Puppy questions

by Cindy
(High Point, NC)

Hello,

I am the proud new owner of a ten week old sheltie puppy. I currently have an older sheltie who is eleven. The two dogs get along great.

I am having a hard time getting the puppy to focus on me. He is all about my other dog Patches. It is difficult to work with PJ when Patches is around so I crate Patches for a little while and then feel guilty. It is also hard to correct the puppy when he makes a mistake because Patches thinks he did something wrong.

For instance PJ had an accident and I caught him and said no very loud and scolded him and took him outside. Patches thought he did something.

That's the other thing. I never let the puppy out of my sight and take him out about every twenty minutes and he still will come in and potty on the floor. He went outside and then came in and did it inside too. Lucky for me it has never been poop only pee. I crate him and he has never gone in the crate. This is difficult because I can not figure out what I am doing wrong.

The puppy drinks a lot of water. I let him drink all he wants but think it is a great deal. I take it up at night around 8:00 or 8:30. Any advice will be appreciated.

Cindy






Hi Cindy
Puppies can tend to bond closely with another dog in the house, they're missing their siblings and momma and so naturally gravitate towards any other canine family member!

You're doing the right thing by keeping Patches out of the way while you're training the younger one. Puppies have short attention spans at best, and are very, very distractable. As your pup gets older, and the training becomes familiar to him, he will find it easier to focus on you despite things that are going on around him.

I can understand that you feel guilty about 'shutting out' your older dog, but as long as he gets plenty of love and affection, and his own chance at some individual one-on-one attention he will be just fine.

There's not really a lot you can do about Patches feeling stressed when the puppy is corrected for something. Apart from being sure to use the puppy's name when you give the verbal correction, and trying to keep your voice low and firm, rather than raised, it's something he'll just need to adjust to.

I would suggest that you have your vet check the puppy out for a UTI (quite common) which could be causing the frequent urination and thirst. Other possibilities for excessive thirst can be kidney problems or diabetes, but puppies do tend to drink a lot and this may be perfectly normal for your pup. It's just better to be safe than sorry and have your vet rule out any underlying health issues.

If your vet gives him a clean bill of health, maybe he just needs to stay outside a bit longer on his potty breaks. Or bring him in and crate him for 15 mins and then take him BACK out again so he can 'finish up' before giving him free run of the house.

You may find one of these pages helpful. Best of luck!


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