Eau de puppy and other questions

[Brooke and Zenyatta]

Hi everyone. We picked up our puppy two days ago. She is doing really good. Just one accident (hubby's fault) and sleeping really well at night. For having never been in a crate, she is doing fantastic. As long as she is good and sleepy she'll go right in and fall asleep.

Anyhow..I do have a few questions. I feel like a mom with a newborn baby. I have the puppy..now what! Reading a ton of books and even having had a dog constantly throughout my life didn't really prepare me for the reality of a puppy.

1. My house smells like a giant puppy! I bathed her last night, which she seemed to really enjoy, but my house still has that new puppy smell. Ideas? Just get used to it? My 11 year old (sometimes incontinent) dog doesn't have this much of an odor. It's not exactly stinky...it's just puppy.

2. Napping out of the crate? She gets worn out easily and takes lots of naps. If she falls asleep in the same room that we are in is it ok to just let her nap outside of the crate?

3. Playpen crying. We have a nice large playpen for her in our kitchen. I was really hoping she would happily (ha!) spend time in here while we got the kids dressed for school, while cooking, etc. Basically whenever I couldn't keep my eye directly on her. She cries really loudly while in her pen. Any ideas? She's not interested in her toys at all while in there. I've instructed the family not to coo to her while she is crying and to just ignore it and go about our business. Is she too young for yogurt/kibble or peanut butter in a kong? She's just under 8 weeks. Maybe if she had a really special treat for that area she wouldn't get so mad.

Those are the most pressing issues right now. (besides mouthing everything with her razor teeth and thinking my 2 year old is a littermate)

Thanks! There are pics of her in my profile. :)

[Bonnie and Kona]

I love this post! Thanks so much. I am right in that boat with my 10 week old.
1. I use Arm & Hammer Pet Fresh. I sprinkle it on the carpet before I vacuum. We have not been perfect in the wetting on the carpet plan. After cleaning the spot and after it has dried, I sprinkle the powder on the carpet and vacuum it up. It makes the whole house smell pretty nice. I have read that using essential peppermint oil in a diffuser is good for getting rid of fleas so I am sure that will be a great thing to disburse the puppy smell, too.

2. We let Owen sleep out of his crate sometimes. Not sure if that is good or not. He is easily transfered into it.

3. I think the playpen crying will stop with time. Your pup is just learning the rules now. I would think the Kong with her kibble is a good start for keeping her mind off her misery. We put yogurt & pumpkin on Owen's food every meal.

Keep us posted on how things go. She is precious!

[Adina P]

OOoooh I LOVE new puppy smell...puppy breath. It's so nice! I hope that's what the smell is that you're smelling and not something ickier.

It's fine to let puppy nap out of the crate, just supervise so puppy doesn't wake up while you're not watching and have an accident or chew something up.

She'll get used to the play pen. Just ignore her or try something else like tethering her to you or crate time.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Congratulations on your new puppy!

Lucy was only 2 days home with us when I posted a blog here on DK about this very subject... check it out... http://www.doodlekisses.com/profiles/blogs/puppy-breath-perfume

The smell won't last long,,, maybe a few weeks more, and will gradually fade as each day passes. That must be tough business having to listen to your baby cry when she's in her pen. We never used a pen. Instead we just put her in her crate during busy times (which was, and still is, located in the hub of our home, in the kitchen nook area) and she never seemed to mind. In fact, she automatically goes into her crate at those times now on her own, with the door open! But Lucy's a year old now and knows the house routine. As for napping outside her crate, I think that's fine... better than waking her to put her in her crate.

[Lynda Kamrath]

1. Does the crate or the playpen smell? My puppy immediately peed in his playpen, but hasn't done it since. His playpen does smell like puppy, however.
2. My puppy like to sleep on the cold tiles in the bathroom, the kitchen, or in front of the fireplace. My older dog also loves the cold tiles and doesn't like sleeping on the carpet. At 8 weeks she probably needs lots of sleep and will pick her favorite spots. Just don't let her wander the house without supervision.
3. It will probably stop with a little time. When she cries, treat it the same as a crying baby in his crib. Check to see that she is okay, pet her and leave. I wouldn't worry too much about entertaining her in the playpen. Put something in once in a while before she is in the playpen and let her discover it on her own.
About biting, we discovered a little trick that seems to work. When she opens her mouth to try biting (playing), put your thumb inside her mouth and squeeze down on her lower mouth with your thumb. Hold it for a few seconds and repeat every time she opens her mouth to bite you. Our puppy stopped the biting real quick and started hitting us with his paws unstead of biting for play.

[Brooke and Zenyatta]

Thanks everyone for the thoughts and tips. Lynda...I cleaned the playpen really well with a garden hose and soap and water. So, no it shouldn't have any smell. The crate was brand new. It isn't even so much her breath as it is just her smell. Like I say,I don't hate the smell, but I'm surprised at how strong it is.

She has been a great pup so far. House training is going well. I did break down and get her bully stick out for playpen time. I think if I only give it to her in the playpen she will not mind being there so much. She loved it. In the meantime my 11 year old dog cleaned out her puppy kong. I guess I gotta go get a "senior" kong for her now. My husband I decided she's like a 9 month old baby with ADD and fangs. Awesome! :)

[Bonnie and Kona]

Really sharp fangs! Every night Owen turns into a wild, crazed beast, jaws snapping at thin air!

[Smita, Ollie and Juno]

All these questions are ones that I could've asked about my 11 week old Ollie.
That peppermint oil sound like a great idea. Ollie can be quite smelly too. Not super stinky but definitely strong! Especially when he is out when it's raining.
I identify with the mouthing. Ollie definitely has OCD in the area of chewing/mouthing! :-)
He takes most of his short naps outside the crate, by my feet. He likes his crate and doesn't complain about going in there when he is tired. I don't have a playpen so I tether him to me when he is not in his crate.

[KC]

I hope I don't get flamed for this, but I have a very very picky nose. Even before getting a dog, I made sure my windows were open to take away any food smell, and I use tons of white vinegar to clean almost everything, so the house always smells fresh. Then came the puppy. I know dogs will smell like dogs, and I don't mind his smell so much, but I didn't want to the house to smell doggie all the time. I found out a few things by trial and error: One of the smelliest parts of the puppy were his ears. Now they get wiped out and cleaned and he doesn't smell so much any more. Next, I throw a sock filled with sprigs of lavender from my garden in the dryer with his bedding and towels when they get washed, so there is faint lavender scent in his linen. Last, I use a mildly scented conditioner for his fur when he bathes which leaves him smelling delicious. He doesn't seem to mind any of this, and it makes me a lot happier. Hope this helps.
KC

[Brooke and Zenyatta]

Those are great tips, KC. I love the lavender in the dryer idea! I think I'm getting used to the scent now. Funny that you should mention the ears because she does have yeast in her ears already. Maybe that was contributing to the odor.

[KC]

Oh, for the crate crying: our puppy was not strong enough for the Kongs, and all the other chews on the market gave him diarrhea. What worked for us was leaving a ticking clock on top of the crate, which we covered with a blanket and he seemed to settle down faster. Learnt to stay in his crate within two weeks, so hang in there.
As for the sharp teeth, we did let him practice biting on the adults, and yelped when the pressure got too hard. We were told that would teach him bite inhibition, so as an adult even if he did bite, he would still have the training not to clamp down. My son on the other hand was told to yelp anytime the puppy's teeth touched him, so puppy knew kids were super sensitive. We also take away our hands and offer a chew toy. At that age we found the rope toys were his favorite, and I would smear some peanut butter on the rope to keep him busy for a while.
KC