Hi all

i' ve been reading your posts but it's been some time since i posted. since the temperature quite dropped now i started looking for another pup. my chi had died of parvo within two days of getting there so i was really scared. we have only ceramic tiles in the house (lives in Malta) and we bleached thoroughly as well as threw away everything the other pup touched. which wasn't much except for the things in her area since she was only with us for two days. the vet said that although there is some risk we did everything we could to eliminate it. i'm still scared but we're taking it a day at a time and i'll run to the vet if i see any lethargy or lack of appetite of vomiting or diarrhea or anything abnormal.

i have succeeded in finding a puppy i adore. from the purebred female that i wanted i now have a mixed breed male who's adorable. he is as small sized as i wished since he is mixed between a pug and a chi. he came home on 22nd september. two days ago

i want to litter train him. i will still take him out for his daily walk, but i prefer that he does his business on litter / newspaper in a fixed spot in the house so he'll be free to go whenever he wants. since he is still young (7 weeks) we are crating him most of the time to help him train better. obviously we still take him out to play etc and we're constantly with him. presently he seem to have got the trick. he is soiling only on newspapers and sleeps in the appropriate area. as time goes by we are going to enlarge his space until he has full run of most of the house. do you think that's good?

he bites / chews a lot. we bought him a 'bone' to chew on and a softer squeaky toy. it seems to be getting a bit better as long as you stop him immediately when he starts biting / chewing on your hand etc. i've read that it's normal with that age. if i keep correcting him is there a good chance he'll stop. by correcting i mean saying 'eqq' or 'no' in a firm voice and gently removing my hand.

i took him for his first vet visit the day i got him and he was treated by the routine medication for worms. he'll get his first vaccine on 6.10.10. so we're not allowing him outside, near shoes, and are washing the floor constantly and even so we're not leaving him a lot on the floor cause we're scared something will happen to him especially because of my chi.

also what are the chances that if i neuter him early he'll remain peeing like this, with no leg lifting? i plan to neuter him as early as possible, once i talk it over with the vet of course.

is it normal for puppies to sleep a lot. i mean he's awake he plays a lot. he eats normally (some 40g of dry food as suggested. he can take up to 55g but he does no eat it all). but he sleeps a lot in between though energetic. is it normal?

sorry for ranting on, i know it's a chi forum but he is crossed with chis btw if you would like to see pics tell me, i'll post

Wow, so young to be away from mom & siblings, which is one reason he is so bitey as they learn bite inhibition from their littermates/mom during the weeks 6-8 or 9, so you will have to take over that part. Make sure he has a lot of bones/toys etc to chew on. Yes it is normal for a puppy that age to sleep a lot. They are still growing & developing and that in and of itself can be taxing on their little systems. Just like newborn babies sleep a lot so do puppies. Congrats on your pup, can't wait to see pictures. So what is he crossed with?

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thanks that's what i thought cause i was searching a lot on the subject even before i got him. the owner wanted to be rid of them as soon as they started eating it seems, he only asked for a low homing fee especially as they are cross breed. he's mixed with pugs. mother pug dad chi. with the toys we're already seeing a bit of improvement, hopefully he'll keep improving. i'll post pics vry sn

pics are posted... 'pics of my chug puppy' on the 'other pets' section

Congrats on your new pup! Sounds like you're on the right track with potty training. My 2 girls are trained to use a grass patch/indoor potty system. When Kahlua was a pup, I had it set up so that one side of a crate was her bed/food/toys and the other was the grass patch. They naturally don't want to soil their bed, so they instinctively move to whatever other option they have (in your case the newpapers/litter). Eventually you just keep enlarging the bed area , like you said, until the dog associates the whole house as being a 'no soil' territory. It works well because in a way the dogs are basically training themselves by using their own natural aversion. Now, mine will go potty outside if I let them; but if we arent home she'll go to the effort of seeking out the potty patch to go there if she needs to, no matter where it is. Its the beauty of substrate preference!

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thank you yes that's what i'm planning up to now it's working, now we'll see how he goes in some time when his area is larger. but he likes being fussed over so maybe he'll do the extra effort cause we always praise him a lot when he does it right