# I've just bought Japanese Spitz.. know nothing



## Prodhan (Dec 4, 2011)

Hi, 
I've just bought a japanese spitz. He's only one month old. It's been 5 hours he's with me. He is shivering sometimes... why's that?

He's not eating anything. He've eaten only three spoons of milk till now.

I don't know how to bring up a one month old puppy.. Can you provide me with some helpful information ?

I'm a first time dog owner.

Thanks in advance.


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

Bring the puppy back to it's mother if she is alive, or to a vet NOW!


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## Twinney (Nov 4, 2007)

+1 to Keechak, that puppy needs to be with his mother and siblings for at least another FULL four weeks. Puppies shouldn't be separated from their mothers and litters until eight weeks old, bare minimum.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

Agreed. You won't be a dog owner for long if you don't get that tiny puppy warm and fed very soon. It is much too young to be away from its mother (eight weeks is the earliest I would take a puppy). 

Not only is it bad for a very young puppy's health to be away from its mother, it is also going to make it much more difficult to train the pup in the future. Puppies learn a lot of dog skills from their mom and siblings in the first eight weeks, including "bite inhibition" -- how to know if they are biting too hard/playing too rough.

If you honestly cannot get this pup back to its mother as soon as possible, get it to a vet, like Keechak said. The vet will tell you what to do.


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

At this age it can't regulate it's own body temperature so if it's mother is dead it needs to be provided with a heat source to keep it from going into hypothermia. it needs to be fed around the clock every 3-4 hours, it needs to be dewormed right now. You are going to need to take off of work and watch it 24/7 or you could come home to a dead puppy plain and simple.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

The ONLY reason this pup should be away from mom and litter ages is if Mom was dead! Return it to the 'breeder' it should still be nursing and have its litter-mates for proper socialization.


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## stacey101 (Sep 20, 2010)

4 weeks ?!?! 
Bring him back to his mum .


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

I hope this isn't one of those "one post wonders" posters, never to come back


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## Prodhan (Dec 4, 2011)

First of All, I can't return it to its mother.She's gone abroad with its owner.

Now, I am successfully feeding it after 3-4 hours, nursing all the 24 hour.. I'm also giving him proper heat using blanket. He's not shivering at all. He seems to be normal.. Eating, sleeping, peeing & eliminating, sometimes running on the floor, sucking my finger etc. He's also putting his paw on my foot sometimes.


I'm free for next 15 days. Hope that he'll get ok by that time.
It's already started communicating with me. When it needs pee it's circling if it's on the floor. 

But yes, it won't learn anything from its mother. How can I lessen that effect?

Should these kinds of puppy kept on the floor for some times, or they should be left on the crate all the time except food time and pee & others. ?


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

To lessen the impact of not having mom and litter-mates around you'll need to start some training now. You can start with bite inhibition http://www.dogforums.com/first-time-dog-owner/8377-bite-stops-here.html this will not stop them from biting, but will help give a 'soft mouth'. 

Make sure you DO NOT use any dominance based adversive punishment, for a pup this young taking attention away for a few seconds will be enough of a 'punishment' and reward for ALL desired behavior. Be prepared for 'fear periods and do NOT push the pup into a situation where it seems to be afraid. Once the pup is around 8 weeks you can get it into a Puppy K class which will help with socailization and out into public with you (do not allow to walk on the ground until the second set of shots) to hear and be exposed to as many sights and sounds as possible. 

The pup needs to out with the family when you can give FULL attention (pups can get into trouble fast) and potty training can start now since you're being forced to wean the pup early, any time you see the pup starting to circle, get it outside as fast as possible without scaring it.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Good luck!....... and take everyones advice SERIOUSLY.  I did something of a similar nature and rescued a 4 week old pup but only because it was going to be culled. (PTS) and his other littermates were dead. I basically adopted him out at 10 weeks of age. He has been returned to me .....and even though I did my best....he has some major issues. I did pretty well with the bite inhibition.....but the rest?..........and I have had dogs for over 41 years and am not new at this.

cshellenberger gave you a great link to follow!  I am still using this as well.....and my rescue pup just turned 9 months old. This forum is worth a great deal of knowledge and advice for you and that little one. Stick around and learn and let us know how everything is going.


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## Prodhan (Dec 4, 2011)

Give me some tips on potty training.. He's not circling anymore.. If he does, he doesn't follow me or my command.

He tries to get out of his crate when he feels that he needs to eliminate. then I make him free. Then he does it one of the two places. 

I've marked those two major places, one is before & one is right after the door of my room. I placed old newspaper at one of the places. Then he does on other place and vice versa.

My apartment is at 5th floor. So, it's not possible for me to go downward quickly. I tried but he peeped on my hand.

How can I make him eliminate at one place (like on old newspaper(not on the floor), so I can change it).

or, any other possible way?


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Prodhan said:


> Give me some tips on potty training.. He's not circling anymore.. If he does, he doesn't follow me or my command.
> 
> He tries to get out of his crate when he feels that he needs to eliminate. then I make him free. Then he does it one of the two places.
> 
> ...


He is too young to follow a command yet.  He is a baby baby.......remember he should nave been with his mom and litter mates for at the least 6-8 more weeks. You are now his Mom/Dad. 

Be sure to keep his body temp warm at all times. I used to let Benny sleep with me for my body heat.....for at least two weeks until he hit 6 weeks of age. It is going to be a long road....but it will go quickly....do not get frustrated. Your new pup can sense all your feelings.

There is good advice in the training forum about potty training.

When I had my 4 week old pup, Benny....for starters a 4 week old pup is no where near being able to know or hold their potty. I just used to take Benny to the newspaper very very often like every 1/2 hour or so and place him on the newspaper.....did not let him get off of the paper until he did some potty. At 4 weeks old they have not a clue yet. They do not even know what the feeling of having to go potty feels like. My Benny couldn't even hardly walk at 4 weeks old without tripping all over himself. 

By the time Benny was 6-8 weeks old he knew where the paper was. Always keep the paper in the same place. I then began to train him outdoors once he was old enough to know the feeling of having to go potty. By 10 weeks old he was beginning to distinguish the difference between paper and out doors.

The 5th floor will make it difficult and anyways he doesn't and IMO should not be outside as he has no vaccinations and could contract parvo and possibly die. I did not start to take Benny outside until he was 6 weeks old and then I carried him everywhere....especially at the vets because of disease. Please in advance call and get him in to the vet asap.....I did even at 6 weeks old just for a quick check up.They generally do not begin vaccines until 8 weeks old where I am located.....probably pretty much universal.

I would also get some puppy formula and mix a little with his kibble to make it soft at first. I weaned my Benny like this but I first used human baby rice cereal and added warm formula for his first solid food. It did not upset his tummy. I started this at 4 weeks of age. Right or wrong I am not sure....I did this with a litter of pups years ago when there were too many for the Mom to feed. Benny has grown up to be healthy so far and EXTREMELY STRONG!  He was very ill when I rescued him......as I said, his litter mates had already died.


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## Prodhan (Dec 4, 2011)

Mine's started running and bitting. He's bitting my nail, finger, my sandal, a little ball. 

If I want to keep him on the newspaper, I need to force him, will it be a good thing to a one month pup?


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Prodhan said:


> Mine's started running and bitting. He's bitting my nail, finger, my sandal, a little ball.
> 
> If I want to keep him on the newspaper, I need to force him, will it be a good thing to a one month pup?


I would never call it forcing the pup,...but just teaching him where his potty area is.. Just put him on the paper and do not make it play time. He will sooner or later figure out that the paper means business...potty time only. Be sure to praise him like crazy when he goes on the paper.....even at 4 weeks old.....his tiny brain is like a sponge...soaking up every thing you do and say and the way you teach;...... and everything he smells....as his sight is not 100% as of yet....but soon will be seeing clearer and clearer.

Once he goes potty (as he may not go every time and this is ok too because he is just being shown where he is expected to go).....just give him the chance to NOT FAIL......after he goes potty then it is play time somewhere else and not near his potty area.


EDIT: I almost forgot.....I fed Benny as you would a baby.....10 am - 2pm - 6pm - 10pm I found this to be the best schedule as it fits around a fairly normal day for the average person. This way you can try to find a little time to do the things you need to do once he eats, goes potty, plays, and potty's and finally takes a little nap.  Also, he may wake you up in the night to potty. Be sure to get up and take him.

I know this is all overwhelming.....but just remember....you will have a wonderful companion and puppyhood is over before you know it! 

For the bite inhibition.....I suggest you read up on that....this is extremely important or you could end up with an out of control dog who bites , period. I am still working on this issue and as I said, Benny is now 9 months old. I did not have this wonderful forum at that time to be able to read up on the biting issue. I wish I would have.  

When your pup mouths you.....replace your hands with a toy. You could also " Yelp" like a dog when he bites. There are more than one method to train this. It is also in the training forum somewhere.  I believe it is called " The Bite Stops Here".


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

I would get a large crate, and buy an x-pen set the x-pen up around the crate. Put puppy pads in the x-pen and toys and his food in the crate. He should start to self teach himself how to not go potty where he sleeps by walking out of the crate to eliminate on the puppy pads. He is too young to train him to go potty outside yet.


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## WheatenDaneMom (Nov 4, 2011)

your biggest goal right now is to keep that puppy alive and teach him the things his mommy would have taught him for the next few weeks... thats all  You'll have your hands full with that  And hopefully by some miracle the owner of the bitch decides to spay her, especially if he's going to treat puppies this way.


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## Prodhan (Dec 4, 2011)

Thank you for being with me so far.

I'm trying to implement bite inhibition process described in that article. At one stage, when I leave my pup for bitting hard(comparatively), he barks when I close the door. 
Later, when I enter, He doesn't bite me, just smell of my foot and then lick it. But later, he forgets ( I think).

I am going same procedure over and over. Am I on the right path? or doing some wrong on training process.

How much a pup eat of one month? When I make him free of the crate , he only follow me, try to bite my feet over and over. I tried to distract him by throwing ball, but it lasts for few seconds. Then I give his meal. He eats it whole..(This is not the pup I've seen last night, it's a lil bit matured than) Then he bites me a lil, then tries to sleep on the floor. He needs me to enter into his crate.

Till now, I fail to make him eliminate on paper. He's eliminating on the floor (where there is no paper). If I hold him on the paper, he forces me. If I still hold him, he barks and tries to bite me then skip)

Still I'm patient. He makes too much noise. Whenever he sees me, he barks and tries to get out of the crate.. If I don't let him out, he bargains for 15-20 minutes. 

I've exams next month. Although it's vacation but I've to study... 

That is the reason I can't explore much about bringing up pup of one month through net. I also didn't find helpful article. Rather, you people are helping me all the way(Thanks again for that). 

Feeling totally helpless.. can't study listening to his barks,tired cleaning his elimination and disturbed enduring feet biting if he's on the floor..

Any suggestion?


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Keechak and WheatenDaneMom have both given you good advice .... listen to them. Since you are in school it is going to be tough. Try and set up the x-pen. I am retired and have 25 hours a day to do this sort of thing. You need to just make sure the pup stays alive, is fed, kept warm, and kept clean ... they tend to get into their waste....but DO NOT bathe this pup ...use a baby wipe if necessary.

I used to give Benny 1/4 cup of food every 4 hours ...give or take. You must be careful because a pup will not sometimes know when it is full ... and eat itself to death. My vet told me that it is pretty hard to over - feed a growing pup ... but I disagree to a point. I have known of a pup to die from eating too much and getting the bloat. Did you call a vet yet? Please do and ask their advice on the proper amount of food for your particular breed of pup. My pup was a very large pup. He was 30 pounds at 4 months old.

Please let us know if you call the vet. I am concerned. I do not want to steer you in the wrong direction. 

You will feel helpless ... and this is normal ... It is also a good reason not to take a 4 week old pup from it's Mom and Siblings. I will never repeat that mistake myself. I only did so because I knew the pup would die. 

If you take him to the vet and know he is not ill and he is fed and he has gone potty and has a clean area to sleep in ... use some ear plugs to study ... but do not use the ear plugs as an escape from it all ... when the pup cries he usually needs something ... like a baby. He is going to cry ... and if you know he is not ill, or cold, and fed, and went potty, and has a clean area to sleep in ... let him cry a little until he sleeps.........  Welcome to puppyhood! 

He will cry and bite and potty because he is a pup. I would try the x-pen or his crate for now. It seems you have too much on your plate. It is not important to housebreak him at 4 weeks old. I just had the extra time on my hands. Do allow him puppy pads to potty on or newspaper ...but do not allow him to eat any of those things. Puppies sometimes try and eat their papers. Remember also that puppies try to eat just about everything....so as he gets older ... he is going to try to eat all kinds of things if left to his own ... Puppies are notorious for chewing power cords too. Keep them well hidden. ... puppy proof your living quarters just like you would child proof a house. You have plenty of time to worry about training. After a couple of weeks you will see a difference in the puppies needs. You have only had him a little over 24 hours? It takes time and patience.

You need to be sure this puppy is gaining weight also ... this is why it is extremely important to see a vet. Please do. Let us know.

I hope I have not forgotten anything.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

Just remember you're working with an infant as far as attention span and memory, be consistant and patient. Don't worry as much about potty training as of yet, just keep him contained where you're not worried about a little mess and put down some paper or piddle pads. The pup will need to go to a vet for shots ASAP since he's not getting mothers milk to keep up his immunity, the shots given now will kick in at the 6 week mark when immunity will wear off from mom.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

Prodhan - How are things going with your little one? Have you been able to contact a vet? ......


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