Hey I just got my new puppy and I have a few questions as a first time dog owner. He is almost three months old and really sweet and excited all the time. I just wanted to ask a few questions and see if I can get some responses. All are appreciated in advance.

1. He gets so excited that he slightly pee’s when he sees my wife. Any way to stop this? I told her not to speak in such a high pitch voice when she first sees him.

2. I keep him in a pen with a crate, toys and pee pads. The pee pads cover about 50% of the pen and when he is in there he is really good about using him. When I catch him going on the pad I try to give him a tiny treat and lots of praises. When we let him out, he tends to go wherever he feels like it. I try to catch him doing the floor sniff when he wants to poop and put him back in the pen, but I can never predict when he pees. Any advice, I know he is still really young and new but I want him to only pee on the pads and go there when needed.

3. I feed him Orijen and his poops have been kinda soft. He also has gotten a few tiny specks of non-fat cheese and strawberries as a small treat. Wonder if that has anything to do with the soft stool.

4. The breeder gave him to us with all his puppy shots and worming’s. My question is whether or when should I start him on flea or worming pills?

5. I got a crate in the pen but it is always open, I only close it when I need to change the pad or something like that. Is there any usefulness to ever keeping him inside the crate with the door closed?

6. Whenever we take him out he is usually really excited and runs around like crazy. I try to teach him to be patient sometimes and just stop on command or relax before I take him out of the crate but he hasn’t been doing that. Any recommendations on how to make him sit or just relax for a second on command?

Sorry for the huge post and questions but all insight is really appreciated.

1. Not sure I think some puppies take awhile to gain bladder control. Some also do a submissive pee as well, but I would think if you have a puppy puppy its just learning bladder control. Boys can need belly bands though to control their little dinger.

2. I don't use pee pads so no advice there but a little one needs constant and I do mean constant supervision. They say an hour per month they can hold it, but my little gal goes very frequently. I use a shower curtain in her x pen in case she has an accident when I can't have her with someone in the family. The moment you see him do his potty ritual take him to the pad and pick a word to use each time & reward with loving or treat once he has gone in desired spot.

3. I transitioned to Orijen and had loose loose stools. I was doing a 50:50 mix initially and it was too Orijen rich for her little system. A sudden change in food will cause that and is hard on their system so change food gradually.

4. Schedule an appointment with your vet. You really should take him to the vet so that they have an immediate history for their records and just so you know the health and well being of your puppy. Annuals are important even if the puppy appears to be the picture of health.

5. No advice on this as I am crate training so I do use the door close feature at night and for car trips. Not sure what folks do when the crate is in the pen, but someone who does this will share what they do.

6. We are working on an extended sit here. Seconds at a time ~ it's a work in progress for an active puppy so I have nothing great to report other than we are up to about 10-15 seconds at a clip. Consistency in words used and training procedures is a must I do know that. And little training sessions throughout the day they say are "better" than an extended long session.

Hope something here helps & others will have tons of advice too
Congrats on the new puppy ~ enjoy the little guy

Hi and welcome! I've never had an excited pee-er, but I'm sure down-playing the interaction is the right thing to do. Personally, I would probably not even talk to him upon returning home (at least until it's under control) and just try to be really calm.

A lot of people will keep their puppies crated when they can't supervise them, because puppies are not likely to void where they sleep. We got really lucky with our chihuahua Odie and she only had a couple of accidents before she "got" using pee pads. However, in the beginning she was only allowed in our living room where we spend most of our time so it was easy to keep an eye on her. It sounds like the playpen is a really good idea. When you can't watch him constantly, you might want to try putting him in there since he gets what to do in a limited space. He might just need some more time getting used to it.

We only crated ours at night. In the beginning, we would have to get up every couple hours though to let her out to pee and eat. Now she sleeps on our bed with us, but I'm glad that she got so comfortable with her crate because now she has no problem being locked in if we go to the vet or something. Do you want him to use pee pads forever? I'm just asking because Odie is 100% trained to use them, and we would like to go outside only and it's a long long road unless you're willing to go back to crate training.

Has he had his first vet visit yet? Since almost all puppies get worms, it's a good idea to get dewormer. The time between giving dewormer changes depending on the puppies age. We're lucky and don't have fleas where we live, so I haven't had to deal with the flea thing at all! As for the craziness, that's totally normal in a young puppy!! Try to give him a lot of exercise, and tire him out. One of the first things we taught Odie was that she had to be calm and sit nicely, not looking at her bowl, before we put her food down. Good luck!

My 14 week old does excited pees sometimes. My 5month old did too but he grew out of it about a month ago. Less fuss being made when people greet your pup should help.

Potty training is a trying time but just be patient, you're doing the right things. Again my 14 week old little girl is still getting there. My older male pup was way worse than the little girl but he just seemed to get it overnight at about 17 or 18 weeks old. Just hang in there with the repitition and you will find that your puppy will get its bladded under control and you will have far fewer 'accidents'

Good luck and enjoy your puppy!

Hi so glad you picked a chih they are wonderful little friends forever have patience and just relax and play and enjoy time with them my buster sleeps with us hes family good luck

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my buster

Hello and congratulations!! Hopefully pictures soon???

On the excited peeing.. the best thing would be for your wife to come home and ignore pup for a bit. take her shoes off, get something to drink and talk to you for a few minutes and then greet the pup. Give her a few minutes to gain her composure and calm down a bit. lol If she doesnt greet her until she calms down than they pup will learn to stay calm when she comes in. I did this with all of mine and they dont act like fools when I come home. lol Of course I just dont like a bunch of crazy acting dogs...

The crate set up sounds perfect. The same as how I have mine all set up. When you let her out of her area.. only let her into one room and have a pee pad in there too. I have a pad in every room the pups are allowed into at this point. When she gets older and is doing well with them you can start to pick up the pads one at a time until you get down to one pad for the house. But start with one per room. Mine do great with this but will not go to another area for a pad yet and they are 17 weeks old with pee pad training started at 3 weeks.

I dont see any need to close her in her crate if there is no problems. She will probably go into her crate a lot to sleep on her own.

Definitely a vet check and yes will probably need flea and wormer stuff.

I dont know anything about orijen but I feel wysong epigen and fresh foods 2x a day and mine do well. I like to add some fruits, cottage cheese, yogurt, and various meats and cheeses to their diets. Just add foods one at a time to see if there is a problem. Taste of hte wild is also a good food if you think you need to switch.

As for sitting patiently.. Just everytime she is overexcited just ignore her. When she calms down you start getting ready again. The first few times will take longer but she will learn that calmness gets things moving while excitement loses your attention. I train very heavily for calmness all the time. Its just a matter of treating and giving attention only when calm and just ignore them when they are acting nuts. Be sure she is getting some good running time in the yard. No leash etc.. just free play like you would do for kids to get her energy out.

Have fun!! Puppies are just awesome!! I have 3 going right now and its the most fun I've ever had! LOL

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Michelle and..
Susu, Ginger, Cori, Cinna & Fen say Hi!

Having dogs is like having beautiful innocent children who never grow up.
All the best parts of childhood are right there with wagging tails.

Anyone who ever wondered if I was crazy lost all doubt once they saw me with 5 chihuahuas in clothes!!

Thanks for all the replies. He's going to vet by the end of the week for a checkup just in case. Also to check his stool. Otherwise patience is probably the most important thing for everything else.

Both my dogs have very firm poops when they eat Orijen, so I suspect that the little bits of cheese and strawberries are the culprits in making your dog's poop soft.

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