Nervous new puppy not eating or drinking and scared of lead

[BlueBoy2]

I have just brought home a 16 week old cavachon and hes really nervous. I thought he was 14 weeks but when we worked out date of birth it was 16 weeks.
We tried to ut a lead on him and he freaked out. He won't eat, take a treat or drink.
Im worried he has t been socialised at all even though breeder said he was.
What do I do? How do I introduce him to anything I can't even get him on a lead?

Well that's an improvement. I'd give it time. Mix some water with the wet food just to increase his hydration.

If you have only had him home for seven hours, you are expecting too much. Forget the lead for now. Put the pup and his crate somewhere quiet and safe. He may emerge in time.

Offer him plain roast chicken and boiled rice and make sure his water bowl is nearby.

Having said that, yes I would report the breeder, and have a discussion with your vet. Try to get a home visit as you want to avoid traumatising him further.

Post here for help. Yes you have made a bad choice but now is not the time for recriminations either of yourself or from others.

Just seen your update. That sounds promising. Do not allow your child to over stimulate him though.

You can also try adding water to the kibble.

He's moving around the house a bit more now. I think I'll get some chicken tomorrow.
Im in this mess now and I'll have to try and make the best of it. He ate the food from a plate and drank water from a ceramic bowl maybe he doesn't like the metal?

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Unless I’ve missed the posts, I don’t think anyone is criticising the OP? I certainly wasn’t, just asking questions and trying to make sense of the background, in order to help OP and the puppy

Eating is a big improvement. I’m not sure what I’d do in this situation. I would hate to return the puppy to someone as cruel as that breeder, but my worry is that you’re facing a life time of an anxious dog with behavioral issues?

Hey OP, I'm sorry you're going through this with lack of support. I was worried they wouldn't agree to take the puppy back. They are under no obligation to do so and they know it. If it is shown that the puppy had congenital problems, or issues arose through neglect, they still don't have to take the puppy back unless this is found to be the case in court. So, you may have to accept a financial loss here.

Lesson learned: breeders who don't breed ethically will not treat humans with compassion or ethics, either. Ethical breeders have a lifelong clause, usually in writing, that they will take their puppies back for life, for whatever reason. Ethical breeders also send you home with at least a weeks worth of free insurance usually arranged via PetPlan or the Kennel Club.

Anyway, what's done is done and we are where we are.

Don't lose heart!

He may be scared of metal if it makes noise when he drinks/eats from it. A ceramic bowl is a great idea!

My little puppy got spooked from metal and is still strange with it if he thinks it will clank on tile. So, yes, try a paper plate or ceramic. Great idea.

Chicken may be more enticing for him but, if he does go for it, try to keep him on the same food for a week before trying to go back to kibble or whatever you intend on feeding him because you don't want to switch foods, too often and too quick, and give him an upset tummy. But, chicken is a great, short term solution so definitely try it. Make sure it's cooked because the smell is enticing.

How else can we help?

@TheToteBagLady oh there are a few thinly veiled one 'oh wow no insurance' etc. But no, not yours.😊

I still wouldn't be happy with a puppy not having drunk in seven hours. A well bred puppy? Worried but less worried. This one? Not happy at all. But I'm not OP. But yes, this puppy will almost certainly have some quite significant behavioural issues as well as health ones...very sad.

@BlueBoy2 If he's eating the wet food, I'd stick with that if I was you. Lots of dogs are sensitive to chicken so it may not help.
I doubt he needs to eat a huge amount per meal. How much does he weigh?

You could add a splash of goat's milk to his water if you want to encourage him to drink more.

Your updates are sounding more positive. I would still wait a few days before attempting to take him for a walk. Give him a while to settle in and then work on getting him used to the lead in the house and garden.

I'd also advise reading up on counter conditioning and desensitisation. Then if he is nervous when out on walks, you'll know how to help him.

If he's not vaccinated, the lead isn't really relevant yet as he mustn't be on the ground where other dogs have been. He needs to be carried around until after his full course of vaccinations (you'd need to look up which he needs; it's a while since we had puppies).

Yes, this is good advice. Don't change the food if it's working. Goats milk is an excellent suggestion. Forgot about it, actually.

@SpanielsGalore great job here ❤

OP, did you get a vaccination card to confirm vaccinations? Answer when you're able. I'm sure you feel a bit overwhelmed, atm. But, if you didn't, it's crucial that you take this advice and not let him go where other dogs could have been. He could get parvo and that is fatal.

He has had both vaccinations. He's drank a bit of water now no wees. We have managed to get him to come in the house by following us and when he thinks we arent looking he will come in. He seems nervous but not shaking he's sitting on the sofa with my daughter . I was thinking tomorrow putting harness on with lead and letting him run around with it on in garden? He won't take treats so will i not be able to praise good behaviour without them? How will he know he has done well?
Also I thought he'd be bitey and teething but no evidence of that at all. He couldn't have finished at 17 weeks or over the worse could he?

The book Easey Peasey puppy Squeezy is good for beginners, it helped me when I bought dpuppy home. Our puppy was really nervous the first 24 hours, he didn’t want to do anything other than hide.

The next morning he seemed more settled and began to explore and his confidence gradually grew.

Hes 7yo now and still a bit nervous in certain situations but overall is a lovely little dog.

I wouldn’t put a lead on him yet, let him gain confidence in the home and then start taking him out but carry him to start with.

You really need to play it by ear and take your lead from him. No one on the Internet can see how nervous your puppy is.

If it was me, I would wait at least 48 hours before trying to put harnesses and leads on him. Especially after he reacted badly earlier today.

You can't do any harm by taking things slowly. You can however do harm by going too quickly.

My cocker responds just as well to 'Good girl' and a fuss as she does to food.

No insurance? Did the 'breeder' not provide any, or have you let it lapse and not got your own cover?

Outdated advice - vet nurse here , chicken is not recommended due to potential allergies.
Yes to quiet and safe area , you may find pup will eat / toilet when everyone in bed .
If you are going to keep the pup then get the best insurance you can ASAP before you have seen a vet or the vet may offer you free insurance ( immediate temporary cover) if they have an agreement with an insurance company such as pet plan when you take pup for check over.
Is the pup chipped ? breeder is legally required to chip litters then change details to new owner once purchased.
If you discuss behaviour issues at the consult the vet will record them in notes and the insurance may not pay out for a behaviourist, may be better to let time pass - read how long it takes for the cover to become active , this will be easier to understand when you read insurance small print -MAKE SURE YOU READ IT!
Your updates seem more positive , hopefully with time and patience things may work out.

I think your puppy was just petrified. My second dog was the same the first few hours. I had to hand feed him kibble and he wouldn’t walk outside unless it was absolutely ead silent and he was on grass. He definitely didn’t have the courage to bite me either but that came after a day or two. You could try letting him out into the garden tomorrow with just the harness so he gets used to it and then add the lead later once he’s got some confidence.

i really think it will be fine. Some dogs just take a bit more time to get used to their new surroundings. My formerly scared little puppy is as ballsy as anything now.

Regarding teething: it may be that he's over the worst of it but we don't know for sure if you don't know his age. Mine was teething at 5 months but he wasn't bitey. He just went off his food, lost his tooth, went off his food, lost another tooth but he was on canines at this stage. Hard to say where yours is likely to be with the information we have.

Glad he's had vaccinations, that's good to hear.

Please don't rush that harness. He doesn't need to be walked or trained on a harness right now. Let him settle in for at least a week. Two would be better. He has a lot to get to grips with, as do you, and there is no rush.

I’m so sorry you’ve been taken in by such a scumbag ‘breeder’. Try not to beat yourself up though and
Id do two things first thing tomorrow over and above reporting as per @TheHungryHungryLandsharks advice.

1. vet check. You need to know what you are dealing with health wise first and foremost
2. ask your vet for a recommendation of a trainer to do a ‘puppy home start’ visit at home and get that booked in asap. You being inexperienced and with a very nervous, almost certainly under socialised puppy, early expertise will help get you on the right track and prevent further problems giving you a much easier overall experience

Assuming you can’t return the pup at this point - that would obviously be my first choice in your position

I didn’t know many dogs were sensitive to chicken. My vet always recommends chicken and rice along with the brown paste when they have had upset tummies . May be another question for the vet. Anyway yes, don’t constantly switch food. You don’t want to add the runs to your issues!

there are many ways you can praise without using treats. In fact I think they can lose their power if your dog gets used to getting them for every small thing. Your tone of voice and body language are more important. Make yourself the most interesting thing in his life. I use treat training only to teach absolutely essential behaviours - going in the crate at first time of asking- in the car or at home for example . My gundog recently developed selective deafness aged two, and started to run around like a loon instead of responding to the whistle, so I used treats to re enforce recall for a while.

re chewing etc. In my experience dogs sometimes only show really undesirable behaviours once they have gained confidence inntheir new environment. Usually at about six weeks.

be patient. It’s hard but pays off. You will reap the rewards in spades if you put in the hard work now.

Our puppy hated eating out of a metal bowl! Does yours have a tag on its collar? If it was clanging against the bowl it might have freaked him out. Good to switch to a ceramic one.

It sounds like he's calming down a bit now. Just keep what you're doing and hopefully he'll keep coming out of his shell.

Absolutely don’t worry yet about leads,harnesses or training until the vet check and a few days have passed. Except for toilet training of course if that has not been established yet. Praise is enough for this - I personally never treat train for toilet training anyway and never have issues
He needs time and space to get a bit more comfortable before any more formal stuff happens. And the bitey phase? May rear its head once he acclimates- he’s currently likely to be what we call ‘shut down’ and not showing his true personality

Thanks everyone I feel a bit better about it, well slightly!
I think I'll just have to slow it down and see what the next few days bring. He started biting on a blanket so I gave him a chew toy and he was biting and playing with that. I called the vet who said to wait till the morning and he might settle in and then wee.