Is my puppy too young to be with me?

Dianasart · New member Joined: 19 Jun 2005 Posts: 1

I just picked up my new puppy yesterday. She will be 6 weeks on Tuesday. She was already weaned. She is mix of a Chiwauwa and a beagle. She is doing well....slept in crate next to my bed last night. Cried a fews times...I let her cry alittle..then held her and put her back in. She peed in her crate during the night. She went outside to potty yesterday about 3x. My ? is...she wants to be held alot............i would think this is normal since she's so young...but how much is too much?

Mockingcat · Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2005 4:00 pm Post subject:

Honestly, your puppy is too young. In many states it's illegal to sell a puppy before it's at least 8 weeks old, and ethical breeders tend to keep their puppies until they're 10-12 weeks old.

DeLaUK · Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2005 4:54 pm Post subject:

She is too young to be away from the mother, if sending her back for ánother couple of weeks is not an option though dont worry, make sure she is eating and drinking well, possibly eating every 2 hours or every 4 hours minimum, make sure she stays warm, Ive started 'potty training' at 4 weeks (less with one dog that was abandoned at a day old) and it was succesful, she'll need to pee when she wakes up, before she eats, after she eats, after she drinks, after she played (and during playtime), after attention.....basically puppies are like 'peeing machines'....dont expect her to go all night yet without peeing the crate but do take her out last thing at night and first thing in the morning......very important, while you have to be really careful of diseases like parvo, distemper etc the puppy needs socialization with other dogs, cats, people.
Oh...and if you pick her up while she is actually crying she will learn really fast that when she cries she gets attention, I would wait until that 'split second' that she doesnt cry, then make a fuss of her....with really young pups I have usally placed a small soft cuddly toy in there for them snuggle up to...just so long as she isnt trying to eat it.

Good luck.

Jamiya · Moderator Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 5593

Don't let her pee in the crate. If she doesn't cry when she needs to go, I would set your alarm for every 3-4 hours at most and get up and take her out. Also, small breeds can't hold it as long as larger breeds, usually.

Most breeders keep their pups until at least 8 weeks. With small breeds like a chihuahua, usually it is more like 10-12 weeks. If she is tiny like a chihuahua, you have to watch her for signs of hypoglycemia (low blood suger) which is a big problem with these dogs. If she is bigger, it probably isn't as much of a concern.