vocalisations and behaviours of pup

Hi All

Vinny is now 9 weeks and we'd like to think he is settling in but we're really not sure.

He is very vocal - but with extremely high pitched whines/whimpers/yelps and woofs. He whimpers when Roxy (10 months) goes near him; he woofs when he wants to play with her; he "cries" when she leaves a room, or any of us do for that matter. He whines when we hold him; he makes a sort of really high pitched sound if he's in his crate and no one is near him. Do you think it's purely attention seeking?

He has also taken to pinching Roxy's things and growling at her when she comes near him (although she is very placid and won't fight for her stuff). He inhales his food but if he sees Roxy's bowl he goes for that instead (they get exactly the same kibble and mostly I put it in his kong to slow him down). I've also noticed that he eats with his tail between his legs.

When we take him out to do his business he is usually too busy trying to scavenge for food (which he won't find randomly in the garden) and instead starts chowing the grass and holds in his wee/poop until he is back inside.

We know now is the time to socialise Vinny but due to the time of year he will only be attending puppy classes in Jan.

Do you think this sounds normal or is he perhaps unhappy? He is due his shots tomorrow so we will discuss with the vet as well.

Thanks!

Sounds normal to me. They can be a bit weird with all the noises they make, and Loki is king of attention-seeking, so I've heard it all from him; whining, crying, barking, whimpering, growling, groaning, sighing, howling, croaking, mooing so yeah, I'd say so. The only thing that sounds out-of-place would be whimpering when Roxy goes near him, but Loki's done this when he's excited to meet a dog, so I'd say even that's nothing to worry about.

The tail between his legs could just be cos he's too busy eating to care where his tail is, and the toilet-training...well, keep him out there until he does something. He can't hold it forever

Puppy classes are great for socialising, but you don't need puppy classes to socialise him, of course. He has Roxy to teach him things, but also when he's had his vaccinations and he can go out, he'll have plenty of people, dogs and things to interact with.

Sounds normal to me as well

Little baby in the house, she'll be fine x

He sounds like a normal naughty little puppy! I would go with everyone else's suggestions. If he keeps going for Roxy's bowl then start blocking him when he goes to do it and firmly directing him back to his own!

Thanks everyone! The squealing can get a bit much x