New puppy concerns

Hello I just brought home a new puppy this week. His name is Amado. He is just 8 weeks old and he's my first Staffy. Although, he is only 75% Staffy, I hope that doesn't disqualify me from advice from you all.

So here are some of my concerns:

When I take him into the yard on a lead to potty, he tries to eat the gravel from the walkway. I take them from his mouth whenever I catch him doing this, but sometimes I go in his mouth to get the stone and it's already gone. I've tried getting him to walk quicker down the path so he won't stop to eat them, but sometimes he still manages to lean down and grab one. So I've been carrying him to his designated potty spot.

He is a snorer. Sometimes to the point where I can't tell if he's actually getting a breath. When I notice this, I gently move his head and he will start breathing better. But he always wiggles back into a position where it sounds like he's not breathing again. Is this something to worry about, or will it work itself out?

I've given him one bath so far, just with warm water, and even before I even attempted to put him in the tub, he looked scared. It seems to me that he recognized what the tub was and what was about to happen. How can I show him that the bath is nothing to be afraid of?

Thanks for any advice you all can give me. I want to be the best mommy I can!

Hi & welcome. What a beautiful pup!

He'll grow out of the gravel eating stage - just like babies everything that can go into a pup's mouth, will! You could try leading him with a treat in your hand so that he's far more interested in your hand than the gravel!

I wouldn't bath him at all tbh - at 8 weeks old I doubt that he really needs it. A lot of very young pups are scared of being put in water, so it might be better to wait till he's a few months older.

P.S. He looks a big lad - what's his other 25%?

What a cutie Dont matter if hes a cross here. Its just his age with the stones just like furless babie stick everything in there mouth so your doing right by carrying him for now.As for the snoring this is a staffy thing never meet one that dont snore so you will have to get used to it and it gets louder as they grow

The other 25% is Springer Spaniel. It's an odd combo, I know! His father was full Staffy and his mother was half and half. I definitely see the hunting dog in him already. Anything that moves, he wants to chase. And if it doesn't move, he'll try to get it to move.

I can deal with the snoring. I was just worried about him getting air. But if that's normal, it just means I'll have some music to fall asleep to. Heh.

They do tend to snore a bit!

Tessa wrote: I definitely see the hunting dog in him already. Anything that moves, he wants to chase. And if it doesn't move, he'll try to get it to move.

That could also be the terrier in him! There are some terriers that always have their heads down one hole or another, or are chasing something up the nearest tree!

Hi and welcome from us and Suki.

Haha! Well I guess he has a double dose of that then. I won't mind if he wants to keep the squirrels out of the yard.

Thanks for the awesome advice! I feel more confident now. I'll definitely update everyone as he grows!

...and don't forget loads of pics!

Pics I can do!

Awwwww, beautiful, look at all those cuddly wrinkles!

And if you'd like to see a video: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=107762262710572

very cute

I only get clear pictures when he's sleeping because that's the only time he's holding still.

He is adorable

Oh how cute don't worry, Loki is a cross, and there are a few other Staff crosses here.

Eating gravel sounds normal, they'll eat anything, particularly at that age.

As for the snoring, here's a little story: when we first got Loki he had a plastic bed, and he'd always (ALWAYS) end up putting his head over the side so that he was half strangling himself and he'd start snoring. The first week or so, I didn't get any sleep, I was constantly checking he was breathing . Then he grew out of it. The moral of the story is this: dogs are silly, but they won't let themselves go without air the snoring is fine.

Can't comment on the bathing. Loki loved the water as soon as he saw it.

He certainly is very cute. The stone chewing could be for attention from you, try to distract him with a toy or small treat if needed.

Lovely pics he's a little cracker , think you have all the advice you need already

Absolutely gorgeous!!

A little tip I learnt about getting my Sash into the bath - when Sash was ready to have a bath I used to put treats on the top step of the stairs leading into the bath, id switch the shower on but distract her with a treat then move the water slowly onto her (still using treats as a distraction). I did this about 3 or 4 times and eventually I didn't need to use the treats because she got used to the water and I guess she now relates the bath with a good thing (treats).

Its worth a try.


I DIDN'T have to use this trick with my cat, he loves being bathed and loves being towel dried!! Weird huh lol

Hi and welcome, he's adorable.

Callie ate mulch for a a few months. She stopped. I think they're like babies, everything goes in the mouth, you just have to be extra vigilant at first.

And she is the loudest snorer in the family by FAR.

They're farty too.

Don't worry

Thanks for all the advice!

I do have another question though. He just had his first round of shots on September 14th and is due for the second round on October 11th. When will it be appropriate to look for a puppy play group to begin socializing him? He just turned 8 weeks on September 16th.

I am not sure about timings of jabs as it's different to us but your vet should tell you I would imagine a few days after ther 2nd round

Alright then, thanks I'll ask the vet when I take him in for his second round.

Never ever worry about asking for advice on here, my two are crosses and have always been more than welcomed on here
My lil girl snores like an old man and then it goes quiet....still quiet.......me gets worried....still quiet...i get up to take a look...snooooore little sod.r
And as for baths try half filling the tub 50/50 mud and water they will love it. Clean water and soap will have my two acting like im trying to drown them...sorry not much help on that one

So I read about plain yogurt being good for puppies. I happen to have some Chobani plain Greek yogurt and thought I'd let him try a small spoon of it to see if he enjoys it. He LOVED it and tried to eat the spoon! But in hindsight, I should have waited until after his dinner to let him try it because now he doesn't want his boring dry food.

Yoghurt's good as long as you don'tuse one with sweeteners.

Yeah, I read that when I was doing some research. What I'm using is all natural ingredients, no sweeteners at all, not even sugar. It's as plain as yogurt gets.

I think most dogs like it & it's good for their tums!

Amado has his own room where he can't do any damage to anything or hurt himself on anything. If he's being especially bitey and won't stop, I will put him in his room for a couple of minutes for him to calm down. But every time I do this, he poops on the floor. He went 3 times already today, the last one was just 20 minutes before I had to give him some cool down time. But he still went on the floor after being in his room for 3 minutes. He also cries the entire time to the point of getting hiccups. Does anyone have any advice for any of this? Thanks!

Does he have a bed & some toys in the room?

What do you do when you put him in there? From the biting to shutting the door?

Yes, he has a soft bed and plenty of toys to play with and chew on. He has puppy pads that are supposedly scented to make puppies want to potty there, but it doesn't work at all. No matter how many times I put him on it when he starts to go, he just stops going and waits until the one moment I'm not looking at him. That's why I've been taking him outside every time I see his potty signs.

So when he gets too rowdy and won't stop biting, I carry him to his room, set him down and give him one of his favorite chewy toys and leave the room.

Sometimes he'll chew for a few seconds, sometimes he'll start crying immediately. I'm not trying to make this a punishment for him, I'm trying to get him to cool down so he's not so intense and will listen when I'm telling him that his bites hurt.

btw, another picture of him
I think he looks big for just 8 weeks. What do you think?

Our puppy had to wait two weeks to be allowed to walk outside in unknown territory. Very cute pup

Fantastic pics he is a bonny pup

Tessa wrote:Yes, he has a soft bed and plenty of toys to play with and chew on. He has puppy pads that are supposedly scented to make puppies want to potty there, but it doesn't work at all. No matter how many times I put him on it when he starts to go, he just stops going and waits until the one moment I'm not looking at him. That's why I've been taking him outside every time I see his potty signs.

So when he gets too rowdy and won't stop biting, I carry him to his room, set him down and give him one of his favorite chewy toys and leave the room.

Sometimes he'll chew for a few seconds, sometimes he'll start crying immediately. I'm not trying to make this a punishment for him, I'm trying to get him to cool down so he's not so intense and will listen when I'm telling him that his bites hurt.

That all sounds fine, tbh. I don't like the puppy pads either, Dempsey tried to eat the only one we ever used!

Tessa wrote:btw, another picture of him
I think he looks big for just 8 weeks. What do you think?

Absolutely gorgeous! Hard to say about the size, there's nothing in the pic to compare him with. He looks a sturdy boy, though!

i wouldnt worry about the breathing at night time, i thought the exact same when vinnie first came home it sounded like he was really struggling for breath when he was asleep sometimes not even breathing at all but after a few weeks it got less and now he doesnt really do it at all - just snores alot

Vinnie is also scared of water/bath so i have no advice really on that lol, i wouldnt worry too much about what he picks off the floor everytime i look at vinnie hes got something in his mouth he shouldnt have xD not so much as when we first got him though so i expect its something they just grow out of xx

Oh hes just beautiful! What a lovely colour and I love his little white feet. I would follow the advice everyone else has given you, I can't add anything

Thanks for all the feed back Here is another video of Amado.

I couldn't resist taking this video.... he was being too cute!

Awwwww!