Puppy issues

[Chigurh]

So our pup will be 11 weeks old tomorrow, and we are starting his first 16 weeks OB classes tomorrow, but I'd like to ask on here about your opinions on this. He whines constantly on walks! He will walk if we are walking in front of him with come coaxing, but he whines and stays closed to our legs. Is this nervousness? Is it normal? He's fine on the way home, just going to the park is the problem!

Also, today we were playing in the front yard with him and he ran back into the house when the mailman came. Then about 20 minutes ago hubby is about to leave to collect our 4 year old from school and Chigurh (pup) ran from him when he tried to load him into car, hubby ran around him and pups ears went back in fear and he opened his mouth on my hubby'S hand when he went to pick him up from behind. No growl or bark and no bite, but I knew he was scared by his body language. Hubby is a big dude, and it clearly freaked our pup out! Hubby just picked him up and loaded him, but I feel like he missed an opportunity to correct that behaviour...

Should I be worried about having a nervous dog, or is that normal puppy unsureness?

I'll be discussing all this tomorrow with trainer, but I'd appreciate you guys/gals weighing in.

His ears are being done on Friday, this won't set him back with training will it?

 

[Chigurh]

He is doing great with my daughter, they are learning what is acceptable with each other, but I'm ever the watchful worrying mom.

 

[Chigurh]

He's gonna be big boy, so need all the help to keep him stable, secure and happy

 

[Doberman Gang]

Sounds like he has some insecurity issues, DO Not Baby him or tell him it his ok. That is telling him it his ok to be fearful or insecure. Socialize him as much as possible. You must be a firm leader. Take him out for short social encounters not to overwhelm him. Keep him on leash close to you. He shouldn't have a chance to run away. Have new people ingnore him when you are interacting, let him seek attention if he wants it. Also shh him if he whines then ignore again. He needs to learn to have confidence. He will become confident if he sees your confident assertiveness. Play with him with a tug or have him chase a ball or even chasing food in your hand can be a great play game.

 

[JanS]

It's great you're starting a course now and if the trainer is good they will help walk you through any concerns you have at the moment. They will sometimes look to you for guidance at this age so I agree to not coddle him and just keep up your confident misdemeanor if he's acting insecure and they will pick it up from you.

He's a cutie and let us know how the crop goes.

 

[Chigurh]

Sounds like he has some insecurity issues, DO Not Baby him or tell him it his ok. That is telling him it his ok to be fearful or insecure. Socialize him as much as possible. You must be a firm leader. Take him out for short social encounters not to overwhelm him. Keep him on leash close to you. He shouldn't have a chance to run away. Have new people ingnore him when you are interacting, let him seek attention if he wants it. Also shh him if he whines then ignore again. He needs to learn to have confidence. He will become confident if he sees your confident assertiveness. Play with him with a tug or have him chase a ball or even chasing food in your hand can be a great play game.

He's great around everyone! Not a bit fearful of people approaching him or petting him when we are out, he just had those two incidents today, he's so easy and chill, but I had been using the hose earlier in the day and he wasn't very happy about me doing it and I think that it has made him a little insecure. He really hates the rain and baths and I think I may have pee'd him off lol. He goes everywhere with us school runs, stores, playgrounds... we have a cat, a rabbit, and a chihuahua, 3 deers live on our property and squrriels everywhere. He's just a mellow dude with everything, except for my husband startling him today, I haven't had a concern. He just doesn't seem to want to leave our property on walks, it's super weird. We definitely don't baby him, he doesn't even whine when he goes to his room at night. The walks are painful though! Glued to our legs and whine whine whine

 

[Chigurh]

It's great you're starting a course now and if the trainer is good they will help walk you through any concerns you have at the moment. They will sometimes look to you for guidance at this age so I agree to not coddle him and just keep up your confident misdemeanor if he's acting insecure and they will pick it up from you.

He's a cutie and let us know how the crop goes.

I've never used this trainer before, as I'm Irish and new to OR. He has over 30 years in protection training German shepherds for the military and police, he is gonna do our OB training with us and if Chigurh is a good fit we will continue on to protection training.

I'm so nervous about this ears! I hope they do a good job! It's the only Vet in Oregon that crops. I wish I could see his work... Though he's doing 3 crops a day and booked out for weeks so he can't be terrible I hope :/

 

[Tropicalbri's]

If he is 11wks old he should get his ears done quickly as you are running out of time period for that. Also be careful that he isn't exposed to any diseases from other animals until he has had all his shots at 16wks.
My two (more so my male) were spooked by certain things when they were that age. They go through fear periods so how you respond to them is very important during these times. What @JanS and @Doberman Gang said about not babying them is very important too. You want to help them build confidence, but don't force things on them until they gain some confidence. The behavior is normal for puppies experiencing things for the first time. The training and socializing at this age is a great thing!!
Can't wait to see lots of pictures!!

 

[Chigurh]

If he is 11wks old he should get his ears done quickly as you are running out of time period for that. Also be careful that he isn't exposed to any diseases from other animals until he has had all his shots at 16wks.
My two (more so my male) were spooked by certain things when they were that age. They go through fear periods so how you respond to them is very important during these times. What @JanS and @Doberman Gang said about not babying them is very important too. You want to help them build confidence, but don't force things on them until they gain some confidence. The behavior is normal for puppies experiencing things for the first time. The training and socializing at this age is a great thing!!
Can't wait to see lots of pictures!!

He's 11 weeks tomo, and getting cropped Friday. I would have done them sooner but the vet was booked out for 3 weeks :/

We just have him around friends dogs, but aren't most diseases airbourne anyway? I feel like waiting to socialize him at 16 weeks would have done him more harm than good.

 

[Tropicalbri's]

He's 11 weeks tomo, and getting cropped Friday. I would have done them sooner but the vet was booked out for 3 weeks :/

We just have him around friends dogs, but aren't most diseases airbourne anyway? I feel like waiting to socialize him at 16 weeks would have done him more harm than good.

I had my pups cropped at 11wks. I was panicked but it was unavoidable because my vet that was going to do it had been bitten on his hand by a Rottie and it was really bad so I had to go to Hollywood to get their ears done but it all worked out.
I would avoid dog parks until he is older, of course I am a bit biased against dog parks because of seeing too many dog fights occur at them, but that is just my neurosis. Lol
He sure is a sweet handsome fellow!!

 

[Chigurh]

I had my pups cropped at 11wks. I was panicked but it was unavoidable because my vet that was going to do it had been bitten on his hand by a Rottie and it was really bad so I had to go to Hollywood to get their ears done but it all worked out.
I would avoid dog parks until he is older, of course I am a bit biased against dog parks because of seeing too many dog fights occur at them, but that is just my neurosis. Lol
He sure is a sweet handsome fellow!!

Yeah I'm gonna avoid the dogparks, he'll get a bunch of socialization at his classes and all our friends have small to medium dogs, so we will just continue with friends pets for safety.

Did your pups ears heal and stand ok? I'd hate to do it and have it be all for nothing :-/

He's pretty awesome, we are so happy to have him. He is growing to fast though

 

[Tropicalbri's]

Did your pups ears heal and stand ok? I'd hate to do it and have it be all for nothing :-/

Oh they were totally great. My males ears were actually standing without posts at 5 mo. My female took longer, almost 10 months. Here is a picture of them at 16wks in between reposting them.
You will do really well with the posting, jump don't leave them off longer than it takes to clean and dry the ear, then repost immediately after an they should do fine.

 

[bomary]

View attachment 70661
Oh they were totally great. My males ears were actually standing without posts at 5 mo. My female took longer, almost 10 months. Here is a picture of them at 16wks in between reposting them.
You will do really well with the posting, jump don't leave them off longer than it takes to clean and dry the ear, then repost immediately after an they should do fine.

I'd say it was a success! (Understatement!...Poor Jaxie with his inept mother!!!...I'll be ready next time!)

 

[Chigurh]

View attachment 70661
Oh they were totally great. My males ears were actually standing without posts at 5 mo. My female took longer, almost 10 months. Here is a picture of them at 16wks in between reposting them.
You will do really well with the posting, jump don't leave them off longer than it takes to clean and dry the ear, then repost immediately after an they should do fine.

They are beauties! Are they long crops? We've chosen a medium crop. The long crops are beautiful but I'm hoping I had manage a medium crop. Were their ears lasered?

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Did your pups ears heal and stand ok? I'd hate to do it and have it be all for nothing :-/

I would not worry about them healing. They'll heal fine, especially if you give them air.

As for them standing: They should stand fine if you do a decent job of posting them. I guess you're nearing the latter part of the cropping window, but it seems like that'll be no problem. Some Dobe's ears stand easier than others. The thickness of the ear leather, and the length/style of crop play into it. I'm glad you're getting a medium-length crop. That is good for those who don't want to devote an inordinate amount of time posting; and I prefer a medium crop, as it is more true to the real reason for cropping.

Looking forward to watching Chigurh's progress! If you don't mind my asking, how do you pronounce his name, and what is its meaning?

 

[Tropicalbri's]

@Oh Little Oji I was wondering the name pronunciation as well. I was thinking it was said like a Chigger. Lol

 

[Chigurh]

I would not worry about them healing. They'll heal fine, especially if you give them air.

As for them standing: They should stand fine if you do a decent job of posting them. I guess you're nearing the latter part of the cropping window, but it seems like that'll be no problem. Some Dobe's ears stand easier than others. The thickness of the ear leather, and the length/style of crop play into it. I'm glad you're getting a medium-length crop. That is good for those who don't want to devote an inordinate amount of time posting; and I prefer a medium crop, as it is more true to the real reason for cropping.

Looking forward to watching Chigurh's progress! If you don't mind my asking, how do you pronounce his name, and what is its meaning?

It's pronounced Sug-gurr. Anton Chigurh is the crazy assassin guy in the movie " No County For Old Men.

 

[Tropicalbri's]

They are beauties! Are they long crops? We've chosen a medium crop. The long crops are beautiful but I'm hoping I had manage a medium crop. Were their ears lasered?

It's a medium long show crop, they grew into them. No laser used.

 

[JanS]

We just have him around friends dogs, but aren't most diseases airbourne anyway?

No, Parvo is the biggest worry when they're young and they pick that up from the ground. I carried ours everywhere in public until they had their final parvo shot at about 16 weeks. And they do get heavy toward the end of that period. LOL

 

[Gelcoater]

He really hates the rain and baths

Lol.
Best just get used to this.

Notice my avatar? That's a Doberman willingly jumping into a pool.
But if it rained outside?

"Oh hell no! Not going outside in that!" was the look I got on rainy days.

Now the bath? That became a lot easier after she decided water and the hose were cool...as long as it doesn't just fall out of the sky