[WindsorBowser]

I'm not used to puppies very much, in fact most of my pets showed no affection and so I'm confused whether these are normal puppy behavior.  

1.  Our puppy, Windsor, is 8-weeks old and he follows us everywhere, from room to room in the house.  Well he seems to like plopping down on my feet, be it doing the dishes or if I stand still for a second.  He'll just come and plop down. Well I've been trying to potty train him but when I take him outside, he just plops at my feet.  When I walk away he whines for a second, walks up to me, and plops down at my feet again.  This might go on for about 10-15 minutes.  When I take him inside he pees on the carpet.  He hates being alone.  Is this natural puppy behavior or not?  Should I prolong the amount of time out there?

2.  Crate training. . .where do I begin.  Imagine walking up to a Boeing 777, putting your ear up against the engine and yelling "let her rip!".  It goes from a whimper, whine, barking, and then a full blown squealing in about 5 seconds.  I tried using treats. . .he cares little for treats.  I tried putting his food or water bowl in the crate.  We tried lovingly coaxing him into the crate.  Just horrendous resistance.  Soooo is this out of the question?  Is this something to be expected?  

3.  I'm getting mixed signals.  I understand he has little to no control of his "exhaust" parts, but he likes to poop in the exact same place.  Problem is, he doesn't sniff around.  He just walks and BAM!  Little poops on the carpet.  What do I do as this is happening?  Do I grab him and run to the door?  It seems that there will be little use to run out there when he is empty.  I've actually picked him up while he is doing the business and ended up with a trail of poop leading to my backyard, as opposed to just a little pile.  Somewhat funny now that I look back on it.    

I know accidents will happen inside the house, but it's not like I don't take him outside.  Do I have to wait till he is more mature to expect results?  At this point I'm not at all frustrated, he is just a puppy and puppies will do puppy things.  I'm just. . .puzzled.  It's 2:22AM and I'm on the couch instead of bed.  He seems to get up every so often to look around and make sure I'm here.  If I get up and go to bed, he'll pee+poop, and then come find me in bed and whimper a bit.  

*sigh* if he wasn't such a fun little guy. . .

Any info is great, even if it's to tell me I'm doing something wrong, so I can fix it.

 

[Honeyec]

The one thing you just have to keep in mind all the time is that he's still only a tiny baby.  8 weeks is very young and they really have no control over any of their functions at that age.  To answer some of your questions specifically:

1.  Boxers are known as Velcro dogs, they will literally follow you around the house for pretty much your entire life!  Tink can be fast asleep on the couch but if I leave the room for a second, she follows me out.  I haven't been to the loo on my own for over a year now, ha ha!  At 8 weeks, Windsor is maybe a teeny bit young to have left his littermates, and he's looking for reassurance that he has a new pack, so that's probably another reason why he's shadowing you constantly.

2. Neither of mine are crate-trained, so I can't really help you there.  Both of ours started out sleeping in our utility room.  There was a bit of crying the first few nights but we just ignored them and it soon stopped.  Is the crate in your bedroom?  I can see how the crying would be harder to ignore if it's right beside you!  Try wrapping a hot water bottle in a towel and putting a ticking clock into the crate with Windsor.  Also, if it's possible, go back to the breeder and ask him for a towel or blanket that has Windor's mother's scent on it, and put this in the crate too.

3.  House training can take up to 9 months to complete, so at 8 weeks I really wouldn't be expecting anything at all from him!  Having said that, it's never to early to begin training, so just keep taking him out every hour, and maybe stay outside a little bit longer.  I would continue to pick him and and take him outside if you catch him in the act, even if it does mean a bit more to clean up!  You're right in noticing that he seems to go in the same place each time - if he can scent a previous "accident" in the house, he'll keep going in that spot.  You need to remove the smell completely - several people here use a product called Nature's Miracle.  You can't get that in Ireland, so I used bleach water or Dettol anti-bacterial spray.

Congrats on getting your little guy, and just remember that the key to surviving puppyhood successfully is a shed-load of patience (along with acres of paper towel!).

 

[Zhanna]

Yeah, what she said!

Sounds like you've got a normal puppy on your hands.  Our Henry is constantly under foot.  He's almost a year old now, but if you walk out of a room, he's right behind you!

There are lots of other puppy threads in this forum that can give you some really good info.

Good luck!
Zhanna

 

[samsonsmom]

Honeyec is spot on in what she is saying. Boxers are definitely unique, they are very social and like to be with their humans, regardless of where they are..Some more than others, but Windsor is just a wee baby, probably should have stayed with mom & littermates a bit longer. We brought Buck home at 10 weeks and I thought that was just about right. Potty training can be one of the most frustrating jobs, but it's a work in progress, constantly....Try when you clean up an accident, take the towels outside where you want him to go, leave them there, the scent may help get him to understand better...Also if you haven't yet, start collar & leash training, I found this works really well with keeping your pup close and you can use that to help with the potty training. Angel was not potty trained when we brought her home at 16 mos, so I kept a leash on her for weeks, it helped.....

Crate training, I believe we have a good sticky topic in the training section that Liz, Lillyzmomma did, read thru that..Also try putting a hot water bottle, wrapped in a towel in his crate, a puppy Kong is good, put a little peanut butter in it for him to amuse himself. An old fashioned wind up clock works great as well..The key is, don't let Windsor rule you! Ignore his antics in the crate( hard to do, I know), but if you give in, it will become even worse. Again, he's very young, he is probably suffering a bit of separation anxiety and missing Mom & his littermates.

Hope this has been some help and please feel free to ask away on any issues you have....

 

[JessiesMom]

Try different treats.  It took us a while to figure out that Jessie will only eat bacon flavored treats.

 

[tootsie]

I won't repeat everything that has been said, all excellent advice. Sounds like Windsor is the perfect little boxer puppy. Good luck with everything and hang in there!