Got a new Puppy at 6 weeks old

[Bad Luck]

Hey I recently got a boxer puppy. I know its too young but the breeder doesnt take care of them and i felt bad.. Do you guys have any suggestion on raising her? instead of socializing with her litter is there any other options?

 

[Jinnytee]

It' s a shame that you had to remove the puppy from his mum and litter-mates so soon .... those last couple of weeks are so important for his social ( dog ) development. However you have him now, and there is no going back. I have never had such a young puppy myself, but I know that the major issue you are going to have to face is to teach your little guy bite inhibition.

Teaching Bite Inhibition - Whole Dog Journal Article

There are also lots of threads on the subjects on the boards, if you do a search.

Good luck with him, and post us a picture, I bet he is a cutie !

Jinny

 

[Bad Luck]

It' s a shame that you had to remove the puppy from his mum and litter-mates so soon .... those last couple of weeks are so important for his social ( dog ) development. However you have him now, and there is no going back. I have never had such a young puppy myself, but I know that the major issue you are going to have to face is to teach your little guy bite inhibition.

Teaching Bite Inhibition - Whole Dog Journal Article

There are also lots of threads on the subjects on the boards, if you do a search.

Good luck with him, and post us a picture, I bet he is a cutie !

Jinny

Is there a chance of her not being bity?

 

[TysonCheeto]

Our Tyson had bite inhibition issues , he was 6 weeks when we got him, and it was a problem we had. Its a diffcuilt thing to work through. But if you do a search on the forums there is a lot of great info on it. I Don't think itsguaranteed he will have a problem with it, it just seems to be a common issue for pups going away too young.

I would put him on some good probiotics and vitimin c, I also do fish oil and e, but being so young I would do all I could to help support his immunity. I really wish I woulda known about supplements when we brought the puppies home. I think any new puppy could use them, but definitely one so young ,

Congrats and when you get a chance to post a pic I would love to see the new boxer baby

 

[Jinnytee]

Is there a chance of her not being bity?

Well, I think most, if not all, puppies, like to bite. Like babies, they explore their world with their mouths and they play wrestle and bite with their litter mates to learn the rules on what is acceptable interaction with other dogs, and to read fellow dog signals, to avoid getting themselves in sticky situations. Even a puppy well socialised in the litter, and coming to its home older than your little lady, will carry over some of this play biting with its new human "play-mate ".

In fact I have raised many pups and have never had a puppy that hasn't tried to mouth and bite hands ! ( Which you want to discourage from day 1- and don't ever play games where your hands are the "toy " )

The difference is in the strength of the bite. A puppy that has played and tested out biting with its litter-mates, has learned to bite with a soft mouth, just enough pressure that it doesn't hurt. But it's still a behavior that they have to learn is not allowed with their humans.
A puppy that hasn't had a enough time to learn what is a hard bite, and what isn't, will bite hard and it will hurt! They will also have more trouble responding to a negative reaction, to stop the biting - as they won't have learned that a bite is not pleasant for the receiver. They learn this not only from the yelp of pain of their sibling, but also from receiving bites themselves. So it may take longer to teach them to not be mouthy.

It's by no means written in stone that your baby will have trouble with her bite inhibition ..... but it is more likely. Like everything, better to be as informed, just in case. And, if she is a biter, then there are lots of tips on this forum on how to stop it. Don't worry you won't have a piranha pup for ever

Sorry for thinking she was a little boy before ! I have a girl also

Jinny

 

[brucemcq]

Been There Done That

My little guy was 6.5 weeks when we got him and of course they DO bite at first because their puppies...and that's what they do. However, I worked with him as a pup. When we were playing if he bit me or was being too rough I would yelp and leave. He was not happy that I left and learned that it was a negative thing. He has gotten even better at it as he has gotten older and now he has a very soft mouth and knows not to play rough with me (once he starts getting excited he runs out of the room and brings a toy to me instead =]). Just work with her. It will take time but it will be worth it!

 

[Jinnytee]

once he starts getting excited he runs out of the room and brings a toy to me instead =]).

Your boy, in your avatar, is absolutely gorgeous

When my girl was younger and she used to think it was "fun" to chew on my older labrador's ears, my lab would run off and get a toy and push it towards the pup, as if to say " here, bite this instead ". Lol