What's the current thinking on raising a puppy?

[birdmomma]

Hello. On Saturday morning I'm off to pick up our new addition to the family, an 8 week old border terrier cross++. It has been 6 years since we last owned a dog, when our beloved mongrel died at 16 years old.

I got my last dog when I was an 18 year old student, and I was very haphazard in my training style. I gave her loads of time as my student lifestyle was none too demanding, and she did everything with me, including demonstrations against poll tax, the right to party in a field all night etc. Haha. Despite my haphazard training attempts, she was a very intelligent and loyal little mongrel and was mainly obedient and trouble free throughout her life, apart from the 4 years at the end when she was pleasantly demented and deaf as a post.

I really don't like to see unruly dogs and want to get it right with this new puppy. I have 2 DDs aged 12 and 16 who will have a lot of time for the new arrival. I have 4 cats who rule the roost and will be severely put out. We have a large amount of land and live very rurally.

I would welcome all advice, especially current thinking on the best way to raise a puppy well.

If your puppy is about to chew the skirting board distracting it with a really high value chew is usually helpful.

Yelling, especially if the owner has a high pitched voice, works best for recall and may work for keeping a dog from danger as it will startle it into diverting its attention to the owner (sorry lainiekazam but your example is a of distraction - food is not the only distraction, a high pitched, excited voice or a toy can be much more interesting for some dogs).

Operant conditioning in the kind used in clicker training is not about calm reasoning with your dog, it's about reinforcing desirable behaviours through rewards or the withholding of rewards (and in some discouraging unwanted behaviour through the use of mild aversives). A dog with an established 'leave it' command will leave the oven when commanded to, the reward can follow at your leisure.

Well, she's been here since this morning (antipodean time) and so far all we have managed to do is coo and laugh. She has slept (lots), made cute grunting noises, killed a sock, weed on the lawn (no accidents inside yet), had the cutest nightmare ever whilst lying on my chest, and generally comes when called. The cats have totally ignored her. She smells of chocolate. My inners have turned to goo.

You do understand that you can't just talk about a cute puppy without posting photos for the rest of us do you?!!!!!!

I want to! I don't know how as I'm a newbie. I strongly suspect that the sudden cessation of crying at 2.30am this morning means that she has ended up in someone's bed as well. What are you supposed to do when they cry on their first night? She was in my daughter's room in small crate raised so she was able to see my daughter sleeping.

Ok, I have put 4 photos on my profile. Hope you can see them.

Sorry I think I am being stupid because I can't even see your profile!

Hmm, yes, that would be because I haven't got a profile after all. I put 4 photos in my gallery and made them public. I don't know what else to do? Never mind. She is damn cute. I'm going to start a new thread about what we're supposed to do when they yelp pitifully at night.