Your Puppy: 11 Weeks Old
Mental and Physical Development
Giving Proper Attention
At 11 weeks old, puppies need plenty of attention, physical affection and mental stimulation. Attention and physical affection will help your puppy grow into a secure and confident adult, and mental stimulation will prevent boredom and destructive behavior.
Playtime, exercise sessions and training lessons are all moments when you can challenge, praise and pet your puppy. But it is best to limit these moments to 10 to 15 minutes at a time. Although puppies need a lot of attention, they also need downtime to relax and sleep.
Most puppies like to play rough, but don't encourage them, as it can lead to ingrained bad behavior. Instead, through gentle grooming habits and plenty of cuddle time, you can teach them to be gentle and well-mannered in return.
Treats
Treats are a great way to reward your puppy for an accomplishment, whether it's sitting on command or urinating outdoors instead of on your floor. However, you should budget treats wisely. Only 10 percent of a puppy's daily caloric intake should come from treats.
A baby carrot has five calories, so your puppy could have a few of them. A cup of air-popped popcorn has 30 calories, and you can engage your puppy by having them fetch the popcorn. A small biscuit can contain 20 calories, so you should break up these treats for your puppy.
Health and Veterinary Care: Leptospirosis
At 11 weeks, your puppy will need another round of the combination vaccine they received at eight weeks. You may also want your puppy to receive the optional vaccine for leptospirosis, a life-threatening illness caused by spirochete bacteria. Symptoms of leptospirosis include sudden fever, muscle pain, lethargy, vomiting and dehydration, and the infection can lead to kidney and liver failure.
Animals infected with leptospirosis, which can be spread from animal to animal or from animals to humans, shed the bacteria in their urine, and contaminated urine is the most common source of the disease.
Your veterinarian can diagnose the illness with blood serum testing, although false negatives may occur in the early phases of infection. Leptospirosis is preventable through vaccinations, and your veterinarian can treat an infected dog with antibiotics and supportive care.
Training: Collars and Leashes
Most 11-week-old puppies react to a collar and leash by chewing on the leash, spinning in circles and trying to get the collar off with their paws. A good collar and leash will be able to withstand these reactions.
The collar and leash need to be lightweight, fairly thick and made out of a sturdy material. The collar should fit your puppy snugly, but you should be able to fit your index and middle fingers underneath. The leash should be long enough to give your puppy some slack, but not so long that they will trip on it or become wrapped up in it.
It is important that your puppy gets used to being on a leash from an early age. Once they hit their rambunctious adolescence around eight months of age, they'll need to be on one every time they step outside.
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Comments (37)
amanda May 20, 2009 9:50 PM
my puppy is 11 wks old and has worms he is throwing up and coughing what wormer is best please help we dont want to lose him
Anonymous May 21, 2009 12:22 PM
You need to take your puppy to the vet immediately!
Nobie May 26, 2009 4:36 PM
How is your puppy doing now?
Dana May 31, 2009 1:30 PM
Amanda from my personal experience it sounds like the Pup Has Parvo, A highly contagious Dease in K-9's. it is Deadly as well, unless treated.
Carol June 1, 2009 6:35 PM
I agree with Anonymous - I hope you have taken your puppy to a vet. The over-the-counter worm meds are not effective.
apple June 2, 2009 3:39 PM
my problem with my 11 weeks old puppy is he biting me as his toy T_T
Ours is too & he is 11 weeks old. June 3, 2009 12:47 AM
Ours is too and he is 11 weeks old. He is a German Shepherd . We've tried everything but he keeps going for my hands, wrists and ankles and doesn't let go. Sometimes he is puncturing the skin...
Gracie June 5, 2009 10:10 AM
My 11 wk old German Sheperd is constantly itching and chewing on herself. I have switched her food over to Eukanuba hoping that would help, have giving oatmeal baths, and spent $$$ at the vets with a skin scraping and special topical that hasnt worked. Im searching the internet now for some help hoping someone can help.
Mr Tucker June 8, 2009 10:12 AM
Hi everyone My pug puppy is 11 weeks old we got home from a friends house last night and noticed all he wanted to do was sleep and the white part in his left eye was swollen the tired part I am hopping it's just cause he had a busy day playing outside and our friends cats. but the eye is really worrying us we are taking him to the vet today but does anyone have any Idea what would have caused this to our precious little one???
KDL June 8, 2009 3:04 PM
My new puppy (about 10 weeks old) isn't house trained! Any ideas? I work all day, so I'm not there to work with him until the evenings (and weekends).
huey78 June 8, 2009 11:27 PM
my chocolate lab puppy is 11weeks old, and she will not stop biting my 3 year old yellow lab or my two daughters that are 2 and 4 i think this is called mouthing any tips to stop this
jose June 10, 2009 4:10 AM
i got a 11 week old pitbull puppy, and i think she has wringworm . what can i do?? by one of her teets there is no fur and thats where i believe the wringworm is. please reply asap sont want it to get any worse. thanks
Brook June 10, 2009 3:47 PM
I have a yellow lab she is 3 and a have months old she is crazy we where going out and she got ut she started running around in circles she also bites at u and will not let go of ur clothes i train her and try to get her to stop but it does not help i had to baby sit and she was afraid of her i need help!!!!!!!
Gary June 12, 2009 8:02 AM
i have a 11 week black lab and he is well on his way of learning. I caint seem to get him to stay when i throw this duck into the water i have tried everything any advice
Rebecca June 12, 2009 7:00 PM
I have 6 english bulldog puppyes. They are 7 weeks old do I need to get all of there pavor shots. We have not sale any.
Molly June 13, 2009 5:05 PM
I have an 11 week old black lab and she is usually pretty calm but sometimes when she is playing she will start biting at every part of me- my pant, ankles, wrists.. everything! I don't want her to be an aggressive adult dog! What do I do???
Tip June 14, 2009 2:58 PM
For all of those biting puppies, you need to tell them "no" and then provide them with one of their toys that they can chew on each time they try to bite you. Also, beef sticks (real beef, not rawhides, $3 for a stick at pet store), work very well. Our 11-month-old puppy loves them. She's still biting but not to the degree that she was. You have to startle them (just like their mom would do) by yelling loudly "Ow" or "No" or another word and then continue to be consistent every time she bites you or anyone else. Good Luck!
Potty training June 14, 2009 3:03 PM
For the person who had a question about potty training: If you're gone during the day at work, try crate training your dog. It has to be pretty small at first, though they should have enough room to move around in it. If it's too big, they will potty/poop on one side and use the other side for living if left alone too long. Remember, puppies are like babies - they have very small bladders and don't have control of their bladder muscles yet. We let ours out after every feeding, drinking, being in the crate and when she wakes from a nap. It's a lot of work but you will be rewarded quickly with a potty trained dog. Accidents will happen, though. We also tell our dog to "go potty" when we're outside and now she goes potty on command when we tell her this. Then we say, "good potty" to reinforce what she just did. We haven't used treats yet to train her. She's been doing great with just praise and affection. Also, a couple hours before bedtime we remove her water bowl and food bowl to decrease the amount of times she needs to go outside during the night. Good luck!
Itchy Skin June 15, 2009 2:03 PM
I had a boston terrier with some of the same problems many of you mention about itchy skin. The vet determined that she was allergic to beef, corn and soy products, which are the main ingredients in most dog foods. She recommended Royal Canine Duck and Potato food (you can usually only get this at a vet). This helped tremendously and is no more expensive than the higher end food at any pet store. Also for the oatmeal shampoo - it is only effective if you leave it on for a long period of time before rinsing. The vet said to leave it on for 10 minutes which is a challenge for puppies.
jan w June 16, 2009 5:32 PM
this is for the person who is having trouble housetraining her pup. if you must be gone all day, consider litter training your puppy. mine came already litter trained at 9 weeks old, from the breeder. the litter is not the same as cat litter so be sure you buy dog litter. at 11 weeks old she will use the litter box if i am not home, but will cry to go outside if i am home. start on a long weekend so that you have some time to train your puppy. or have a friend/family member come in during the day to take your puppy out. dogs are social animals and do not do well on any level if left alone for long periods of time day after day.
Beverly Moss June 16, 2009 11:20 PM
how will i know if thats a poddle puppy and what kind of poddle it is? example toy poddle,minature poddle,large poddle, or what? Is there a special way some poddle looks at different age.Just need to know what to look for?when buying a poddle at age 15 weeks.
Kelly June 17, 2009 1:23 PM
Any one with CHEWING problems, try Bitter Apple. It's safe for skin (human and animal), most fabrics, and all other surfaces. Let tem see you apply it, let them taste it, trust me, problem solved. Worked wonders with both my lab and my golden.
jenny June 17, 2009 2:44 PM
Hello my problem with sophia is house braking her, I praise her with a treat, when she goes outside, and sometimes she lets me know, but other times she forgets, and potty on my floor, what should I do when she does that and I did not see her?
joe June 18, 2009 5:55 PM
my boston terrier eats his poop can he get sick.how to stop this behavor
waynekarr@cox.net June 18, 2009 7:48 PM
My daughter's pup, mix border collie /dachsund looks like heeler 10+ weeks losing its hair doesnt seem to bother him, help?
kiki June 19, 2009 10:33 AM
11 week shiba inu. Taken to vet, no worms and given something to sooth her stomach for 5 days, but still little blood at end of each bowel movement. Anybody have this problem.
sue June 20, 2009 7:22 AM
My 9 week old puppy is sneezing and expelling clear mucus shaking his head from side to side. He does have worms and is being treated for the third time with oveer the counter worm medication. His last couple of stools had 5 to 6 larva in each stool. I do not know what is wrong with him. I am afraid; i do not want to lose him. Help!
Mike June 20, 2009 6:43 PM
My 11 week old coon hound & blue healer mix is gradually becoming very aggressive. She will randomly lash out by biting and growling for no known reason- for example: I took her on a 4 block walk today and 3 times she jumped up on my leg, bit me, tugged on my jeans and growled. Sometimes you are just holding her in your arms (near your face) and she just snaps. It's scary. I have never hit her for fear of making aggression worse. I don't know how to discipline her- I'm at my wits end and need help. I first thought it was a phase until it continued to escalate. Any thoughts?
Charlotte June 21, 2009 10:55 AM
We have an eleven week old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and she loves to bite and mouth any exposed skin or clothes. When she is biting, I put her on her side and calm her until she will stay without my holding her for a few seconds. This takes awhile at first but once you do this a few times it takes less time. Then I love her to pieces and praise her.
jeanne June 23, 2009 6:34 PM
To the owner of the shepherd you must set the boundries now biting nibling whatever is a strong no and a shake to the neck(like their mom would) and then place them in their crate they crave your attention and will understand this is not good very quickly
Alexis June 24, 2009 2:14 PM
The one who's dog eats his own poop. Don't worry my dog does too. They eat there poop because they feel they need more vitamins.
Spoiled Dog August 7, 2009 11:15 PM
I got bit by a teacup poodle and I got a mark on my hip. She loves me but now she has kidney failure. the dog also has a broken hip and a tickle spot hehe. Candy is doing gud. I luv hr and she luvez me.
Spoiled Dog August 7, 2009 11:18 PM
huey78 the problem is that u need a chew toy 4 the dog.
anya November 9, 2009 10:31 AM
can anyone give me some advice, i have a 3month old german shepherd puppy, and he does not like going out for walks ! He is very good on the lead altho he tries to pull us back home for a good 10 mins after we go out, on the way home he is pulling to get home. I have always had dogs and never had this problem before !
r November 11, 2009 3:25 PM
anya. my 3 month schnauzer am staff mix does the same thing. he hates being outside and just wants to be held when we take him out. that doesnt seem normal to me
Marika:) November 12, 2009 1:48 AM
My 11 week old mix puppy about 15lbs growls sometimes when picked up.. How do I stop her from doing this?? I am worried she is going to be aggressive and bite if I don't reprimand her properly..
thanks
Louise November 13, 2009 12:38 AM
I am potty training my ll week old Shih tzu and she started off great on the paper, but now she refuses to go on them. What can I do
Dean February 4, 2010 3:53 PM
FlagTo all the people with biting puppies:
ReplyI have an 11 week old Great Dane who has had biting problems and I tried all the "Ow" and "No" and chew toys I could, Till I talked to a vet who specializes in giant breed dogs. Your dog is a pack animal by nature and is trying to establish a pack order. YOU NEED to let your pup know whom the ALPHA is!! A putsch on the butt or a slight slap to their cheek(NOT THE NOSE OR EAR!!!I CAN NOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH AS YOU WILL HURT YOUR PUP)followed by a forceful "NO" will help the situation rather quickly!! Also, DO NOT give them any attention for a few seconds(Up to a minute) as you risk teaching them that this is play by sending a mixed message.
Hope this help some!!
YOLANDA March 10, 2010 5:14 PM
FlagI HAVE A 13WEEK OLD MALE YORKIE AND WHEN HE POOP'S HE HAS BLOOD IN IT WHAT THAT MEANS AND WHAT SHOULD I DO? ANYONE PLEASE
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