First Mommy Anxiety

[Madelaine]

Hello All!

Nice to meet other avid puppy owners...

I just recently brought home my Pomeranian/Maltese male. He's a bundle of joy however; a handful. I'm having difficulty walking him. He'll walk for a bit then start sitting. He'll also pick up things that could be potentially dangerous and eat them.

Another issue I'm having is that I'm not sure how to potty train him. I live on the 4th floor of an apartment. Would you advise I take him outside? or Paper training? I've been doing both. I leave him in a confined area where his cage is and there's newspaper there if needed. The problem only arises when I let him run free around the apartment. Then he pees on the carpet.

Any advise will be GREATLY apprecitated =oP

[adunphy]

Walking **

Bring along some cheerios in a little pouch, if he starts to lag behind, pat your leg, speed up a bit and face him (so you are walking backwards) when he starts to move, give him the treat.

You'll want to start to teach him leave it - this will help him learn not to eat things while on walks
http://www.dogtrainersearch.com/articles/dani_weinberg/surviving_puppyhood.htm
this article has good information in it.

As for house training, I am not a big fan of paper training. If you are going to train the dog to go inside, a litter box is a good choice. You should see an ad on this page for the wizdog - its a good indoor potty choice until your dog is big enough to hold it to go out. If you paper train, you wont be able to have a newspaper around for a long time if you know what I mean!

Good luck!
amy