[Donya]

so we have had maverick home for two days and he has been doing really well except with two issues. First off i cant get him to eat much. he just picks a few bits of kibble here or there when it is feeding time then walks away from it. Water he will usually take but today he hasnt had much no matter how many times i offer it to him. I am feeding the same food he was getting at his breeders and he was eating over there. Im wondering if he is just not ready to eat here yet? He is doing well on all other fronts.

Second problem. When we take him outside to go potty he will stay out for even a half an hour or more and not do a thing. sure enough as soon as i bring him back in he goes on the rug. I have been using natures miracle to try and prevent him from wanting to go again and again but he isnt going in the same places, almost always a new place. I feel like im doing something very wrong because he wont even attempt to go outside!

Any feedback and suggestions would be really appreciated.

p.s Has anyone here tried those natures miracle training pads that smell like grass?

 

[Barbs2Ks]

Have you been able to catch him while he is going?  I know that some have tied a leash around their waist and keep the puppy iwth them so they can catch them in the act and take the puppy outside.  When they finish going, treat and praise.

 

[Sadiesmomma]

I'm glad to hear that overall Maverick is doing well!!I`m not sure about the eating issue, because I`m just new at this too but I've heard that what Kiahsmom mentioned works, but I haven't tried it(leash around the waist) for the potty training. When are you taking him out? How often?

 

[Kate]

I don't know if this means anything, but Sophie did the same thing with food between 9 and 11 weeks of age.  She was also growing in height, but was worrying me to death by not eating.  She would only dabble at tasting a little canned food (Merrick brand) and I tried everything to entice her to eat including feeding her off my fingers.  I got her Merrick Puppy Plate and WildBlend food yesterday and she practically dove into the bowl to eat.  This morning was the first time she ate kibble like she is suppose to.  I don't know if it was the food change (as she really hadn't eaten much of any kind of kibble) or if she was just going through a growth spurt like I read in another post.  Finding the right food that sits well with you babies is hard enough and then add growing spurts, teething, etc. into the mix make it difficult to know what to do.   Good luck, I'm sure there are more experienced people here that can offer suggetions.

As far as the potty problem.  I can only tell you what I've been told and that is to take them out every hour when they are awake, after waking up from sleep or napping, and when you see them circling.  It just takes patience and consistency.  Yesterday was our first no accident day!  We just moved as well, so she is learning all the new boundaries and from going on papers in the apartment, to moving outside.  A lot of change for a little puppy.  Good luck.

 

[AbbyandBrady]

give him another day or 2 on the food issue, very common problem with bringing a pet to a new environment.  try softening the kibble too with some warm water.

Re: potty issues...just keep working on it! Takes some time...do search here for housebreaking and you will find all sorts of information.  Try taking the wet paper towels from cleaning up inside and put outside where you want him to go so he has the scent there and never let him out of your sight!!!

 

[samsonsmom]

Definitely try using the leash inside. Serves a couple purposes, gets Maverick used to it, plus you can use it to grab fast...As far as the food, give it a couple more days, he may just need some time to get used to his enviroment...It's been ages since I've had a puppy(Buck), I do not remember if we had issues with him not eating, but he also was a bit older at 10 wks....

 

[Beckhams2ndmom]

When we first got Beckham at 8 weeks we had the same food issues.  We started mixing warm water in with the kibble (still do) and a tiny bit of yogurt, or low sodium organic chicken broth and that seemed to help.  We were on the phone to our vet almost every day with B.  They told us that as long as puppies are getting a little water and it hasn't been more than 24 hours without food, then not to worry.  
If your worried about dehydration, try giving Maverick a few ice cubes.
We were so concerned that we actually took a syringe and filled it with water and would give Beckham a couple doses every so often.
Maybe get a can of Merrick's puppy plate and mix in with Maverick's food?  Beckham can't pass up Merrick's canned food, no matter what!
Good luck and let us know how he's doing.

 

[Michelle]

Tyson was the same way with the food.  When we first brought him home he barely ate...and now...he loves to eat!  Just give it time.  And with the potty training, you just have to be on top of it!  With Tyson, we never took our eyes off him.  If he started to sniff, we grabbed him and ran outside.  And if he started to go, we would grab him and run outside even if he was still going!  He did have a few accidents in the house, but I knew that would happen.  We had him housebroken in a week!!! Just be patient, and keep your eyes open for any signs he is about to go.  We were taking Ty out almost every 20 minutes...sometimes it was a false alarm, but it is better to be safe then sorry.  I am super suprised how smart Boxers really are.

 

[Craftydeb]

Bee Bee did the same thing about eating when we first brought her home several weeks ago.  Now she eats like a pig.  LOL

 

[MannysMommy]

Manny was potty trained within the same week we got him! We got so lucky! We used potty pads. When we would see him making circles or sniffing we would say potty and take him to his pad. If we missed his signs and he started to "go" we picked him up and ran him to the pad! We kept 2, one at the front door and one at the back door then eventually cut him down to the one pad at the back door. You just have to constantly watch him and give LOTS of praise. Once Manny would go, we would say "good boy!" or "good potty!"

 

[Michelle]

Aren't you teaching the puppy that peeing in the house is ok by using the pads?  We had Tyson potty trained to go outside within a week too!

 

[MannysMommy]

We didn't have him going outside until after he got his all shots because the previous owners of our house had dogs and we didn't want him to get anything in case there was pieces of their poop lingering around that we couldn't see. Who knows what they could have had. He goes outside to do his business now. He rattles our blinds to let us know he needs to go out. Although, we do keep a pad out at night, in case he needs to go in the middle of the night. He doesn't go anywhere else in the house except on his pad.

 

[Donya]

how did you make the move from the pad at the back door to the outdoors. Maverick has just been caught in the act of peeing in the carpet even tho i JUST took him out and waited for a half our without him doing a single thing. we told him NO and then took him right outside. he is there now with my boyfriend. I know eventually he will get it but i feel terrible like im doing something wrong.

On a happier note, Maverick ate a ton today. I mixed a little ground beef into his kibble and he went crazy and ate it all up. It was good to see him finally eating.

 

[MannysMommy]

We brought a pad outside that he had already peed on. That way he could smell it and know where to go outside.

 

[Guest]

Jetta had some feeding issues too.  I was very concerned because she was getting taller, but increasingly skinny and would only eat a bite or two of food at each feeding.  I found that I had to use a little warm water in the kibble and then keep putting her in front of the bowl and remind her to eat and praise her when she did eat.  The last two days she has eaten almost all of the food we put in front of her.