our new puppy has arrived...

[justageek]

and she is just gorgeous. I wasnt sure at first because when finding out her history, the lady told me she had been kept locked in a dining room for the most, with a muzzle on. The muzzle pricked my ears up, why a muzzle, was it because oats was vicious?

she said no it was because oats is so mischevious she was always chewing on things and picking things up in her mouth. She said Oats had been with her for two months now and has never shown a vicious nature (her kids are same ages as mine, 3 and 2).

So...she is 8 months old, and does respond to basic commands, with a bit of firmness, such as sit, lie down, stay...she has however had 3-4 accidents tonight, but also done some outside.

I phoned my dad, and he wasnt very heartening, suggesting that she should definately not be having any sort of accidents at her age, and was generally very negative about her. Its made me quite sad really, that he seems to have given up on her before even meeting her. He was also very anti her being near the kids, and i understand that, but i did feel as if he thought i had got her on a whim and not thought it through.

She was very affectionate with the girls and spends most of her time carrying a manky old pink fluffy cushion around!

I just thought i would share her first night with us :D

Ahh I'm sure the accidents are just due to new surroundings. What breed is she?

We were originally told she was a labrador cross collie, but i knew she wasnt, i think she is a labrador cross staffie. Click the link below for her picture:

mumsnet.com/20046.Ups

I suppose i came off the phone feeling deflated, as though i was putting my children at risk and was being irresponsible. I dont think it would have mattered what dog i had got, i would never leave a dog alone with my kids, even the most softest of natured one.

I was also brought up with dogs, jack russels, german shephards, labradors and cocker spaniels, so its not like i know nothing about them!

SHe has just been out and done a number two and a wee, so i dont think she is going to be the write off my dad seems to want her to be!

Congratulations!

We rehomed a 7 month old puppy 6 weeks ago and she had a lot of accidents to begin with - but has only had 1 this week (a wee which she did overnight). So persevere, remember not to 'mention' the accidents to your puppy and praise her when she goes outside.
Our puppy was weeing if we left her alone for a couple of minutes, which is a fear response, I used DAP spray (which is meant to make dogs feel happier).
She would also wee/poo overnight - I slowly changed her food to a dry food which has helped with the poos and she is almost dry overnight now.
Our puppy also cried/woofed a lot a night for the first couple of nights but calmed down over a couple of weeks, so be prepared for a few broken nights too.
I don't leave our pup alone with the kids (7 and 4) because I am worried that the kids might hurt her, not her hurt the kids!

Oh, our is a labrador cross too! Not sure what the other half is but guesses have ranged from poodle (vet's guess) to lurcher.

aw, see this is what annoyed me, her being written off by my dad just because she had a few accidents at an age where in his opinion she shouldnt have had any.

I dont mind broken nights, she is coming in with us tonight, she already has hubby wrapped around her paw LOL. She is slumped at his feet as i type!

It can take up to 12mths for a dog to be toilet trained. Dont feel disheartened she needs to get used to her new surroundings.

If you search for the threads I started when I first got my puppy you'll see that someone with a non-rehomed golden retriever says that her dog wasn't house-trained until about 8 months and that larger dogs take longer to gain control.

I got my first dog at the age of 2 and he wasn't properly house trained (he had been kept in a kennel outside despite the owners telling us he was brought into the house regularly. Took a few weeks but then he was fine. I would recommend the puppy pads. They are easier than newspaper. It's a good time to house train a puppy as you can leave the back door open.

My new sheltie is a year old on Thursday and she still has occasional accidents.

Your new puppy is lovely BTW.

thanks for that :D

I have noticed, i dont know if its a concern, that she is drinking a LOT of water, which explains the frequent urination. She has drunk 4 bowl fuls in 4 hours. She seems in the best of health but it does seem to go right through her. Any thoughts?

i was just having a read online and i did the dehydration test, pinching the skin on the back of her shoulders, she seems fine. I also read that sometimes neglected dogs learn to fill up on water and of course that there could be health problems. We have an appointment on saturday to get her checked over but if it carries on i will push it forward.

the bowl sorry is the size of your average cereal bowl. She literally emptied one as soon as i filled it!

thank you, i just took her (ahem, she took me) for a walk, my DH nearly fainted with shock that i got off the laptop for 15 mins...

I have also discovered a little lump, on her belly, small and hard, not a nipple, and in the centre, looking online i think it could be one of those lipomas (harmless cyst thing apparently) but rather cross it wasnt pointed out to us on taking her.

Like i say she seems to be in the best of health, but you never know.

Sweet pic - from the shape of the front legs I'd say you're right about the bit of staffie

Good idea taking her to get checked over at the vets...

drinking is often a stress response - she may still be feeling unsettled. The DAP spray (you can also get a plug-in) is fantastic, and I would recommend it for when bonfire night comes around Maybe ask your vet, cos it could help her feel settled at home (it replicates the mother's pheromones).

Have fun with Oats!

Can't see the picture on tha tlink!
Our puppy is now 18 weeks old (although he is currenlty at a speicalist vets at Winchester with 4 broken metatrsils!) and he still has accidents.We got him when he was 8 weeks though
He also goes through phases where he drinks a lot, and has been checked out and is fine

you can see pic on profile instead ;)

Sorry but that's a picture of lettuce!

a picture of lettuce?!

She dd so well last night, we made up a be for her in our room, in an old rabbit cage bottom with a duvet and she settled pretty well. No accidents in the night at all. She has had a few today but its my youngests 2nd birthday and i have probably not been quite as focused as i should have been.

Boundaries are being established today, she is quite challenging in that she will bark at you if you are cross with her, and challenge you, but i have stood my ground and i think she is doing really well, responding to simple commands.

I have been limiting her water a little and the weeing seems to have settled down too

Sorry, i wasn't looking on justageeks profile, I looked on tickle's profile, becasue she said "picture on profile" and I thought, Oh she must be the OP. Dozy mare that I am

def a staffie x (had staffies all my life - until recent purchase of fab bullmastiff!)

dont worry about the accidents, she will get used to it. set clear boundaries (expecially re your daughters toys) and get them to feed her - put her bowl down etc.

good luck. she looks v sweet.

xx

i have been telling the girls to take no nonsense from her, its very funny to hear them saying NO! to her (3 and 2 years old) and allowing them to give her little treats when she does her business outside. The helping feed her is a great idea. She ha taken to sitting on my computer table staring at me over the laptop!

Another thing to counteract the bossiness and establish her place in the pecking order (ie at the bottom!) is to pretend to eat from her bowl at every meal and make her wait for it.

Apparently this is what the leader of a pack would do then the other dogs get what's left.

My dog trainer also told me to turn my back on my dog when she barks at me and not make eye contact.