New puppy thread, where new puppy owners can come for help and advice and hopefully clever people like minimu, midori et al will check regularly (please) to help us...

[Happymm]

Exactly what it says on the tin really. Kings idea, that we have a thread where we can all come and ask for help, advice, support or just to vent and that the much more experienced people will come and help us out :)

Just a quickie as desperate to get to bed now - I have ordered a GL Happy - will let you know... our pup seems to be growing quickly too. GL only do S, M and L I think so would be small as M is labrador (adult). I have also started using a whistle - have primed it, ie blown it and given him amazing treats several times and blow it before dinner etc. Have been using it do get him to come to me and in the house, even when chasing a cat or eating something he shouldn't he flies straight back.

Had quite a satisfying walk today actually - didn't go out in the morning so took him out this afternoon and he pulled a bit on the way there but not too bad. Also had him looking at me when people and dogs walked past us and it worked. had him on lead about half the time then let him off and when he started to head towards people/dogs (except dogs with whom he was already playing/allowed to play) I called him back with whistle and fed him cheese/chicken etc and praised him. So his recall was actually better today and was fairly proud of him - thought he would have a rocket up his arse having not been out this morning!

Re farts - he doesn't fart much at all anymore but did loads on James Wellbeloved and they were awful - again, as sign it didn't really agree with him I think...

Ahem - happy, I'll have you know that the eating dog food was one of 3 isolated incidents which have not since been repeated....

Well done everyone!

Dog farts are stinkers....her poos are fairly runny too. Although sometimes they are OK. I think I will only treat with kibble today and see what happens. I suspect that te millions of treats handed out at class yet might have contributed.

She is on Burns puppy food. I will look back on Kings' food taste test and see what looks/taste best.

DH took pup for walk this morning while I was getting DCs ready and said she was great on way there but was a bit spooked by some people walking (not with dogs) and pulled a lot on way back with tail between her legs.

Have a good day all!

Kings following your thread yesterday I looked at Walkezee and Halti and GL and still not sure! Did you get the GL headcollar or the harness?

Alp - our puppy came to us on Burns puppy and had sort of toothpastey poos which weren't that easy to pick up although not bad by any means...

It's v high rice content Burns - we find our puppy seems to do far better poos on grain free diet (ie Acana, but expect Orijen etc also good).

Hmm Spam - doh - didn't even realise there was a harness - idiot - bet that is probably more useful?! Went for GL headcollar I think. Haven't got it yet but will update you when I do! He was actually fairly good on lead yesterday (and off actually) and this morning on way to vets it was raining and for the first time ever he wasn't charging ahead, in fact, seemed a bit reluctant and walked on a loose lead the whole time (except when he dug his heels in a few times actually!)

Just thought I'd dip my toe in for some advice.

Is it normal to feel terrified just before collecting a new puppy? We have waited ages for our puppy, black shih-tzu who is nearly nine weeks now, and are due to pick her up on Sunday. However I am getting seriously cold feet.

We have everything ready and waiting, a name picked out, the children are soooooo excited, and so am I in most ways, but we have always had older dogs before and never been responsible for the initial house training and socialisation. I am petrified of getting it wrong, not exposing puppy to enough people/dogs/cars/bikes etc. What if I can't house train it?

At the moment I am 50/50 on just backing out incase I balls it all up and ruin a beautiful dog.

Just marking my place on this thread as we are about to get a puppy, she will be at home mid august. Never had a puppy before.....I'm sure to have lots of questions.
Geepers I'm a bit worried about the initial house training and socialisation process too.

Geepers - Don't worry! You have had older dogs so have some dog experience which is more than I had (although I have been around dogs my whole life). You will be able to house train it - there's nothing amazngly hard about it - it just takes time and mistakes - just take him/her out every half an hour at first then every hour. Our puppy now takes himself out if door is open although yesterday weed inside twice as it was pouring (rain often makes them regress we have all found).

I haven't really given a second thought to socialisation but I live in London so just a short walk exposes puppy to loads of things I suppose...

If you aren't sure about the work load etc then maybe you need to reconsider but if cold feet are related to your ability to train it then I think you will be just fab!

On another note we just went for a walk (nanny here today so just me and puppy) and he barely pulled on way there and I let him off when we got to the park and he was fab - every time someone came near I got him to look at me then treated and whistled him back from a few dogs and he came which is a massive breakthrough for us. Just as the bloody GL arrived in post - I wonder if I won't use it as much as I previously thought!

Hello! Yes i was petrified! And I am still worried about getting it wrong but by having have enough support around (books,puppy classes,trainer, this thread and constantly googling things) I am finding things OK.

We have got one thing wrong already by not stopping on journey back and pup pooping in car. she now poops in car every journey. It might not be related but I suspect it could be.

Relax you will all be fine!

Geepers, I don't blame you if you are getting cold feet after reading this thread, it's enough to put anyone off - but at least you are going into it with your eyes open!

I would say that generally people post when they have got a problem though, and are less likely to say 'just had a lovely cuddle' or something like that - but there really is lots to enjoy, and things are getting easier for all of us as the weeks progress.

I am so pleased that we have our puppy, and can see the chilled out dog and much-loved family pet she will be very soon.

I am also a complete novice, I didn't even have a dog as a child, and at 13 weeks all of the basic obedience commands are in place, toileting sorted etc - if I can do it, anyone can! I really do think you will be fine, and there are loads of people here who will listen while you have a grumble and try to help if we can.

Good luck for Sunday, you sound very responsible and organised (not doing it on a whim iyswim) so will all work out I am sure.

alp that's just unfortunate, re: the pooing in the car. I was unsure about whether to stop en route too (hour and a half journey) and asked on here. Consensus was to crack on home, as to stop (not lead-trained, only 1st set of vaccinations done) was potentially more hazardous.
We got away with it; you didn't. Don't beat yourself up about it, it's just one of those things.

Well, devil pup bit devilish with the biting [hhmm]

DH away again, so have been dreading it, but she's not been as bad as she was last time, so all in all I think she is improving[hgrin]

Geepers and swearymary, am sure you'll be fine. Welcome to your new home! Whatever you experience, there will be lots of us here who have gone through it and can give tips, or funny stories to get you through. Everyone has been so supportive of devil pup and I. She nearly went back at one point...glad we still have her though. MIL said it seems like we have a different dog...:)

How is it going today?

We had puppy training this morning, which went well & then managed a quiet afternoon watching a DVD because she was so tired. I have just taken her for a short mooch around the field, and now she is playing in the paddling pool (not keen tbh, but the children are determined).

So nothing to report but so far we have had a lovely day and she has been the nice calm companion that we want her to be. Am sure it is a blip but just thought it would be nice for geepers (and anyone else about to buy a pup) to see that it gets easier.

Certainly does get easier!

If I had to quantify it, I'd say it's 95% good, 5% 'oh ffs'

By the way, what time d'y'all feed your pups in the evening? I read somewhere that the last feed shouldn't be long after 6, but am wondering if that's why he's been waking earlier recently, coz of hunger. How late could I push it?

My pup (12 weeks) is still on 4 feeds a day, roughly 7.30am, 12noon, 4.30pm and 8.30pm.

He is eating his food really well and is even sitting and waiting well I tell him.

We took him for his first walk in the big park today. Took our other dog along so he wouldn't run off too far. He was so good. Took along treat and did lots of recalls. We were out for about 15 minutes. He is now flaked out on the fireplace.

Second puppy training class on Tuesday evening, so we shall see how he goes then.

Clam - interesting - fine line between feeding late enough so they don't wake early from hunger and early enough so they don't wake earlier to poo! We used to feed at 8:30 and I have moved it to 7ish and he started sleeping later - presumably not needing a poo. Puppy 13.5 weeks and fed three times a day - 8ish, 1:30ish and 7ish. Hope that helps

Glad everyone having a good time - we were out 10-3 and dog came too - he has been knackered since!

Well, we did a "big boy's walk" out in the woods late afternoon. Bit longer than intended. Plus he met 7, yes 7, ridgebacks while we were out. I was a bit but they all bounced around together for a bit.
He's sparko now, but he's got a 'social' this evening - at SIL's with his "cousin," also a cockapoo. That means lots of rolling around the garden, so am hopeful he'll sleep 'til later tomorrow.

My pup's also 13.5wks. Only feed 3x day: 7.30ish; 12ish; 5ish. I don't feed later, give her a dozen bits of kibble as she goes into crate, but that's it...and she sleeps well, and late :)

Have done a couple of walks to the park, went well. Walked to heel without pulling came back when I called, and don't eat too much shit!

And she's not being too devilish whilst DH away! And she's asleep at my feet right now! And she's only bitten me half a dozen times today! And she hasn't bitten DS at all!

So it does get better! :o Am starting to see in her the lovely family dog she will grow to be, but boy is she growing...:o

I just thought I would update. I was due to pick up my puppy today but as you know I was having some wobbles. Yesterday I had a phone call to say my chosen puppy can't be regimes yet as she has an abcess on her eye requiring antibiotics and it could be a MONTH before she can come home.

I wasn't really that happy about that, as I would be missing so much of this window of socialisation I keep reading about, so we ended up with a different pup.

Instead of a black, female shih tzu we now have a gold/White, male one. He is currently wearing a tag on his collar with 'Jemima' written on it, the name we had chosen for the other dog, but I figured he can't read, so not really a problem as long as our details are on it.

His name is Barney, or Barnaby we haven't quite decided yet. He started off yesterday with us naming him Rufus but it didn't quite fit him.

I have to say he is superb. In the past we have had spaniels which were manic from mthe get-go and never stopped. Barney/Barnaby seems excitable and playful but also settles down.

We are starting as we mean to go on, so no petting him unless four feet are on the ground, and he isn't allowed on the sofa. He hasn't eaten yet, he just ignored his dinner last night but I am about to get up and do his breakfast, so fingers crossed he actually eats.

We were expecting a really long night of whining and barking and crying in nhis crate but he was perfect. He barked for five minutes when he went in then we didnt hear a peep Fromm him. I tried to get him to pee at 4am but he was having none of it and kept trying to run indoors. Not sure we have had a pee outside yet, it's very difficult to tell if he is peeing or just sitting down, but we have had one on the floor yesterday evening, and one poo, also not outside. Not sure yet how he did overnight, he was clean and dry at 4 but my husband got up to take him out at 6 so we will see.

Oh, he hasn't been nippy at all. Could this come later or is he just not a nippy dog?

Your puppy sounds lovely geepers; we certainly had nipping right from the start but have heard that in others it doesn't get going (or gets worse) when they start teething. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! Really glad his first night went well.

Clam - we feed at about 7, 12 and 5. I dropped to three feeds when she stopped showing any interest in one of them, and made the last one earlier to get a poo before bedtime (had couple of poos in crate).

We had a calm evening and a later start this morning (but went to bed a bit later). She has also greeted the children this morning without nipping, so a nice start to the day! No plans but it is a gorgeous day so she may experience her first barbecue

Aaaaaaaaaaargh! Devil pup woke up with the devil in her! Went loop the loop as soon as she saw me with jumping and biting! Devil indeed...

Just a question, how far does anyone else walk their pups? She's having 2walks per day. We're not doing the 5mins per month of life though, as she seems to need more. Also considering taking her running with me, or is this too soon?

Well done Geepers, hope today's as good as yesterday.

Hope you all enjoy this glorious day. :)

Geepers - lucky you - he sounds fab.

Happy - ours woke up and went a bit nuts too. Are some cat poo and half a palm tree then ran around a bit. We are walking him loads more than 5 min per month x2. He could easily do 2 hours a day. Yesterday, as i mentioned, we were out and walking for about 4/5 hours (with breaks) - he did then sleep for most of the day but still had his moments- ie was not completely zonked as I expected. Bloody spaniels!

We mostly had a good day yesterday.In the morning puppy was growling at my youngest and trying to jump onto the sofa.They were playing very loud screaming games and apparently jumping over the dog basket-not surprisingly winding him up.My eldest dd was away on a sleepover and i think he was missing her and very anxious.I removed him to the relative safety of the kitchen where he was happy later to be cuddled by the boys under supervision.He loves the natures diet food but we have had many more accidents inside.He pees on command now but when all the dc's are arround he often doesn't respond.I'm going to see how he is after a few days on the natures diet.He smells like a sardine even though we bathed him yesterday.I made the mistake of buying him fishy snacks made out of fish skin thinking they woukd be good for him,but the smell isn't good for us.I think i'm going to get a handful of lavender and rub it on him.He really loves sniffing and rubbing against the lavender plants in the garden and does smell the delphiniums and lupins.Under the hot sun yesterday he slept in the border underneath the lavender.

We mostly had a good day yesterday.In the morning puppy was growling at my youngest and trying to jump onto the sofa.They were playing very loud screaming games and apparently jumping over the dog basket-not surprisingly winding him up.My eldest dd was away on a sleepover and i think he was missing her and very anxious.I removed him to the relative safety of the kitchen where he was happy later to be cuddled by the boys under supervision.He loves the natures diet food but we have had many more accidents inside.He pees on command now but when all the dc's are arround he often doesn't respond.I'm going to see how he is after a few days on the natures diet.He smells like a sardine even though we bathed him yesterday.I made the mistake of buying him fishy snacks made out of fish skin thinking they woukd be good for him,but the smell isn't good for us.I think i'm going to get a handful of lavender and rub it on him.He really loves sniffing and rubbing against the lavender plants in the garden and does smell the delphiniums and lupins.Under the hot sun yesterday he slept in the border underneath the lavender.

Computer doing funny things today,sorry for the double post.

We're doing slightly longer walks than we should be too - about 30 mins in the morning (but quite strict lead work iyswim) and up to an hour in the evening, depending on what else she's been up to during the day. The evening walk is a much gentler pace, long lead, sometimes off lead if nobody else about.

Teta - I know I have mentioned the Animology range elsewhere on this thread already, but they do a dry shampoo that works very well and also a 'puppy spray' that smells gorgeous; I think of this as puppy Febreze and it might mask the fishy smell for you.