Greetings everyone!

ibell · Post by **ibell** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 10:47 am

Hello! Me and my boyfriend Sal brought our sweet Coda home about 2 weeks ago. She is now 8 weeks old, adjusting very well, and we love her with all our hearts. I have been reading this forum since and we are very very grateful for all the information on here. She pees mostly outside and every now and then on a puppy pee pad, knows how to sit, lets us put on her collar with no resistance, and mostly wait at the door before we say she can go out. We are still working on her biting our hands and feet, but she did go from drawing blood on Sal's arm last week to mostly light nibbling on my hands and let go most of the time when I say no. I can not get her to stop going for my hair though. Anyway, I just thought that it was about time to say hi and tell all of you a big THANK YOU from all 3 of us. This forum has been a truly great help and I am very glad I found this place.

Peterbilt · Post by **Peterbilt** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 3:18 pm

What an adorable little girl! Wish you were closer so Pete could have a buddy!

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ibell · Post by **ibell** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 4:54 pm

Thank you! You got a handsome pup on your hands too! Where are you located? We are trying to find Coda a play buddy as well.

Peterbilt · Post by **Peterbilt** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 5:07 am

We are in South Carolina you?

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ibell · Post by **ibell** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 5:46 am

Texas. That is far LOL.

chowpups · Post by **chowpups** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 6:26 am

Coda is so sweet looking, she's doing very good for such a young chow. The nipping is all just part of being a puppy, sounds like she missed out on 2 weeks of schooling from Mom and may need some extra schooling from you. In most places they want the pup with the Mom and siblings for 8 wks at least.
When she nips reinforce with a little yelp and stop any play if she is playing and walk away. And if a NO biting is working continue on using it. Seems like you have the training down pretty good to me! just need to keep it up now!
The hair biting will stop mine use to chew at mine when they were little! If I was on the floor they would tug at it! And like the biting I'd leave say NO pulling and leave the situation and they got it that, that behavior was not going to work!
She is a cutie !!!
Good luck and more photos always!!!
Nancy

DrewBear · Post by **DrewBear** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 9:25 am

Congrats and welcome to the forum. Coda's a cutie! Take loads of photos and video. They grow up so fast! My pup's almost 6 months old: http://forum.chowchow.org/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=21000

ibell · Post by **ibell** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 10:33 am

Thank you for your replies!

Chowpups,
Yeah Coda's parents' owners sold her and her brothers and sisters to the store we got her from when they were only 6 weeks old

We will try to keep up with her training as best as we can. She learned to lay down on command yesterday and made me really proud

Thank you for the reassurance haha! I really hope she stops going for my hair. I shudder at the thought of a 70 lb dog tugging my hair... (Her dad is 80 lbs and her mom 70 lbs so I'm guessing she'll be around that when she's full grown)

Drewbear,
Thank you! I am really loving this place. And what a handsome pup you got there! Yeah they really do grow fast... She's doubled her weight already in the 2 weeks she's been here

I will miss being able to pick her up with one hand and cradle her in my arms...

Oh, and more pictures from today!

chowpups · Post by **chowpups** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 12:12 pm

AHHHH that makes more sense! Petstores around here aren't suppose to take them before 8 wks but you see they do.
Having a litter is a lot of commitment and money! Sounds like you are staying on top of her health issues! When she has all her shots you should start socializing her around other dogs and other people too. For now You can get her use to being handled by you and others, touch her ears, paws,legs, brush her etc. this will help with Vet visits when they have to look in her ears and touch her. It's not a good idea until she has her shots to take her to places where other dogs are, just in case one of them is sickly. Goood luck she is adorable and she doesn't look fat!!!LOL

ibell · Post by **ibell** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 11:42 am

Yeah I don't know why they decided to take them at only 6 weeks

I'm glad to hear that I seem to be doing the right thing haha! She is my first chow and first dog that depends almost solely on me (when I had my other dogs I was much younger and my parents take care of the buying food, bathing, and what not).
Coda has been really good with us handling her. She gets bitey when she's tired and sleepy, but other than that I can tug on her feet, ears, tails, or mess with the food in her bowl when she's eating and she acts like it's all nothing. She's been held by people she met for the first time and she reacts pretty well. I will try to increase socialization as much as I can though. Thank you for the advice! And I will stop worrying about her being fat now haha. I guess I just need to get used to how round chows look xD

Cocoa · Post by **Cocoa** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 9:15 am

Coda is adorable, congratulations. Hearing about people letting pups go to early like that is maddening but it looks like Coda has found a good home. Hopefully her siblings have as well.
One point I'd like to make on the socialization, until she has all her vaccinations and boosters don't socialize her with other dogs unless you are positive that they are all up to date on their shots. Socializing with people right now is fine and a good idea.

ibell · Post by **ibell** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 8:31 pm

Thank you Cocoa! I am so glad to hear you say that it looks like Coda has found a good home. Since she's my first, I often worry about doing something wrong or not providing her what she needs.
And yeah, she's only played with two dogs, both owned by our friends. Other than that, we try to take her outside to places like Petsmart (only holding her in our arms though, we're scared to let her walk around where many other dogs we don't know have been) and often people would ask to pet her.
I do worry about her socialization with other animals. She didn't exactly have the best experience with the dogs she played with. I guess it's her chow nature. She doesn't get excited like the puppies I knew. She's very guarded and shy, you can even call it scared. One of the dogs that played with her was a chihuahua. She's almost twice his size yet she was still being chased around by that energy ball. The other dog was a border collie and Coda was just completely ignored, probably because she was so small compared to the border collie. Hopefully the situation will get better as she grows older and meet more dogs...

DrewBear · Post by **DrewBear** » Tue Apr 08, 2014 3:17 pm

ibell wrote:...she's only played with two dogs, both owned by our friends. Other than that, we try to take her outside to places like Petsmart (only holding her in our arms though, we're scared to let her walk around where many other dogs we don't know have been)...

Try to find a puppy play group near you. Here's a description of the one my pup attended: http://www.bravopup.com/www.bravopup.co ... cials.html
I think my local Petsmart offers puppy play, but I would check those out first to make sure they have good trainers/supervisors watching over the pups. My experience many years ago with Petsmart trainers wasn't the best.

She didn't exactly have the best experience with the dogs she played with. I guess it's her chow nature. She doesn't get excited like the puppies I knew. She's very guarded and shy, you can even call it scared...

Each puppy of any breed has their own personality. Some are more shy. Try to find a play group that has a separate area for the small & shy. They should very gradually introduce them to the rest of the pups. I saw pups who hid in a corner their first day eventually become confident, playful puppies.

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