mudweiser
Mar 26, 2012, 09:24 AM
Hey guys,
So I brought home a Blue Heeler Belgian Malinois mix pup to my home. He is currently at 10 weeks old. I've had him for 2 weeks now. The people who I got him from clearly didn't socialize him very well, and it saddens me.
His brothers were very rowdy and jumpy and excitable but Axel was shy, quiet, and hesitant to meet me. I of course fell in love with him rather than the ones jumping all over me. Once Axel sniffed me it's like we immediately bonded.
I took him to the vet the next day to find out he has worms (he had two doses, the last one was a few days ago) and he also got his first set of shots. I called the people I got him from to let them know Axel had worms and the mom and the other pups should be checked out-- not surprisingly I got some rude retort and got hung up on.
In the last two weeks he has come out of his shell just a little bit. He's met other dogs (that their shots have been up to date) and he's doing a lot better. He used to be very fearful of people and now sometimes he'll even bark at passerby's. He's still not 100% sometimes he runs back onto the porch with his tail between his legs, not all the time but the odd few times.
Here are other things I'm working on:
-Nipping: I found that (gently) placing my hand over his snout and saying no biting does not work he just snaps back and gets really upset. I found that clapping my hands together (if he's biting the cat or trying to get at my 5 year old's shirt/hair/etc) or shouting out OUCH and ignoring him for a few seconds works better-- he'll start licking me profusely as if saying "sorry momma". However that was one instance where a woman actually picked him up (a no no in my opinion) and he bit her in the face (tail was between the legs and everything at the time). I told her that Axel has fear issues and picking him up wasn't a good idea. I pick Axel up and he lays his little head on my shoulder-- of course because he trusts me.
-Housebreaking: Only pooped in my house less than 5 times, he now whines when he needs to go out or sits by the door! Hurrah. If I don't pay attention to his cues, however, he will urinate in my home. I don't know how to get him to warn me about peeing outside. Whining catches my attention when I'm cooking, doing laundry-- y'know fun house stuff.
-Separation Anxiety: With his daily alone times (2 hours-- two one hour intervals) he's made a lot of progress. However, if he sees me leave he will whine and it's like as if I completely abandoned him-- this has only happened 2 times (not during the alone times but when I'm off to the store and he sees me from the window leaving).
-Leash Walking: Since he is only 10 weeks old right now he's doing pretty good. He stays at my side although he will stop and do what dogs do-- stop to sniff around.
Axel is still a big momma's boy and I believe in the 2 weeks I've had him he's been making great progress.
However if you can offer any sort of tips about well anything that I've mentioned or more that would be great.
Thanks!
So I brought home a Blue Heeler Belgian Malinois mix pup to my home. He is currently at 10 weeks old. I've had him for 2 weeks now. The people who I got him from clearly didn't socialize him very well, and it saddens me.
His brothers were very rowdy and jumpy and excitable but Axel was shy, quiet, and hesitant to meet me. I of course fell in love with him rather than the ones jumping all over me. Once Axel sniffed me it's like we immediately bonded.
I took him to the vet the next day to find out he has worms (he had two doses, the last one was a few days ago) and he also got his first set of shots. I called the people I got him from to let them know Axel had worms and the mom and the other pups should be checked out-- not surprisingly I got some rude retort and got hung up on.
In the last two weeks he has come out of his shell just a little bit. He's met other dogs (that their shots have been up to date) and he's doing a lot better. He used to be very fearful of people and now sometimes he'll even bark at passerby's. He's still not 100% sometimes he runs back onto the porch with his tail between his legs, not all the time but the odd few times.
Here are other things I'm working on:
-Nipping: I found that (gently) placing my hand over his snout and saying no biting does not work he just snaps back and gets really upset. I found that clapping my hands together (if he's biting the cat or trying to get at my 5 year old's shirt/hair/etc) or shouting out OUCH and ignoring him for a few seconds works better-- he'll start licking me profusely as if saying "sorry momma". However that was one instance where a woman actually picked him up (a no no in my opinion) and he bit her in the face (tail was between the legs and everything at the time). I told her that Axel has fear issues and picking him up wasn't a good idea. I pick Axel up and he lays his little head on my shoulder-- of course because he trusts me.
-Housebreaking: Only pooped in my house less than 5 times, he now whines when he needs to go out or sits by the door! Hurrah. If I don't pay attention to his cues, however, he will urinate in my home. I don't know how to get him to warn me about peeing outside. Whining catches my attention when I'm cooking, doing laundry-- y'know fun house stuff.
-Separation Anxiety: With his daily alone times (2 hours-- two one hour intervals) he's made a lot of progress. However, if he sees me leave he will whine and it's like as if I completely abandoned him-- this has only happened 2 times (not during the alone times but when I'm off to the store and he sees me from the window leaving).
-Leash Walking: Since he is only 10 weeks old right now he's doing pretty good. He stays at my side although he will stop and do what dogs do-- stop to sniff around.
Axel is still a big momma's boy and I believe in the 2 weeks I've had him he's been making great progress.
However if you can offer any sort of tips about well anything that I've mentioned or more that would be great.
Thanks!