# New puppy! Help!



## acrisla (Jan 16, 2013)

Hey guys! We got our first V last Sunday. His name is Argo and we are so thrilled! He is 8 weeks and so smart! Already knows to sit, come, off & stay commands and already crate trained. He is a piece of work though: shark mouth (like you cannot believe) and nipping (you should see my face and hands!). I'm trying to walk him on a leash in a small fenced area in our backyard (we have an acre) but he try to eat everything under the sun! We have a lot of Holly trees and I'm really concerned if he's going to eat some of the leaves... no good! I'm trying to teach him the "leave it" command by putting my hand over the treat. I'm doing this exercise every day for 5 minutes for the past 2 days. He does good but only when my hand is over the treat :-[. I want to walk him in the yard so bad because I want him to get some exercise and I don't know what to do.

Also, we also a Brittany, 7 years old. He's so sweet and never had any kind of aggression behavior towards another dog but he has already growled numerous times at Argo. He knows Argo for 3 days. Sometimes he calls Argo to play but when Argo goes with full stamina our Brittany growls bad, I mean really bad :-\. We have never had two dogs at the same time so I'm kind of freaked out. Is it normal for an older dog to growl at a new puppy? Jealous? And the growl doesn't scare Argo at all ! That's my another concern because he can get hurt :-[. Thank you guys!!!


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## vizslababy (Jan 21, 2013)

Hi there, congrats on the new puppy! We have never had two dogs either, but I just came back from visiting my sister in law who has two young black labs and a 12 year old jack russell. the Jack Russell has kidney stones and is old and cranky, and doesnt much appreciate the bounciness of our 14 wk old vizsla nut. Shiloh played wonderfully with the labs for a couple of days-but they also put her in her place by growling when too overzealous- but the Jack Russell wanted NOTHING to do with the pup. And I mean nothing. Growled at her everytime she came into her space, etc. The pup tried a few times, and then lay off the Jack Russell, steered away completely. I am not 100% sure because we were just visiting, not living with those other dogs, but I would say let them work it out. I would assume with just three days under their belts, they are still trying to figure out boundaries with each other.


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## acrisla (Jan 16, 2013)

Thanks guys! My Brittany just went to Argo's crate (he's sleeping) to check on him... cute. You guys are right. . I just gotta deal with Argo's walking... he try to eat everything! I mean, really impossible to walk :-\


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## oliveJosh12 (Sep 10, 2012)

Olive who is now 7 months goes to my mums in the day while I am at work. She has 2 miniature Schnauzer - Betty who is 8 and Ted who is 6. They have both put her in her place since day one and still do now even though she is 3 times their size.

Ive always been told to keep the attention equal so the dog who you already have doesn't feel left out but it is normal for him to be 'telling him off'.


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

acrisla said:


> Thanks guys! My Brittany just went to Argo's crate (he's sleeping) to check on him... cute. You guys are right. . I just gotta deal with Argo's walking... he try to eat everything! I mean, really impossible to walk :-\


A pup that is 8 weeks old is too young to train how to walk on a lead. Let the pup run around the garden. You can get the pup used to the lead by putting on and letting it drag it around. I wouldn't start formally walking a pup til it is 12 weeks old.


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## kingle (Feb 7, 2013)

Are you rough housing with your puppy? Wrestling with him? If so, stop it as you are encouraging him to bite your hands. When he nips you, yelp like a hurt puppy and immediately quit interacting with him -- just walk away. He'll learn that nipping means the play stops. Dogs use their mouths to explore their surroundings and vizslas are notorious for eating bark and sticks. Go to
http://www.vizsladogs.com/articles.htm for some articles on puppy biting and socialization. Make sure you are getting your puppy out around people for socializing. Your local coffee shop is a great place for the pup to meet lots of people.


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

acrisla, remember that you are dealing with a baby. Just as you wouldn't expect an 8 week old infant to understand what you would like out of them in 3 days you cannot expect an 8 week old puppy to understand either. He's new to your home and learning the ropes. Let him grow at his pace and get comfortable. He needs to explore his surroundings, including your Brittany. Your Brittany isn't comfortable with the new situation in only a few short days- let them slowly interact without any toys, food or anything they could be possessive about or could cause a fight. Over the next few weeks they will become more comfortable with each other, the growls will likely happen less and less, and they should start to bond a little. I would only interfere if your pup is in danger in a situation, otherwise let them work it out and grow on each other. Communicate to your Brittany when they are behaving well with the puppy and reward them (I wouldn't use food, perhaps just a head pat or an ear scratch). Also try not to reprimand the growling as this can sometimes lead into further aggressive behaviors.

As far as the biting goes- the advice you have received is exactly what I would give you. Saying "no" or "no bite" won't help you until your pup understands what that means. At this age he needs to know what biting his unacceptable and hurts you (demonstrated by the yip) and if it continues then you aren't going to stay (demonstrated by getting up and walking away). I will be honest with you that the biting will get a lot worse before it gets any better so nipping this in the bud is key.

As for the holly trees- can you avoid taking him near the trees? As puppies they tend to try to pick up everything and put everything in their mouths so expect this to continue for some time. Leave it is a command that even adult dogs have difficulty with so that will likely take some time to develop. Try calling them or distracting them from the trees or try picking him up and removing him from the situation when he is getting into something he shouldn't be. He will test you over and over again with this.

Good luck with your little one! Enjoy the next few weeks while they're small. They grow up in no time!


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## acrisla (Jan 16, 2013)

KB87: Thank you for your advice. I really appreciate it. My property is surrounded by Holly trees so I'm avoiding "walking" him in the yard for now. I just take him to his bathroom area outside. My Brittany today decided to pick one of Argo's plush toy up and was 'calling' Argo to go after him (that's how our Brittany plays) so that's a good sign.


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## acrisla (Jan 16, 2013)

born36 said:


> acrisla said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks guys! My Brittany just went to Argo's crate (he's sleeping) to check on him... cute. You guys are right. . I just gotta deal with Argo's walking... he try to eat everything! I mean, really impossible to walk :-\
> ...


When I meant walk wasn't the actual walk. I'm not trying to train him to walk on a leash. He's too young to understand this. What I meant is that we have to take him on a leash to our yard because he tries to eat everything he sees: rocks, holly tree leaves....


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## acrisla (Jan 16, 2013)

kingle said:


> Are you rough housing with your puppy? Wrestling with him? If so, stop it as you are encouraging him to bite your hands. When he nips you, yelp like a hurt puppy and immediately quit interacting with him -- just walk away. He'll learn that nipping means the play stops. Dogs use their mouths to explore their surroundings and vizslas are notorious for eating bark and sticks. Go to
> http://www.vizsladogs.com/articles.htm for some articles on puppy biting and socialization. Make sure you are getting your puppy out around people for socializing. Your local coffee shop is a great place for the pup to meet lots of people.


I'm not wrestling or rough housing with him. The last thing I do is to encourage a puppy to bite. He's just too fast, so sometimes I don't see it coming . When it happens I ignore him for a few seconds.


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

Congratulations on your new Vizsla. A Brittany is my second favorite gun dog and you have a great field pair in the two.

The idea of taking the pup to the coffee shop is something I would encourage. Bench downtown and just sit holding the pup. People will be drawn to the pup and want to pet and enjoy him. Don't let them pat the pup. or any dog on the head.

Got to go walking but just three things to work on. Socialization, socialization, socialization.

RBD


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## Rudy (Oct 12, 2012)

;D  RBD Mine as well

bred and helped over 50 once

Skipper was my best 

RIP he drowned over ice chasing a duck

I went in full Swede power

I never made him as he swam under the ice away from me

Another did this

I demanded no ponds or ice my dogs

He was a Dandy and he is in my hearty and soul

I cut that ice against great odds day 3 and buried my Brittney Warrior in the Fields he loved

near my baby sis

I still travel to them

and the other never hunted again

fact I heard Heard still eats poorly

years of this my mates are under me 24-7

Lessons learned

Brits are great Mates to me


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## Nelly (Feb 7, 2013)

Hi acrisla and congratulations on your puppy! We too do not have 2 dogs but everyone in both mine and my partner's family has another dog. I'll admit the growls can sound rather scary, but as already mentioned it is about the older dog establishing a hierarchy with the pup. My mum has a 6 year old lab/collie cross Beau, my Gran a 3 year old Jack Russell Minnie and my partner's sister a 6 year old Weim Luigi. Out of all the encounters, I expected the Weim to the most accepting, I was so wrong! I would only intervene if it becomes violent, otherwise I let the older dog assert its place so puppy can learn some canine manners. 

As KB87 mentioned about possessiveness I will sometimes eliminate 'high value' or favourite toys from the equation, depending on the older dog. It is lovely that your Brittany is calling your pup to play and checking in on him.

I sympathise that you can feel a little sorry for your pup at this stage, Nelly's bounciness seems to make most older dogs a tad cranky! Socialise and give lots of different experiences but remove from a bad/escalating situation as they are little sponges at the moment.


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## abatt (Jul 10, 2012)

This is what worked for us with "leave it". Make him sit and hold a treat in front of him and say "leave it". The moment he reaches for the treat, pull it away. Start from beginning and repeat until he stops reaching for it. Then give him a treat. When he becomes consistently good at leaving the treat, make the game a little more difficult. Make him lay down and put a treat on the floor in front of him. Say "leave it". Again, the moment he reaches for it, remove the treat. Repeat until he does not touch the treat in front of him.

Our pup is so good at it now, sometimes i feel like he is falling asleep with a treat right in front of his nose. I also like to give him a release command. When I say "OK" he can take it. This is the only thing that can keep him still during the long wait at the vet.

But remember that what can easily be learned at home gets a lot more challenging outside. There are a lot more distractions and you will have to work longer on the command. Our pup is 9 months now, but when off leash he completely forgets the "leave it" command and tries to eat all the sticks, leaves and trash in sight. But he came a long way since he was 2-4 months old.


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## acrisla (Jan 16, 2013)

Thank you all for the replies! I'm already doing what you guys recommended and so far so good!


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