Sorry if this seems to ramble. I just have a lot on my mind.
He has already broken and melted my heart. I am a teacher and will actually be off work for the next 6 weeks to train, play, and “mother” the little guy. I think I have convinced my mother to watch him for the first couple of months when school starts to help him settle in because he is so young. Our best guess is that he is a lab mix. He will probably be medium to large in size.
I know that socialization is so important for a pup of this age. What can I do to help him?
I keep crying and my anxiety about the next 6 months is very high. My worries make it hard to sleep even when the little guy is sleeping. I’m so sad for him and I just want to make sure that he is a happy, healthy puppy. The shelters around here are overwhelmed and I refuse to leave the little guy. Euthanasia rates are pretty high.
He will eventually be an indoor/outdoor dog. I won’t be comfortable with this, though, until he is older. That is why I’m going to pay my mom to watch him. I will be gone from 7-3:30 and my man works from 7:30-5. On days with inclement weather, my fella would be able to come home and let him in or out. We have a large fenced in back yard with plenty of shady areas. I live in a rural area with very kind neighbors so I am not worried about anyone messing with him. I live in East Tennessee where there is rarely an extreme temperature; however, I’m also looking into adding a doggie door, too.
Here is what I have done so far:
(1) He has a lifestyle crate (with the partition to make it smaller for now) that is attached to a large playpen in our kitchen. He sleeps in this crate at night. I’ve been sleeping on a couch next to it at night to take him out when he wakes. This is generally every 2 hrs.
(2) I’ve taken him to the vet. They dewormed him and gave him a flea treatment that is appropriate for a little guy under 5Lbs.
(3) I take him out to potty every time he wakes up from sleeping. He has only had 3 accidents in 3.5 days. I clean up his mess well so as not to leave a smell and take him out anyway. I DO NOT scold such a young pup but rather just take him out and set him in the grass each time.
What can I do to ensure this little guy has a great adolescence? Especially considering he is off to a rough start?
Thanks for the encouragement! I had a torturous few day where I didn’t know if I should keep him or take him to the shelter. Many people on the internet acted like it was inhumane to have a dog if you couldn’t keep him indoors 24/7 and be with him most of the time; however, the lady at the shelter showed me all the cute pups there and told me that many don’t make it out. I refuse to give up on him! I’m not rich and I don’t have the resources to put him in a daycare every day… Read more »
It will probably take a little while to potty train him because he is so young. To socialize him you can take him on walks and play with him and get him toys to play with. Puppies are resiliant so even though he has had a rough start just give him a loving home and play with him and make sure he is happy and he will be fine into adolescence. I hope you and your new puppy the best!
Don’t worry about what happened to him. Think about how lucky he is to have a caring human now who is taking great care of him. Socialization is important. Make sure to introduce him to lots of people when he is old enough to go on nice walks. Also dog parks or other dogs that you know, should be a great way to introduce him to other dogs. Your vet should have a ton of info to share with you. Best of luck!!