroom. I often found myself letting him out at 4am and 7am when he was around 10-11 weeks old.

During the day, is it possible someone could mind your puppy?

When it comes to house training, I find crate training to be an excellent tool. Limits accidents during the night. Ensure you are going outside with your puppy every time and reward them for doing the right thing. NEVER give out to your puppy for going inside the house, because that can build the association that poo/pee = bad thing. You want them to be happy to go in front of you. If they are afraid of going in front of you it can make house training SO much harder, as they will deliberately go where you can't see them.

Don't expect your puppy to be house trained in a week. You will need to keep on top of this for the next few months.

I would suggest you enroll in a puppy basic manners class as soon as possible, it would be very beneficial to both you and your puppy.
Get reading a little about dog training (avoiding Cesar Millan at all costs) some of this might be a little heavy to read but it's worthwhile.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Before-after-Getting-Your-Puppy/dp/B00CF6FUU2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1457435095&sr=8-5&keywords=ian+dunbar+puppy
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Culture-Clash-Revolutionary-Understanding-Relationship/dp/1617811122/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457435197&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Culture+Clash+by+Jean+Donaldson
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Shoot-Dog-Teaching-Training/dp/1860542387/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457435225&sr=8-1&keywords=Don%27t+Shoot+the+Dog+by+Karen+Pryor

Great Dane's aren't an ideal dog for beginners, they are large dogs who need training every day from a young age, as you want a dog of their size to be happy and eager to take direction from you. I don't mean to scare you, that's not my intention at all, but doing this will make your life a LOT easier.

volchitsa

tadhgl wrote: »

Thanks volchitsa

I appreciate you responding, i hope a hot water bottle will work over the next few nights and ill invest in a pheromone plug if he doesn't calm down. he's only settling in I hope he will get comfortable soon.

A ticking clock is meant to help too, and I'm just thinking that with all the stuff that can be downloaded now from the internet I expect someone has thought to put a "heartbeat" app somewhere, after all they say the same thing about human babies too.

I think the advice you got about trying to get him used to being on his own for short periods is good : I was lucky that I was able to organize it to work mostly from home for a couple of weeks and TBH I spent more time (working) with our puppy than getting real work done, but it's worth it in the long term I hope.

So what I did was practice leaving her alone for a few seconds (but you absolutely mustn't go back in the room while she (or he) is whining, you have to wait till they stop - not all that easy when the whole family is stuck in the hallway listening at the door for ten seconds' silence to be able to go back into the living room!) and then you gradually build that up until he doesn't care when you walk out of the room.

It also seems to be about not letting them start to associate your activities to a ritual that worries them, so if you put on your coat and they know that means they're going to be alone all day they'll start acting up straightaway. So the answer is to put on your coat and walk around the house without going out, till the coat doesn't stress them any more, that kind of thing.

tadhgl

Thanks VonVix

No not my first puppy but the first I have cared for from such a young age, we had a lot of dogs in the family however it was left to others to train.

Ill certainly look into the crate training as it will allow us to keep him in our room for a few weeks until he's comfortable. We are keeping him in the kitchen at present. Its warm and quiet there but he gets very lonesome.

I have us booked in for basic training stating next week and he is learning the basics like sit and stay already. I think positive reinforcement will win out in the long run. Hopefully we can see some progress over the next couple of months. He has his vet check up this afternoon so will run these questions by the Vet as well.

tadhgl

Im lucky enough to work from home 2/3 days a week so I will be spending more and more time with him, unfortunately on the days I don't i have to travel but I may look at bringing him with main the car and doing regular stops on the way.

aonb

Your puppy is very young at 8 weeks to be taken from his litter. You only have him for a few days, so you can imagine how traumatic the move to a strangers strange home with no litter can be. Take him slowly and gently and easily.
It would be great if you can bring him in the car with you when you are not home - if he doesnt get car sick (Lots of short introductory journeys increasing to longer trips).

tadhgl

Yes i feel for the poor guy being pulled from his mother and family, bound to be difficult for him so patience is a virtue. I felt very bad taking him with me even though he has joined a very loving and caring home.