New dog owner.....

[Amuseaboosh]

Evening!

We are due to collect what will be our 9 week old Cockapoo puppy this Sunday.

We are a family of 5 and very much of the awareness and understanding that this new family member is going to need our love, nurturing, patience, and understanding. We cannot wait.

We are also under no illusion that this will be an easy walk in the park in terms of routine, training, and care.

We have read and read and read, and the more reading that's happened, the more confused I've become.

Please can someone offer a lived guide of how you settled your puppy in when he/she first came home to you.

Did you take them to the toilet every 45 minutes?

Did your crate train? If so, how soon?

Did you use puppy pads? Some say do, some say don't.

How did you introduce boundaries?

Did you sleep in the same room, if so, how long? Did it help?

How soon did you bathe your pup?

I'd be beyond grateful for any guidance, and of course, I will add pictures on Sunday once we've bought her home.

I took outside to pee every 20 minutes when not crated or asleep.

I crate trained immediately.

Definitely no to puppy pads.

I think I've only bathed my dog twice in 4 years .

He slept in the crate beside the bed so I could take him out when he woke up which was never more than once per night.

Boundary started straight away. All training started day 1.

Hi
OMG, getting a puppy is so exciting but also life changing and very hard work! But it is so rewarding and really, the more effort you put in early on, the better the adult dog behaviour will be.
Everyone has very much their own way of puppy rearing and you learn as you go along.
You'll probably find that every reply you get here will be totally different!

We got our pup in May when she was 8 weeks but we've had a lot of dogs before.

Taking puppy out; after food and after naps - the quicker you get the puppy outside when it wakes up the fewer accidents you get. Also any time they start sniffing; get them out even if you have to carry them at first.

We did use puppy pads because our girl had been using them at the breeder's house so she was used to them. We found they worked well for us for the inevitable puddles overnight but she didn't need them any more by around 4 months.

We never crate, our pups have all been free-range but we use puppy gates/baby gates to confine to the kitchen at night and to prevent pup from going upstairs. Some people find crates helpful, others prefer to integrate puppies fully early on.

Our pup sleeps in the kitchen, I slept on the living room sofa for the first week or two so I was close by and could hear her but I was not in the same room. She is now quite independent and has access to two rooms overnight.

We never bathe our puppies. We just brush them every couple of days.

As regards boundaries; we work on teaching basic good manners. We handle their food and toys from the beginning to avoid reactive guarding, teach them not to jump up at kitchen cupboards etc. and they learn to respect our cats. But we aren't strict about their place in the household.

Have fun and enjoy getting to know your puppy and you might want to head over to the Puppy Survival Thread for lots of support and chat and sharing of puppy photos 😊

I’ll get my hard hat for my responses as I know they won’t be popular… 😁

Did your crate train? If so, how soon? No. Puppy went into crate at night and was left from 9pm to 4am. But that was cos he cried for five mins then went to sleep until 4am. He cried the first night and never after. He was in the kitchen and I slept in my bedroom. I don’t use crates for my dogs - they can take themselves off Harry Potter style if they want peace and quiet. So the crate at night was for his own safety. Proper crate training can take months.

Did you use puppy pads? Some say do, some say don't. No. It’s detrimental
to house training and teaches puppy to pee inside - hard to train them out of it and it’s grim. Why would you proactively want to train your dog to pee inside?! Outside every twenty minutes. After eating, play and sleeping as well.

How did you introduce boundaries? Positively reinforcing appropriate behaviour and then being firm with bad behaviour (chewing and mouthing). Lots of treats. Dogs are dogs and puppies need to have limits on them - no upstairs and no sofas (for at least a year IMO both for their joints and to stop early guarding), no free reign of the house (single room for a few weeks) and children in the house were carefully monitored around puppy - ultimately 99% of the time when installing boundaries in a puppy fails or training goes wrong, it’s down to children reinforcing negative behaviour or winding dogs up. All training starts day 1 - sit, down, inspection, recall, house training etc - doing that from day one (not the first day of puppy training) is how you get a good puppy.

Did you sleep in the same room, if so, how long? Did it help? No. IME it teaches puppy to be too clingy and reliant on the owner. Lots of people seem to do this then struggle to return upstairs to their own beds.

How soon did you bathe your pup? Day one. But I plan on showing him and breeding from him so he needs to be used to being handled.

Please can someone offer a lived guide of how you settled your puppy in when he/she first came home to you

After the drive home, I would take puppy out into the garden for toilet- this might take some time, but will be worth the effort.

After that, they are allowed into the house. Usually confined to one room/ area. I'd show them their bed, put a little food into a bowl and place beside water bowl. Then just let them explore a bit...

Did you take them to the toilet every 45 minutes?
Rule of thumb: sleep- toilet- play/ eat - toilet- sleep!
Also, watch them and get used to the signs eg, some slow down & start sniffing while others do a little poop dance. Once you know the signs, it's easy to just guide them outside!
(Last pup I had, I put puppy bells on the door to the garden, naturally they'd jingle when opening the door. Pup learned very quickly how to use the bells to go outside- there where just to many exiting things to chew and explore in the garden!)

Did your crate train? If so, how soon?
From day 1! I just pop them in at nighttime, crate is beside the sofa where I would sleep.

Did you use puppy pads? Some say do, some say don't.
No puppy pads, it's easier & quicker to take them outside. Also, you'll ditch them once pup has shredded one- THE MESS IS INSANE!

How did you introduce boundaries?
A gentle NO, swapping, no chew items with dog toys of similar texture, ... gently remove puppy from roos/ furniture you don't want them to use.

Did you sleep in the same room, if so, how long? Did it help?
Yes, first week or so - this depends entirely on the puppy and how soft you are. I love love love my bed- so I would creep upstairs once puppy is asleep after about 7-10 days sleeping with them.

How soon did you bathe your pup?
You should not need to bath your pup unless they are filthy. (Which, honestly they should not be!!)
If you have a long hair breed, get a soft baby brush and start brushing once puppy is settled in. Use a time when they are ready to settle for a sleep and make sure it’s all lovely and relaxing!
This stage only lasts a week or 2. After that I would use a dog grooming comb - one with rotating teeth is great!

Ah lovely.

Here's mine.

Re 45 minutes, no. Constant offers when awake. Puppies sleep a huge amount

Crate, yes absolutely immediately. I believe dogs should have a safe space as much as we should. Mine have doors open these days but the rule is nobody ever touches or annoys dog in crate.

Pads no. Even with newborn pups I would rather get bed or towels.

Boundaries. We have stair gates across play room. Child and dog zones. Not needed now so much but more because children can be very annoying to a puppy and also so many small toys to chew. I have broken boundaries many times with many dogs for many reasons. Once your relationship is established and you reach dog years.

Sleep depends on pup. Litter. House layout. Purpose. How big was litter. How many were left when you collected. What was breeder doing. I wouldn't necessarily start off that way but be prepared to do so if needed.

Bath. Never. Unless badger poop. Handle. Daily.

Get yourself the book Easey Peasey Puppy Squeezy it's a really good guide for first time puppy owners.

Ah sorry. And as @PoliticalPossum boundaries day one. Consistent. Training classes. Socialisation. New things. Think about the world. Umbrellas. Wheel chairs. Prams. Bangs. Guns. Nosies. Music. Darks and light. Off lead safe spaces to start. Then long line. Hoover. Kids. Babies crying. SHEEP. Cattle.

There is a superb Facebook group set up by brilliant dog trainers
https://www.facebook.com/groups/dogtrainingadviceandsupport/

I would order the book as well, have fun

Bumping for pics 😂

I bought a crate for my pup and sectioned off an area in my front room with gates. I was never dead set on crating but wanted to give her the option of a safe space. She didn't take to the crate and cried a lot when shut in the pen so I ended up just using the whole front room for her 'space' 🙄😂 I had totally puppy proofed it anyway. If ever I couldn't watch her like a hawk I'd shut her in there and she was fine with that. If she was getting extra nippy/naughty it usually meant she was over tired so I'd enforce naps by shutting her in too and this worked well. I gated off the seating area in our kitchen too for my boys, so they had an area they could still leave their stuff about and to escape the shark pup!

I slept in the front room with her for a while. She was from a litter of 9 and one of the first to go, so wanted her to to gradually get used to being alone.

Toilet training seemed incessant at the time but I'm not the most consistent of people which probably didn't help matters! She caught on quickly she was supposed to go outside, but this didn't stop her occasionally walking right in front of the tv, ensuring she had a full audience and squatting, then proudly wagging her tail at what she'd done 🤦‍♀️

I bathed her the day after we got her as she did have a slight doggy whiff, which I guess is to be expected when surrounded by 8 other pooing, peeing littermates!

I used a puppy pram to take her out prior to her jab. Felt a bit silly but she was too large to carry. I do think it helped though as she's always been comfortable with being outside and also meant I could take her on the school run. Once she could walk outside and was too big for her buggy anyway I had to leave her for the school run. I started off using my bike so I was gone for less time (15 mins) but it soon became apparent she was absolutely fine and I've never had any issues with leaving her.

Best thing I ever did was gate off my patio area with cheapish puppy pen gates from Amazon. My garden is a bit of a wilderness and I was constantly following her around worrying she'd eat something she shouldn't. It was supposed to be a temporary thing but, a year later, we still have them and they're great for when it's wet and muddy or at night and we don't want her to have full access of the garden.

Enjoy your pup! The hard times last a good few months but it does get easier, I promise! You will find yourself googling "is my puppy aggressive/is this normal puppy behaviour/have I got an issue with alcohol" many times, but one day you will suddenly notice what you actually have got is quite a nice dog!

I agree with the easy peasy book and the FB page - they really helped us. We also had an excellent information pack from the breeder which covered all the main things - happy to share this. Also find a breed specific FB page.

Did you take them to the toilet every 45 minutes?
Yes but you also get used to the signs. Puppy pads are confusing but a good idea get plenty of kitchen roll and cleaner!

Did your crate train? If so, how soon?
Yes immediately - the easy peasy book has a good section on this. I would recommend a large crate and proper crate cover (Amazon). We used an old cot protector in one half and vet bedding in the other- see photo. Also a heart beat lamb and something that smells of you. We slept on the sofa next to her for the first few nights and then left the radio on low (smooth radio).

Did you use puppy pads? Some say do, some say don't.
No

How did you introduce boundaries?
Not sure what this means

Did you sleep in the same room, if so, how long? Did it help?
2 nights - not sure if it helped but she's never cried in the night and has always slept through until we get up.

How soon did you bathe your pup?
After about 10 days- but just her body & legs to start with it's important not to over bathe pups BUT this breed needs a lot of coat maintenance so it's vital you get her used to being handled, brushed, washed and coat dried asap.

She will need her first puppy groom as soon as she's had her vaccs and then every 6-8 weeks a full groom.

You will need a slicker brush with rubber ends and metal comb - brush every day. I would also recommend a brushing spray (herbal dog co do a good one) and a good quality shampoo ("for all dog kind" 2 in 1 is a good one). Also some round ended scissors so you can cut out knots before they mat - when they start walking/going out. She will need a coat for rainy days too.

Once she's settled in but asap - get her used to the hair dryer - just showing it, then turning it on, the using it a bit etc etc before you bath her. Plenty of treats and praise!

You cannot leave her to dry naturally, especially when they get older, you will never get the knots out! We got a blaster from Amazon to dry because it's much quicker than hair dryer after walks.

www.foralldogkind.co.uk/collections/natural-grooming/products/2-in-1-conditioning-shampoo-for-everyday-skin-coats

herbaldogco.com/product/detangling-spray/

Sorry this is long and if you know all this already but it was the thing we've struggled with the most!

I have lots of guides/info from breeder (cavapoo but coats are similar) which I can share if you'd like X good luck!!!

Ooh, how exciting

Did you take them to the toilet every 45 minutes?
No, much more frequently - every 20 minutes at first.

Did your crate train? If so, how soon?
No, ours never took to the crate and we didn't have children, so there was no need for him to have any kind of safe space in that sense. He's nearly seven now and we've never had any issues, and he's settled fine in crates at the vet or in people's cars too.

Did you use puppy pads? Some say do, some say don't.
No, they just teach them to pee inside.

How did you introduce boundaries?
From day one - the best advice I ever got was to start as you mean to go on - so if you never want them on the sofa, don't ever let them on the sofa etc.

Did you sleep in the same room, if so, how long? Did it help?
Ours has slept in our bed since day one. It definitely helped with toilet training (he never had any nighttime accidents) and I think it helped get him into a routine too. Obviously it's not for everyone but it really helped for us.

How soon did you bathe your pup?
I can't remember, not for a while I don't think - but as you have a cockapoo I'd really recommend getting booked in for regular puppy grooms to get them used to it :)

Enjoy!

Aaaand here she is.

We've had her exactly 1 week and 4 days. She's bloody hard work, but I cannot, CANNOT imagine a life without her.

We didn't use puppy pads, all toileting outside.

She sleeps through the night in her crate, I've been on the sofa in the same room since we bought her home.

She's had her second set of jabs, first walk on Saturday ❤️

Ahh congrats! Sounds like it's going well