new member w/ 12wk puppy

[daiseyjean76]

we just got a rottie/shar pei mix about 4 weeks ago.he is about 12 weeks old now.i was wondering if anyone can give me any input on having a rottie even though he is mixed with shar pei.my biggest worry is the potty training and the possible bahavior he may develop later on.i want to get him obeidience trained especially with my husband going back to iraq in nov and we have a 9 yr old daughter.we also have a female dog which is sheltie and chow,and she is the sweetest thing ever and also 2 cats.the rottie seems to get along with all the animals.his name is stetson he is very sweet just mouthy,he will bark at u like he is sasing u and stuff.he likes to nibble but i want him broke of that right now i know he is a pup and he is teething but i still don't think he should nibble on u.so if anyone could help and give me any input on training him.he seems like he is gonna be a real timid dog but i don't want to take any chances.he of course pees in the house but we crate train him now.he knows he can't come back in the house until he goes potty when i let him and my other dog out. he seems to know when he does wrong cause he will hang his head down and will not even look at u.i will try to put picks in here when i figure it out.oh yeah i am feeding him 3/4 cup of food daily like the bag says and it just seems like it isn't enough.does anyone know how much i really should feed him.
thanks in advance for the help

[Roscoe's dad]

I haven't had a puppy in years so I would not be much help, but if you go to the puppy development forum you may find what you are looking for.

[BabyBrownz]

As Roscoe's Dad said there's tons of information here in the Puppy development forum. There is also a search button at the top of the page that you can utilize and will bring up specific information when you type in what you're looking for. ie. Mouthing

Welcome to the board,
Lynn

[debbiej]

I have owned 3 shar peis. Both of the males I had were very hard to manage around other dogs. My cousin breeds, shows and rescues them, and keeps her boys seperate all the time. (a couple can get along with others)

They are, after all, believed to be fighting dogs, and generally have a mind of their own and are a little different than other breeds to train.

From my experience with shar peis, I would very strongly recommend that you start socializing that pup asap. Get him out where he learns that there are other dogs in the world. puppy classes, then on to obedience. If there is another breed that needs a lot of training and socialization, it is the shar pei!!

[Tysonko1]

"oh yeah i am feeding him 3/4 cup of food daily like the bag says and it just seems like it isn't enough.does anyone know how much i really should feed him."

This forum has a search function. Put in your keyword and search. Almost everything you need will have already been addressed

What brand of food are you feeding? For high quality food( I feed adult innova) 3/4 cups 3 times a day. PLus I give about 1/2 cup of rice and a half cup of ground beef or salmon with some plain yogurt or cottage cheese also.

Check the pups waist line. I like my dog to be lean but I also make sure he is content. He also gets goodies during his training along the day

I have a 4 month old male.

Good Luck and read read read read read read read read...and than read some more...

[groupieindenial]

At 12 weeks, I hightly doubt the pup knows what he did wrong. Are you scolding him when he has an accident in the house? Thats your fault, not the puppy's. You need to be diligent in taking him out every 2 hours max, till he understands thats his time to go potty. They can only hold their pee 1 hour for every month of age. Your pup cannot hold it longer than 3 hours. And with playing, outside eating snow etc... they can go pee more often. At this point, they go when they have to, not when their told. Its up to you to read the signs, and have him outside BEFORE the accident. LOTS OF PRAISE, and have treats in your pocket at all times. WHen he does go outside, use your potty command, like "hurry", praise him and give a treat. He'll learn that is the wanted behaviour.

[kayozzy]

I don't know what kind of dog food you are feeding him, but that doesn't sound like enough at all! Puppies eat more than adult dogs. Here are the feeding instructions for Canidae All Life Stages:
http://www.canidae.com/dogs/all_life_stages/dry.html

It is at least a reference to show how much more puppies eat. Please double check that quantity.

Also, there are great guidelines on here for puppy training and if you google puppy training, you will find even more. Behavioral training, which distracts from bad behavior and reinforces good instead of punishing, is fantastic! (and really the only option IMO)

Potty training is pretty easy if you use the method consistently. I also recommend walking him out to the same spot every time and saying "potty" or "hurry". Pick a word and use it every time. (That will also help teach them to go on command, which is great for trips when you want them to go quickly while you stop for gas.) Then while he's going, softly say (so he's not distracted), Good Potty or good hurry a few times, so that he's knows he is in fact doing what you wanted. And then like Groupie said, give a treat right away.

[daiseyjean76]

yes i do scold him,he normally doesn't do it when i am home much but mainly when it is just my husband cause when he is on the computer he has a one track mind.yes i also don't let him come in till i see him go potty then he can come in and he goes in the same spot outsid all the time.yes i use lets go potty.i have an adult dog and everytime she goes out he follows her and i take him out more often than every 2 hrs when i am home.i also award him by saying good stetson when he is in the action of going outside and he looks at me with a pleased look and a wagging tail.when no one is home he goes in his crate.i don't work so i am home most of the time but like today i went off for a little while and when i came back i asked my husband and he said yes he potted in the house

[kayozzy]

Sounds like you are on the right track. It is consistency that they learn from, so keep to the training methods as closely as possible that I put above.

What about the quantity of food issue? What kind of food is it and I will be happy to look up the information if you haven't had any luck.

[daiseyjean76]

its purina beniful and we have decided to go up on food against what the package says.he seems more content with us going up on food also.i hate to feed purina but i wanted to see how my adult dog would do on it being it has veggies in it and stuff and has real chunks of meat and my adult dogs loves this food and i use to feed her iams and she would take her ever loving time eating it but not now she gobbles it down and i have nothing to worry about with the pup cause he eats.i have never feed my animals cheap food as my cats and my adult dog ( sheltie/chow) has beautiful coats but i have been feeding purina beniful for about a month now and it hasn't changed my adults dogs coat she still looks beautiful. I am thinking about trying the nutro that has veggies and stuff but i hate to keep changing food around as i know it isn't good for them.i wish i could add pics in here but i don't see how to do it.

[myst]

my few words on puppies:) socialize. try putting a toy in your pups mouth when he wants to nibble on you?
i fed my puppy 3 to 4 times a day... then to 3 > 2 and if in daycare sent a snack as he would be eating late.. blood sugar and such to be kept up.
now he gets 2 meals a day.. and will be from now to when he dies.

[SWEETBREW]

I would worry that beneful is not giving your pup a good amount of fat content. analysis only says 10% - and I think that atleast 15% is suggested for growing pups. I am sure that others here will have more to say.
Also the website doesn't say the ingredients list... what are the first 5 ingredients on the bag?

[kayozzy]

Yep, the feeding directions on adult food don't apply to puppies. I would suggest giving him a large breed puppy food which would help give him the correct nutrients and fat content. I had to keep my dogs separated to eat so they wouldn't eat each others food, but it is worth it. Plus, you will get the correct recommendations on quantity of food. Switching food just has to be done at a slow rate to minimize stomach upset. Just put a little of the new food in for a couple days and then give a little more each day until you phase out the old food.

[daiseyjean76]

oh i do feed him the puppy food and my adult the adult food.i do keep them separated.he gobbles up his food before my adult is done so i feed her in the kitchen with me in there.i went by the directions on the puppy food.

[groupieindenial]

Purina - Beneful Original

Ingredients:
Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar, sorbitol, tricalcium phosphate, water, animal digest, salt, phosphoric acid, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, sorbic acid (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, dried peas, dried carrots, calcium carbonate, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), added color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), dl-Methionine, zinc sulfate, glyceryl monostearate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, manganese sulfate, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, biotin, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, copper sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite

Guaranteed Analysis
Protein: 25%
Fat: 10%
Fiber: 4%
Moisture: 14%

Calories
360 Kcal/cup

Where's the nice chunks of meat? Corn is not a desirable source of protein, and as the number one ingredient along with by-products, this food is TERRIBLE.

If you want to consider feeding it, you need to up it to 1.5-2 cups /day, to exceed the 500 calories per day for a 12 week old. I wouldn't feed this to my dog or pup if you paid me.