7 week old puppy, need help quick!?

Question

I have just recently gotten a 6-7 week old puppy from the pound. :(

She is a Cocker Spaniel X Mini poodle. And possibly something else.

I need to know what, and how much to feed her. I will NOT buy crappy supermarket dog food!

Also when should I start toilet training her? And how would I do this?

When should I start her on the lead, and buy her a new collar?

And what age should I start training her? (Jump, sit, lie down etc.)

I'd like answers with websites, or long answers. ;)

Also can I give her human milk?

And how do get her weight up, she's all boney? :(

Also, what are signs that she may have kennel cough?

Because it's currently going round the pound, but she was only there for two days

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

all the name brand dog foods are good. they are actually regulated with more scrutiny than people food. i prefer beneful. dry dog food is best. look for the "puppy food" on label, it has milk additives. stay on puppy chow for 6 months to 1 year.

potty training should start right away. as soon as your puppy finishes each meal or a large drink of water, take it out to "go potty outside" praise your puppy when it goes potty outside. stick with one phrase. take it out often, especially if it starts sniffing around at a place on the floor for no apparent reason. scold it when it goes in the house. some people say rubbing the dogs nose in it when it goes in the house is cruel and i partially agree, do so only as a last resort. make up a box or hutch for sleeping time at night. dogs will not go potty in their "bedroom". it should be about two to three foot square.

lead training can begin right away also. traditional lead training says dog on left, but it is more important to for dog to learn to keep pace with you and not lead you. when it is straining at the end of leash stand still till it stops pulling. when it walks at your side, praise it.

new collars as it grows. if you can slip it over their ears, it is too loose. if you cannot slide a couple of fingers easily between collar and neck, too tight. regular collar like a belt is best. choke collars are cruel.

NO HUMAN MILK!

her weight will come up on it's own, don't worry. a little can puppy food will help, about a half a can at a time. mix it with the dry puppy food. as soon as her ribs stop showing, go back to dry food only. you should be able to see the last rib and a defined stomach throughout the dog's whole life.

kennel cough sounds like if you are sneezing into a handkerchief. if she is doing this a lot, take to vet.

get signed up with a vet right away. your puppy will need about three visits over the first five or six months, shots etc... then you will just need monthly heartworm and flea preventitave (get from your vet) annual exams and shots.

Answer 2

Wow, that's a lot of questions! First puppy?

I always recommend Orijen dog food (you'd obviously want their puppy formula), and I personally feel it's the highest-quality kibble on the market right now. But, if you are worried about the high protein (some people feel puppies should be kept off very high-protein diets), then I'd go with Canidae All Life Stages. Canidae is an excellent food (and they recently improved their formula even more) and both of my dogs did wonderfully on it when they were pups. I recommend it wholeheartedly for any puppy, but you will likely need to soften it in warm water for the first few weeks or your little girl may have trouble chewing it.

As for how much, that will depend on her age and weight, and it will also differ depending on the kind of food you choose. After you choose your food, check the bag for the recommended feeding amounts, and split that into 3-4 meals. This is a good place to start, but some puppies will need more or less food. After a while, you will get to know how much she needs to eat. You will need to feed her 3-4 times per day until she is 5-6 months old, then you can switch to two meals.

Start housetraining her today! The earlier you start, the better. You will need to take her out very often at first, like every hour or so, and at least once at night. As for the process, it's pretty straightforward...you'll want to take her outside to the area you want her to learn to go. This isn't play time, so try to keep her focused on what you're there to do. Stand with her (if she has a tendency to wander off or lose interest, you may want to take her out on a leash at first), and repeat her "potty word." I just use "go potty." Say it several times, and when she finally goes, go crazy with praise, and if she's food motivated, treats can really help. And then you repeat this over and over and over for days or weeks or months, or however long it takes her to learn. For some dogs it can be quick, for some dogs it's a long process. Many people choose tor crate train, although I have never used this method. I know how, but since I've never done it myself, I don't feel right giving you advice on it. I'm sure someone else will, or you can read about it yourself online.

If she has an accident in the house, don't make a big deal about it, and ONLY correct her if you catch her in the act (just a firm "NO" will do). If you find an accident but didn't actually catch her doing it, it won't do anything to yell at her. She won't understand. You need to clean the mess completely, because she may decide to go in the same spot over and over if she can still smell it. They sell special cleaners for this. I actually bought a small carpet cleaner, because I had to housetrain two puppies in the same year. It saved my sanity.

You can start her on a collar and leash right away, but keep in mind that she has not had all of her shots yet and should not be taken out around your neighborhood until she has. You can have her practice wearing the collar and leash around your house during this time. It does take some dogs a while to get used to it, but she will eventually learn to ignore it. One of my dogs really hated hers at first, but now she is the first one to come up to me and sit patiently for me to put it on when it's time to go out.

As for commands, you can really start training her now, but don't expect her to "get it" right away. At this age, puppies have almost no attention span or capacity for learning anything too complicated. Start with "sit," since it's the easiest thing to teach. Keep the training sessions short and upbeat, and be patient. I used plain kibble to teach mine, but many people use treats. Just hold the piece of food in front of your dog's face, and keeping it just out of her reach, slowly move it back over her head so your pup has to look up at it. Say "sit" as you do this. The motion of looking up at the treat should make her sit almost automatically. When her butt hits the floor, she gets praise and a treat. If you do this over and over, she will associate the word with the action. I taught one of my togs to sit within 10 minutes using this method, although she was 10 weeks old at the time. A 6-7 week old pup is probably not going to get it quite as fast.

Do NOT give her human milk. Dogs are essentially lactose-intolerant (although some are ok with very small amounts), and you will likely give your pup diarrhea if you let her drink milk.

Some puppies go through a sort of scrawny phase, or maybe she was never properly fed. You don't need to try and rush weight gain - just make sure you're feeding her a good quality kibble. She'll put on weight as she eats and grows.

You'll know if she has kennel cough because she will keep coughing.  Puppies don't normally cough, so if she's doing it, she likely has it. If you suspect she has it, she needs to get to the vet ASAP so you can get rid of it. Here's some great info: http://www.chathamani

Answer 3

lets start with toilet training now is a good time when puppy gets up in the morning take it out stay with her when she goes give her lots of praise make her feel good that she went outside then bring her in when u see her eat or drink (mor that a l**k or 2) wait 5-10 mins take her out again wait till she goes and more praise this worked for all of my ids dogs i ended up training lol

now about food go to pet sore and ask for samples of good quality PUPPY food ask them to recommend some try different ones on her till u find 1 she likes then buy that one

now training ur puppy is old enough to start learning tricks so again now is a good time to start pick 1 thing like sit say the word clearly push puppys but to floor at same time and much praise when she dous also a nice little treat helps stick with same thing all week say 3-4 times a day next week add a different 1 but remember to do sit also keep going till she does all the things u want repetition is the key but do not do it too many times right in a row they have short atttention span after all shes still just a puppy and her mind will easily get distracted it is best to train when there is just u puppy and nothing else around (no tv radio other ppl or animals)

get puppy used to collar now and start with leash as soon as puppy walks well with no tripping and falling it maybe that she is ready for this right now mostlikely she is but im not there to see her so use ur judgement if she can walk good with out "tripping over her own feet" as the saying goes she is ready for leash

now as forpuppy diseases take her to vet she is a part of ur family if u thought you or your child was sick or nrrdrd shots you would go so treat her like u would urself or any other family member ur puppy shold live a long happy healthy kife if u do this

good luck also i think www.pedigree.com has a website about these things and petsmart and petco have things to help with ur questions go there and ask

Answer 4

Well this is interesting.  Why didn't the staff at the shelter answer all your questions?  After all, it is expected that a "responsible" breeder inform the buyer of everything!  And heaven forbid a breeder send home a "bony" pup that might have kennel cough!

Answer 5

well first of all.. the pound should have known not to sell a puppy that young.

second of all there are a TON of great training videos you might want to try. i've heard that Nutro Max is a good food to feed them. Start house training asap. i wouldnt give dogs human milk my dog got sick everytime. and kennel cough is usually like a bronchitis for us so coughing and hacking all the time a greenish phlem coming up.

Answer 6

the pound gave you the puppy quite young ^_^.

anyway, noo human milk dogs are lactose intolerant.

get puppy formula at the vet.

feed her about half cup of dry half cup of wet.

2-3times a day.

try to houstrain immediatly or else she will go in the house.

bring her outsiide and dont let her back in until she goes, then praise and let her in.

you can train at whatever age younger the better though.

kennel cough symptoms are a low cough if you didnt hear it by now she dosent have it.

congrads on your new pup and be sure to post pics soon~ id like to see this baby i have a miniature poodle. a purebred though =]

add: let all your dogs out at the same time if the puppy sees them go she will most likely follow, oldr dogs who are already trained helps puppies alot =]

Answer 7

First, sign up for puppy classes NOW, and get her vet check done asap.

to housebreak, start now.  puppy classes will help answer many of your questions.

NO, DO NOT give "human" milk... do you mean cow's milk?  either one is not meant for dogs.  they are bad, and cause diarrhea and other health problems.

puppy classes will be for obedience training, which is the first kind of training all dogs must learn and most important before any other kind of training should occur.

kennel cough will be diagnosed by your vet when you do vet check.

you get her weight up by feeding her good food, during her vet check ,she will be dewormed and vaccinated, and that will also help her gain weight.

you should purchase her collar and a lead now, and can start training her on it right now, which is advisable.

most of your answers can be answered by two things:

obedience class and veterinarian appointment.  

good luck

Answer 8

you really should have found this out before actually getting the dog...

start potty training now.find a good website for helping you potty train.

you can buy her a new collar now, but as for walks wait until she has all puppy shots.

start training her now.

no human milk, dogs are lactose intolerant, it will make the pup sick.

find her a high quality food to help her gain weight

symptoms of kennel cough are dry, hacking cough followed by retching, and coughing up a white foamy discharge..they will usually start having symptoms a week after they have been exposed to it.

ill get you some good websites.

potty training: http://www.mahalo.com/How_to_potty_train...

puppy training: http://www.perfectpaws.com/pupstuff.html

http://www.placervillevet.com/puppy_care...