new puppy good and bad.....

[AmyinLV]

We have a 12 week old rotty puppy the bad is that my boyfriend went and got him without talking to me first and got him from a petstore. I know better than to do that but he didn't. I researched and found out that Bo came from a puppymill. I enlightened my boyfriend, smacked him a few times with a rolled up newspaper and he's not going to do it again. All joking aside he was very upset and had no idea that puppys from petstores come from puppymills. So now I'm going to make a bad situation good.

I've been reading through the posts and we don't really have any problems other than "normal" puppy behavior with Bo. I've never heard him growl or bark. He did a semi bark when he saw another rotty but it sounded to me like "Hey lets play" He is a bit mouthy but I expect that with a 12 week old ;) We start puppy kindergarden dec 26th.

The vet has cleared him as healthy, at least till the test results come back. The vet suggested that we have his hips x-rayed when we have him neurted (MP?)because of where he came from. She also suggested changing his food to a better quality than the petstore had him on, not puppy and to be careful of the protein levels. Overall I was impressed with this Vet as she seems to know what she is talking about.

There was thing that happened today with my 7yr old son, Jace. I'm not sure if I handled it right or not. Bo was playing with Jace and he got a bit to rough. Jace yipped like I taught him to but Bo kept on doing it and Jace was crying because he hurt him. I redirected Bo by removing him from the room and working on sit with him. I've kept him tied to me all day since and haven't let him interact with Jace. Now I'm second guessing myself and wondering if that was the right thing to do?

Anyway I'm so glad that I found this site and welcome any insight. I know how everyone feels about petstores and I do too but please don't dwell on where Bo came from but instead on how to get him to be a wonderful rotty and member of our family. Not that he isn't already wonderful ;)
Amy[/font]

[AngelBunny]

Pet stores are indeed monstrous places from which to get a dog because of who supplies puppies to pet stores, but there's nothing you can do about that now. Sounds as tho your boyfriend won't be getting another puppy from a pet store anytime soon...

Since Bo made your son cry in pain and frustration and Bo wouldn't stop biting, you did the correct thing in separating Bo and Jace. Untrained puppies who are sharks should have their interaction with young children strictly controlled.

Did your vet makes specific suggestions about what food to feed? There are many, many discussions about food in Grooming and Nutrition that will surely help you.

Do you have a place lined up to take Bo to class? Obed classes are essential.

[Roccco'sMom]

We got our Rottie, Rocco when he was 5 weeks old from the humane society. He is now a big lovey lap dog. We gave him a lot of love but when he did something bad we let him know it was wrong. He would some times get a little to rough playing with me when he was around the same age as yours and the yelping didn't work for me so I scolded him and ignored him for a while. I purposely gave him no attention at all and pretended like he was not there for a good twenty minutes. He did not like that. We also would give him time outs in his crate when he was bad. He gets a lot of loves and is very cuddely now. I believe that a dog is affected by how they are raised and not where they come from. I think you are on the right track, just give him lots of loves and praises when he is a good boy and he will start to realize the difference from when he doesn't get them. Have lots and lots of patients and don't keep him away from your son. He needs to learn to love and take care of him. Rotties are very good dogs with children but just like children they can be rough at times. Doesn't mean they are going to turn out bad.
Good luck!!

[Canadianrotti]

With a 12 week old pup, you need to focus on basic puppy manners, things like no biting people, chewing on dog toys only, walking on a lead etc. I can not emphasize enough how important socialization is at this young age. A puppy class will allow him to play with other pups the way that only pups can do. Bring the little guy every where you can with you (you can get away with a lot while he is a little ball of fur ).

Because he is a pet store pup, he was very likely too young to be away from his family, and missed out on some very important stuff, so you have to pick up the slack.

Good luck with your pup. Don't beat up your BF too bad, his heart was in the right place, and now he knows better!

Oh, and I would NOT use a crate as a time out place. Pups don't know the difference as to why they are there, and you don't want to have him associate that crate = bad. I would just re-direct when he bites, and if he is being a brat, then ignor him.

[groupieindenial]

My boy when he was a pup thought was really cool that when he mouthed, I'd yelp, and he'd do it again and harder!! Then I had a foster girl earlier this year, just a sweet thing, that if I yelped when she mouthed, she quickly stopped, and never did it again. It was not her intentions to hurt me. Funny how my boy got a kick out of it, made him more wound up, where she felt bad about it.

[AmyinLV]

Thanks everyone for the replys. I don't think that Bo is being mean or bad he's just being a puppy and just like my ferret has to be taught what is ok and what isn't and we're working on it. He's still a baby and he'll learn.

I'm weaning him off the crappy food the petstore had him on and slowly switching him to Innova large puppy breed. The protein levels are at 24% which isn't to high I thought, right?

We are going to my mom's house who has a 4 month old boxer and a 8 yr old pom. Both of which really don't go anywhere and are healthy and update on all shots so Bo is going to be able to play with them. My uncle has a 6 month old lab who is also up to date on all shots and he can play with him too.

Bo likes his crate. I never put him in there unless it's bed time or I'm in my room (crate is by my bed) so he doesn't see his crate as anything other than a wonderful place with a great bone and toys that he only gets in the crate.

I take him to Petsmart and Petco everyday, usually twice a day but never put him down on the floor. Soon he'll be able to be on the floor and then I wont have to carry him cause at 20bls he's to heavy to carry! I take him there so that he see different people of all ages, sex and races. We say hi to all the employees and take a look at the birds, fish, ferrets, and all the small rodents. Bo doesn't seem that interested in them though.

I've heard that Petsmart isn't a good place to go for training but the one by my house the manager is certified (MP?) to test for the canine good citizen test so I thought it would be a good place to go. I live in Vegas so I'm sure that there are other places to go but thought it would be ok to go there. It's where we're going for our puppy kindergarden class.

[AngelBunny]

I do not believe in weaning dogs off crappy food. I've changed food, cold turkey, of fosters for years and haven't had a problem. Of course, this assumes the dog is healthy.

A case in point is the foster dog we've had in our home for 5 days. He's an owner surrender to the rescue group for which we volunteer. His former owner fed him Pedigree, wet and dry. He often licks his feet and scratches his ears, whimpering softly as he does so. When his owner surrdendered him to us, she also handed over his vet records. Reading them makes me sad because she took him to the vet several times over the year she had him because he was licking his feet and she couldn't find any overt reason why he was doing so. She also treated him for an ear infection. Allergy tests were done on the dog. The owner tried doing right by her dog--and spent a considerable amount of money, trying to do so.

Nowhere is there any mention the vet talked to her about dog food nor asked what she was feeding the dog.

The first meal our new foster was fed was CA Nat and that's what he will be fed as our foster. There is no way I'd consider buying a bag of what he was fed and weaning him off that miserable food.

My advice to you is Chuck the bad food and make full switch to a good food.

I am not a fan of kibble formulated for puppies. I've never fed it.

[AmyinLV]

Once again thanks for the reply :) The reason why I was going to go with the Innova large breed puppy is that the adult dog foods of Innova are so high in protein. Is it not correct about the protein levels needing to be lower? On the link that I followed from here it said that although it's rated a 6 star food it's not recommended for puppies because the protein levels are so high.

Am I wrong about the protein levels? Is it ok for them to be that high? I can't remember exactly what they were but it was in the 40% range for the adult Innova and like 24% for the large breed puppy.

[AmyinLV]

I'm going to go with Canidae and see how that works. There is a store that carrys it right by the base so BF can get it on his way home tomorrow/today :)

[brunie's mom]

Originally Posted by AmyinLV

Once again thanks for the reply :) The reason why I was going to go with the Innova large breed puppy is that the adult dog foods of Innova are so high in protein. Is it not correct about the protein levels needing to be lower? On the link that I followed from here it said that although it's rated a 6 star food it's not recommended for puppies because the protein levels are so high.

Am I wrong about the protein levels? Is it ok for them to be that high? I can't remember exactly what they were but it was in the 40% range for the adult Innova and like 24% for the large breed puppy.

Yes...you are wrong about protein levels. I think you are talking about Innova EVO...that is too high percentage protein for a growing puppy. The regular Innova Adult (green bag) is fine for a growing puppy. Canidae is a good choice too...it's an All Life Stages food.

Gina