7 week old male Malinois pup - Page 1

 

Hello! New to the forums, I want to start by saying Thank You for creating such a place.

About a week ago we got a 6 week old male malinois puppy. First mistake was where we picked him up, craigslist. The guy wouldnt meet at his home, claimed his last litter were stolen. At the time I thought nothing of it. But after thinking a bit more, he had to be full of it. A mother Malinois is gonna let some stranger steal her pups? I doubt it... To move on, our pup "Chewy" was sort of lazy, didnt eat much, had watery stool. After a trip to the vet, he had a IV and a cone around his head for 1 week. After the fluids and antibodies, this puppy is a wild one. Not in a bad way, he is just a lot to handle for such a small puppy.  I found some YouTube videos that showed me how to start training chewy with small treats. He seems to catch on fairly quick, anticipating the next move and doing it before my hand moves. I take it he is getting bored and needs more challenge. Anyway, on to what brought me here. Chewy has a hard time listening. Well a horrible time, he doesnt come when called at all. He will just look at you like your crazy when you try to call him. I have read to not look away before he does, keeping myself as the pack leader. I have never had a "working dog" and would appreciate any help you guys/girls can give me, with the not listening and any other advice too :)

 

could the fact that i had to pump that IV 3 times a day have anything to do with him not coming when called? Chewy is not like any pup i have ever seen, he doesnt wag his tail often, unless he is playing with me or our other dogs. he is eating good, active (now) and is a healthy active puppy. he is just not what you think of when you think "puppy".

 

Thanks, cordell

You got a mal from craigs list! And you wonder why it't a little weird? Actuallyl it sounds like a fairly normal mal after treatment. They are wild puppies, they need a lot of work and plenty of distraction.

IV's have nothing to do with not coming when called. Unless you purchased a deaf mal it think he's just not finding allt hat rewarding. Make him work for his kibble. Don't feed from a bowl. He need ot come, sit down and do other stuff while being fed his ration.

I personally think 6 week is too young to take a dog fro it mother/littermates.

I'll tell you an easy way to train the recall. Put pup on leash, have some treats/kibble. Call pup to come, if he doens't move reel him in. Reward when he gets there, even if he didn't come on his own accord. Repeat until he does come on the first call. Be HAPPY about calling him. Also have a fun stuffy toy that can be a slightly different reward. Make it a game to get a reward for coming in fast. Jackpot if he gets it right, withholed if he ignoes you.

And if he's still having trouble listening, have him checked for deafness. It can happen.

Really my best advice is  Leerburg   http://leerburg.com/flix/category.php?categoryid=30

Have fun with yoru maligator swamp collie!

Fry

 

First exercise for him, no food unless it comes from you. Put him up on a high surface, table, bench, whatever and have food in both your pants pockets.
Start feeding him a kibble at a time, left hand, right hand, keep your mouth shut.
Once he gets the hang of this in 3 minutes, put your hands in your pockets and keep them there and wait. He will look at them....look again and again until he randomly looks UP at your face. When he does, mark it with a YES and feed him a kibble or two and then repeat over and over until he looks at your face every time. Forget recalls, you are boring but, you have food, that's good.
Do this for a week, no talking other then your marking word and then come back and let me know how he is doing, we will talk then.

 

Thanks for the responses! Sounds like Chewy is a somewhat normal mal, just needing a lot of work. I thought 6 weeks was a bit early myself, though the breeder (can I call him that?) obviously put no time/effort of money into the pups. A six week old puppy shouldnt have a IV for fluids and antibodies, he was also infested with hook worms. That is the past, he is at a good home now and we want to train him right. Im not looking to have a "attack dog" but would like him to be protective of the house and his family, thats all.

I have a couple questions about rations. When you guys say not to feed him from a bowl, is this never? This morning I ran through the sit, down, stand, and paw training from that video I was talking about, made by Stonnie Dennis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWt78FjS05k&index=2&list=PL91WyqCpBlSVQUJA07fxe8lsHsf80KxTL

He did fairly well, I had him elevated on a table, he was doing great until he nearly stepped off. he then noticed he was off the ground and wanted to move back down to the floor. I will do the lessons from both the posts this evening. So on to the ration question. He is eating IAMS puppy, the bag states 2 1/2 cups of food per day. Should I be splitting this up and using the food for training, or the training treats we bought? Also when done with his training, can I then bowl feed him the remaining rations? He knows I am the food source already, he figured that one early on, lol. Reason I ask is there is a 8-10 hour period I am gone at work. I dont want him starving during this time. I know these may seem like noobish questions, just trying to make sure all ducks are in a row for his training. One last thing, is it OK for others in the home to run through the training, or just me?

 

Thanks Again, cordell

 

 

At this age, he needs to eat 3 times a day. If others are home and can follow directions, they can do the same thing i mentioned above, but, exactly the same way, no deviations.
6 weeks is great, make sure he gets exposure to thr world in places away from other dogs.
Use the food for training no treats, yet..

I would feed him depending on his weight and split it into 3 meals per day.  If he ways 20 lbs probably 2 l/2 cups per day should be way sufficient;  if he is ravishingly hungry you can feed a little more, if he gets loose stools back the amount off a little.

 

I personally would recheck for any hookworms or any other parasites in about another 2 weeks or so.  Just take a sample in to your vet collected in plastic bag and be sure it is a fresh sample.  Usually when diagnosed with any parasite your vet should recommend a 2nd worming automatically,  if not, do sample and request 2nd worming.   Good luck with your new puppy,  Nan

 

PS:  IF you are not familiar with raising puppies, you need to keep him lean, yet nourished just as you would any growing animal.  So when you put your hands on his ribcage you want to be able to feel those ribs easily.  BOL  Nan  Pic's would be great.  Nan

yes please post pictures? 

 

where are you from by the way? 

 

I'll get some pics up, we made a trip to the vet today for his second set of shots. Chewy is sort of tired and grumpy, lol. Will post them tomorrow either before, or after work. And  I live in Texas, a little town called Dayton. its 45 minutes or so east of Houston, down 1960 or HWY 90.

 

OK so ran the hands in pockets, left right kibbles this morning. It didnt take him long at all to stop looking at my pockets and start glancing up to me. I said nothing but "Yes" each time, he did fairly well for being so high off the ground. The hieght did not even seem to bother him. A little crunched for time this morning, but I did manage to grab a few pics :)

 

2 reasons why we named him "Chewy", his color is like Chewbacca and the #1 reason is in the first pic. what is the correct way to deture him from chewing on things he shouldnt be?

 

thanks!

 

 

Very good, keep feeding him this way for a week or so and when he looks at your face every single time, attach the word "watch me" to the behavior.
This will make him think that looking at you compells you to feed him.
Do this for a week until you can tell him to watch you and he turns to stare at you.
You will reward that with food for now and mark it with a YES as well.
This is foundation work and obviously i cant train the dog over a forum, but, i can help you set up good habits for later training.
Puppies who are with their handler, tethered at the waist by a leash, do not have a chance to chew anything, make sense?
Keep him engaged with a tug or a ball when he is not in his kennel and keep him in your sight at all times.