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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

We are getting our golden retriever puppy in 11 days and.................................

23 replies

zarabootoo · 10/05/2011 13:34

I am so excited but also beginning to get scared that I don't know enough and I'll get everything wrong.

We've been waiting for her since January and she'll be 8 weeks old when she comes to us.

I am at home all day and dc are all at school so I have plenty of time on my hands.
I have bought and read/am reading the books I have seen recommended on here, Perfect Puppy etc but am still confused about a few things.

Firstly, should I take the pup out to do the toilet in the middle of the night? We would normally be going to bed around 11pm (DH occasionally later) and would let her out then. If we are not taking her out in the night should we put a puppy pad in her crate just in case?

The other thing I am wondering about is feeding her. The breeder is feeding her Royal Canin and has asked us to do the same but from what I have read on here I would rather give her fish4dogs, I think. So how soon should I start to wean her off one and onto the other and how gradual should it be?

If anyone is able to help I would very much appreciate it but be warned that these may be the first in a long line of questions!

OP posts:

Tuggy · 10/05/2011 13:42

You will get her toilet trained a lot faster if you take her out in the night when she needs the loo. If she learns that she never ever gets to wee indoors it will sink in better. If her crate is in your room then she should settle pretty easily (fingers crossed) and only whine when she needs a wee (after the initial whine whine first thing at night when she goes in)

If sometimes she wees inside (at night) and sometimes outside (day time) she wont know which is which.

We have a 12 week puppy who is now totally toilet trained and getting up in the night really helped (she actually still needs to wee at about 3am every morning)

Dont change her food yet. Most dogs get the runs when they move to a new home just stress/new environment. Let all that settle down and then slowly move over. But dont do for the first 2 weeks until her poos are fine.

daisydotandgertie · 10/05/2011 13:47

How exciting!

Yes - I take our puppies out in the night, probably 3 times or so when they're very tiny. Also, avoid puppy pads/paper like the plague.

The quickest way to a housetrained dog is to be consistent with all you do with her and using puppy pads at any point gives a very conflicting message - that sometimes she has to pee outside and at others she has to pee on a pad. It's going to take a very long time indeed for her to work out which is right.

Her crate should be just big enough for her bed - no bigger and def not big enough to have a place for weeing or pooing in. Dogs are reluctant to mess their beds, so crate training takes that instinct and works on it to speed up house training. A crate is no guarantee that a dog won't wee or poo, just that if they do, it's because they absolutely had to. I added a bit to this thread yesterday for someone who had questions about crate training - it's the way I do it and it works well for me .

So - wellies, a coat, treats and a torch by the back door and prepare for some night-time wanders around the garden! I expect her first few nights at home will be very traumatic for her, so bank up on sleep now.

About the food - continue feeding Royal Canin for a couple of weeks or so, while she settles in and gets over the trauma of leaving home and then start to change her food slowly to the food you'd prefer to use. Fish4dogs is a fabulous food, and IMO a very good choice.

PeelingmyselfofftheCeiling · 10/05/2011 13:51

If her crate is big enough for a puppy pad in one corner I'd strongly recommend halving it in size with a large cardboard box or similar, and making sure the other side is all snuggly with vet bed and blankets. They're much less likely to go in their bed, and will probably shout to go out instead (which is good!).

Make sure you can hear her though, because if she gets into the habit of being ignored (even if you're asleep!) and going in the bed then it'd be a hard one to break.

Yes, it will involve getting up in the night, then getting up early in the morning, but you'll be able to 'stretch' the length of time she can wait surprisingly quickly. Due to an alarm clock malfunction my poor dog went nearly 14 hours the other night (pregnant lady, can sleep like the dead) without once trying to wake me!

minimu1 · 10/05/2011 13:53

Ask too many people and you will get loads of different replies

I never take my puppies out at night - they are crated from 11.00ish and then let out at 6.00.

Don't though use puppy pads as they have a smell to encourage dogs to wee. I would put paper in the crate and just clean it in the morning saying nothing if they do wee. Many will not though but you will not know this if you let them out each night!

I think that a habit is set and once you start weeing them at 3am it is really really hard to stop this.

I do agree about the food do not change for a few weeks.

ChippingIn · 10/05/2011 13:57

Have you got any photos??

To wee or not to wee that is the question... I don't know the answer though, both sound like good arguements!

I would love a GR pup! I am

Original poster

zarabootoo · 10/05/2011 14:11

Wow! Thank you all. I can't believe so many replies already. You must all be gluttons for punishment

Okay, so there seems to be two schools of thought here - taking her out in the night will provide consistency but how would I know when she didn't need to go out in the night any more?

Not taking her out in the night means it doesn't become a habit and obviously I get to stay in bed

Will not attempt to change her diet until she is completely settled with us.

I have to say I felt a lot more confident with human babies! I do have photos but there are on my phone and I'm completely inept not very technically minded

OP posts:

PeelingmyselfofftheCeiling · 10/05/2011 14:45

Just to let you know how we got around the problem of night weeing being a habit;

Once he was in his crate all night (and we didn't do it from day one, but I wish we had) we gradually increased the amount of time we left him for. So we set an alarm clock for say, 3am for a couple of nights (aiming for just before he usually needed to go out), then we moved it to e.g. 3.20 for a couple of nights, then 3.45, 4.15, 5. There were a few days it went backwards, but generally seemed to work and actually the night waking didn't last that long at all. The other thing we did was put him on lead so he couldn't choose 3am to explore the flower beds, and made toilet time absolutely no fun at all - out, do your business, praise, back in bed.

The other thing I would say this is the one and only time I will even get close to disagreeing with minimu, as she has given me lots of fantastic advice over several months and is a regular on behaviour threads so definitely one to listen too!

Original poster

zarabootoo · 10/05/2011 16:07

That makes sense Peeling. I'm hoping that I'll feel a bit more confident once she's actually here and I'll be able to trust my instincts.

I have been an avid lurker on "the doghouse" for months now and have found the quality of the advice given and peoples' willingness to help quite staggering.

OP posts:

Batteryhuman · 10/05/2011 16:17

Like Minimu I find mine will go from 11 til 6ish in the crate without accidents. And another definite no to puppy pads.

Original poster

zarabootoo · 10/05/2011 17:44

Have thought of another question. That didn't take long, did it? I am planning on using clicker training and was wondering what is the best treat to use?

OP posts:

Batteryhuman · 10/05/2011 17:52

Experiment but CHEESE is the highest value reward in our house

RumourOfAHurricane · 10/05/2011 18:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

minimu1 · 10/05/2011 19:34

Peelingmyselfofftheceiling feel free to disagree

You are spot on to say trust your instincts and if you can do human babies you will be fine - they are soooooo much harder than puppies

Original poster

zarabootoo · 10/05/2011 22:04

Thank you so much to everyone who has taken time to reply. It all seems quite daunting atm but I have to say that I am looking forward to every moment of it and who knows, maybe one day in the future I'll be the one handing out sage advice Nah, probably not.

OP posts:

Spamspamspam · 10/05/2011 22:17

Thank you all also from me! New puppy arrived today and for the last three days I have frequented this site! I have learn't loads :) :)

My puppy is crated for the first time in her life tonight, and is absolutely fine, all puppy pads have been thrown away, we have taken her out for wee wees regulary, some have been successful, some not! but in her 9 hours at this house she has been an angel! I expect worse to come but will rely on the massive amount of knowledge and experience on here to guide me.

Thank you!

lovemydog · 11/05/2011 20:03

zara I am so jealous! My beautiful goldie died peacefully in her sleep last week at the ripe old age of 15 1/2. She brought so much happiness into our lives and I miss her more than words can say . . .

Original poster

zarabootoo · 12/05/2011 09:14

lovemydog, I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope we have our girl for as long as you did. Do you think you might get another goldie at some point?

Spam, glad its all going well for you so far.

OP posts:

BitterAndTwistedChoreDodger · 12/05/2011 10:18

lovemydog so sorry for your loss. we lost our beloved Weimeraner at the age of 5 suddenly earlier this year. We said we would leave it 6 months before getting another dog. We managed 3 weeks

lovemydog · 13/05/2011 23:27

I would so love to have another dog in the house but sadly I think I'll have to wait until I retire . . . Just circumstances, really - nobody will be at home long enough for a puppy/young dog. Zara enjoy your goldie, they are soooo gorgeous!

ChippingIn · 14/05/2011 09:11

lovemydog - would you consider rescuing an older dog? There's still a lot of love left in them :)

kid · 14/05/2011 09:23

Getting a puppy is so exciting, getting any dog is exciting actually!
I got my puppy in August and he is a huge lump now, but just as cute, cuddly and affectionate.

Good luck with your little bundles of joy, they are hard work but well worth the effort and hard work.

Solo2 · 19/05/2011 10:38

Hi zarabootoo just noticed your thread and as a new first time owner of a gorgoeus golden retreiver puppy, wanted to reassure you that it's all manageable and they're SO cute. Rollo came to us at 7 weeks old and is now 15 and a half weeks old. He's developed hugely in that time and no lnger looks like a roly-poly puppy but a gangly, scruffy (likes digging in mud) miniature golden retriever with great big front paws!

I only got up int he night during the first week and then I think it was only about 3 times at 3am. Since then, he goes happily for 7 hrs in his crate (though as my Sleep Deprivation thread indicates, I still find it a little challenging!) and never seems desperate for the toilet when he comes out of the crate.

He's still on Royal Canin Junior Golden Retriever 29 - which the breeder had him on and seems OK so far with this.

At puppy class, what I can tell is that he's a lot stronger than other smaller breeds (pulls me around!) but also more laid back and les frenetic/ snappy. However, that might be his personality as much as his breed.

It IS a bit like having another baby/ toddler and very full-on but as puppies go - so I hear - he's very good, a lot easier than some and on the calmer end of the spectrum.

It mustn't be long now before you get your puppy? I waited 48 yrs for the right time to get my first dog and read everything I could, like you and have had tons of helpful advice from here as well.

Good luck!

Spamspamspam · 20/05/2011 09:54

Zara, is today THE DAY or was that yesterday? How exciting for you, please post some pictures soon!

I just wanted to add something as I am now 9 days in....My puppy is a little older than yours, we got her at ten weeks and she is now 11 weeks and 2 days. I followed Minimu's advice on just leaving her and I didn't think she had messed in her crate in the first couple of days but she did cry A LOT. When I say I didn't think she had messed I wasn't sure because I was putting water in her crate and every night she was somehow upturning the bowl and soaking her bed so I was constantly washing and drying her bed and she was constantly cold and wet.

I then wavered mainly because I wasn't sure if she was going in the night, and thought maybe I should do the getting up thing and taking her out for the toilet but one night of this changed my mind, puppy cried more and more and got me up at 1.00, 3.00 and 5.00 AM and did nothing outside every time! I then decided to take water out of crate and go back to Minimu's advice (thank you by the way minimu )on just leaving her and it has been a breeze for the last two nights (so far I hasten to add - touching wood furiously).

I put her in at about 11.30 and get up at 7.00am - first night she was a bit noisier but I just ignored and last night just minimal whimpering both mornings she hasn't frantically searched for water so that has reassured me that it was the right thing to do and she is not suffering because of it. This morning when she got up she didn't immediately poo/wee outside but went after a good 10 minutes of being out so she can hold it. I am going to keep this up!

Also I have been crating her for short periods in the day and just being around her or being somewhere in the house but ignoring all cries and lots of reward when she is settled - this is working really well and definately helps with night time crate time.

Good luck in whatever you decide to you, your puppy is a few weeks younger so you might want to get up but I just thought I would share my very limited experience.

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