Puppy and Douggie

[Julesrb]

Hi there,

We recently bought our new puppy Fergus home. I just wanted to check on a couple of behaviours and what to do about them. I thought I'd post in Pug Life rather than Care as it covers a number of things.

Firstly, Fergus is not easy going like Doug and will SCREAM in his crate / pen until he gets attention and gets taken out. Its so odd, he screams like a baby (sounds like he's being tortured!). At first, Doug would run between me in the lounge and F in the kitchen to alert me that the baby was crying. He is starting to ignore it. Now - what I'm doing is trying to ignore and if it doesn't stop I'll wait for a quiet moment and then pick him out. Is there anything else I should be doing?

Douggie and Fergus playing - Doug gets a bit boisterous and as there is a reasonable difference in size and Fergus is new, I'm super watchful. Doug keeps jumping onto the baby and occassionally grabs his ears. I allow play until it gets a bit much and then tell Doug to leave it or pull him away and put puppy away if he can't behave. Is this right?

Douggie is obsessed by F's boy parts and follows him around trying to get a good sniff / lick most of the time. An occassional sniff I could understand, but its constant licking and he does this with other boy dogs too. How can I kerb this behaviour as its not too pleasant for the other dog, and poor Fergus keeps being up-ended and rolled due to Doug's insistence at getting to his 'under carriage'.

I know all of these things will settle and be fine, and to be honest I'm delighted about how well its going as there is also a lot of tenderness (Doug shunned our bed to sleep next to F's crate last night) and face licking. Just need re-assurance at how best to tackle these things and that others have had the same!

[Spud]

For the crate training there is a lot of stuff on the web on how to crate train your puppy. Basically leave a toy in the crate, and put him in it for a few min at a time with the door open. It took quite a while for my pug to not cry in his crate but he is use to it now. For the playing I would just keep an eye on it.

[Wally 'n' Leto]

It sounds to me that you are on the right track...

For the crate training what if you waited for him to be quiet, then went and say quietly 'good boy' and give him a little treat instead of taking him out. If you always take him out after he cries and settles I'd be afraid that he would put 2 and 2 together and learn to cry then shut up so that he can get out. And you're bang on about not taking him out when he cries.

Playing rough -- sounds right to be but Wally was grown when we got Leto, so at least they were well matched.

Sniffing -- I would always permit him a 'hey how ya doin' sniff, but for when it gets too insistent, I would teach him the 'leave it' command. We are finding that this command works well for all sorts of things including poop on the floor, sniffing dogs or us, over enthusiastic ear cleaning (of each other, not us), and obsessive licking of bedding and furniture.

[Julesrb]

a bit of an update - the screaming is subsiding. I noticed that if he is in pen and crate and screaming, the minute you look at him he stops, as if to say 'have I done enough to annoy you yet?'. Doug and Fergus are starting to play a bit nicer, although Fergus has now taken to nipping Doug, particularly on his boy bit so think the battles may have only just begun.

I now realise that black pugs, aren't just more active, its like they have a fire in their belly, or a certain spiritedness that my easy going fawn doesn't have so much. he is a male diva but a beautiful one.

[CSollers]

Did you think the black Pug reputation was a myth????? LOL!