# 5 months old- update and questions!



## cocopuempemom (May 14, 2017)

Hi all! The love of my life, aka Coco, just turned five months on the 12th! So far, he has been incredible. Upon hitting the five month mark, I've noticed a few things and with Coco being my first puppy I'm wondering if this is normal/if there's any advice anyone can offer. 

First, I can't seem to find a chew that Coco actually likes long term. I'll give him something new, whether it be a bully stick, a Himalayan chew, antler, etc... and he'll be SUPER into it to the point that he will growl as to not be disturbed but then after spending a chunk of time on it he completely loses interest the next day. I have so many half chewed chews around it's getting crazy. Has anyone else found their Havanese to be picky in this way? With food its completely the opposite- he will eat absolutely anything and within 10 seconds his bowl will be clean when it's feeding time. 

Second- I feel like he might be regressing with his potty training. Up until last week he was really starting to get the hang of the pee pad and then going outside but recently he's been having many more accidents inside. I find that if I'm watching him he will go on the pad but if I step away- even to use the bathroom myself or get something from the kitchen- in that short period he'll go on the rug! Any suggestions on how to curb this/is this normal behavior for five months?

Last, he is itching like crazy! He's been itchy since I brought him home but he has been checked out consistently for hot spots and ticks and flees to no avail. I currently have him on Zignature dog food and off of chicken but I'm not sure if it's really making a difference. 

Thankful as always to this amazing forum which has guided me through puppyhood at an almost religious level...:wink2:


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## Tux's Mom (May 24, 2016)

Tux was the same way with chews. He began losing interest for a day or two and seemed to take more interest in a new cow tail. When he ate them, he had to poop twice as often and twice as much. I noticed as the cow tail treats were increased, he began throwing up occasionally. I eliminated them entirely. No more vomiting. He occasionally picks up his antler or his spanking clean marrow bone, but only for a two or three minutes. He began chewing and trying to eat his stuffed toys. I removed the ones he thought could be digested. He is a year and a half old, and the chewing seems to be abating. I suspect it is linked to boredom.

As far as potty training: Make sure you don't scold accidents. Clean up immediately. Use Nature's Miracle to eliminate any and all odor. Take Coco outside immediately after an accident. If he goes again, sing his praises. If not, take Coco outside every 30 to 45 min. If he is going more than that, have him checked for a urinary infection. As his bladder matures, he will need to go less and less often. Tux is up to 5 or 6 hours.

Tux eats Primal Raw nuggets that are kept frozen. I thaw four bricks and give them to him 7:30, 10:30, 4:30, and 8:30 with a tiny bit of raw goat milk. No stomach upsets, no itching, and tiny hard little rabbit sized poopy pellets once a day. (no waste in his food so very little poops). With any processed dog food, you risk ingredients that might not be so good for the pup. Read up on Primal. It's expensive, but not compared to vet bills.


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## cocopuempemom (May 14, 2017)

Thanks so much for the reply!! I have been reading about Primal Raw and perhaps it would be a good idea to have him try it... might help with the skin issues. Specifically which do you feed your little one? I was looking on dog food advisor and saw that the chicken, beef and lamb flavors were rated significantly lower than the others so I'm just curious. Thanks!!


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## Pinkasaurus (Aug 13, 2017)

Good Luck!


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## Tux's Mom (May 24, 2016)

cocopuempemom said:


> Thanks so much for the reply!! I have been reading about Primal Raw and perhaps it would be a good idea to have him try it... might help with the skin issues. Specifically which do you feed your little one? I was looking on dog food advisor and saw that the chicken, beef and lamb flavors were rated significantly lower than the others so I'm just curious. Thanks!!


Tux has had the beef, lamb, chicken, duck. We threw out the turkey & sardine. It was too stinky. I figure if he develops any food allergies, we can switch to venison, pheasant, rabbit and pork for alternatives. For now, he is doing quite well rotating the first four.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Can't help on the chews. We are limited on what my dogs can have as chews because of Kodi's allergies. Basically, it's moose antlers or nothing around here. So sometimes they chew them, sometimes they don't, but they also don't have any other choices.

As far as the pottying is concerend, Tux's mom gave you some good avice in terms of handling accidents when/if they happen. But the bottom line is that he is still quite a young puppy and clearly isn't ready for the amount of freedom he's been given at this point. Potty trIning isn't always a straight, up-hill path. There are peaks and valleys. The answer is ALWAYS the same if they are having trouble... more supervision and/or confinement. Freedom is earned, not a given, and the closer eye you can keep on them, so you can reinforce good potty habits, the faster they will become truly reliable.


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

Completely agree on the confinement or close supervision - I realized when I got Perry that while he was close he would sometimes pee if I left him in the room alone even for a minute. So, it was actually more than just needing closer supervision - for a while it was about keeping him right beside me (leashed or not depending). 

Now that he's tethered to me whenever he's out of his crate because of his leg, and most of that time is on the couch, he's kind of funny. He rarely barks when he has to go out but he does start making noises at me and bouncing around... but if I don't get what he's trying to tell me (it's hard to tell the difference between I need to pee/ poop bouncing and grumbling and the I'm hyper bouncing and grumbling) - like last night - he will suddenly stop bouncing and give one very sharp bark (hey mom, pay attention, I need to go out!)


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## cocopuempemom (May 14, 2017)

Thanks both for your replies- you're right about the confinement/supervision... because he was really starting to become reliable I have been slacking on the confinement front but I am learning that "peaks and valleys" certainly seems to be the right description. I confess that when I brought Coco home I was all about keeping him crated but he hated it and never took to it so after a few weeks I gave up. Part of it is that I live in an apartment building with a difficult neighbor and the crying/barking was starting to cause problems with management. He did better in the ex-pen... but it looks like I need to buck up and go back to it.


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## Tux's Mom (May 24, 2016)

cocopuempemom said:


> Thanks both for your replies- you're right about the confinement/supervision... because he was really starting to become reliable I have been slacking on the confinement front but I am learning that "peaks and valleys" certainly seems to be the right description. I confess that when I brought Coco home I was all about keeping him crated but he hated it and never took to it so after a few weeks I gave up. Part of it is that I live in an apartment building with a difficult neighbor and the crying/barking was starting to cause problems with management. He did better in the ex-pen... but it looks like I need to buck up and go back to it.


We live in a condo also. I had two different ex-pens made out of detachable panels that could be used to make the pens larger or smaller. I had one in the bedroom 3 x 6 next to the bed, and one in the living room 3 x 6 next to my desk. Tux was content to stay in his pen and I got him used to me going out of his sight for longer and longer periods of time (20 seconds to longer gradually). It was not as confining as a kennel, so he adjusted quite nicely to it. I had his pillow (with waterproof slip cover) under the pillow case, on one end, and 3x3 pee pads at the other. You can buy a hospital pad that is the size of a twin bed that fits completely under a 3 x 6 ex-pen if you want. They wash up while a substitute is put in place. It's best to keep down all the time but only for accidents/emergencies. Use the "Lets go for a WALK!!!!" excuse to get out of the pen and go potty outside......What fun!!!! If he can't make it outside without peeing on the floor, pick him up and carry him so he can hold it until you reach the potty place.


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## hands on Milo (Jun 5, 2017)

Milo's almost 5months also and I just started the methods taught here... 



He still loves to chew blankets and pillows, so now we've been doing a better job with the 2-step redirecting along with praise praise praise!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

cocopuempemom said:


> Thanks both for your replies- you're right about the confinement/supervision... because he was really starting to become reliable I have been slacking on the confinement front but I am learning that "peaks and valleys" certainly seems to be the right description. I confess that when I brought Coco home I was all about keeping him crated but he hated it and never took to it so after a few weeks I gave up. Part of it is that I live in an apartment building with a difficult neighbor and the crying/barking was starting to cause problems with management. He did better in the ex-pen... but it looks like I need to buck up and go back to it.


An ex-pen is absolutely a fine way to confine a puppy. I have NEVER confined my puppies in a crate, except for bed time, at classes or trials or in the car.


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## Bnails52 (May 23, 2017)

cocopuempemom said:


> Hi all! The love of my life, aka Coco, just turned five months on the 12th! So far, he has been incredible. Upon hitting the five month mark, I've noticed a few things and with Coco being my first puppy I'm wondering if this is normal/if there's any advice anyone can offer.
> 
> First, I can't seem to find a chew that Coco actually likes long term. I'll give him something new, whether it be a bully stick, a Himalayan chew, antler, etc... and he'll be SUPER into it to the point that he will growl as to not be disturbed but then after spending a chunk of time on it he completely loses interest the next day. I have so many half chewed chews around it's getting crazy. Has anyone else found their Havanese to be picky in this way? With food its completely the opposite- he will eat absolutely anything and within 10 seconds his bowl will be clean when it's feeding time.
> 
> ...


I have a 6 1/2 month old girl and she is still making a few mistakes. She does not use a puppy pad anymore, all she does is play with it and read it up. She rings the bells to go out, but also true to trick me cause she just wants the to go out and play. ! As far as bones go she like her bully bones and cheese on them randomly, just leave them in her play area, she will go back to it. I also have antler, and other digestible bones for her, she like them all and chews on different ones when she feels like it. Mine also eats like she's never been fed! It's gone in minutes. Lol she also eats flowers, grass, leaves, paper a d anything else she can put in her mouth! Right now she is chewing on a stick. Lol, your baby is fine she's just a puppy. Lol I think she is peeing cause you leave her, who knows. Maybe give her a shirt of yours when you go to another room. Always tell her you will be right back, works for me

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

*carrying him outside*



Tux's Mom said:


> ...If he can't make it outside without peeing on the floor, pick him up and carry him so he can hold it until you reach the potty place.


I absolutely agree with this advice. This is one of the great things about having a small dog . Perry is completely reliable in our house, but he's had issues with carpet in the past, so when we're staying in a hotel OR even at my Mom's, I always carry him outside first thing in the morning (or if he's been in his crate for a while) so in case he has to go really badly he doesn't use the carpet if I happen to pause on our way outside.


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## chocohavapup (Apr 18, 2019)

krandall said:


> An ex-pen is absolutely a fine way to confine a puppy. I have NEVER confined my puppies in a crate, except for bed time, at classes or trials or in the car.


This is nice to hear. Ferdie just came home yesterday evening and we tried just crating her in our living room w/ expen set-up also, but she was clawing and howling and pushing on the side of the crate. Really just not having it. She did manage to quiet down after a solid 45 minutes, but when we went to do it again later she was just as miserable. We decided we'd take her out to see if she needed to go potty, which she did, and then we allowed her some free time with us on the couch afterwards. I just couldn't put her back in the crate again to hear her so sad!!

We did get her to sleep in her crate in our room last night, which wasn't too horrible. Had her right by our bed with a blanket over the top with a side flapped up so she could see us in bed. She cried for a bit but then settled out. Woke up to potty around 4 AM (4 hours) then when back in the crate cried for 20 minutes before she stopped and I'm pretty sure just stayed quietly awake until we all got up at 7.

I'm thinking we'll try to limit the true crating to the bedroom and leave the expen/crate setup with the door always open if she ends up appearing so miserable every time she's put in the downstairs crate!


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## Melissa Woods (Feb 21, 2019)

I have a crate/ ex pen setup both downstairs in the living area and upstairs in my bedroom. He really wants to sleep in my bed, & I’ll let him cuddle but then put him back in the ex pen bc my 3 yr old sleeps with us. Anyway, now he pulls his bed out of the crate and puts it right beside my bed. He’s dry at night, and has a potty tray. I like it this way so I don’t have to rush out of bed to take him out of the crate & potty.


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## chocohavapup (Apr 18, 2019)

Melissa Woods said:


> I have a crate/ ex pen setup both downstairs in the living area and upstairs in my bedroom. He really wants to sleep in my bed, & I'll let him cuddle but then put him back in the ex pen bc my 3 yr old sleeps with us. Anyway, now he pulls his bed out of the crate and puts it right beside my bed. He's dry at night, and has a potty tray. I like it this way so I don't have to rush out of bed to take him out of the crate & potty.


My room isn't big enough for an ex-pen!! But Ferdie is fine in just her crate. We are occasionally getting up before 6 to let her pee in her ex-pen downstairs, but usually she's quiet until after 7.


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