-LOTS- of problems..

[Rita]

Hi! My name is Rita and I recently adopted a lab mix puppy named Ben. He is currently 11 weeks old. When we first brought him home at 8 weeks old, he was a perfect little angel for the first two weeks. He never had accidents in his crate or in the house. He loved to play by my feet when I watched TV, never jumped, barked, and he was good with strangers and other dogs.

However, starting last week or so, Ben began to change. He would just start barking out of the blue. I'm pretty sure it's not a cry for attention since I was sitting right by his crate many times. Also, he's been jumping on people and looking for tight little tunnel places to crawl in. Even worse, he's begun to have "accidents" in the house. His schedule has been kept the same...and what is even more frustrating is after I take him to his bathroom area outside and bring him indoors afterwards...he -still- goes on my carpet. I walk him back and forth in my yard (we have a pretty spacious yard) before coming in, but the "accidents" still happen.

During his first week home, I took him on regular walks around our neighbourhood. Not to any parks or anything (he still needs most of his puppy shots), but just around the block. He was more than happy to go...tail a-wagging and everything. Lately, he doesn't seem to want to walk anymore. I'll tempt him with food and call to him, but he won't move. It's almost as if he's scared I'm going to walk him to the end of the street and abandon him and he'll never see his home again for some reason. Ben has a lot of toys; balls, bones, frisbees, those puzzle-food thingys, and he enjoyed playing with ice cubes. Nowadays, when I let him out on the grass, he just wants to lie down and well...-eat- grass. I'll throw a toy, and he won't even look at it. I put them in his crate, and he won't play with it.

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong? Ben's a very smart puppy. He hasn't been to any puppy classes, but he knows how to sit, and pratically learned the "hand" command overnight. What am I doing wrong? Please help with a reply or e-mail (ritalung@excite.com).

Sorry for the long post and thank you for your time!

[Dawn]

If he's eating grass like that and not acting his usual self, you should probably take him to a vet. Dogs will usually eat grass when their stomachs not feeling well. Also his lack of puppy activity makes it sound like there's something wrong.