# new puppy



## Tawnala77 (Aug 26, 2010)

I just got new 10 week old vizsla puppy I had had it for two weeks, and i am thinking of giving him back to the breeder. A few Concerns i have: first i thought i resourced the vizsla breed well before i purchased one but the more i read the more i don't know if this was the breed for my husband and I. I also thought the breeder was a good one but now im hearing it might be a puppy mill, and our dog might not be so great when he grows up. I am not working right now, but i will be in a month so my husband and i will be gone from 6 to eight hours, where do i leave him? We have a sun room and i could put a doggie door to the yard but i am scared he is going to destroy the yard and eat something he is not suppose to. I can also leave him in the crate, which i have been doing if i leave for a lil while, but i feel 6-8 hours is too long. Also i could set boundary in the kitchen/living room but i dont want him going to the bathroom all over the floor. Those are my biggest concerns. He is bitting everything, but i am hoping its a puppy thing. Also he is not four months yet and petco said they can start traing at 4months when they have all the shots, does anyone know where else i can do training at an early age i live in the inland empire? Help please!!


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## KiwiJenn (Aug 21, 2010)

Hi Tawnala,
It seems you have two separate issues here - firstly you are doubting the integrity of your pup's breeder, although I suspect if the pup had turned out to be a perfect little angel you wouldn't be giving it any further thought. I suspect the real problem is that you are struggling to deal with normal puppy behaviour and the reality of having a little creature that requires constant care, and you're racking your brain to think of something or someone to blame so you can get an easy way out of a situation that you perhaps didn't give enough thought to before you made the committment in the first place. The reality is that pups are naughty, messy and unruly, and require a lot of care, attention and endless patience if they are to grow up to be happy, well balanced dogs. This is true for all pups, not just Vizslas. However, you now have a pup and you need helpful advice, so I'll end the lecture there. The first thing is to have a chat to your vet or local dog club and get booked in for puppy class. I don't know what the norm is where you live, but in New Zealand pups can go to puppy class as early as 9 weeks once they've had their first shots. This will be a chance for your pup to socialise with other pups in a safe environment, and for you to get advice on basic obedience training, toilet training and general pup management. I found these classes really helpful (I have a 12 week old V too). In the long term, if you have to leave your pup during the day, then use a crate or puppy pen and see if a friend, neighbour or puppy sitter will call in during the day and take him out for feed, toilet and play for thirty minutes or so during the day. You are absolutely right in thinking your pup will eat unhealthy stuff and destroy things if left to his own devices, I spend half my time pulling stuff out of my pup's mouth. Toilet training is harder if you have to leave your pup unattended for hours, but crate training will help. Again, ask your vet or dog club for advice. Your situation with regards to work is not unusal, and plenty of people manage to raise good dogs while holding down a job. Please get some advice and talk to some more experienced people about your options before you make any decisions about getting rid of your pup.


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## BamBam (Feb 14, 2010)

Why do you suspect now that the breeder was a puppy mill. Did you see mum with puppies and get papers??
Like said above when you leave your pup get a dog walker or sitter to come in and let pup out and feed/play with it for an hour or so.
Biting everything is nromal puppy behaviour and they do need constant attention. They need lots of playtime, and then they will sleep.. and then playtime..the sleep etc. Playing with your puppy is great for building a bond with it. 
You can start training just in your own home- get some treats and start teaching it to sit, down etc. You can get kongs and activity balls- these will mentally stimulate your puppy and provide it with somthing to do for a period of time.


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## Mercutio (Jan 18, 2010)

Your puppy sounds like ours was at 10 weeks too. Into chewing evereything and i couldn't wait to start puppy class. I don't know where you live but we have puppy pre school at 12 weeks, often run through a vet so you could try asking your vet to reccoment somewhere. Positive reinforcement training worked really well for us. Play with him lots and make learning part of the games, our guy learnt stuff really fast, both things we wanted him to learn and things we didn't!
I think you need to accept that some of your things are going to be ruined. If he is inside then there will be toilet accidents - they don't really have control of their bladder at 10 weeks. If he is outside he is going to dig most likely and probably chew your favorite plant . It's great you have a month off work to spend with him but you will have to plan what to do when you go back. Sacrifice one area of your house or yard that you can fence off and make safe for him and also remove everything you don't want him to play with. It's not his fault if he chews your best shoes if yo left him alone with them, they take a while to learn what are their toys are what things are not toys. Use activity toys like kongs and treat balls to keep him busy.
And if all else fails and you still want to give him up, please don't send him back to a puppy mill. Try to find a vizsla rescue group or someone reputable. Good luck.


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## minnere (Jul 8, 2010)

I feel your pain! Well, at least I remember that stage. My husband and I have had our puppy for almost 10 weeks now. When we first got him, my husband was in for quite the shock. It was our first dog and neither of us had ever had a puppy. I read a lot before got him so I kind of knew what to expect, but after the first week I thought I was going to either have to give Pacer up or get a divorce! One thing that helped us tremendously in the house was leaving a leash on him. First of all, these little guys are fast and when they are getting into something or have something in there mouth, sometimes without two of you, it is really difficult to catch them. Not only did it help us get to him when we needed to, but it helped us keep him where we were. If he started to run away, I just grabbed the leash. If he jumped on the coach, I just grabbed the leash. I think it helped him learn his boundaries. We don't leave it on him in the house at all now and he has learned where a lot of those boundaries are. Another suggestion is, BE PATIENT! It was hard for my husband to realize that unless we teach him the rules and what he is supposed to do, he has no idea what's right or wrong. We realized very soon that with some persistence and patience, he learned faster than we thought he would. That stage where we thought it was going to drive us apart only lasted for about 2 weeks. 

Finding a rythmn helps too!

I hope things work out for you because now that they have for us, I can't imagine not having Pacer around. His little tail wagging is what helped me get through my first week back to work this week!!!


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## janz99 (Aug 23, 2010)

^^^^ i cant agree with you more. We have had ours for 1 week now, she is 9 weeks old, and the first week was REALLY tough. BUT! we are definitly seeing improvment, every single day! She gets better and better all the time as she learns her new boundries. It takes an insane amount of work though, and you have to keep at it, no matter how frustrating it gets. 

Dont be afraid to put him in his crate for a break for both you and him though. We learned this early on, you both will need a break, and his crate is a safe place he can go. He'll probably cry, but he will settle and probably have a little nap. 

Good Luck!


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