New puppy!

[minipin]

We are collecting our new little girl pup at the end of the month, she is a crossbreed and will be 10 weeks. We've done alot of research, but I wanted to ask for your top puppy tips!

[minipin]

Congrats Scarlet! We are driving back with her now. Soooooo cute!

[ScarletPower]

Minipin - we picked up our 8 week old labrador yesterday - love him already, having so much fun, and so much learning too.

[minipin]

Thankyou all! Picking her up today at noon!!! Super excited.

[Nemosnemsis]

Also, line up some sensible, vaccinated friend's dogs that you can introduce to your pup under controlled conditions before he's vaccinated (ASAP really). If you wait until after vaccination to meet other dogs, you may have missed the boat for proper socialisation.

Similarly, anything you may want your dog to be ok with in the future, make sure you introduce positively and regularly in the very early days of ownership - pub/town/park/travelling in car/the hoover/men with beards/people wearing hats/visitors to the house/being left alone etc etc. Just make sure that if you are anywhere that unknown dogs might have been, carry your pup and do not put him down until vaccinations are complete.

Good luck! (I'm feeling broody for a puppy now!)

[Nemosnemsis]

My top tip is use a puppy pen attached to an open crate at night. You can use a pupose made one, but I actually just DIY my own out of cardboard boxes. You then line the pen area with puppy pads, and the idea is the puppy is still confined, but can pee on the pads - you won't be up all night having to let it out, and pup won't get stressed because he doesn't know where to pee. When pup is old enough to hold their bladder overnight, just ditch the pen and keep them in the crate. Soon after that you'll be able to just leave crate open with no puddles.

I don't bother with pads or anything during the day - just constant vigilance, putting outside as soon as they start sniffing/crouching etc. and praising when they do the right thing. Short periods in crate when you can't keep your eye on them. If they have an accident, it was your fault because you weren't watching carefully enough!

[Bluebell9]

Also, don't let the puppy walk up or down stairs or jump into/out of the car until they are fully grown. This can help prevent problems with joints.
This is going to be fun for me with a growing lab!

[Bluebell9]

I'm picking my puppy up tomorrow. I've not had a puppy for ages as my last dog was an adult when I rehomed him.

I've been reading The Happy Puppy Handbook by Pippa Mattinson. I've found it really good. My brother used it and hes got a lovely obedient 18 month old lab.

[Flopsypopsy]

Oh, forgot to mention. I'm not a fan of training pads or newspaper as I think this delays housetraining. I bit the bullet and set the alarm to take our puppy outside in the night until she was big enough to go all night. This was actually very quickly as they grow so fast.

Ours was housetrained and reliable by 12 weeks.

[Flopsypopsy]

Use a crate. I can't speak too highly of crate training. Our dog loved her crate and we left her in there at night, when she was sleeping and when we went out. It saved our house from being chewed and housetraining was a breeze.

Puppies are taught by their mothers not to soil their bed, so keeping the puppy in the crate helps enormously with housetraining. When housetraining watch them all the time and if they start to crouch pick them up and rush outside. Praise them every time it's done outside and if done in the house ignore.

Take them outside very frequently but especially after they wake up, when they've been playing and when they've eaten.

Put their food down, give them chance to eat, and then remove it. Don't leave it down.

Take them to classes for socialisation and training.

Congrats on your new puppy.

[LumelaMme]

I second the advice about taking the puppy outside every 20 mins or so, and teaching recall asap. Teach it in the house. Teach it in the garden. Once the puppy has had her jabs, work on it outside, somewhere safe and if possible confined.

And be prepared for your carefully taught recall to fall apart and have to be taught all over again once adolescence arrives

[CMOTDibbler]

I think teaching recall from day1 is vital. And if it won't be funny/safe/what you want when they are an adult, don't let them do it at all when they are puppies! Walking out in front of you on their lead is cute with a puppy who can't pull you over, not so much later (and imo they should be on a lead when you take them out a zillion times a day to toilet as you are right there to praise them and reward them, so loads of practice). Mouthing and licking similarly.

Personally, I like crate training especially in a house with children, and as it makes life consistent no matter where you are. For puppies it also says that now is down time as some need cues to rest during the day.

Lots of kitchen roll, simple solution accident spray and poo bags!

I have two new foster puppies arriving on Wednesday, so am about to enter the cycle again!

[simbobs]

I agree with all the advice, but think a training pad by the back door is a must for overnight with a pup. They do their business on it and you just roll it up and bin it. You do all the other stuff during the day but you can't get up every couple of hours to put them outside and still be sane next day.

[Ylvamoon]

I know a lot has been said about house training.... what about teaching recall?
Once your puppy has settled and knows it's name start teaching recall! It's easy just let your puppy play outside (or go to an other room) for a bit and call - (name& come) give lots of praise & a tasty treat like chicken!

[rainbow32]

Erm....yes. Cocker spaniel x Labrador.

[Bubble2bubble]

A cockerdor?

[rainbow32]

Hi all,

Can I join?

Have put down a deposit on a gorgeous cockerdor girl....and I mean GORGEOUS! We're picking her up at 10 weeks and she's 6 weeks now, so I've got to wait for a month!

I appreciate that it's going to be difficult, so I'm lurking on forums like this.

Are puppy pads effective? When I had a puppy last, I was 5 and they hadn't been invented. She just went outside and had accidents. Of course, I wasn't the one dealing with all this and I am not the best sleeper now, so I'm a little nervous about the first few weeks, so am trying to gather as much knowledge and advice as I can.

[minipin]

Thanks all!

[TrionicLettuce]

Join this FB group and/or have a read through the various articles about puppies/crate training/toilet training/socialisation in their 'Files' section.

Start checking out local puppy classes now so you've got the opportunity to go along and watch a class without your pup before deciding whether or not to sign up.

[pigsDOfly]

What everyone else has said.

Get to training classes when she's had all her jabs, and learn how to train her.

Make sure you take her out and sees the world before that though, carried in your arms, of course.

The first weeks can be hard and sometimes you'll wonder why you did such a stupid thing as to bring this small creature into your home; you might even be near to tears at times but you'll laugh too.

And then one day you'll find you've got this wonderful creature in your home and you'll wonder how you ever lived without her.

[MsGameandWatch]

Sight not site.

[MsGameandWatch]

Crate Train.

Google puppy depression - it's a thing, but it passes very quickly and you won't know how you managed without them.

Get them off the lead ASAP. In many small puppies, their instinct tells them to stay close to you and if they get used to that early it will really help develop good recall.

House training - don't let them out of your site, I had my puppy on a lead in the house so he couldn't wander off and do it out of sight. Don't bother with paper or pads, outside from the start.

[Hoppinggreen]

It's very much like having a baby. Everyone has their own opinion on how they should do it and it's bloody exhausting and smelly.
It's fun though ( although they bite more than babies)

[WholeL0ttaRosie]

The first few weeks after we got our puppy I remember thinking "Oh what have we done, it's the biggest mistake we've ever made" etc etc and then usually followed five minutes later by "It's the best thing we've ever done"

Just hang in there is my advice. The first two weeks were never ending - cleaning up pee and poo constantly and having this creature velcro itself to me. After the vaccinations were complete and we could go out for walks made a big difference. Also joining a couple of forums relating to the breed helped because I could see that everyone else had had similar thoughts and experiences and that after 15 weeks most people's puppies had really turned a corner.

Also, no matter how much kitchen roll you think you'll need buy twice as much, and always, always put your shoes and slippers somewhere safe.

[Usermuser]

With regards to housetraining at night, I initially crated him. He'd then wake at 1 or 2 and cry to go outside for a wee. He'd then cry again at about 4. I did that for about 3 days but because I'm a bad sleeper at the best of times, I couldn't get back to sleep. After 3 days of having 2 or 3 hrs sleep, I was ready to cry. We made the room safe and didn't crate him at night anymore. He stopped crying and simply did a wee or two by the door which we'd clear up the next day. During the day we made sure to be very consistent about the house training and after about 4 weeks, he would sleep from 9 - 6 without any accidents.
I know the waking up during the night is fine for a lot of people and it perhaps makes the training a bit quicker, but if you're a rubbish sleeper and you're fraught during the day from being so tired, you might want to try that route.

[minipin]

Fab, thanks!