We got our Border terrier puppy on Tuesday and on the whole has been OK however yesterday afternoon and this morning just feel so overwhelmed by it all.
She is very clingy and needs to be with me permanently when I am at home or cries like mad. Obv this isnt ideal as I need to do all sorts in the house and she is confined to the kitchen and playroom. When she starts crying I thien find she is doing loads of wees which must be stress related as she is being taken out at least 1x/hour after sleeping playing, eating etc etc so if I then crate her she cries in there but does on occasion just get into her bed to lie down - but I have to shut her into it.
Our 2 adult ( but young 2yr old) cats hate whats going on and confine themselves to upsatirs - I miss them sitting on my lap and they show no signs of accepting dog - dog in turns thinks they are amazing and wants to chase them....
On top of this dh working really long hours so fairly useless at helping although I did just take myself to bed at 9 last night and told him to deal with her.....
Aaaargh i'm just worried we've made a huge mistake even though she was much wanted..
Please give me some support - feel like i've got baby blues!
she hates the car and cries constantly.....
If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.
The doghouse
Need a bit of support - new Puppy.......
inmypants · 13/11/2010 08:40
Ok, don't panic. There is a thread for New Puppy Owners which you'll see we ALL went through this phase pretty much (you'll also see that we career straight from one issue into another, just like children, but don't let that put you off! 
Lots of people gave me support on here when I was feeling the same, and it does get better. How old is your terrier?
I am by no means an expert and I'm sure someone more experienced than me will come along soon, but tips I found that worked for the early days were:
- they sleep a lot when they're very young so do the bare essentials when they're asleep! Let everything else slide (just like a baby...)
- tire them out with lots of games and training and being taken out and about. Plus toilet training and feeding this takes a shed load of time, but it's worth it.
- REALLY work on the car thing. Ours comes in the car with me everywhere because it makes such a huge difference to my day - e.g. drive to supermarket, let him out for a wee, do shop (45 mins in car alone with windows ajar and alarm off), short drive to nearby woods, walk = dog happy, walked and not alone for more than an hour. Me going to supermarket without dog = dog left home alone for 2 hours, not so good. (Obviously this won't be possible when it gets warmer but by then he'll be old enough to be left at home for longer).
Does she have a travel crate? Spend some time putting her in the travel crate with a treat and giving her a cuddle, then just sitting in the car with her (not going anywhere). Then start the engine and do the same... Then short journeys etc etc, building it up. If she's not being sick then it's probably not travel sickness, just stress, but you don't want her to get to the point of being sick with nerves.
- Likewise work on the crate at home. We didn't shut the crate door on ours overnight until he was a good few weeks older (can't remember exactly, think it was about 14 or so), which meant his bladder was a bit bigger and he could go through the night longer. In fact really quickly he was going 10.30pm - 7am without any noise at all. We started with the crate door open overnight, and toys and small treats in there to encourage him to wander in. The downside is that we did effectively 'allow' peeing (on pads) in the utility room overnight, which we now have to un-teach. When we moved to shutting the door we covered it completely with thick blankets to make it dark and cosy, and I sat with him in the pitch black until he'd laid down and settled for the first few nights.
- Get The Perfect Puppy, which has a good section on how to teach your puppy to be left alone (few minutes at a time, not an hour am afraid)
- Socialise her like mad, she sounds nervous (in your arms if needs be until vaccinated).
Another book (I think it was the Culture Clash, anyone else know?) suggests 'umbilical' training - i.e. attach the dog to yourself with a lead so it accompanies you everywhere around the house. That way you can reinforce acceptable behaviour and be on the look out for needing toilet stops, without leaving her alone. Sounds like it might work for you, but I wouldn't do it without reading some guidance first.
Argh, and while I was writing my essay someone more experienced did come along, listen to minimu, she talks sense! 
And 'Get The Perfect Puppy' is a book, not an order!!(missed that word out) 
For treats, tinsy tiny bits of chicken (Buy a cheap packet of thighs and boil them up, then stick in freezer and take out one at a time, will last quite a while). Or cheap cheese. If you go to training classes you need something like that that they can smell.
I think 'Puppy Coachies' (available from Pet shops & Vets, small pink foil bag) are suitable for very young dogs, but I don't have a pack here to check.
Tbh I gave ours Wainwrights puppy treats from quite a young age and only recently realised that they say 'suitable from 4 months' on them 
, although our dog is bigger so no danger of him choking etc, and they were hypoallergenic. If your vet sells something similar just ask their advice.
Also break treats up into tiny pieces so you can give lots and lots of rewards everytime they do good.
laughing here - lots of +ve advice - mine is do not panic!!! - the first two weeks are appalling, especially if you are inexperienced. Chill, devote as much time as poss to the puppy, and don't try to do anything else much - maybe for a month or so. It will improve so rapidly.
Our puppy now 5 months old. She is such fun now. I wanted to send her back (joke) at 11 weeks. We used to put her in her crate at 8pm and have a huge glass of wine. (Well we still do that actually, but drinking no longer essential to sanity.)
Good luck
We too went through this with Irish setter pup last year - kept threatening to put her on ebay and felt sooo guilty cos didn't love her (felt like very evil person.
Puppy phase very wearing,and people helpfully kept saying she wouldn't mature til 3 
. But now she is lovely and my big friend, don't despair.
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