October 28, 2008

help form good manners in my teacup puppy?

My puppy is an 8 week old teacup chihuahua/shihtzu. Although I know some crying and whining is normal at this age, I want to help form good manners, starting now. I have read ALOT of articles online, some saying to just leave him alone and ignore him when he whines and treat him when he doesn't, others say to scold when he whines. What is your personal experience!?
whines alot in his crate, and sometimes just randomly (even after potty, eating, drinking). he craves attention!!!
WOW ok sorry i said teacup. i have a VERY VERY VERY small dog :) who is healthy :)
Training and consistency, and start now while the puppy is still young.

If he is whining in his crate, don't let him out, as he will associate whining with getting his way. You don't want him to view being in the crate as punishment and being out of the crate as a reward. You can try to comfort and calm him for short periods of time while he is in the crate, but don't let him out until he settles down. But make sure you aren't keeping him in his crate longer than what is recommended for his age, either.

Look into a good puppy and dog obedience school in your area. Even small dogs need obedience training.

Filed under Teacup Chihuahua Puppies by Sandra Dean

Spread the Word!

Permalink Print Comment

Comments on help form good manners in my teacup puppy? »

September 10, 2008

Cheyene B @ 7:33 pm

if you say no he knows he can get your attention so he will just keep going. Ignore him dosnt matter how long it takes. He will think you cant hear him. He will give up.
References :

Koter Boters luvs Duke and Koter @ 7:35 pm

No such thing as a Teacup anything! their just runts!
References :

ciaobarbara @ 7:37 pm

Give us a situation in which he whines? It depends…when you put him in his crate - you should ignore. Yes you should ignore bad behavior and praise good behavior but I think once they know what the good and bad is then is when I scold. Sometimes I use the spray bottle when mine barks too much and that gets the message across fast.
References :

Ally A @ 7:39 pm

if you want to own a dog please research there is no such thing as tea cups
References :

OhIDoDoI @ 7:40 pm

It really depends on the situation the dog is whining in as to how you react to it… could you give us some examples?

Also you'll get a lot of flack from people about your dog being a "teacup". The truth is there's an epedemic of people out there breeding dogs that are too small and unhealthy just to be able to charge a lot of money. I'm not saying you're evil or that your dog sucks, I'm just saying that using the word "teacup" for your dog encourages people to make more of them, which is often very bad for the dogs involved.

But you have her now, and want to give her good manners which is AWESOME. And I hope you succeed.

ADD: Whining for attention is one of the ones you can ignore. Whining to go outside to potty (she's too young to have learned this yet) you'll want to encourage. Whining in the crate for the most part you'll want to ignore, unless you're thinking she needs to potty, in which case you can let her out to potty. I don't think scolding in any of these situations is required… however if she gets really obnoxious you could put her in a different room for a little while to teach her that whining doesn't get her fun times. She's pretty little yet so she's going to be developing her communication skills with you still, sometimes she's probably going to whine for no reason at all!

Keep in mind also she's way too young to be able to hold her bladder very long… so you'll want to have her outside for potty time every hour to two hours regardless if she whines or not, to prevent accidents and to get your potty training started.
References :

?? Nekkid Bootie ?? @ 7:45 pm

I would ignore the whining. He is doing it to gain attention.. even negative attention is still attention. Reward him for posititve behavoirs. He loves attention, so use that to your advantage when encouraging good behavours. For example if he is chewing on one of his own toys, pet and praise him for this.. as he is behaving.

References :

bailezra @ 7:46 pm

Training and consistency, and start now while the puppy is still young.

If he is whining in his crate, don't let him out, as he will associate whining with getting his way. You don't want him to view being in the crate as punishment and being out of the crate as a reward. You can try to comfort and calm him for short periods of time while he is in the crate, but don't let him out until he settles down. But make sure you aren't keeping him in his crate longer than what is recommended for his age, either.

Look into a good puppy and dog obedience school in your area. Even small dogs need obedience training.
References :

flamebabe1433 ? @ 7:50 pm

Young puppies whine to communicate with their moms. Whining by pups, like the crying of human infants, is a sound that is virtually irresistible, thus ensuring the pups' proper care and attention. At first, whining is automatic, rather than planned, and is stimulated whenever the youngster is cold or hungry. The result: A visit from mom whenever one of her pups whines. She is then able to assess the need of the pup and to supply the missing ingredient. Soon, pups learn to whine with purpose.
Human families adopt pups at around 8 weeks of age. By this time they certainly have the whining game down to a tee, but now they must find out what effect it will have on their new caretakers. Newly adopted pups whine for the same basic reasons as before, but now there's no mom to summon. Loneliness or boredom may precipitate their sorrowful whimpering and whining in vain hopes that she might reappear but, of course, she usually doesn't. It's the owner's response to the pup's whining that determines how things progress from this point onwards.

Make sure the dog receives plenty of exercise and feed him a healthy non-performance diet.

Ensure clear communication between the owner and the dog
and reward when the whining has stopped (wait 3 seconds).

Ignore whining for superfluous attention.
All dogs whine but some are more whiney than others. Whining can be almost automatic and may arise in response to certain adverse circumstances or situations, or can be used as a communication device to obtain attention or to achieve some goal. Only excessive, problematic whining requires attention. In some respects, whining in dogs is like crying in children and can be employed in a similar way. If a new puppy cries at night, he should be given some attention, so he knows he can still solicit "maternal attention." However, whining or crying at night should not be rewarded with food, exuberant petting, or picking the pup up, otherwise bad habits can be created. Your presence for a few minutes is quite enough to let the pup know that you hear him, that you are there and that you let me him know you care…….believe me have a 2 month old teacup yorkie i know what
your going through but they are way worth it!! Good luck sweetie ?

References :

Leave a Comment