# Other Pets > Dogs >  Formosan Mountain Dog Puppy

## zhang317

My parents just go a new puppy, she's a Formosan Mountain dog. She was born on May 2 and has 4 sisters! My parents have had dogs before but never a puppy, so they're wondering how to potty train it. Any good ideas?  
and she's growing teeth and likes to chew on everything, not for a long time but when she chews on finger and feet, it can get a little annoying,  :Embarassed: 

and of course, a few pictures



thanks for your help in advance, me and my parents would really appreciate and help. 

tim

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## TheNunciate

What a cute puppy!!

For house breaking, I would try puppy pads for the first couple of weeks.  It takes a while for them to understand the whole 'no pee in the house' thing and the puppy pads get them used to going in a particular spot.  Eventually you can move the pads outside and then remove the pads all together and she should be ready to go outside by herself.

In addition, every 2 hours take her out.  It's about how often they have to go as puppies.  If you can get her used to going outside every 2 hours, you can start to train her bladder.  By taking her out frequently, you drastically reduce the opportunities for her to pee in the house.  It's inconvenient sometimes but should be done until she's about 6 months old.

As far as the teething goes, all dogs do that.  Provide lots of toys for her to chew on, no stuffed animals though.  If they ingest the stuffing it can be very expensive at the vet to have it removed.  It will make them very very sick.  Kong toys are great, so are rawhides.  Don't give her old socks or shoes to chew on because she won't be able to distinguish between the ones she can chew and the ones you wear :Very Happy: 

I wouldn't let her chew your fingers.  It can develop into a habit called 'mouthing' that is a dominant behaviour and can lead to dominance issues.  If she wants to sit and snuggle while chewing, hold the toy in your hand and let her chill and nibble on the toy.  When you catch her chewing on stuff you don't want her to, take it away and do the "no, bad dog" and then give her something that is okay to chew.

Puppies take a lot of patience but being firm in the beginning will set the tone for the rest of her life.  Dogs are not like people, babying and coddling will lead to bad behaviour later in life.  As cute as they are, they aren't babies.  She will be much more well behaved and happier if her position is established early and she knows where she stands in the 'pack' of your family.  Squash dominant behaviour as soon as it shows itself and you will have a happy dog who won't challenge you for dominance as she grows.  Provide her with lots of exercise and teach her tasks, tricks and give her a purpose (especially for working dogs like this) and she will be happy and obedient.

I hope that helps a little.  I've owned many dogs in my life, from puppies to adult rescues and puppies are always the hardest to work with.  Think blank slate of mind with instinct of breeding.  You have to establish yourself as the dominant, not the 'mommie' early on.  Your family will be her new pack and every dog needs to know without a doubt where they stand in the pack without having to question their position or what is expected of them.  Good training early on will lead to years of happines and obedience.

Good luck! :Good Job:

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zhang317 (06-21-2009)

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## zhang317

thanks TheNunciate, the was a very thoughtful response. we'll start taking her outside every two hours and us the pads as well. she has two toys right now, ones a squeaky one the other is like a kong-like thing. she dosnt really know those are ment for her. but we'll keep on it, and maybe get her a few more. thanks again!

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## akaangela

You have a cute puppy.  I would also crate train her.  Get a crate that is comfortable for her. If you get a large one that she can grow into make sure it has a devider.  Start with leaving it open and having her stay in it a few minutes at a time, then work up from there.  That way she will have her home no matter where you take her.  

For her chewing you can also try icecubes.  When my dog was a puppy he LOVED them.  

I would also start on very simple commands like sit (when you are feeding her, before she gets her food) and when she is outside and you see her going potty say Potty (or whatever you want for the command to go potty) and praise her for doing it.  That way she will learn to go potty on command.

Good luck and don't forget to take lots of pics they grow up so fast  :Smile:

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## Calift

Congrats on the new puppy! Remember socialization is key- makes all the difference....training early on is also critical for pups!  :Very Happy: 

How did you parents get a hold of such a specimen :Razz: ? I always thought of them as a very very rare breed......cool puppy!!

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## Ophidiophile

CRATE TRAIN.  Google it.  Do it.  Its the best method of potty training out there.

And no puppy pads.  Any opportunity they are given to poop/pee in the house will = a step backwards when potty training...even ON a puppy pad.

Also however many months old a dog is + 1 hour is how long they should be able to hold their business...but no longer than 8 hours.  Feed at 3 scheduled times a day, and take the baby out to potty right afterwards.

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## frankykeno

I agree about not using puppy pads.  Right up front I've always trained my dogs that outside is for peeing/pooping and inside is never for doing that.  No confusion that way.

I have crate trained my last two dogs and none of the ones before so I've seen both sides.  Crate training works, it is not cruel to the puppy as long as the pup has lots of outside the crate time and learns to see their crate as their safe and nice den area.  

Make sure the pup always go right outside when let out of the crate.  Snap on the leash or carry the pup immediately to an area of the yard you want it to do it's thing in.  Use the same area over and over to teach the pup this is the toilet area.  Always take the pup out within 20 minutes of eating or drinking.  I personally use a "potty" word with my dogs.  I say the word over and over in a positive voice when they squat.  Once they hear it often enough it becomes a word they know that means they need to try and pee or poop now.  Very handy if you are walking city streets and want your dog to only defecate in certain areas.

Funny aside here.  Years ago I owned a female Black Lab named Maggie.  My brother who lived nearby owned a female Golden Retreiver named Sadie.  The dogs were best buddies and often my brother and I would mind each others dogs.  We had both trained our dogs using toiletting words.  Unfortunately we used different words LOL.

I'd take them both outside to go to the bathroom and without thinking use only Maggie's command word.  Poor Sadie would give me this worried look and fidget around.  I swear that dog was thinking "for gawd's sakes woman use MY word I gotta pee here ya know!".  My brother and I quickly learned to remember each dogs specific command so the girl's could run and squat in the yard in unison.  :Smile: 

As far as toys nothing beats a Kong.  Get the right size one for a puppy and get a bigger one if needed when the pup matures.  You can smear on a bit of peanut butter to interest the pup in chewing on that.  Also you can freeze a Kong to help with the pain of erupting teeth.  WalMart also sells a new line of Kong like red hard rubber toys that apparently put out a chicken smell/taste when chewed.  I'll be trying those soon as I've heard good things about them.  Do not allow chewing on hands as mouthing in a puppy might be cute but it's not cute in a mature dog.  A simple, sharp and stern NO! is usually sufficient to put a pup off chewing on you.

For chewing on furniture there are a number of sprays that are quite effective.  Bitter Yuck or one like that works well.  They all feature some form of bitter orange or lemon essense.

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## frankykeno

Oh and from my own experience with the female Lab we adopted at 10 months of age.

Get the pup used to short car rides at an early age.  Bella was never taken in the car at all and to this day has a terrible time in the car.

Get the pup used to having it's feet handled and simple nail trimming done.  Even if right now the nails don't need trimmed, start pretending to trim by handling the pups feet and pretending to use the nail clippers.  Again this was something Bella never experienced.  She's now just over 2 years of age and we are still experiencing difficult times with her having her feet worked on.

Once your pup has had all it's shots make sure it's socialized to dogs of all sizes, cats and children of all ages.  Walking is wonderful for you and your dog.  Change your route daily so the dog doesn't get bored and gets exposed to a lot of different outdoor on the leash situations.  I highly recommend the use of a Halti head collar.  It took my big strong female Lab from a dog that literally pulled my elbow out of place trying to control her to a dog I can walk with ease and control under any situation (considering I'm only 5'1" and Bella is a solid 75 lb dog that's a good thing).  I also use a leash that has the normal loop handle at the end plus another loop halfway down the leash.  Absolutely wonderful for getting the dog immediately to your side in an emergency and provides you with a solid two hand grip when needed.

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## OFRD_GRL

adorable little puppy.

every 30 minutes outside (if she just drank, then right after she drank too - same with when she eats). when she goes potty say good potty and give her a treat while she is doing it. i personally also say poop when they do that, so they learn the difference. my dogs go on command (no goofing around to find a perfect spot if i tell them to go) LOL its actually funny.

if they can't watch it, leave it in the yard, or in a kennel. because the more accidents it has, the harder it will be to train to go outside.

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## Ben Biscy

take a peak at this when you get the chance, all kinds of tips and tricks.

http://petcaretips.net/dog_training.html

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