|
pugs are great!
I am a new proud owner of a
2month old pug and i just had some questions.
1. I understand that he's
teething at this age and i have plenty of toys
for him to chew on but he just LOVES toes and
fingers!!! what can i do to stop this?? will he
grow out of it?
2. I've had him for about 2
weeks and whenever i put him back in his home he
cries, barks and yelps anything i can do about
this? or its just normal cuz he's a baby?
any help will be very much
appreciated
THANKS!
fellow pug lover.
|
|
A.
1. I found I had to be really stern, I made
a loud noise when he started to chew on
me... and then he would stop, I praised him
and gave him the correct chew toy. I spent
a lot of time holding the chew toy, he
seemed to just want to be close to me AND
chew, so as long as I was holding the toy he
grew out of it. I HIGHLY recommend getting
the Nylabones for puppies, My pug likes them
much more than fingers.
2. As far as the barking in the crate goes,
I had to just learn to ignore it. Try
leaving him in there for just a few minutes,
DO NOT let him out when he is crying, this
just re-enforces the crying. (I know it is
heart breaking). What I did was to put
peanut butter on a toy say "CRATE" and put
the peanut butter in the crate. After just
a few times, when I said "CRATE" he was
running for his kennel! Make the crate time
a positive time.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
|
|
Q.
What kind of Nylabones do you recommend i buy?
|
A.
When they are little I like the "puppy
pacifier" kind... but when they get their
adult teeth, I get the indestructible ones.
I don't like the edible ones because they
make a MESS! Also, word of warning, don't
get too upset if your puppy chews his toy
until his gums bleed... This happens, and
is not unusual. My poor vet! When I first
had my pug I was running to the vet all the
time for everything!
|
Q.
I just have a general question about
potty-training my 2 "older" pugs. I have a
male and a female who are both about 6.
They have been moved around from house to
house in the last few years, as I was having
personal problems. I finally have had them
back now for about a year and they are
nearly "impossible" to train!
I do live in MN, which doesn't help much -
they hate the snow!! But, it's been getting
nicer outside lately so have been trying to
leave them out in their "pen" for longer
periods of time. It seems that no matter
when I put them out or for how long (I try
not to leave them out for longer than 20
minutes, because they scratch up my door!!)
they'll come right in, get their treat and
proceed to go down into the basement and do
their "job" down there.
Very frustrating and not sure how to break
them of this at this point...
Any advice you could give me would be
greatly appreciated!
|
A.
Well, here is what I would do and this is
going to take time an patience. Take them
right back to puppy stage. Limit food and
water until you get them on a schedule.
Then DO NOT LET THEM OUT OF YOUR SITE! Go
out with them and stay out until they go.
Only give treats after they have gone. It
will probably take a while, but once you get
them on a schedule (my dogs go poop and pee
in the morning, poop and pee around 5:00 and
one more pee around 10:00) Then you will
know when they have to go and can take them
out even if they don't want to. (my pug
HATES THE SNOW, it has actually worked to my
advantage because he knows he cannot go back
in until he does his job). One more
suggestion would be to cut off their access
to the spot in the house that they usually
go in (if possible baby gates work very
well). Also deodorize that spot as best you
can, your vet will probably have some good
products that will take the smell out. If
you have to leave and cannot watch them I
would suggest crates. Pugs hate to get
dirty and will not go in the spot where they
sleep!
I hope these suggestions help! Thanks for
your questions!
|
Q.
What a great site you have! I recently
inherited two pugs. Chevelle is 1 ½ and
Pugsly is 3. I have two problems. Chevelle
tears up the throw rugs in the house. Both
of them bring in leaves, rocks and twigs and
SNAILS. This happens only when I’m at work.
I’ve tried everything. Any suggestions?
|
A.
My
suggestion is more supervision and crate your
dogs when you are at work. You will feel mean
but as long as the crate is big enough (but not
too big) and they have plenty of OK things to
chew they will be just as happy and you will
have a much cleaner and happier home!
|
|
Q.
Ellie,
As a pug lover like myself I am hoping you can
help me.
I have an 8 month pug named George. I love him
to death but I can only get him to do # 2 50%
of the time outside.
I have scolded him, Put his nose in it. Begged
him but sometimes he still goes inside. I take
him out 6 or 7 times a day and After he eats I
put him in his den for an hour and take him out.
Do you have any advise on how you trained
Charlie. I don't know what else to do.
|
|
A.
Well with all dogs, I find they are all
motivated by different things. Obviously
the negative approach isn't getting through to
your dog. What I did to train Charlie is
to take him out and to praise praise praise when
he did business outside. Then give a
treat IMMEDIATELY after, (or he doesn't get why
he is getting the treat) Do this for a few days
and then slowly taper off the treats. Also if
you catch him pooping inside, immediately take
him outside whether or not he is done. This
will just reinforce poop = outside.
Good luck to you!
|
|
Q.
I
wonder if you could help me. I'm at my wits
end. I have a pug that is 11 weeks old and
EVERY night he poops in his cage. I am so ready
to get rid of him. I cant continue every
morning at 3 or 4 to go in there and clean him
and his cage for 45 minutes. His cage has a
divider in it and is a very small space yet it
doesn't seem to matter to him.
I take him constantly outside to go but it
doesn't matter to him. I have 4 friends and we
all got puppies at the same time. One maltese,
two min. dobys and one min. snauser. ALL of
their dogs are about 95% trained and none have
ever pooped in their cage. Our dog thinks he's
supposed to poop in his cage I think. Why are
their dogs doing so well and ours seems to be
dumb as a rock.
Please do you have any advice for me.
|
|
A.
When are you feeding your pug. I did alot with
limited food and water. Pay close attention to
when you are feeding him, and you will know when
he needs to poop. Then you can make sure to
take him out at those times. What I did was to
feed once in the morning and once at night. I
also stopped giving him water after the second
feeding (don't worry he won't die). He usually
pooped about 20 mins after his feeding... This
is something you could try, also, maybe getting
a different kennel for now that doesn't have
poop smell in it might help. Make sure it is
small, you can move him into the bigger one
again later after he has learned not to poop in
his kennel.
|
Q.
Hello Eleanore,
I am so sorry to bug you...but, I have found
your website very helpful and I have a
question for you if you don't mind.
I just adopted a pug puppy, Vivian. I'm
loving it and have used a lot of your tips
to train her and they are working
wonderfully. But, the only problem I am
having is when it's time to go to bed. Vivi
is about 10 weeks old now and just separated
from her Mom and sister, so when I try and
have her sleep on her doggy-bed on the floor
next to my bed, she cries and cries and it's
the most horrible sound imaginable! I've
been a sucker and she has slept with me for
almost a week now since I got her and I was
wondering is that going to make it harder to
train her later to sleep alone on her bed?
Do you have any suggestions? I would really
appreciate it.
Thank You so much!
|
A.
That pug puppy cry sure is heart wrenching
isn't it? Well, in answer to your question,
yes, it is going to make it hard. I would
be a bit of a hypocrite if I didn't tell you
that my pug currently sleeps with my husband
and I, and there are days (especially when
he is snoring) that I wish I had been
stricter about it in the beginning. What I
can say is that giving in to the crying only
reinforces the crying. I would try to make
bed time a happy time. You could try maybe
smearing a toy with peanut butter just
before bed and giving it to the puppy to
occupy her while she settles down. Or try
giving her a dirty shirt of yours to lay
on, to reassure her that you are there.
These are a couple of things to try. If you
don't want her to always sleep with you, now
is the time to establish it, let me tell you
it is next to impossible to try to correct
later!
|
