New puppy, many questions

[Plywood]

Hi everyone, my family just got our first english bulldog, she is 9 weeks old and the cutest thing I have ever seen. I have had dogs growing up but my wife has never. We have had her for 3 days thus far.

I want to crate train the puppy (never done that before) but from day 1 she absolutely hates going near the crate. Every time I want her to go in, she resists and ends up crying. I ignore the crying because I do not want to give any attention to bad behavior. The crying lasts about 15minutes and she doesn't cry again until she hears me coming down to let her out. I also lay next to the crate for 10minutes to try to calm her down, that is hit or miss, sometimes she will actually sleep while I am there but other times she is lunging at the crate trying to get out.

In the middle of night, I set my alarm clock for 3 1/2 hours to let her out before she has accidents and she comes out and does her business but at this point it is very hard to get her back in the crate. I end up playing with her for 15minutes before putting her back in but she resists the most.

I feel bad because I am forcing her into the crate and I feel this waya she will never be comfortable in there.

Is this normal? Will this go away? Am I doing something wrong?

My next question is, I feel she has separation anxiety (which is related to the crate question), she will not stop following me around and when I stop walking she stops and just stares at me, I am trying to build up her confidence slowly so she can explore on her own but that is a slow process. She won't even eat unless I sit by her bowl of food. Any hints or ideas on this?

I will try to post a picture soon

 

[raghu]

A 9 week old puppy that has just separated from its litter mates and mum.
You need to be patient about how long she takes to feel comfortable in her new home.
We got ours at 45 days and it took about a week for her to settle in; but we have an older male boxer in the house.

If you are crate training, it is better to start by having the crate in your room or just outside.
This way she can sense human presence and calm down. Put an old shirt/jeans of yours in the crate with her bedding.
We did not crate train, but she was in a various sizes of cardboard cartons till 4 months of age. After which she usurped our balcony chairs.

Following you is natural. She has been in the company of mum and litter mates. They were a pack.
Now she is in a new pack and is naturally taking to you as a pack leader. This is encouraging.
Give her time and she will gain independence. In a few weeks time I would not be surprised if we hear complaints about her naughtiness.
Ours was an angel for the first 2 days before she silently chewed up my wife's shoe.
Chewing did not stop until 6 months of age. Yes she has damaged furniture (wooden knobs, door stoppers, shoes, eyeglasses, etc)

Eating habits vary from pup to pup. It is OK to sit by her bowl for the first few days; then stand and encourage her.
Never make the mistake of hand feeding; it can make them demanding and fussy.

Pups at this age need 4 - 5 feeds a day. They will usually pee/poop right after a meal.
Toilet training can start right away. Newspaper method or pee pad or outside; whatever works for you.
Ours was trained to use one of the bathrooms (we have a tiled bathroom that can be hosed down).
Slowly we trained her to use the terrace in our apartment. Gently wipe her behind every time she pees/poops.
Take extra care to ensure she does not step into poop/pee. If she does clean immediately.

EBs need patience, firmness and consistency from owners. The earlier you start showing alpha behavior the better.
The 3rd month is fear imprint stage in a pup. So you need to be clear about praising good behavior and saying NO.
Don't send confusing signals; be consistent.

Cheers and good luck,
Raghu

 

[punky]

my odie always followed me his whole life..funny thing is he was the only one to ever do it and i have 4 of them.. after we lost my perfect man (its what i called him).. my abbey started doing it.. as if she felt she needed to take over.. it has been helpful in healing with the loss, she won't go out with the others to potty until she gives me a kiss and she is the first one back in and is at my feet for more kisses... after about 15 or so kisses shes ok to go play with the rest.. you are so going to love your english bulldog.. welcome.. i never crate trained so im sorry i couldn't give you any advice.. but just wanted to let you know the following may not ever stop but its not a bad thing.. i love it.. welcome.. pictures please... i love pictures.. lol

 

[Plywood]

Patience isn't the issue with my family, we just want to make sure we are doing it right.

Right now I am trying to teach her to inhibit her bite. I let her chew on my index finger and when she goes too hard, I just say Owww...she has been responded well to that and has loosened her bite. After she masters that I will work on redirecting to what she can and can't chew/bite.

Are there any snacks I can give her to reward her behavior or is it still a bit early?

 

[2BullyMama]

Patience isn't the issue with my family, we just want to make sure we are doing it right.

Right now I am trying to teach her to inhibit her bite. I let her chew on my index finger and when she goes too hard, I just say Owww...she has been responded well to that and has loosened her bite. After she masters that I will work on redirecting to what she can and can't chew/bite.

Are there any snacks I can give her to reward her behavior or is it still a bit early?

Crate training is tough, but you are on the right track.... you can maybe place the crate in the room next to your bed to help he settle in, but she will learn to love the crate as a safe space once she is older.
Treats -- you can use her kibble or get small soft treats - freeze dried liver, Fruitables minis are two that I use.

to EBN!

 

[Plywood]

Here she is

 

[brianhoostal]

She's adorable

 

[Biogirl71]

She is adorable!
Here is a quick link to a helpful part of our forum, our FAQ: http://www.englishbulldognews.com/forums/english-bulldog-faq/
You will find lots of great info here!
We also have a section of the site that is dedicated to training.

Frank had separation anxiety issues. We would practice by leaving the room for a few minutes and coming back, then progressively increasing the time to show that we would always come back. I am sure there are other ways but that worked for us.

 

[RiiSi]

Lovely puppy. Check this out...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5EAd1hLn38

 

[CCandMurray]

View attachment 94255


Here she is

What a beautiful baby girl!! Congratulations and welcome to EBN

 

[Plywood]

Lovely puppy. Check this out...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5EAd1hLn38

Thank you for sharing this, last night I decided I was going to get a pen with her crate to ease her in. Hopefully with the pen she can feel more comfortable roaming around a little.

On another note, I am slightly worried about her eating. She eats between 3/4 - 1 cup of kibble in the morning around 6am then at lunch time she only takes 1 - 2 bites of food then she won't eat again until 6pm, where she will eat 1/4 - 1/2 cup. I feel like she is not eating enough, which I think should be 3 cups a day. Every feeding she gets a new clean bowl with fresh food. She drinks water regularly throughout the day and she has a healthy "bathroom" break every time. Should I be concerned about how little she eats?

On a side note, the first day I got her she wouldn't eat at all, so I googled this and somewhere I read to try to add a little water to her kibble to soften it up, well I did that and she started eating. Now, if I don't add water she sniffs her meal and looks up at me like "hey you forgot something" They are funny!

 

[RiiSi]

If she is growing and not sknny she should be alright. A lot of people keep their bully pups too chunky. It's not good when growing up, if ever. Are you training her in any way? You can always use her food as treats when training. She is not too young. Like what Victoria is doing when crate training you can use that chance to give her more food.

 

[Sheena]

Thank you for sharing this, last night I decided I was going to get a pen with her crate to ease her in. Hopefully with the pen she can feel more comfortable roaming around a little.

On another note, I am slightly worried about her eating. She eats between 3/4 - 1 cup of kibble in the morning around 6am then at lunch time she only takes 1 - 2 bites of food then she won't eat again until 6pm, where she will eat 1/4 - 1/2 cup. I feel like she is not eating enough, which I think should be 3 cups a day. Every feeding she gets a new clean bowl with fresh food. She drinks water regularly throughout the day and she has a healthy "bathroom" break every time. Should I be concerned about how little she eats?

On a side note, the first day I got her she wouldn't eat at all, so I googled this and somewhere I read to try to add a little water to her kibble to soften it up, well I did that and she started eating. Now, if I don't add water she sniffs her meal and looks up at me like "hey you forgot something" They are funny!

Oh ya! They def get spoiled quickly. I feed Daisy 1 cup in the morning and one at night. Shes 2. But when she was a pup I would do 3/4 a cup in the morning, 1/2 cup in the afternoon and 3/4 for dinner. Shes eating, and looks healthy... I wouldnt worry too much right now

 

[Plywood]

Few more questions and I didn't want to start a new thread.

Over the last few days I am noticing pink/red patches under her white fur, it doesn't seem to bother her but could this be allergies? The only food she is eating is Royal Canin medium breed puppy (the same she was eating at the breeder) and for snack/treats I give her mini fruitables (apple bacon flavor) and once a day she has NuVet Plus Tablet. Is it too early to switch to adult food, I am eventually going to switch to Instinct grain free rabbit.

Next question, every type of bedding I put in her den she pee's on it. She won't pee on my bed or the couch but if I put down a towel or a bed she will eventually pee on it, even when she has gone outside, sometimes its a few drops sometimes its alot. Also, if I put a stuffed animal in her den she will eventually pee on that. Never experienced this before with other dogs, but its becoming an issue because now she will just sleep on the floor. If I remove any bedding, towel or stuffed animal she will not pee and if she does pee, she will always use the weewee pad. Is this typical bulldog behavior or is there more to it?

Thanks

Here is an updated pic

 

[2BullyMama]

Few more questions and I didn't want to start a new thread.

Over the last few days I am noticing pink/red patches under her white fur, it doesn't seem to bother her but could this be allergies? The only food she is eating is Royal Canin medium breed puppy (the same she was eating at the breeder) and for snack/treats I give her mini fruitables (apple bacon flavor) and once a day she has NuVet Plus Tablet. Is it too early to switch to adult food, I am eventually going to switch to Instinct grain free rabbit.

Next question, every type of bedding I put in her den she pee's on it. She won't pee on my bed or the couch but if I put down a towel or a bed she will eventually pee on it, even when she has gone outside, sometimes its a few drops sometimes its alot. Also, if I put a stuffed animal in her den she will eventually pee on that. Never experienced this before with other dogs, but its becoming an issue because now she will just sleep on the floor. If I remove any bedding, towel or stuffed animal she will not pee and if she does pee, she will always use the weewee pad. Is this typical bulldog behavior or is there more to it?

Thanks
View attachment 94743
Here is an updated pic

Bedding --- remove all bedding till she is fully trained and then start to introduce it and see if she remains on track, if she pees -- no bedding. Some dogs just can not have bedding in the crate and she will be fine with it. My two have three pads/beds in their crate and they nest till they get under them

Food/red patches ---- no easy way to say this .... RC is not a good food, lots of grains and fillers no real nutrition to it. Look to get on a high quality grain free food.... do a slow switch over 10 days when you find the one you want. keep in mind, anything bought at the grocery store or Walmart/Target, usually is trash food. Petco and Petsmart are starting to sell better foods. Here is a link to help you research.

English Bulldog News Forums - Dog Food Ratings at English Bulldog News

GOOD luck