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D
Lv 7
D asked in PetsDogs · 8 years ago

Socializing a single orphaned puppy?

I have a 21 day old orphaned pup that I want to make sure is socialized correctly to become a well adjusted adult.

Currently I am barking and growling at her (with response) and running toys in front of her face. I have an adult dog that wants to play, and will be great help with the pup when it is older. I have 2 cats that mostly ignore her and she comes to work with me every day because of feeding times, which is at a veterinary clinic.

I know to yip when she starts actually biting to let her know to bite softer.

Any other suggestions? Or am I needlessly worrying because between my time, going to work, and my adult dog, we should be able to get her pretty well adjusted?

Update:

I am trying to get her to practice her barks, and there is an adult dog in the house, just that the adult dog is too much to play with her.

The puppy was born at a shelter and the mother was just picked up as a stray- she did not want to care for the puppies and was too stressed to produce any milk- she had 8 pups and one working mammary gland.

2 Answers

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  • ?
    Lv 6
    8 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    I don't think you need to bark/growl at her, but everything else sounds fine.

    The biggest issue with single pups that have no siblings or mom is that they tend to have NO dog-dog manners. They don't learn any bite inhibition from other pups, and they don't learn how to play, and don't understand when enough is enough if they get to rough. Just make sure that you introduce her to other dogs once she is old enough. Even at 8 weeks, you can take her to friends/familys houses if they have adult dogs and you know they have all shots and won't give her anything. Once she has all her rounds of shots, then you can start taking her in public/to dog parks/etc. so she learn more dog manners.

    Good luck!

  • Moondog
    Lv 7
    8 years ago

    I wouldn't bother with the barking and growling at her. It will only confuse her. She knows you are not a dog.

    Where is the mother of this puppy?

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