Hello. I just bought an 8 week old labrador from a very ligit breeder. All paperwork was handed to me and shots are up to date. I have had one dog in the past but this is my first experience with training/raising a puppy! I'm not completely clueless but again I have little experience with puppies. I notice my puppy (Toby) is a real heavy breathier at times and makes like a... grunting noise when he sleeps. Ive been told that this is normal for puppies; but I want a professional opinion on this. Is it normal for him to breathe heavy? How should I go about training to pee and poo outside? I am crate training him right now and he is not very fond of the crate unless he is VERY tired. I thought he was doing good with housebreaking because he would pee when I bring him outside. But on a few occasions he would just piss right on the floor. I have a lesh and collor for him. He doesn't mind his collor but he absolutely hates his lesh! I'm not sure if I'm training him to wear a collar and lesh while he's too young. Please help! :(

Start by reading the sticky at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post251802

Read through the paper work and see when he had his DLCPP or whatever shot. Call a vet and set up an appointment. Usually they will want to give the puppy another combination shot 2-3 weeks after the first one. I am not a professional, but your vet is.

RubyPitbull isn't either. She has never said much about how she has come know so much about dogs, but it is clear from her posts she knows far more than your average dog owner. Many dog owners don't have any idea how little they they know. I certainly was much lower on the learning curve before my family began our work with dog guides. We have mentored by the best. We have a constant stream of new people here, and I may develop conficence in some others. Don't let titles or green boxes fool you.

In some of the other forums in Home and Garden, we have some fine professionals that give great advice. Unfortunately, in the almost 8 years I have been answering dog questions on the net, I have been very disappointed with the advice from those claiming to be professionals. There is no national building code for dogs and few apprenticeships. Some of the best people I have seen, like Ruby, are those doing rescue work.

Sabbath, please follow labman's advice on his link. In that link there are a number of excellent reference books listed. It might be wise for you to review them and pick one or two out of the list to buy and read. You also might want to ask your vet for a reference to a good dog trainer in your area. Since you haven't trained a puppy before, it really helps to see physically what you need to do in training your dog. The trainer can also help you with any problems that crop up as your dog grows. Have fun with your dog.

Thank you everyone for your replies. I brought Toby to the vet today and she couldn't really give me a direct answer for what is wrong with him ( if there is anything wrong ). She took x-rays to see if possibly his throat was misformed causing his "different breathing", but nothing was out of the ordinary. I guess what she found that was evidence of possible "pests" inside of him. She said this could be because he was raised on a farm until I got him. She gave me some antibiotics and some medicine to put on his neck for worms. He seems to be bloated in the stomach. I don't know if I'm over reacting when I think there is something wrong with him every 5 seconds, I realize he's a puppy and he might make funny noises and do sketchy things... I just don't know if I'm taking this whole thing too seriously, I'm just so worried that something might be seriously wrong with him, or again if I'm just being over protective and just worrying my-self to death. Ive only had him two days now and Ive already became very attached to him, if something bad were to happen to him I would be devastated. I'm bringing him to a different vet tomorrow to get a second opinion on the matter. I would love to hear opinions/professional input.

Labman... you seem to know very well about what your talking about. What would you do if you were me?:confused:

Usually the vets will get to the bottom of the problem. It certainly won't hurt to have the second one look at Toby. Sometimes one will find things the other missed.
Was the medicine on the neck for worms or fleas.

Note, I decided to merge your new thread into the old one so we can keep better track of Toby.

I believe it was for worms, at least on the package it mentioned something about worms, but it also mentioned something about fleas as well.

Inth eflea season, I apply 2 ml of Revolution between my dogs' shoulder blades once a month. It protects against fleas, heartworm, and types of pests. In the fall, I switch back to the cheaper Heartgard+ which doesn't protect against fleas.

I don't know if this has to do with his health at all but he whines once in a while and I am clueless to what he is whining about. Maybe he misses his mother and sibblings? I have to put him in his cage when I leave the house for a little while because no one else is here most of the time to take care of him, he will not stop barking when I put him in there if he's not tired. Any tips or helpful information?:confused: