So I am a dog person after all!!

[BeTheHokeyMan]

Some of you might remember me from a few weeks back -found an adult dog tied to a ditch and we had it here with us for a while till the owners were located.The kids were mad about it but we obviously had to give him back.So after thinking about it for a while we are now the proud owners of a 10 week old golden retriever pup!!

I've always had cats so am a bit clueless on dogs so have a few questions and would appreciate any help or tips

She came home yesterday ,had been separated from her mother but was with her siblings. She has been weaned onto nuts and I've bought the exact same brand but she hasn't eaten or drank since she arrived

We have been bringing her outdoors regularly to see if she needs to go to the toilet but just weed once indoors -how often should I be bringing her outdoors to wee?

She slept on my daughters bed last night and we don't mind her sleeping on a bed at all but should I set up a little crate in the kitchen for during the day if she wants somewhere to escape to or to nap?

She gives a cry/whimper every so often and I'm picking her up and cuddling her when she does that ,is that the wrong thing to do?

The kids love her and my smallest is currently reading books to her

Thank you again for any tips they will he hugely appreciated

Goldies are the best!!
Go to the puppy support thread but it sounds like you are doing ok so far
One thing though, you say you don't mind the dog on the bed but when she's bigger and possibly muddy you might so if I were you I would rethink that, although I know some people don't mind it.

Mine didn't want to eat...until I added scrambled egg (No milk just whisked,microwaved and stirred into her dry food) to her food.Has that for 2 of her 4 meals now and loves it.Sorted out her dodgy stomach too.Also she eas scared of her bowl!Fed her by hand at first and now ok.Wees...she does loads.I take her out every half an hour and she goes a couple of times each time.We use a clicker and a tiny treat every time she does it.It's been exactly a week and she runs to the back door now.Finding crate super helpful in the day so she can choose to get away from the kids and if so need to pop out.Chuck treats in there to get her to like it and go slowly with shutting the door.

I have 2 golden retrievers and try are amazing and loving dogs. I used some puppy training pads by the back door as well as taking them out in the garden. Yes lots if cuddles for them is a good thing. I haven't used a crate so can't comment on them...my 2 have got 2 old cardigans of mine and snuggle up on the sofa and sleep. I did buy them crazy kong toys where you fill them with bits of food, treats, pâté, peanut butter and it takes them ages to get it all out and they love it.

As a puppy they need taking out for toileting after every meal, every drink, every sleep, every play and frequently in between until they are older and get some bladder/bowel control. Make sure you go over the top with praise when they go outside and start to associate a command for pee and poo which helps later when you need them to 'go on command'. Also clear up any accidents with special cleaners so the smell does not attract them to go again in the same place.

Great tips there thank you all so much for replying

So she did her wee outside and got lots of praise so delighted with her and will bring her out regularly as you said.
She also had a big drink but no interest in her food yet so will try the scrambled egg tip we have chickens so we have plenty of eggs!
Can I ask how much she should be eating at this stage ? The seller said a handful of nuts twice a day (they gave us a small bag of nuts to keep us going till we get to the pet store later )
Off to find the puppy survival post now

Treats and a Kong added to the shopping list !

Stay away from puppy pads!!!

Really, you want to be talking her out every half hour, after every meal, every drink and every play. Every time she does a wee or poo give her lots of praise!!!

Whatever you feed her is personal choice, I don't recommend anything but a raw diet.
I've not heard of a dog living on nuts though and regardless of what you feed her twice a day isn't enough. At her age you need to be feeding 4 times a day. Morning, lunch noon and tea. As she gets old you can drop it down to 3 times a day and then twice, and then once depending on which direction you want to go in regarding feeding.

I slept downstairs with my puppy for the first 3 weeks. I set my alarm every hour to take her out. Then two hours then three etc. At this age they can't hold their bladders for very long..

When she was able to go a couple of hours without needing the toilet I slept upstairs with her on my bed. She's now 10 months old and a ginormous gsd and still gets on the bed with me, however on a night time she sleeps in the kitchen and when she's muddy/wet I just don't allow her upstairs.

It sounds like you're doing great. what I would suggest though is not picking her up, instead get down to her level. As she gets bigger she will still expect to be picked up and you don't wanna a big retriever jumping up

Sorry by 'nuts' do you mean dried kibble? I've never heard them called that before!

You can find charts online about how much you should be feeding according to age and weight. They need a lot more when they are puppies as they're growing so much, I wouldn't worry about overfeeding when she is so young. It's more important to get some calories into her to if she isn't interested in the kibble maybe try a high quality wet food, raw food or something like cooked chicken breast with the scrambled eggs?

Yes sorry from southern Ireland and dried kibble is referred to as 'nuts' here apologies I should have said that

I will weigh her and work out the amount she should be eating and thank you for the scrambled egg tip it worked a treat! Ate it all and her kibble drank also and is asleep on the couch beside me now.It really is like having a newborn baby again

Have you got a picture....I am posting a picture of my 2 Ted & Meg.....what's your puppie name

A good tip I got was to mix into the nuts/kibble was tinned sardines in sunflower oil if you drain off most of the oil....it's good for them as fish has lots of Omega 3 and the oil is good for thier joints and keeps thier fur nice and glossy I buy it from Aldi/Lidl really good price 35p a tin

I also buy the boxes of gravy bones biscuits and break them in half put them in a Kong and then put a small piece of mild cheese on the top to block if off and they love eating through the cheese and trying to get to the biscuits....try the same but put some peanut butter or some pâté on the top to seal Kong off...keeps them busy...in the summer you can fill the Kong with yogurt or gravy out in the freezer and then give them to him/her it cools them down and lots of fun

So glad the eggs worked and she has had a good meal.I'm off to check if I have any tinned sardines in the cupboard.You might find she has good bladder control overnight...especially if cuddled up in your daughters bed.Mine sleeps 11pm-6.30am and doesn't need the loo.They are all different.

I will be trying the scrambled eggs tonight for my 2 ....me also lol

Again thanks everyone for all the tips about adding stuff to her food and also things to stuff her Kong with ! Its on the shopping list for this weekend
She is doing well with toilet training -for me that is ! She slept on our bed last night and when it was dh's turn round 2am he said it was raining out so he left he wee on newspaper in the kitchen She must have been so confused.Guess I'll be doing it all from now on but its OK glad to get her in the swing of things! Saying that she seems to have a little diarrhea during the night/this morning is this something to worry about? She drank& ate well this morning though so hopefully she isn't unwell

You only need to worry about diarrhoea if its all the time and she goes off her food. Glad things are going well for you...just a thought I have got a good plan that I took out with our vets....I pay £20 a month for my 2 so it would cost you £10 a month and this covers mine for all thier injections, worming tablets, flea collars nail cutting for the year and 10% of all vets bills....the injections alone are covered by this on a yearly basis I think it's covered by pet plan ask your vet. Also found much easier to walk my dogs using a harness you have more control and means your not yanking them in on thier collar.