Puppy

[singlemumhelp]

Good evening.
Monday my partner and myself ended uo getting a Pomchi puppy. She is 15 weeks old. She will be living between our houses depending on where we stay as we live seperate and gus work hours but it will be she spends most nights at mine and then she stays at his durn the day. My son he autistic and finds dogs very therapeutic but I couldn't take a dog on full time because we go away a lot. My partner never comes so he will always be around for the dog.

So we have had a few eventful nights and I have never had a puppy before. So both houses she has a crate and a seperate area just for her.
Monday night- she didn't sleep great, my partner ended up staying downstairs on the sofa but didn't let her out we she had lots of accidents. She had her water and food in cage too.

Tuesday night- she settled for 30 minutes on her own before I had to come down and spend the night on the sofa (she was left in cage but I just reassured I was there.) no accidents though and only had her water.

Wednesday night no accidents but again had to sleep downstairs with her:

Thursday night she settled for a hour than popped everywhere in her crate, was then jumping around in it so at 12.15 I was bathing a dog! And again didnr reallh settle.

So durn the day she is left for maximum of 3 hours. In that time she destroys the crate, her bed is soaking wet. Food everywhere.

My work friend has said that she has found with her dogs in the past that she doesn't leave water in cage overnight to stop accidents, until they sleep through she would give them blankets and towels not a big dog bed that they would get wet and pee on.. and would just leave them to cry all night:

I feel mean letting her whinge and cry for hours on end. But am I just teaching bad habits!

Also I only moved to my house 6 months ago and I stayed I had no pets. So I know I can get around it with saying it's my partners and it stays occasionally bur don't want to upset the neighbours. Her son is a policeman and she often whinges that the old neighbours would be doing things duen the day when he needed to sleep etc.

So any great tips for getting puppy to sleep through without me sleeping on the sofa every night.. and would you recommended no one water in crate overnight xx

First of all you cant leave her alone for 3h. Dogs have to learn being left alone and you have to train it slowly. So basically until she is trained, someone should always be there.
To train it you just leave the house and close the door and go back inside immediately about 50 times a day. After a few days you leave, stay outside a minute and go back in 50 times a day. After a few days you stretch to 2 minutes, then 5mins, 10mins etc. Its a slow process but she basically has to slowly learn that you will definitely return.

And you cant let her sleep downstairs alone in a crate. Thats just horrible. Shes a baby! Dogs love company, they dont like being alone. Put the crate in your room!
She wont need water at night, but if she cant hold, then you need to let her out at night.

Puppies are a lot of work and require so much training. You need to put in the work now otherwise you will have issues forever, especially if you dont train her to be at home alone. It can take weeks or months though.

You don't have the right set-up for a puppy.

Please take it back to the breeder - what you're doing is cruel.

Puppy needs to feel secure and have a regular routine. I would try keeping puppy in one home for a while until settled. Crate training is great but can take a while to get it right, but it’s worth it. Whilst the weather is hot I wouldn’t take water away at night. It took our puppy 2 weeks to fully sleep through from 10 pm to 5 am, each night from the beginning, he slept a bit longer. You have a routine for your son, now start on one for your puppy. We fed last meal at 5 pm so he had a poo before bed and was less likely to want to go out during the night. Crate training in the daytime needs to be built up slowly, just 5 minutes to start, then increase the time over a few weeks, our puppy was also a destroyer of all beds, so he just had a towel or thin fleece blanket in crate. Unfortunately your neighbours are going to know pretty soon you have a dog, due to proper toilet training and play in garden, so you should let your landlord know. Once puppy is settled in one home at night you can start trying puppy at other house but be prepared to go back to basic training again

I should not have come back to this thread as reading the first post was so upsetting at how cruelly the poor puppy is being treated.

People think cruelty is physically hurting a puppy or denying them food and water or denying veterinary treatment when sick, but it can also be from people who 'love' the creature but their ignorance at caring for an animal sees the animal suffer unnecessarily and it is usually because they want the dog to meet their needs and not them meet the dogs needs.

Op, please ask the breeder if you can return the puppy as you cannot give the dog what it needs to be happy and cared for properly.

You don't have any understanding of it's emotional needs lets alone it's physical ones.

Which breed is your breeder registered for @OP. Is she a friend or a local person who seems have one of hers accidentally having litter outside of another properly bred same pedigree dog - eg does she breed Pomeranians or chihuahuas or perhaps both and got them mixed up.

If this dog is the product of a mistake - fine lots of perfectly good dogs are Hein z 57 / cross breeds / dare I say mongrels etc but I wonder if she was happier to offload this litter in short order if it did not fit in with her breeding registration. I don't know where other than the Kennel Club breeders register but I may be wrong here - I freely admit that . Others will know better than me.

I don't believe for one moment the breeder has been informative about the breed mix.

Obviously there are positives to this small crossbreed but there are some negatives which are definitely at odds with the op's lifestyle/living conditions. -

Pomchi dogs are known for their independent personalities and may not be the easiest dogs to train. Potential Pom Chi owners need to understand that this smart dog has a mind of his own and doesn't like to be told what to do. The challenge is to motivate your pet in such a way that Pomchi will be excited and happy to do what is asked of him. If you want a dog that is easily trainable, Pomchi may not be what you are looking for. With Pomchi the best training approach is to use positive motivation techniques combined with lots of patience and consistency. Read some dog training books before you start training your pet, especially if you are a first time dog owner.

One of the cons to owning a Pomchi is the amount of grooming that this dog requires. Not everyone has the time to brush the dog frequently and trim the dog's coat to keep it neat. Pomchi dogs also produce shedding and that can be a disadvantage as the dog's shedded hair may accumulate on the floor and on furniture where Pomchi spends time. Pomchi are also not hypoallergenic and produce an average amount of pet allergens in comparison to most other dogs.

Other challenges associated with owning a Pom Chi dog is that this dog likes to bark a lot. Both parent breeds, Pomeranians and Chihuahuas like to bark and so do Pomchi. Barking can be managed through training but an untrained Pomchi dog will bark rather frequently. Pomchis will let the owner know if they see or hear something strange and unusual by barking and if you happen to live in an apartment, some of the neighbors may not appreciate a dog that tends to bark frequently.

Here are some of the health issues that affect the Pomchis' parents, which are also likely to be passed on to the offspring:
Legg-Calve-Perthes disease
Heart problems
Hypoglycemia
Open fontanel-holes in the skull
Collapsed trachea
Epilepsy
Hydrocephalus - Brain fluid
Dental issues
Eye problems
Patellar luxation - floating kneecap

'Pomchis are fragile and are likely to be seriously injured or even killed in case they get stepped on or jump from small walls.'

'Pomchis can be easily injured by other animals, which includes some birds.'

'Pom Chi require frequent grooming.'

'Pomchis are prone to a lot of barking just like other small dogs.'

'Pomchis are not recommended for households with young children since they could roughly handle them.' - a particularly bad choice for a child with autism.

For the first 2 weeks we had our puppy one of us always slept down on the sofa with her. We set an alarm 3 times a night to take her out for a wee. I work from home so was letting her out every 15 mins and she only had a handful of accidents and was toilet trained in about 2 weeks.

She wasn't left by herself for more than 20 mins for about a month.

She's never been crated and was first kept in the kitchen with a baby gate to stop her getting out. She now has the run of the house and is so well behaved.

She’s only 15 weeks olds and adjusting to a new environment, set up etc. it’s going to take time. Plus she’s having two households to get used to.

Pup routines take time to establish. I wished we took two weeks holiday when we first got our pup. They’ve only got small bladders so need to do a wee frequently.

Three hours is a long time to leave a small pup., especially one that hasn’t established a routine yet. We rarely do that and ours is now a year old.

I think you are asking for too much too soon.

She's a German Shepherd for reference.

Who’s had time off to train the puppy? I’m confused… I had a month of with my Lab.

Is puppy being fed, watered, and left to crap and wee in his crate then?

That’s a good point about training. I remember reading that every interaction with your dog is a training session. They just don’t get it naturally, then need to learn good behaviour, a bit like a child.

Please, take the poor thing back to the "breeder".

A pomchi is a mutt, not a pedigree breed so I daren't use the term breeder.

Expecting a young puppy to understand that it will have two houses? First no-no.

Leaving the puppy for 3 hours at a time? Second no-no.

Has anyone tried to train the dog?

Puppies will have you up every couple of hours in the night to be let out - it's part of their toilet training.

Does the puppy ever get let out of the crate? It seems to spend an awful lot of time crated!

Dogs (and particularly puppies who have been removed from their litter mates) are pack animals. They want company.

Have you really researched caring for a dog? Your DS may want a dog to help him but honestly, it doesn't sound like a dog suits your set-up at all.

I'm surprised you were allowed to take the puppy home after mentioning the set-up. Anyone with any knowledge of dogs wouldn't allow this on a puppy, it's too much for them to grasp.

I get the feeling that op didn't like the truth and won't be back.

Well, not until they want advice on rehoming when the puppy has become a neurotic older dog who isn't house trained and has nipped the child when it didn't want to be picked up like a toy.

@MariePaperRoses @hdbs17 and many others too many to mention

We have had 3 terrier puppies ( Borders ) All from a proper breeder who keeps some working dogs and have some stud dogs. It felt like a job interview her letting us have these dogs.

Pup 1 - the time we spent training and socialising - well a lot - so I would factor in if first puppy - taking them to proper classes etc to get them socialised . Yes a pup will cuddle you but you also want it to behave properly with other dogs and humans who are not you.
Pup 2 - related to Pup 1 - was easier because he sort of copied Pup 1. But still needed training and every day all day eyes on him
Pup 3 - ( 12 years younger than the other two ) - swaggered into the house like John Wayne - but but still needed training and a familiar consistent environment .

One more thought @singlemumhelp - Your LL may be happy for you to have a dog - but puppies go through a chewing phase . Now if this is a toy or a pair of shoes - fine. Left alone for 3 hours how about an electrical cable . If we had not done man to man marking with our puppy - this could have happened.

I also suspect OP won't be back because the advice ( which I think is sensible ) is not - here is how you make your puppy magically well behaved. 😊

We put the crate next to our bed at night. Could this work?

I only hope a neighbour calls the RSPCA...

A month off!!!

When we got our last pup we had a week, in that time we established an early routine and had begun crate training her.

This time we work from home but will be leaving for short periods of time from a maximum of 2 weeks.

I have a Pomchi who is now 2 years old. They are needy, independent little dogs who have a big attitude and will not allow small children to be rough with them. This is a really bad choice of dog for your son.

I am lucky and wfh so am with mine more or less all the time. As for sleeping arrangements he has a bed in our bedroom.

They are not robust dogs, can easily be injured by children, need lots of grooming, trips to the dog parlour and they bloody bark a lot and I mean a lot!

If I’m honest I feel sorry for your little one. You can’t leave a puppy for 3 hours it’s simply not fair. She’s probably bored, frightened and lonely.

I would find her a suitable loving home and make sure she is spayed (when old enough) so she cannot breed.

Fucking hell. I’ll be banned if I say what needs saying here. 🤬

No I have been out today running errands and just sat down as my partner has the day off with the dog.

So she is on her crate 10.30pm-6am and 10-1.25 and then she is out the rest of the time.

I am getting her up at 6am as she is fully awake and take her out for a wee.. breakfast, encourage water and lots of play and attention.

She goes in the crate when he leaves at 10.. and I am back by 1.25.. sometimes he starts later so she will only be left for a hour before I return. School holidays I have every day off so she will not be crated duen the day at all unless we have to quickly pop out for doctors etc. I will say I am rather shocked at how many people are saying not to crate dogs for 3 hours... as I have known many dogs get left whilst parents have to work a 9-5 job. I have enquired though about someone to come in durn terms times to visit the dog for a hour on the days he starts at 10 sp she isn't left for the full 3 hours.

Every evening she has her evening meal at 6 same as kids, and then when the kids have gone to bed I sit with her brush and brush her every night to make sure she doesn't get matted and she is also booked in once a month at the local groomers once she's had her second jab.

The breeder usually breeds cocker spaniels. The pomeroan is her daughters dog who lives with herd the chihuahua was her sons dog who was visiting. So it was a genuine mistake.

I do get up duen the night to let her out for a wee when she is barking and have been sleeping on the sofa next to her crate as mentioned before. Ideally I don't want to be sleeping on the sofa long term hence why I was asking for help and suggestions.

She doesn't have food in her bed at night but with this weather I have made sure she has water; and have bought one do the dispensers that attaches to the crate to stop her jumping in it.

The breeder has been training the dogs around her children and grandchildren and she's been very relaxed with them; toys being left isn't a issue as my son doesn't really play with as it's mainly his iPad, but if he does they only play on their rooms not downstairs. He doesn't okay rough with dogs as has been around my sisters he enjoys the cuddles to calm him and he talks to her.

I am very tempted ti take the crate upstairs, my partner isn't keen but I will just do what I think is best.

Poor dog.

No one should be creating a dog from 9-5.

Fair enough, make the crate a safe space a dog can escape to when needed - and has access to come and go throughout the day but locked away in a crate 9am until 5pm!? Don't take advice from those sorts of people!

@foxylab2023 yes, a month lol. Not all dogs are the same. I felt I needed a month. 🤷🏼‍♀️