My orphaned puppy: sleep, play, socialization, and bite inhibition?

Love the info you put in the name, btw. It is normal for very young puppies to sleep most of the day with periods of activity in between, and if he seems otherwise perky, is still eating and drinking well and doesn't have any vomiting or diarrhea this is likely normal. For socialization, it would be best to wait until he has had vaccines or is only around other dogs whose vaccine history you know so that he can't contract an illness that could potentially kill him. Once he's had enough vaccines you can also enroll in a puppy kindergarten together so that he can learn some basic manners and socialize in a safe environment with other dogs his age. Bite inhibition can be taught by you, and looking up bite inhibition training can help. Since you have quite a few questions, scheduling a consultation with one of our experts may be beneficial in getting them answered a bit more in-depth! Talking with a local trainer in your area is another good resource as well.

Make sure everyone in your household interacts with him to get him used to being touched and handled and used to people. He is too young to be around other dogs yet. But once he has his vaccines completed you can enroll him in doggy day care or a group obedience class to help with social skills

If he is no longer nursing, then he isn’t getting antibodies from Mom anymore so he will need to start his vaccine series earlier than usual. Also, he may not learn the social cues that Mom teaches during this time. He can, however, learn those by participating in a puppy play group . I would schedule an appointment with your veterinarian soon to start the vaccinations and to ask for a recommendation for a puppy play group. Best of luck and enjoy your cute new puppy!! Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hello. It is never too early to start some very basic training & advocating for good manners in a puppy. Discourage any chewing or rough play using hands or feet. Gentle reminders & plenty or other things to chew on are the key. If your pup is already on a solid, but soft diet, then do not let her charge over & eat her food in seconds. Make her sit as quiet as possible for 10-15 seconds before allowing her to eat. Begin some basic obedience with her. Sit, stay, shake a paw are all possible for her to begin to understand at this age. While you can not take her out to associate with others, as soon as she has had all of her puppy shots, begin to socialize her with other pets & people ( as long as it is safe to do so with this pandemic ). If you treat her well, with a firm kindness, she should respond well to you. We will just have to wait & see how things progress with this virus, but the more professional training help you can get, the better a canine citizen your pup will be. Chances are she will do just fine. Thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Yes it is actually recommended to only do hard core playing with your puppy twice daily for 20-30mins at a time anyway. This helps keep unnecessary pressure and possible trauma to their growing bones and joints. Also you can increase the amount of food instantly, no need to do a slow transition. Your pet will adjust quickly. Also make sure to have Beretta checked for intestinal parasites, since this is the most common reason for having an underweight puppy. Best of luck moving forward. Take care!

Slowly transition the puppy to the puppy food, replacing the mil and biscuits with the puppy food over several days. It is hard to help with social skills if you do not have other puppies, Socialisation period is until about 12 weeks, So have the puppy vaccinated at 6/9/12 weeks and you can then have it meet other vaccinated puppies and dogs. Worm the puppy now as well.

Oh dear! Growling when you pick her up is a major red flag for future problems in a puppy this age - this is not normal, and needs more help than just socialization. From your description, it's hard to say if her behavior with the other puppy is normal play or aggression. I would strongly recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate her in person and help you put together a plan to work on these issues - it's best to do this as soon as possible, since early intervention gives you a much better chance of being able to change this behavior before she grows up. I'm not sure what part of Canada you're in, but your regular veterinarian should be able to help you find out where your nearest board-certified veterinary behaviorist is so that you can make an appointment. In the meantime, I would try and avoid doing anything that tends to make her growl - instead of picking her up, for example, use treats to encourage her to come to you. I would also not recommend any kind of punishment for this behavior, as this has a high risk of making things worse over time. The behaviorist can help you identify what kinds of situations tend to trigger the growling, and will put together a training plan to work on this issue.