Does anyone have tips for caring for a 5 week old puppy?

Question

I had purchased an Am. Eskimo from an ad I saw n the paper. I wondered y the $ was so low. I went 2 the house, it was very trashy. I picked out a puppy and then asked the purchasee if I could take her 2 show my boyfriend and bring her back the next day, she agreed. She was completely covered in dirt, I gave her three "water-baths" (no soap), and wrapped her in a towel so she wouldn't get cold. She was covered in fleas and had a ton of "flea-dirt" in 3 different spots on her body, one causing a bump. The next day, I took her 2 the vet. The vet told me that if I took her back to the owner, she could die because she was already anemic. So for the last 2 nights, she has kept me awake all night. Not from whinning or wanting 2 play, but every time she has 2 potty, she'll wake up and tell me (every hour). Is that normal for puppies that age to go every hour? I was constantly feeding her, so I stopped feeding her at night and she stopped pooping as much as night.She is eatting well on her own.

She eats Science Diet's canned puppy food. I highly doubt she really knows the difference in where to potty (I probably just have good timing). I have bathed her in Dawn dish soap to kill the fleas and purchased a flea-comb. She goes back to the vet in 2 weeks. To get approx. age from when you're answering this, she was born Feb. 14th, 2007. I don't feel the need to provide her with milk-supplement because she is eating well on her own.
The following picture is after 3 water-based baths:

The following picture is after a Dawn Soap-based bath:
I would like some tips on what is the appropriate age to begin training her.

We have another 3 year old male American Eskimo and a cat. Aside from the older Eskimo being jealous (and I do give him plenty of extra attention since there is a new puppy in the house), they all get along great. Thanks for the suggestion about the clock, we've already been doing that. It's a great idea.

I have a cat collar because it's small for her. I also purchased a lot of chewing toys and a box of mini-puppy milkbones. I have two blankets from PetsMart, just for her. I have purchased nail-clippers because the vet said her toenails were starting to curl and he was afraid they would break on the carpet.

As far as formula, because she is eatting very well with Science Diet's canned food for puppies, I don't feel it is necessary to go backwards by feeding her formula milk. The nurse suggested it but the vet said it wasn't needed if she is eatting well. He suggested just feeding her several times a day (3 to 4 times) because she needs all the puppy nutrients she can get.
I have a crate already. She stays in there while we are at work. She poops and pees in there (because she can't hold it for so long) and gets herself all dirty. Because of this, I have to wash her off several times.

I do not keep her outside. I go with her outside when she potties. She goes quickly and we go back inside. I perfer to use the term "potty," to refer to both "urination" and "defecation." As for the crate, what do I do when I go to work if I don't keep her in the crate? She'll potty all over everywhere. She doesn't sleep in the crate at night, she sleeps in a seperate box, which she had only had one accident in so far and that was the very first time we put her in there. She peed on the blanket, which we washed and have gotten blankets specifically for her now. She wont pee in her sleep area (unless we wait too long to take her out). There is not room for potty pads inside the crate and if there was, she'd still walk on it. Neither is there room for a potty pad inside her box. I would prefer to use newspapers because they are much cheaper, and she can use those when she is not sleeping. I am keeping an eye and recording on each time she goes potty because I want to set up a routine.

Answer 1

The backyard breeder that you purchased this puppy from should be ashamed. This is why byb's are so bad, because they seldom care about the dogs, it's all about money.

It is normal for a puppy that age to have to go out very often. Their bladders are not fully developed yet. 5 weeks old is too young for the pup to be away from the mother, but if the vet told you not to return the pup to the house, then I guess I am no vet so you should trust the vet. HOwever, the dog may have issues later in life (i.e. dog-aggression or separation anxiety) due to being separated from its mother at such a young age.

This is why it is better to shell out the big bucks to buy puppies from a reputable breeder or, better, to pay a small adoption fee and get a dog from a shelter. Puppy mill and byb dogs almost always have health problems because the breeders are greedy and don't care about dogs!!!

It sounds like you are very caring and are doing a good job to make sure this little pup gets healthy. Science diet is a good dog food.

As far as training goes, you can start training as soon as you get its health problems in check and it seems to be active and alert. It's really never too early to start training. Puppies have short attention spans, so it's best to do very short (5 minutes) training sessions once a day. When the puppy gets to be 6 months old or so, you can have longer sessions. But for now, they learn better with short sessions. You will be amazed at how young you can get them to start doing commands like sit and lie down.

Good luck!

Answer 2

As an aside, you should definately report this breeder to the authorities; your local SPCA or Humane Society. These kind of conditions are not only inhumane but illegal in many states. You don't need to share your name most of the time, only make a call and give them the address, etc. of these people, if the situation is as bad as you describe, they will see the problem immediately when they visit.

I would personally approach this by trying to simulate as best you can the experience she would have as a puppy growing up in the litter with her mom, which in normal circumstances she would be doing.

As far as food goes, (and I'm not a vet) I would say you might consider putting some kind of puppy supplement in the regular food because the puppy gets different nutrients from the mother's milk than they would from the puppy food. I'm suprised the vet didn't recommend this, but it's probably a good idea to bring it up with them as soon as you can before changing anything.

I would also try to make sure the puppy is warm enough. When they are this young they are used to sleeping in a big group, with lots of body heat, and keeping warm enough will probably help her recover faster.

For bathing, I would stay away from the Dawn, its pretty strong stuff (cleans the grease off your pans!) and will probably dry her skin and make her itchy, which can become a whole cycle of her itching and getting sores and infections (we have been through this.) I'd try to get a super gentle hypoallergenic dog shampoo. They usually have one or two at the pet store. Even better if you can get one from your vet. Not sure if it is suitable for a puppy (talk to the vet first) but we also give our dog vitamin E oil to keep his skin healthy.

Finally, about the potty, like a human baby, puppies haven't yet perfected the control of their bladders and bowels, which is all about muscle development and urge control. This is normal, and every hour might sound crazy right now, but think of a newborn who wakes several times a night needing a diaper change! Try to help her (slowly) elongate the peroids she goes between potty trips. Even 4 month old puppies are supposed to go every 3-4 hours, so sounds like she is pretty much on track.

And bless you for taking this poor pup away from such a horrible situation!

Addition: If she is sick or recovering, I would NOT, even in a warm climate, put the puppy outside. What if it rains? What about predators? What about extreeme heat? All these things are going to put stress on her body and keep her from recovering and growing up healthy.

Answer 3

Well I'd say you are off to a great start!! I foster animals and I commend you on keeping this puupy at such a yound age, they need alot of care and all your concerns are valid.

First, as far as feeding, bc of the age a milk supplement in addition to the can and dry food is not a bad idea, but it is not absolutely necessary. Keep an eye on her weigh and stay away from table scraps they will upset her stomach and make her sick.

Pick up some puppy pads and put them in an area where she can use them at night instead of always going out. This is a great training tool will potty training. Put some poop from outside on it and show her that it is ok to go on and she will get used to it after a few days (maybe sooner).

Try putting a puppy pad in the crate and tape it down to help keep the mess off her.

Good Luck

Answer 4

That puppy is beautiful. Very intelligent at 5 weeks old to let you know when it needs to potty. You could start paper training her right now. Go to walmart and get the blue pads for puppies, be sure and get the ones with the scent(you cant smell it) but the puppy can. You just need to put him on the paper a few times and keep a paper down at night.

During the day be very consistent with taking him out before he needs to go, take him to the same spot everytime and tell him Pee-Pee.

Your puppy will catch on in no time.

Answer 5

You shouldn't have encouraged the woman by buying the puppy at all, because she will just carry on breeding disease-ridden puppies for the money. You should have reported her to whatever animal authorities they have in your country and then they would have come and taken all the unfortunate creatures away from her. How many dogs did you leave behind in that hell? Why haven't you already reported her, and why don't you report her right now? Or, please post her details online and someone else will do it, I guarantee that.

And it isn't potty, a potty is a plastic thing that children sit on. If you want a correct term for an animal that covers poo and wee, it's "eliminate".

Answer 6

Please report this woman to the authorities. And never, ever leave a puppy in a crate while you're away from home: crate training is only for when you're there, and she mustn't be left for longer than one hour at a time at that age. It's too late for you because ou have actually now taught her to soil her sleeping area, which will make things much tougher in the future. (Yes, it is totally normal for her to go that often and you're very lucky that she actually lets you know she wants to crap/pee (sorry, it's NOT potty, that's for children)! Most pups will just do it.)

If you're in a warm climate you could move the puppy outside (with a proper kennel of course) and at least you'll get a good night's sleep. Good luck.

Edit: One answerer says that backyard breeders do it for money. Sorry, ALL breeders of all kinds do it for money, it's their work! Breeders of all animals should get themselves proper jobs and stop reproducing creatures when there are too many unwanted animals in the world already.

Answer 7

Awe!! She's beautiful!!! Sounds like your on the right track..however...make sure the food your feeding her isn't on the recall list that was recently published. Just love her and be patient...Talk to the vet about her eating and drinking habits...the general rule I've always used is no food or water at least 3 hours before bedtime.....but, since she's so young..that may not apply. May consider putting her crate in a different room so that she can't see you when she does wake up..she may just go back to sleep. I do agree with the ticking clock. Thank God for people like you! to get her away from people like where she came from....Have you considered reporting those people to the humane shelter? Sounds like an animal abuse investigation needs to be done....

Again..keep up the good work and God Bless You for taking care of that great little girl! She's very lucky to have you....

Answer 8

You're in Australia, so a nice warm climate - put the puppy outside at night in a snug kennel with water, blankets, toys etc., let her crap/pee all she wants in the garden at night, and do the house-training during the day. Crate her, but ONLY when you're around -- never, ever for longer than an hour at a time with a young puppy. Another time, don't respond to ads if the puppy is younger than 8 weeks. Obviously this is an extreme case but a puppy that young is almost always better off with its mum.

Edit: NOT "POTTY" PLEASE, THINK ABOUT IT, THAT'S SO STUPID!

Answer 9

Ok then. Just be sure to take her out as often as you can - that pottying in the crate stuff is going to be a big problem for you later on! Dogs do not want to potty where they sleep. Get someone to help you asap so that she gets to go outside more often!

Answer 10

it is normal for her to have to go every hour. although, she should be able to sleep a little longer - but since she is sick....

im very happy you took this dog away from such an awful home. 5 weeks is too young to be taken away from her mom, but obviously it was a better choice.

when shes sleeping, but a clock (one that ticks) close to her, it is like her moms heartbeat. - i know ppl who have done that for their puppies.

your vet should have some information/ideas on what to do for the puppy. since she is so little, do not expose her to other animals yet (if possible) - when she is a little older and has had some shots, it will be VERY important to socialize her with other dogs and puppies- since she was taken away from her litter so young, she will not know how to play well with others (and biting) if you do not know people with puppies and dogs, go to a training class- petsmart has one just for puppies. it is great for socializing.