New puppy

[inappropriatelyemployed]

We are collecting our new puppy in a couple of weeks.

I have a couple of questions (to start with!):

1. the breeder has been using ready made raw food meals but I am not sure we want to continue this. Is it best to do so while the puppy settles and then make any change as he gets a bit older?

1. in terms of puppy socialisation etc, I know he needs to be carried around until he's had his jabs. Sorry if this is a bit silly but what do you do if you are out and about carrying the dog and he needs to wee/poo if you can't put them down?

Thanks

oooh very exciting!

1. I would give him a week or two on his breeder's food then transition him over - just because changing homes is disruptive enough (and can trigger stomach upsets while he settles) and so you don't want to risk making it worse by swapping foods too.

1. Not a stupid question at all. Just pop him on the ground (try and find somewhere where there haven't been many unknown dogs). As soon as he wees, praise him and pick him back up again. If you are around vaccinated dogs then the risk is mu h reduced (e.g. at a friend's house whose dog is vaccinated). The chances are that he won't need to go while being carried.

Oh, and take lots of photos! The tiny puppy stage flies by within a couple of weeks or so.

Thanks so much this is really helpful!!!

NOthing to add, just wanted to know what type of puppy you’re having.

Golden retriever... we have so many questions!

Oh how exciting and what a lovely breed

Ask anything here, OP. Lots of us have recently been (or are still pushing on through) the puppy and teenage stages.

Thanks.

One other question is using a crate.

DH bought a large crate and has read it should be divided as the puppy may toilet at one end and sleep at the other if the space is too big.

So he has read some tip from the internet about reducing the space by tying plastic laundry baskets to each end, leaving a small space in the middle.

Me and the kids are a bit like and and we can't see where this advice has come from.

Does anyone have any advice for using the large crate? Is it best to reduce the space so the puppy has a cosy space to sleep?

I am assuming that you take the puppy out at night after his last feed and then first thing in the morning.

But presumbably he wakes in the night and you should take him out then?

I had to post as soon as I saw you were getting a golden retriever; we've had our beautiful golden retriever four weeks :)!

Ps if you need any advice or support I'm happy to help :)

Some great advice on here re crate training, leash walking etc www.apdt.co.uk/dog-owners/puppy-dog-training-tips

Thank you both!

Hjb2410 - he is adorable! We shall definitely be picking your brains. What would be your best piece of advice/tip for those early days?

Please don’t remove him from his raw diet. It’s the best thing you could ever feed him! You also don’t need to carry him around before his jabs. That’s just something vets say to scare you. Your puppy will still have it’s mothers antibodies until he’s around 16 weeks old - by that age their own immune system is building up.

You also don’t need to carry him around before his jabs. That’s just something vets say to scare you.

Carrying them around outside of the home and garden before his jabs is the safest way to give them experiences whilst not putting the puppy at 'any' risk of disease.

I can see there are lots of different opinions on feeding (it's like the minefields you enter with babies!).

I read this www.theguardian.com/science/2018/jan/12/scientists-criticise-trend-for-raw-meat-pet-food-after-analysis-finds-pathogens and for me, unless we are passionate about the issue and want to continue with it, it might not be for us.

You also don’t need to carry him around before his jabs. That’s just something vets say to scare you.

Leptospirosis can survive on pavements/lamposts etc for several months. It's a scientific fact not something vets say to scare people . It's also zoonotic so even more reason to be careful.
There has been some studies show that animals fed on raw food diets can shed salmonella so yes do your research OP. And please just ask your vet for advice or at least for reliable resources rather than listening to the advice of people with no qualifications.

One of my DFs used to carry her puppy around in a camera bag. She was a JRT though so slightly smaller

@Hjb2410 that is one cute puppy!

Our pup had a large playpen with bed at one end and puppy pads (for emergencies) at the other. Anything dividing the space early on may be just another thing to be chewed/destroyed so I would skip that! We carried our large pup (lab size) in a backpack on our fronts, so we could pat him and give him treats and talk to him. He loved being socialised like that and got used to pubs and cafes early on. Lots of nasty viruses around, I know some local pups died from exposure before vaccines, that’s in London. Some viruses spread by rats and foxes. Better safe than sorry and enjoy being able to carry your pup easily while its tiny!

We have a young puppy and couldn’t possibly carry him around in public, he’s never still and would finish up falling to the ground. He’s getting socialised by the whole neighbourhood calling to meet him.

Thanks a lot for this! I know there is a window for socialisation experiences which closes when they are 16 weeks so I was trying to work out how you can get out and about while managing their need to wee frequently!

We used a crate to train our puppy, it was brilliant. Keep it purely as your dog's bed, don't make part of it their toilet.

We didn't use puppy pads, we just kept taking her outside. To start with I set the alarm and got up in the night to let her out for a wee.

She was housetrained very quickly.

As soon as she'd finished her jabs, we went to puppy classes.

You can get specific crate dividers. I bought ours on ebay.

A rucksac on your front, or making a sling out of a long scarf works for carrying pups around. Mine have liked being snuggled up firmly against you

We found our boy was fine on short trips without loo break, eg a drink at our local or a coffee- half hour or soout the house. But he was pretty easy to toilet train and seems to have been born with a bladder of steel! We always brought kitchen towel etc in case of accidents, inside or outside of the backpack but never needed them. Vets advised which local areas to be extra careful about letting pup on ground, yours can probably advise where really never let him/her on floor for quick pee and where is ok.

My vets did a puppy socialisation series of sessions. Pup just needed first jab and then once a week for 4 weeks they went to the vets for an hour with a handful of other puppies. They broke it up into 2 play sessions and 2 sessions where they discussed different things like food and toilet training. It cost £10 for all sessions and it helped the pups get used to the vets too (mine loves going). Some other training places do it too.

Yes, vets tell people to carry round puppies to scare them

What would vets get out of scaring people into carrying puppies about?

Raw diet is hard to get right in a large breed puppy, if you are wanting to continue it I would consider a pre packaged meal type rather than homemade. I’ve seen so many ‘raw’ diets that are an utter disaster especially in puppies.

Good luck with you puppy!

Thanks alot, that's great!

So changing from raw to other food, when would you do that? Is it best to check with the vet?