Well, I Guess It Is a Good Thing That I Won't Be a Father Any Time Soon...

lol, yea, HP, that is exactly why I got Jake.

 

Okay, it is update time.

Jake will be 10 weeks old on Monday and he seems to be getting bigger, well at least I can't feel his ribs sticking out anymore.

I took him to the vet last Saturday for his 2nd shot and he weighed only 2.75 lbs! Rex, my parents' 7 year old cocker, weighed over 5 lbs at that same age. Clearly, Jake has some catching up to do when it comes to growing. Everything checked out fine at the vet's though (no fleas, ear mites, etc). I am supposed to go back again when he is 12 weeks old for his next round of shots.

I went back to work this week and while I am at work, Jake stays with my parents. Wednesday was a rough day as Jake urinated a lot and did I mention that my dad has this obsession with cleanliness? Today went much better except for about 30 minutes ago when I put him to bed and he wanted to chew on his newspaper. He is asleep now, though.

A couple of questions for anyone who knows the answers:

1) Jake seems (for the most part) to be doing well when it comes to crapping outside and not in the house (he has a couple of times gone to the door to let me know he needed out), but he is so small that urinating has been a HUGE problem. I am hoping that he when he starts growing, that will stop but he must pee about 15 times a day. When can I expect him to not pee as much? 4 months of age? Or is it later or sooner?

2) Using the bathroom at night - for the most part, it seems like he goes twice during the night (around 1 and 4), and I am using the paper method. I do not put paper everywhere as I do have one open area in that room. 2 nights ago, he crapped on the paper but also in the open spot. Last night, he crapped both times on the paper. My goal is that if he goes 3 nights in a row on the paper every time to take up another section of paper. I know that some puppies can hold it overnight at 4 months, but when can I expect him to maybe crap just once during the night?

3) For those that use the paper method - what do you do if your dog likes to chew the paper? Do you just let him go and not worry about it or do you try to stop it? Tonight was the first night that I could hear him chew or try to chew some of his paper.

4) Water - Jake loves to drink water and will drink it as much as he can throughout the day. And when he drinks, he doesn't do like one or two laps, he does about 10. I know that is contributing to his constant urinating, but I can't be cruel and not give him water when he really needs it. To make things even worse, one book says to only offer water like 3 to 5 times a day and that they should only drink 1 cup of water for every 8 pounds that they weigh. Yet, my vet says he should be offered water almost all day and if he drinks a lot, it is nothing to worry about. How should I handle this issue?

As much as I love Jake, it has been hard as I feel that I have to watch him constantly. I am hoping that once he gets housebroken that will change, yet I am worried that he will still want to chew for a long time and I have to make sure that he doesn't chew any electrical wires or anything else dangerous.

Any advice or answers to questions posed would be much appreciated.

 

Riley? Rockets2K? Surf? Thumbs? Bueller??