Need to ask some daft questions about puppies . . .

[FallingGoldfinch]

Our dog is 5 - she is wonderful. Gentle, loving, just the best dog in the world really. We're thinking of getting a puppy but I have no idea about a few things.

Our dog has a crate in a cupboard (a massive, warm cupboard). The door to the crate is never closed, but she goes in there whenever she feels like it, as well as having beds everywhere in the house.

I take it the puppy would need a crate in there too (there is space), even if they end up being in the same one through their choice? Would it need separate beds of its own throughout the house too?

We used to close the cupboard door at night until very recently as our dog isn't allowed on beds or sofas. Then she had an op and needed to wear a plastic collar so couldn't settle well and banged into things. I started letting her just stay downstairs at night - although she often goes in her crate anyway. She does sneak on the sofas then, but we all turn a blind eye to that . What would I do with a puppy?

Do you take a new puppy to socialisation classes if there is already a dog in the house? Or, does the established dog do all of that?

Last one! We take our dog on long walks (runs sometimes) - will a puppy get very upset if it's separated from her when that happens?

Entirely up to you whether to crate train however we found it easier as our puppy got into everything so a crate kept her safe and out of trouble at night and is now her den, she also has a bed in living room which she uses when upstairs.
socialisation isn't just dog socialisation you need new sounds, sights, people etc.
Some puppies cry when separated from their humans so yes it may cry. Mine whimpers when I go to the toilet even though she knows where I am and that I will be less then a minute yet I can leave her for 3 hours in her crate and she is fine.

But can you crate train one while the other is wandering around at night, or would I have to start putting our dog back in her crate too?

The puppy will need its own crate which you will can shut. If that can be put with your other dog but just shut the puppies crate and leave your older dog free to roam is fine.

You will need to socialise with more than just your own dog. To start with it is best not to let your puppy interact all the time with your own dog as they will tend to prefer to spend time with your dog than you so puppy classes are a good idea to have time with your puppy. You can also socialise with friends dogs and dogs you know if you do not want to go to classes. Personally I quite enjoy the classes and although an experienced dog owner still always pick up new ideas and love to see the other dogs

'To start with it is best not to let your puppy interact all the time with your own dog as they will tend to prefer to spend time with your dog than you so puppy classes are a good idea to have time with your puppy.'

I'm not sure how to do that! If the new one is at home with the one we have until she is old enough to go out (I think that's 12 weeks?), how do I keep them from spending all their time together?

Different rooms for half an hour here or there?

We have just introduced a new young dog (under a year old) to our collie, our collie was crate trained but wasn't a big fan of it so now she can be relied on not to chew she doesn't use it very much and is free to roam sleep on the sofa at night. New DDog sleeps in his crate with the door closed until DCollieDog lets him out, we also sometimes popped him in there in the early days to give our collie some peace from him.

Yes, we have taken him to puppy classes partly for his socialisation but also to help him bond with us. She (the collie) goes to agility club to give her some one-on-one time too.

Open plan house nmg85 .

Yes, I think our dog might need some peace at times, so will try the crate at night.

I've thought of more though (I must have known this stuff last time and have just forgotten)!

The 5 minutes exercise for every month of their age - is that per walk, or in total each day? Can you do three walks of 15 minutes at 3 months, or just 1?

What do you all think is best for recall training? Whistle? Clicker?

How often during the night do you think it's best to take outside for the loo?

Could you use a puppy pen to section off a bit of the room? We did this in our kitchen as thats all we have downstairs (3 storey house).

• We did a short 15 - 20 min walk at 3 months. 30 min at 5 months etc. Now at nearly 11 months we do 2 x 45 min which is more then recommended but she is a cocker with a lot of energy.
• I whistle and call with a treat reward for recall. She was great until 5 months but now is easily distracted.
• To start with we did every 2 hours at night but within a few weeks it was down to once a night and since 3.5 months old she slept through.

The 5 minutes rule applies to lead walking or forced walking on hard surfaces where they can't set their own pace.

We started recall training inside the house, we'd be sitting on the sofa in the evening and say "Mollie, come!" and reward her with a treat and lots of praise. At 14 months her recall is still pretty rock solid. We are working on our new dog's recall, as an ex-stray he is a little more self sufficient than most dogs so we are working on bonding with us first but still applying the same trick we used with Moll, he's learning fast.

"The 5 minutes rule applies to lead walking or forced walking on hard surfaces where they can't set their own pace."

Or any activity where they're not likely to rest and set their own pace, like playing with another dog or an exciting toy.

My ortho specialist says it's per walk, but other people insist it's a day...

Recall training - a whistle and a clicker don't do the same job, a whistle is a signal to do something the clicker is the signal that they've done something right and so are getting a reward.

So for recall a whistle is instead of come or here and the clicker is instead or in addition to good boy/ girl.