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Meet the latest addition to our family

M

MrsBugi

Platinum Member
EDIT: New picture! 🙂

My husband and I adopted a puppy on Monday. His previous owners hit him when he misbehaved, neglected to take him to a vet for any shots (and took him to the park to play with other dogs, which is a big no-no since he has not been vaccinated yet!!), and gave him up because they both got full-time jobs and decided that they didn't have the time to care for an animal anymore. 🙁 This kind of attitude and irresponsible behavior makes me sad and angry - animals are not disposable toys. Once you adopt or purchase a pet, you have made a commitment to it for the rest of its life, and for a dog that may be 15 or even 20 years.

That being said, we have decided to name him Boba. He was born on December 15, 2005 and is 3 months old. His mother is a Chihuahua and his father is a Shih-tzu, making him a Chi-tzu or a Shih-huahua. 😛 He is currently 4 lbs. and will grow to be 7-10 lbs. My husband wants a big dog, which we will get when we buy a house. I have an affinity for smaller, "dust mop"-esque dogs, which Boba certainly is.

So far, he has peed and pooped everywhere from my husband's computer case to electrical wires to our bed (we let him sleep in it because he whines so much left on the floor or in his kennel). I have enrolled in puppy training classes which begin on Thursday, and hope to have him potty-trained soon.

I took him to the vet yesterday for his first set of shots, and have a full check-up scheduled for Friday. I hope he's healthy, and we look forward to 15+ years of loving him. 🙂

Pictures:

Boba 1

Boba 2

Boba 3

Boba 4

Boba 5

Boba 6

Boba 7

Boba 8

Boba 9

Boba 10

:heart:

Some puppy-raising questions:

1. How often should you give a puppy treats? I understand they should be used as treats in behavioral training, but right now I find myself rewarding him frequently for just being precious.

2. Is there a way to stop him from whining so much? He doesn't bark at all, but he whimpers whenever we go out of sight.

3. From the size of his paws, is the full-grown 7-10 lb. estimate we received accurate?

4. Are there any other effective ways of acceptable disciplining besides "NO!" and a spray bottle?
 
Cute puppy!

Don't ask me about dog training though...my dog is 7 years old and we still have to send him outside with a muzzle so he doesn't piss off the neighbors with his barking.
 
Very cute dog. Will his hair end up growing out to a Shih-Tzu length, or will he get the short-haired Chihuahua look?
 
Originally posted by: dabuddha
How the fvck could they hit that little thing? :|
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I don't know, but they did. 🙁 He is still a little nervous and when he does something wrong he runs away or cringes expecting punishment, but all we do is yell "NO!" or spritz him with a water bottle. I hope he grows out of it and forgets his brief abusive history soon.
 
Originally posted by: geecee
Very cute dog. Will his hair end up growing out to a Shih-Tzu length, or will he get the short-haired Chihuahua look?
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Right now it seems it's kind of in-between. It's very soft as opposed to wiry, and I'm not sure if that's because he's just a baby or if that will be how he is when he is full-grown. Certain hairs around his head are longer than others, creating an afro or halo-like effect. It's quite charming on him. 🙂
 
Oh to try and help you out with some of your questions

Treats should be used as sparingly as possible when not training

About the whinning/barking your going to have to get used to it. I remember when I first got my puppy and he had to spend the night in his cage he wouldn't shut up but he needs to get used to it so it usually ends after the second or third night. SO maybe try it on a friday.

Dog sizes range but if he a terrier I think your estimation is pretty accurate

Another good discpling tool is to put coins in a bottle and whenever he is bad put the bottle near him and shake it hard they hate the loud noise. After a while you won't even need to shake it they will see the bottle and understand
 
He is gorgeous. and you will certainly gain some reward points in heaven for giving him a loving home.

If he is atune to your displeasure when he does things that he his not supposed to, i would say that you are on the right track with as stern voice and water bottle when necessary. Dogs are pack animals that want to serve/please the alpha in their lives.

He needs to be fed and walked at the same time every day. And puppy training classes are a good thing. Expensive, but they are experts for a reason.

Good luck... and Kudos!

🙂
 
Originally posted by: Finns14
Oh to try and help you out with some of your questions

Treats should be used as sparingly as possible when not training

About the whinning/barking your going to have to get used to it. I remember when I first got my puppy and he had to spend the night in his cage he wouldn't shut up but he needs to get used to it so it usually ends after the second or third night. SO maybe try it on a friday.

Dog sizes range but if he a terrier I think your estimation is pretty accurate

Another good discpling tool is to put coins in a bottle and whenever he is bad put the bottle near him and shake it hard they hate the loud noise. After a while you won't even need to shake it they will see the bottle and understand
Click to expand...

I appreciate the info, Finns14. I will try to cut down on the number of treats I give him, as I feed him 5-10 treats/day for no specific reason. We'll try to deal with the whining this weekend, 2-3 days to have the behavior extinguish is better than having our bed peed in!

He is 1/2 Shih tzu, 1/2 Chihuahua, but he does look like a terrier. I'll also try the coin-in-a-cup shaking. Would that hurt his eardrums or be okay?
 
Originally posted by: KarenMarie
He is gorgeous. and you will certainly gain some reward points in heaven for giving him a loving home.

If he is atune to your displeasure when he does things that he his not supposed to, i would say that you are on the right track with as stern voice and water bottle when necessary. Dogs are pack animals that want to serve/please the alpha in their lives.

He needs to be fed and walked at the same time every day. And puppy training classes are a good thing. Expensive, but they are experts for a reason.

Good luck... and Kudos!

🙂
Click to expand...

Thank you, KarenMarie! Boba seems very submissive, and I suspect he pees in submission at times. I hope to ease him out of that habit as well, and will certainly do my best to be a good mommy. I bought a "Puppy Training for Dummies" book, but would definitely feel more confident (and expect faster results!) working with a professional puppy trainer. We actually found a great deal - eight 1.5 hour lessons for only $160! I am excited to begin. 🙂
 
Some puppy-raising questions:

1. How often should you give a puppy treats? I understand they should be used as treats in behavioral training, but right now I find myself rewarding him frequently for just being precious.

-- Try to make them mean something ... or stick to his favorites for the training, and give him something totally different because he is damn cute.

2. Is there a way to stop him from whining so much? He doesn't bark at all, but he whimpers whenever we go out of sight.

-- Hope that he grows out of it? 😛 We're lucky with our dog, he is a quiet one. Just ignore the whining for a while, and he'll realize it isn't getting him the attention he desires anyway.

3. From the size of his paws, is the full-grown 7-10 lb. estimate we received accurate?

-- looks like that should be about right.

4. Are there any other effective ways of acceptable disciplining besides "NO!" and a spray bottle?

-- Whatever you do, don't kennel him for discipline reasons. Let that be a safe haven ... you might want to start training him to sleep there too, especially if you plan to have other dogs in the future. You want your husband's german shepherd in bed with you too? 🙂

Good luck! And kudos for rescuing a dog in need.

 
you may wanna fatten him up a bit before eating him. hes looken kinda skinney. but all in all looks to be a pretty tasty treet.

OOO maby serve him as the apatizer and get a bigger one for the main course 🙂
 
Originally posted by: TheoPetro
you may wanna fatten him up a bit before eating him. hes looken kinda skinney. but all in all looks to be a pretty tasty treet.

OOO maby serve him as the apatizer and get a bigger one for the main course 🙂
Click to expand...

:|

😛
 
The dog is really cute.

Discipline for BIG dogs, you can used a rolled up newspaper behind the back legs. Not hard, but just a slight tap to tell them they did something bad, you need to reinforce the punishment with a steady "NO".

For small dogs, I don't know, but possibly the same thing with something smaller and be a lot more gentle. Or you could just give it a time out and put it in an area caged around with a loud "NO". It must be right after they do something bad though. That way it will understand what it did.
 
Originally posted by: MrsBugi
Some puppy-raising questions:

1. How often should you give a puppy treats? I understand they should be used as treats in behavioral training, but right now I find myself rewarding him frequently for just being precious.

2. Is there a way to stop him from whining so much? He doesn't bark at all, but he whimpers whenever we go out of sight.

3. From the size of his paws, is the full-grown 7-10 lb. estimate we received accurate?

4. Are there any other effective ways of acceptable disciplining besides "NO!" and a spray bottle?
Click to expand...


1) There is really no set time or anything... you use them as a reward. You don't give them out for half-assing it, and by no means should you bring the dog a treat... always make them come to you for it! If being cute and doing nothing special is the behavior you want the dog to retain, then by all means give him treats for doing nothing and being cute. 😉 Never reward a dog for simply doing something it's supposed to do. You don't give them treats when they are on the couch and jump down, you don't give them treats when they get done relieving themselves outside, things like that.

You'd be surprised at how exact dogs can get. If you teach a dog to lay down until you release them, make sure they don't come up to a sit position until you say it's okay. If a dog lays down while supposed to be sitting, pull them back to a sit until you say it's okay for them to do otherwise.

2) It's like letting a baby cry it out. If he whimpers when he's away from you, if you do nothing but come running, his learned behavior is to whimper whenever he wants you. Ignore the whimpering entirely unless there is an apparent problem. It may take months for it to stop, but it will.

3) The product of a Chiuauauauauauhuhaha and a Shi-tzu... he'll probably never see 20 pounds unless you over feed.

4) Yes, there are a few, but they require a bit more patience in human/trainer's ability not to use shouting and spray bottles as a release from their frustration.

If you're teaching a trick, or you want the dog to not go into certain rooms of the house or something, if it does/doesn't do what you want, you sorta press rewind and reset the scenerio from before the dog made the mistake. For instance, if the dog insists on jumping on the furniture but is not supposed to be up there, you pick them up, set them back on the floor (you could even say "No" as you do it) and leave the decision to remain on the floor to the dog. If it jumps up again, you grab them and set them down again.

If you're teaching a trick, it's okay to give up after a few tries, but as above, don't reward the dog for half-assing it unless you made some good progress.
 
Originally posted by: DaShen
The dog is really cute.

Discipline for BIG dogs, you can used a rolled up newspaper behind the back legs. Not hard, but just a slight tap to tell them they did something bad, you need to reinforce the punishment with a steady "NO".

For small dogs, I don't know, but possibly the same thing with something smaller and be a lot more gentle. Or you could just give it a time out and put it in an area caged around with a loud "NO". It must be right after they do something bad though. That way it will understand what it did.
Click to expand...

Never use physical contact as the means for disciplining a dog. This only teaches them agression, even if it's mostly harmless contact. You'd punish a dog for only taking a small nip at your hand, so it's not okay for giving the dog a small swat or tap.
 
Originally posted by: KarenMarie
He needs to be fed and walked at the same time every day. And puppy training classes are a good thing. Expensive, but they are experts for a reason.

Good luck... and Kudos!

🙂
Click to expand...

Entirely agree with the classes. Make sure you meet the trainer before you sign up. Ask what sort of experience they have. My mom once took a class ran by a lady that had only taken the previous instructor's class three times before and no other training. (side note: avoid chain pet store classes if possible. 😉 )
 
Finns, Patt, and Injury are all 'spot' on.

I went through the same deal when I got my Gretel (now 5 years old).

1. Treats as a pup should really only be for training.

2. Most of the time dogs outgrow whimpering as they adjust to your schedule; mine did.

3. Shitzus usually stay in that weight range

4. Don't do physical punishments, like whacking or pinching. I found with my dog that saying NO and then ignoring her for a brief time (15 seconds) worked well. If she did something really bad (like when I caught her eating my computer mouse) I gave her a 'timeout' on a leash in a room away from people for about a minute. Dogs have VERY short attention spans, so if you keep them punished for long periods of time, they don't realize why they're being punished.
If your dog grabs something (like your socks or whatever) and starts to run but waits for you to chase him, just turn your back on him. He'll realize you're not going to play chase, will drop whatever he's grabbed, and look for some other way to play with you.
You can also 'trade' with a dog. If he has your socks, hold out a chew toy and he'll go for the toy 99% of the time, dropping the socks. That teaches him 'give', and also teaches what he can and cannot chew on.

That's all I can think of for now. I'll post more if I can think of anything else that hasn't been posted yet.
 
Cute dog. For training, stick to verbal discipline. Say no in a loud, sharp voice.

I'm normally a complete asshole, but, ironically, I don't have the heart to even use a spray bottle when training a dog.
 
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