Some questions about 5 week old puppies

Last week I saw an ad in the paper for one month old golden/lab mix puppies for $25. I work at an animal hospital and decided those pups would be better off with people who know how to take care of them. So the next day I drove 2 hours and I got 3 of them. 2 went to my coworkers at the hospital and I have one. My little guy is named Bear, he is solid black with long soft fur like a goldens.

They are all 5 weeks old today and they are all eating normal puppy food. For the most part Bear is doing great, so much better then i had thought a 4-5 week old would be.

I am worried though cause i know they were all taken away from their mom to early. Im hoping my other dogs will help teach Bear the things he needs to know, like how to play and stuff.

One problem im having with Bear is that he growls. He isnt being mean but he gets excited and wants to play and he growls. Sometimes if I pick him up he growls and gets all worked up. Im sure his mom would have corrected him, wouldnt she? Anyway how can I correct him? I dont know if all puppies growl at this age since they are still learning or if this isnt normal. Bear also cries a lot which I think is pretty normal, especially the first couple days cause he is in a new place and misses his mom and siblings. He doest cry as much anymore but he is a pretty vocal puppy. He cries like crazy when he wants something, like if he is hungry, wants to play, or alone. I wasnt ignoring him at first cause he was only 4 weeks when i got him, but should i start ingoring him when he cries? Im scared if I keep giving him what he wants when he cries that he will be like this when he is older.Neither of his other two siblings cry anymore.

I was also wondering what other types of things his mom and siblings would have taught him, cause I want him to be the best he can be and im worried he might have some problem behavior later in life.

I plan on being a dog trainer, and I've trained many dogs before, but never a 5 week old. I want Bear to be my model dog for my training businesse when he is full grown. I think this would be good practice and I want to be sure I do everything right for Bear. I really love the little guy and I want to start off on the right foot.

So if anyone has any suggestions on how to train a 5 week old please let me know. Also if anyone has any insight on what is normal behvior for a puppy this age and what is not, that would be great.

Thank you!

Oh one more question about vaccines. As of now Bear is too young to get vaccinated. Normally at my hospital we vacinate at 8 weeks old. Im wondering though if vaccinating him at 6 weeks would be better? Bear goes to work with me so i can watch him and im so scared he will catch something. I do take precautions though, and he stays isolated from all the other animals, but he does need to go out to pee, so i do get worried.

What do you guys think about giving the shots at 6 weeks instead of 8?

 

When my girls had puppies i used to notice that if the pups started biting mom that she would give them a swift nip and they would stop, SO when i was teaching them as they got older if they decided to bite me i would put my lips over my teeth and bite them back they soon learnt omg this person bites back.The other method is when he bites say ouch loudly and turn away as if to tend your wound do not make eye contact with him, if he keeps jumping up at you keep turning away he will soon learn he is not going to get attention for this.

Growling is normal for puppies some do it alot others dont do it at all.
When he starts to growl take his attention away from what he is growling at, If for example if he starts growling because he protecting his food or toys then take them away from him. When he is calm give him them back keep doing this until he starts to learn growling gets things taken away from him.

When you pick him up and he starts to growl do not put him down instead hold him closer to you and say Calm, If yuo put him down when he starts to growl he will associate ooh if i growl i will be put down and will even start to growl when you need to do things like bathing, lifting him up on the vets table, Puppies are just like children if they do something and it gets the responce they want they will do it all the more if it dont get a responce they will stop doing it.

You will soon learn that a puppy just like a baby has a different tone when they cry, Listen to each cry for hunger, toilet, play and so on, If he is crying for no reason or just to get your attention then ignore this otherwise he will use this tactic to his advantage, Even though he is only 5weeks old this is there learning period and what they start to learn now will help establish how they will turn out as they get older.

I do not believe in vaccinating a puppy before 8weeks old, But everyoone has a different opinion on this talk it over with your vet see what he/she thinks would be the best option....

When training a puppy it is just the same as with an adult dog apart from training sessions would be shorted for puppies, So say you would have a 1hour training session for a 6month old pup then you should only be doing about 20mins with a puppy this young.

Mothers teach there pups bite inabition, they help with housebreaking and most will repremand there young ones for doing something they should not be.

Since you have trained dogs before use those same methods again for shorter lengths of time.

Mike

 

For future reference, I think I would have kept the three pups together for 3-4 more weeks. Like, one of you keep all three until they are 8 weeks old and then the other two can go to their homes. It would have been an easier transition for the pups and they would have had a few more weeks to learn from their littermates.

 

In 1987 I got my first Lab when he was 5 weeks old, not knowing any better. He went to obedience school at six months but I should have socialized him with other dogs much much earlier. Jake grew up essentially not knowing how to be a dog. He grew up as a person and never really interacted with other dogs. He was never dog aggressive but rather dog ignorant. When, on occasion, he would meet another dog he would pin his ears back as if to say, "What is this creature?.
Do let them interact with other dogs as often as possible if you don't want a psychotic "person" in your household.

 

The growling thing you were talking about when he wants to play I think is okay. I have an 8 month old Australian Sheperd and she does that all the time. She didn't leave her mother til she was 3 months old so I don't know if being with the mom would have stopped that.