Trouble With Four Month Old Pup

[HalcyonDays]

Hello there,

I'm having some trouble with a new four month old husky I adopted. I recently got him from a breeder, and even though I knew I shouldn't have, as I'm a first time owner, I still got him. As I made a commitment, I'm going to be sticking with it, but I don't know what I can really do about it as he's not only afraid of his new home, but he's also not listening to anything I say. He is already a neutered male. From what his owners have told me, he has a very outgoing and in-your-face personality, but also very gentle. I only got him yesterday, so I understand that he needs time to adjust to his new home, but I would like to know more about training as well, especially because I don't foresee him listening anytime soon.

Some problems that I'm having with him,

1) He listens to me when we're walking; he's never had any lead training before, but caught on fairly quick, and will stop gawking at something when I tell him to come. Something I notice is that he's very afraid of both cars and other dogs as he tries to sprint for it every time.

2) He is absolutely terrified of stairs. I think it's because his breeders had him free roaming/feeding throughout his life, so he's never encountered any stairs, but because he won't listen to me in any way, even with treats, I can't gently coax him to use the stairs.

3) Even though I am timing it correctly, he won't go to the bathroom while we're outside. Yesterday, he held it in for about 7 hours. As I was putting on his leash and wanting to take him for a final walk before bed, he refused to go. As soon as I took off the leash and turned around, he peed on the floor. Despite correcting him with a stern "no" and showing him how displeased I was, he still continued and generally didn't seem to care.

So you can see the predicament I'm in. While I'm more than willing to work with him, I don't know if I am capable of it, or if he even wants to as I understand huskies are a very independent and stubborn breed.

Is anybody else going through something similar like this? Any help would greatly be appreciated.

Edited September 2, 2012 by HalcyonDays

[Andy]

OK first quick question.

Is he four YEARS old or four MONTHS old ??

Title says one age Post says another.

You'll get different responses depending on the age.

Also put a post in the introductions section with pictures.

[HalcyonDays]

OK first quick question.

Is he four YEARS old or four MONTHS old ??

Title says one age Post says another.

You'll get different responses depending on the age.

Also put a post in the introductions section with pictures.

Sorry about that. I got virtually no sleep last night because of him, so I'm a little tired.

He's four months old. He'll be four months on September 9th.

[Sarah]

4 months and already neutered? awww poor pup

Training won't come overnight - it takes perseverance and patience but you will get there just stay consistent and don't expect results overnight hun x

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

1) He listens to me when we're walking; he's never had any lead training before, but caught on fairly quick, and will stop gawking at something when I tell him to come. Something I notice is that he's very afraid of both cars and other dogs as he tries to sprint for it every time.

ok at four months old , hes not really gonna be used to things such as traffic , and it WILL scare him , best thing to do is to just keep walking and not react n comfort him when he reacts , just keep walking he will soon learn its nothing to worry about , same with dogs he is probably not used to any other dogs apart from the ones he grew up with , when we first got blaze he was terrfied of bings despite coming from a home with 4 huskies a gsd and there were 2 litters , because he didnt know bings, bings was scary to him

2) He is absolutely terrified of stairs. I think it's because his breeders had him free roaming/feeding throughout his life, so he's never encountered any stairs, but because he won't listen to me in any way, even with treats, I can't gently coax him to use the stairs.

give him time with this , ideally puppies shouldnt be running up and down stairs too much anyway as it can damage their joints as their bones are still soft and growing let him tackle this in his own time

3) Even though I am timing it correctly, he won't go to the bathroom while we're outside. Yesterday, he held it in for about 7 hours. As I was putting on his leash and wanting to take him for a final walk before bed, he refused to go. As soon as I took off the leash and turned around, he peed on the floor. Despite correcting him with a stern "no" and showing him how displeased I was, he still continued and generally didn't seem to care.

take him out every hour or so , right after sleeping, playing, eating and drinking he wont be able 2 hold it for long and needs guidance here , alot of dogs that age dont like going out to the toilet in the big wide world (took my girl till she was about 7-9 months old to start peeing on walks) just keep taking him out in your back garden and LOTS of fuss and praise when he does go , maybe even a treat if u want

most of all just give him time and patience specially as uve only had him for such a short period of time

[Andy]

OK great that's fine.

Thanks for the update.

At four months he's still learning to control his bladder and motions.

Also he's in a new house and area.

If as you say he's been an "outdoors dog" in what sounds like a more rural area than you live in.

Then that might explain the being scared of traffic and other dogs.

Have you got a decent sized park to take him for a walk in away from the traffic ??

Doing his business in the house, could be because he's scared of the traffic it's the only place he can "relax" enough to do it.

Once he can relax outside i.e. the park away from the traffic then perhaps he'll do his business outside.

As you say you've only had him a couple of days.

It's a lot to adjust to for a young pup.

Just be patient and gentle.

You can get puppy pee pads to put down on the floor.

Once he gets the idea of going potty on those you gradually move them towards the door.

then he'll get the idea that he's supposed to do it outside.

As for the traffic, time and acclimatisation.

Perhaps play the sounds of traffic to him in the house to get him used to the noises.

Time and patience.

good luck.

[Robinhuskylover2231]

Okay well my first thought would definitely be that you need to give it some time. This puppy was with the breeder I'm assuming up until this point which means he was probably also with his mother and father. He definitely needs some time to adjust to you and his new surroundings. Make sure that you take him out every 30-45 minutes, even if he doesn't have to pee at least you are giving the chance to succeed, not setting him up for failure. Even if he does not want to go outside with you, make him. He is still a puppy and it's possible the breeder never taught him any of this stuff so you have to start right back at the basics. I believe that the fear of stairs and cars will all come in due time, when the pup has learnt to trust you then you can start to work on that.

Add on: Isn't under 4 months a little young for him to be neutered?

I agree with everything that everyone above said, although I must disagree with the pee pads. I don't believe in them and think it encourages the dog to go in the house, making it harder to further outside training... not impossible but it does seem a little like back tracking?

Edited September 2, 2012 by Robinhuskylover2231

[HalcyonDays]

Wow, thanks so much for all the fast replies.

I did think four months was definitely too young, but I didn't really have any say in it as he was already neutered when I found out about him. I believe the owner just didn't want anybody breeding with her animals, but that's a discussion for another time.

While I have no qualms about taking him out every hour or so, he makes it quite a challenge. In addition to being scared of the stairs, he wants no part of me carrying him, so it's a struggle to always go up and down the stairs. He has yet to respond to any treats or praise; just looks at me as if saying, "are you stupid?" and lies back down. I can't get him to do anything _but_ sleep right now, and only fitfuls of it.

So in short, just give it time until he warms up to me, and then continue on the training there? Would you recommend taking any obedience classes, or is this breed a no-go for that?

Also, I've posted an introduction, but just to give you an idea of what he's like now:

http://youtu.be/ci1dzf4fFXM

I caught him playing with this while he wasn't looking. Although he doesn't listen to me very much, and prefers to just lay down, he doesn't mind me petting him (he especially loves his muzzle being massaged), and has actually come out of the room when I leave to come find me, and then walk back into the room once he sees I'm following him. I guess that's some sort of progress, right?

[Mazz]

Hi Zack. Sounds to me like he's not been socialized too much, either with other dogs or with humans. It will take time, as others have said. But from the video, he sure is a handsome boy, and I'd sure give him all the love and attention needed to help him adapt. We've had Zoya since she was 9 weeks old, and she is now just over 4 years. She listens when she thinks there's something in it for her. Typical for a Husky, but with work and consistency, much of this can be overcome. Just stay focused, and don't give up. It will be worth all your efforts.

[Removed #5]

Since everyone has said it already. But being me, I'm going to emphasize the one point that struck me. Since he's still just a pup, don't wait for him to let you know he needs to go out, take him out every 1/2 hour to hour and he'll get the idea - sooner rather than later.

And of course, as with any new puppy get a big bottle of :chillpill:, you'll need them!!

Edited September 2, 2012 by Al Jones
cause I can't spell!

[HalcyonDays]

So as to all your suggestions, I'm trying to frequently take him out every hour or so as opposed to 2-3 hours, but whenever I put the leash on him, he'll plant his butt firmly on the ground and won't budge an inch. Most of the time, he'll just lay down and sleep or doze off, or play with one or two of the toys I bought for him. Should I force him outside, even if he doesn't like it?

I hope this is something that'll be fixed once he's gotten used to his new home.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

id carry him out or maybe just call him in an excited voice to try and get him to follow u

[simhauu]

She's still settling in. You just got her, so she doesn't realise that you'll be her caretaker from now on. Why was she neutered so early on, did the breeder say why?

About peeing - I travelled for mine 5 hours by a bus, that same we travelled back. He held it the whole time. I had arranged for a friend to have him at her place for the night because I wasn't prepared to tell my mom about Ghost. Even after 5 hours he didn't pee. My friend and her bf decided they would take MY pup to our other friends' home party. Of course I went with them, since I wasn't sure about my pup going to see all the diff people. On the way we stopped at the friend's place (didn't pee there) then we travelled another 20 mins and even after that long - now about 6 hours - he wouldn't go. He eventually did, three times (2x pee, 1x poo) at our friends' place. What I want to say is - she's scared, and pees where she feels comfortable. Just take the pup out after food, play and sleep. If she does it at home it might be she can smell her urine. Ghost didn't learn that you don't do it at home until much later, because I sucked at it.

Avoid stairs as long as possible - bad for knee joints.

She might also be terrified of stuff like vacuum cleaner, hair dryer, etc. not just cars.

And about listening - you just don't have the respect because you got her at time when she takes for her person the one who had her before you. She'll start in few days. If your treats don't work, get something better! Like bacon, etc.

Good luck and post some pics

[HalcyonDays]

So he finally pooped earlier this morning after he woke up from his nap. It was obvious he was trying to look for a place to poop, but as I went to grab his leash to take him out, he just did it right there. It was a mix of constipation and diarrhea; I don't know how that happens, but it did. Despite firmly telling him "no" in a displeased way, he continued doing so, and then just went back to his bed and lied back down. He did seem a little sorry, but that might have been from my attempt at reprimanding him.

Because of that, I've noticed something else today. Despite me taking him out frequently, for 20-25m at a time, he will not go. He'll hold it in, and within five minutes of coming back inside, he'll run off to find a place to pee or poop. Again, despite corrections, he doesn't listen. This dog also doesn't seem the type that is very food motivated, as I've tried to get him to at least come with both biscuits and doggy treats, but he just puts his head back down and goes back to sleep.

Are all huskies this stubborn and strong-willed?

[Michelle Melsom]

Well I share the stair issue with you Marius absolutely hates stairs and he will whine and avoid them. Some he goes up no problem and some he makes a fuss. Hes always been around stairs so I don't know what his issue is Hes not afraid of anything else tho. I usually just MAKE him go up the stairs on leash he has no choice. As for not listening huskies just do that sometimes my favorite is when they look at you while doing something your telling them not to do haha cheeky cheeky huskies. Introducing him to other dogs might take some time have him around other dogs don't force him and reward him if he shows interest. I don't know much about that so that's all I have for you for advice For the bathroom bit you might have to have him on umbilical while hes in the house with you and when you notice hes going to go to the bathroom take him outside ASAP. When Marius was a small puppy I would pick him up even while he was going and take him outside and reward him for going outside and he finally caught on, he even goes when you tell him to go pee and go poop now I started saying go pee when he would start going pee and he caught on

[Andy]

Try this method for getting him up and down stairs.

Put treats on each of the steps and see if he goes for them.

If he goes up and down the steps getting the treats then after a couple of days do every other step, then a couple of days later one at the top and bottom.

he'll soon get over the fear of the stairs.

The runny bum at that age is usually you've changed his food (from whatever he was on at the breeders) and are possibly feeding him too much.

[Insane Pat]

The advice you have had is good, also look around on this site for older posts will get more ideas, would just add a few things try puppy pads(or news paper it cheaper ) or what ever breeder used for now just so he learns to go in same place if he cant make it outside will also make your life easyer cleaning it up off a non carpeted floor use a bit off paper with wee smell on it under pads/paper so he gets the idea. Teach him wee, poo inside and outside (or whatever woods you use) when he gets to know these words will be easyer to show/tell him where he should go and make a fuss and give him loads of praise when he gets it right(and he will)

I wouldnt tell him no when he goes in wrong place as 1 - he may think you dont want him to wee/poo 2 - he will work out that he gets attention when he wees/poos inside and may do it just for this reason

As for stairs try putting him on lead and walk up stairs first (but dont drag him you dont want to scare him) keep lead tight so he cant move anywhere but up with you and wait till he gives up and follows you (sounds easy but may take time) then repeat till he relises that they arnt scary, you can also try this at a run so you would run around a bit(distracting him) then run up stairs and he may go up after you thinking its part of the game(maybe)

[Removed #5]

A comment on the stairs, many stairs at apartment complexes are concrete slabs ( the tread )with no back to them, it's a security precaution so you can tell if someone's hiding under the steps. However, dogs don't like this since they're not too sure about where their feet are going - they don't look down to see if they're putting their feet on something solid. Stairs that do have risers and treads normally don't cause as big a problem.

[HalcyonDays]

Hi everybody,

So the treats with stairs worked the very first time. I was extremely proud of him. But as we got more and more done, he easily got tired of it. I noticed that he really responded well to my praise, that motivated him a little further up. Eventually, he wouldn't move at all unless I physically put him in the middle of the staircase and have him go up or down. I don't know if I should be doing this, but what I noticed really helps him with going up the stairs is having me behind him, him almost between my legs, and my hands on his body somewhere. I don't know if that gives him a sense of security or not.

Today was also our first day out in the public with other people in the city. We usually only go for walks that are fairly solitary. I honestly was completely surprised as to whose dog I was walking all that time! He was as hyper and good as any puppy his age, and would often greet strangers and let them pet him until he was on the floor on his back. He was especially, especially good with other dogs that were on leashes, never barking first or initiating anything bad. What I really loved was that at PetSmart, when one of the trainers I Was talking to about possibly ways to make him feel more at home was holding his leash and walking him as I was carrying too much, he actually made sure to look at to see where I was and that I was following him. I totally felt like maybe this dog doesn't hate me after all.

With that said, he's listening to me more, and will actually come to me and hide when he's afraid of new people or what have you. My only issue now is when he's at home-- he goes straight into my room and refuses to go anywhere else in the house. There's no interest in exploring whatsoever. My second issue is the pottying. He has gone twice now-- one pee, one poop-- and has been very hard to work with. As I've mentioned, I take him out quite often, but he manages to hold it in until we get home and until he can find somewhere to do the deed. I caught him in the midst of peeing earlier, at the very beginning, and picked him up and carried him out. I think he was still peeing while I was carrying him. But when we got outside, he no longer wanted to go at all. I sat out there in the dark for about an hour with him, and he refusing to go.

Other than these two concerns, I'm sure he'll get used to me and his new home within a week or two, but I've yet to know how to tackle those two issues of lethargy and potty training.

I've signed him up for some puppy classes, so hopefully that will help things out a bit.

Here is a video of of him right now playing with some new toys I bought him today. It's been very hard to get him to play at all, but he's finally playing, and has managed to make the toy squeak now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89UXfA85z9Q

On a side note, I want to ask if all puppy's are like this? I understand he's a little older than normal when being adopted, but I feel like he's just so... non-puppy-ish. He should be bouncing all over the walls most of the time, wanting to play all the time, and wanting to go out, but it just feels like he wants to do nothing all day, and it causes me to be a little frustrated even though I try my best.

[Michelle Melsom]

Hi everybody,

So the treats with stairs worked the very first time. I was extremely proud of him. But as we got more and more done, he easily got tired of it. I noticed that he really responded well to my praise, that motivated him a little further up. Eventually, he wouldn't move at all unless I physically put him in the middle of the staircase and have him go up or down. I don't know if I should be doing this, but what I noticed really helps him with going up the stairs is having me behind him, him almost between my legs, and my hands on his body somewhere. I don't know if that gives him a sense of security or not.

Today was also our first day out in the public with other people in the city. We usually only go for walks that are fairly solitary. I honestly was completely surprised as to whose dog I was walking all that time! He was as hyper and good as any puppy his age, and would often greet strangers and let them pet him until he was on the floor on his back. He was especially, especially good with other dogs that were on leashes, never barking first or initiating anything bad. What I really loved was that at PetSmart, when one of the trainers I Was talking to about possibly ways to make him feel more at home was holding his leash and walking him as I was carrying too much, he actually made sure to look at to see where I was and that I was following him. I totally felt like maybe this dog doesn't hate me after all.

With that said, he's listening to me more, and will actually come to me and hide when he's afraid of new people or what have you. My only issue now is when he's at home-- he goes straight into my room and refuses to go anywhere else in the house. There's no interest in exploring whatsoever. My second issue is the pottying. He has gone twice now-- one pee, one poop-- and has been very hard to work with. As I've mentioned, I take him out quite often, but he manages to hold it in until we get home and until he can find somewhere to do the deed. I caught him in the midst of peeing earlier, at the very beginning, and picked him up and carried him out. I think he was still peeing while I was carrying him. But when we got outside, he no longer wanted to go at all. I sat out there in the dark for about an hour with him, and he refusing to go.

Other than these two concerns, I'm sure he'll get used to me and his new home within a week or two, but I've yet to know how to tackle those two issues of lethargy and potty training.

I've signed him up for some puppy classes, so hopefully that will help things out a bit.

Here is a video of of him right now playing with some new toys I bought him today. It's been very hard to get him to play at all, but he's finally playing, and has managed to make the toy squeak now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89UXfA85z9Q

On a side note, I want to ask if all puppy's are like this? I understand he's a little older than normal when being adopted, but I feel like he's just so... non-puppy-ish. He should be bouncing all over the walls most of the time, wanting to play all the time, and wanting to go out, but it just feels like he wants to do nothing all day, and it causes me to be a little frustrated even though I try my best.

Marius was never a bouncy puppy, Puppies actually nap quite a bit..there will be a bouncing time probably when hes a little bit older

[HalcyonDays]

I'm so proud of him!

Last night when I took him out and caught him peeing, it was being very adamant about it, but today when we woke up and he had his breakfast, he actually whined for me to get the leash, and within a block after we started walking, he pooped! Maybe he _is_ catching on!

We walked for another 30m after that and just got back in. He's back to collapsing to sleep under my feet. He seems to really lay there a lot these past 12 hours.

[Emma]

Well done, looks like things are starting to take off! Ice used to be somewhat similar and we got him at four months too. He hadn't had any toilet training so it was a mission to undo what the previous owners had allowed and then start from scratch. If your pup has runny poop then he will not be absorbing nutrients from the food as it's going straight through. This may account for some of the lethargy you mentioned.

[Removed #5]

As Michelle Melsom said, puppies sleep a lot so don't be surprised or too upset that he's not bouncing off the walls.

Your walk sounds like it went well, try to get him to wait for permission from you to engage someone on the street. Puppies are cute little attention getters, but when they get some weight on them they start to look dangerous ( to someone who doesn't know the breed! LOL )

I've kind of assumed since you said NYC that you lived in a high rise, then the comment about the stairs made me think more of an apartment complex ... you walk him on the street, I presume to a park of some kind, wheere he can do his business (( you do pick up after him, yes?? )) A little more about the situation that surrounds you and the little boy might be helpful.

One of the comments I made in another thread might apply here as well, at his age, he probably doesn't know that "he's got to go" much before it becomes a pressing need. Few dogs will mess in what they consider their den if they have the opportunity to do it outside ( er, someplace else ) it sounds to me as if he's considering your room his den and the rest of the apt "someplace else". On of the tools that have been used successfully are to restrict his movements to "his den" as much as possible - ths pretty much forces the issue (( others have used crate in a similar way )).

As for the leash problem, if you have a fairly short leash - let's say up to 5 feet or so - leave it on him in the house. This does two things: it makes him get used to the leash ( though watch that he doesn't get it wrapped around himself / other things ) and it gives you an immediate handle on the situation when you see him "looking".

When I played the vid of him and the squeaky toy, my two looked up at me / the monitor "Hey, what's that, dad??"

Keep going and keep the patience up, you're just getting started on a great life long adventure!!

[HalcyonDays]

As Michelle Melsom said, puppies sleep a lot so don't be surprised or too upset that he's not bouncing off the walls.

Your walk sounds like it went well, try to get him to wait for permission from you to engage someone on the street. Puppies are cute little attention getters, but when they get some weight on them they start to look dangerous ( to someone who doesn't know the breed! LOL )

I've kind of assumed since you said NYC that you lived in a high rise, then the comment about the stairs made me think more of an apartment complex ... you walk him on the street, I presume to a park of some kind, wheere he can do his business (( you do pick up after him, yes?? )) A little more about the situation that surrounds you and the little boy might be helpful.

One of the comments I made in another thread might apply here as well, at his age, he probably doesn't know that "he's got to go" much before it becomes a pressing need. Few dogs will mess in what they consider their den if they have the opportunity to do it outside ( er, someplace else ) it sounds to me as if he's considering your room his den and the rest of the apt "someplace else". On of the tools that have been used successfully are to restrict his movements to "his den" as much as possible - ths pretty much forces the issue (( others have used crate in a similar way )).

As for the leash problem, if you have a fairly short leash - let's say up to 5 feet or so - leave it on him in the house. This does two things: it makes him get used to the leash ( though watch that he doesn't get it wrapped around himself / other things ) and it gives you an immediate handle on the situation when you see him "looking".

When I played the vid of him and the squeaky toy, my two looked up at me / the monitor "Hey, what's that, dad??"

Keep going and keep the patience up, you're just getting started on a great life long adventure!!

Al,

I live in a residential apartment building that has about 2-3 floors, each one devoted to a family. They're all the same; 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. We have a large backyard that is 95% pavement/cement, and a small little dash of dirt around a tree. Each floor is divided into two small sets of stairs, about 7-8 steps per stair. We're on the second floor, so he has to get through about 15 steps before we get to the ground. Right now, I'm just generally walking him to any area that has trees and grass around. As long as he doesn't pull me, I let him go wherever he wants to and make sure he doesn't eat anything off the street. I do pick up after him, but the diarrhea poop is a little harder to deal with though.

There's no need to restrict his movement as he stays in here willingly and is afraid to go out. I have the door open right now, and even when I walk out, or lure him with treats to come out and explore, he won't. He was willing to go about the house yesterday after our failed walk, but still insisted on sitting by my door and waiting for me to open it.

He's still snoozing from his walk (it's been about 40m since) and is just whining in his sleep. I'll try again with the stairs to get him to go down in a little bit, and we can hopefully go on the Subway to get to Prospect Park or something later today.

[HalcyonDays]

Back from the second walk, and apparently, the first poop earlier was a fluke. It was another 20-30m walk, and throughout that whole time, he tried to eat 6-7 things off the street, and successfully ate 3-4 of it before I could pull it out of his mouth. Some of them I noticed were leaves, but some of the worse ones were a chicken bone someone left on the street, and another I think was a rock. Both I was able to pull out at least. He hasn't exhibited this habit at all, so I don't know what's causing him to do this. Is he hungry? I feed him two bowls a day; once in the morning and again at night.

Despite it being such a long walk, again, he has refused to pee outside and held it in until we got home. Within a second of me turning around to fill his water bowl with fresh water, he peed on the carpet. I lifted him up and he stopped peeing at least, but again, once outside, refused to do so again. How can I possibly fix this? The rest of the family suggests I just leave him outside until he gets used to peeing outside, but I think that's a very bad idea. Not only is he not comfortable in my home yet and refuses to go out, but it won't teach him what is and isn't acceptable inside the house, and we're back to square one.

That brings up the question of comfort-- while he's outside, he's very relaxed and greets everybody. If I give somebody a treat, he'll sit down and wait for it patiently until he gets it, and is like a totally different dog. However, I notice he doesn't listen to much at all, especially when I'm trying to get his attention. At home, he's just lethargic, wants to be alone all the time, walks around my small room with his head down and shoulders sagging, and refuses to go outside for more than a few minutes before he's up against my door and begging to be let in. I notice while he's lying down, he whines and cries quite a bit.

While I love this dog's personality when he's outside, I feel like I'm getting frustrated with the situation. I definitely don't think these dogs were for me.