Some probably silly questions from a newbie dog owner.

[TappingTed]

When you can take your dog out (pup is too young) do you waken up and go right out? So he has his wee and poo on the walk? Or let them in the garden first, breakfast and then walk later?

For those who have crate trained do you ever then let them sleep on your bed (eg if you’re poorly?) or is that a slippery slope?

For those that have taught settle, when might this be reliable and any tips? We were thinking of a specific mat but is that silly?

is there a best travel system you’d recommend? Soft seat thing with harness? Just harness and seatbelt? Boot thing (though I have no space in my work car in the boot, so would always need an alternative).

Any other things you wish you’d known about dog ownership? All tips gratefully received.

@Calmestofallthechickens I agree with the tip about handling the dog - stroke their feet, ears, tail. Pick them up. Ie, get them used to being handled everywhere so if they need the vet’s, it’s not scary for them, and continue to do it, even when they’re older.

make sure your insurance covers dental care
as i found out the hard way they dont all

Puppy tax paid :)

So much to think about but we have a care and clearly he’s a small breed so I'm
hoping a pee break first thing followed by a walk before breakfast will work well for us so I can walk him before work most days. He can then have some chill time or training with dd (teen) and another walk with DH who WFH.
Currently getting him to chill or rest as much as he needs to is a struggle and he ended up very overtired yesterday and was awful for dd who was very overwhelmed. So getting a decent structure and routine to follow will help us all I think. Currently trying to figure out how to section off a safe area of the garden for toileting- going to weed and power wash it today, some pebbles and artificial grass for a toileting area and room to sniff around without any bits to eat. This would allow him some space to safely explore and dd some break from being on high alert and chasing a zoomie puppy round the garden at top speed.

Let mine in the garden first thing (from her crate). Walk after I’ve pottered about a bit and had a coffee. From being puppies I use a “business” command and praise so out of habit I say clean dog when I let them out.

The bed thing …. slippy slope but sometimes oh so tempting! I also think it depends on the dog, but certainly if you will EVER want your dog crate trained then stick to this until it’s absolutely ingrained. My personal experience is that’s till out of puppy/juvenile completely and the dog still uses the crate willingly during the day. I am lucky with current dog that I can have her on the bed a few nights here and there then others in the crate. I love my dog on my bed. But because I know I need to retain the use of the crate then I limit it.

My top most important thing is recall. My second is good socialisation (ie careful not a free for all party central for the dog). And thirdly muzzle train in case of emergency or accidents, pain etc.

3-4 hours after eating is extreme. An hour (more like 90 mins if you have a breed predisposed to bloat) if fine. Mine go in the garden first thing

Crate training is important but I have very strong views about people who allegedly crate train their dog then stick it in there all night, whenever they go on the school run or have shower. Why even have a dog if you’re going to make the poor bastard spend half its day in a crate? Mine all are crate trained for if they need to ever be in one for an extended period (like illness) but none of mine have ever slept in one and they never will I hope

Socialisation is acclimation - not letting every man, woman, child and dog bother your dog and winding them up and damaging all the training you’ve put in. Don’t be afraid to tell people to fuck off if you’ve told them to leave your dog alone and they’ve ignored you and they’re teaching your dog bad habits like jumping up.

Most important thing? Train your dog. Don’t claim you’re giving it ‘mind games’ and mental stimulation when you’ve never trained it to ‘leave’ or even ‘sit’ when told in public. Everyone thinks they’re doing their dog some great service by giving it a Kong or a puzzle Matt. They’re not. Train your dog to be happy being left alone without needing a crutch and train your dog well to keep its brain engaged.

Settle is easy to teach - just reinforce good behaviour with a code word and a treat and say ‘no’ when they’re not doing good behaviour. ‘No’ is a really unpopular command these days but it’s an incredibly useful catch all command.

Out in the garden first thing, then breakfast.
No crates here, I don’t believe in it and my dogs are quite large so crates would be huge, lol. My dogs have beds in my bedroom but generally sleep on the bed with us - we wouldn’t have it any other way. I am currently writing this sandwiched between two of them snoring away, it’s bloody bliss.
Get good insurance (yes, it’ll cost you), and make sure you have a great vet with a decent emergency service (preferably an independent not big pharma, but that’s a personal view of mine).
Put in time for some training, a lot of patience, calmness, positive reinforcement and love. Above all enjoy the experience and privilege of sharing your life with this amazing species

accompany your pup in the garden
they can get up to all sorts of mischief.
they mouth all sorts

I agree about 'no'. My two both understand that it means, 'stop doing that and look at me... and usually I will release you to do anything else you fancy within the normal limits, and sometimes you will get a treat'. It's very useful and allows them a lot of freedom.

One part of socialisation (which really means familiarising the puppy with as much of its future environment as possible) is getting it used to different sounds and different surfaces. For example, things like plank bridges can spook some dogs, so if you plan on countryside walks, try to introduce those.

3-4 is unnecessarily long. We have a big dog like you describe and our breeder’s advice was 1-2 hours.

Let out first thing, although he sometimes doesn’t wee until he’s on his walk later. Phenomenal bladder!

Walk by 9. Breakfast on return.

Sleeps on my bed.

Lies down on back seat of car.

Awe, that is the cutest pup!!

Agree with crate training re illness. We did for the early years. Now our elderly pooch is with us on the bed but if she needed a crate because of enforced bed rest she’d be ok to go back.

Don’t over exercise in the early months, mental stimulation is just as good for tiring them out as endless walks. We have a WCS and you hear horror stories about people walking/running them too early because of their nature and then they end up with joint issues in later life.

As I have said, that was advice from my actual vet! And it’s really no issue if you walk first thing. Why risk it? I wouldn’t.

what a beautiful pup @TappingTed

Aww he’s a cutie op!
crate training is one of the best things we did. His bed is in the crate, it has a cover over it and it’s in a quiet corner. Basically make it a place he wants to be. Never use as punishment. Give treats when he goes in there, put treats in there for him to find. We now rarely close the crate door but he takes himself off to his crate when he wants to chill, or if we have lots of guests and he wants to get away he takes himself into there. On the other hand, if I say BED, no matter where he is in the garden or house he will trot straight off to there, which is good when we have guests with very young children or guests who don’t want a dog fussing them, workmen in the house etc. (our dog gets very excited at visitors which is fine for close friends who don’t mind but not everyone is a dog fan!) .
He slept in his crate door for 3 years (door open but we had a stair gate so he couldn’t come upstairs) and there was no issue. But then I went on holiday with some friends and while I was away DH let him sleep in our bed and he’s been there for the last 2 years! Completely our own making! He would be fine if we put the stair gate back but our human emotions feel mean by doing that now!

Other good things about crate training, on occasions he has bad to stay overnight at other places (family dog sit when we go abroad occasionally, or when we go away to an air BnB with dog) we just take the crate and it is his safe space.

Teaching settle on a mat is great. We used a small towel. We take it with us wherever we go. At pubs/cafes we put it next to us on the floor and it’s his place to lay. Drop him treats every so often when he is doing the behaviour you want (laying down) and he behaves perfectly in these places. Also when we go places and it’s a cold hard floor I just think it’s nicer for him to have the towel to lay on. We have a bag that has his towel, a folding water bowl and a box of treats in it. We just take it everywhere with us.

Great tips and ideas. We have good pet insurance that covers dental etc and we like our vet and they have good emergency cover etc.
We have a waterproof soft mat that folds (it’s a travel nappy change mat!) and we’re thinking to use it as a settle mat. He already knows sit well and we are working on his name and we say “Yes” when he gets things right like peeing. He poops outside and almost all pees there too.
Hes doing really well. But my goodness it’s hard work! Crate is good too and he sleeps all night there 10.30-6 ish and naps there too and we are working on him going in by himself rather than being transferred which is going well too. I sit next to him though and nearby initially til he is settled and the door is open so he isn’t contained. We want it to be his safe space as we have small children in the wider family so he needs that escape.

Also op, be prepared, cute as he is, the puppy months can be so hard! Especially when they’re teething! You will have days when you question why you are doing it and regret even contemplating getting a dog! But with the consistent boundaries and training, you will reap the rewards when this time next year you have the most wonderful companion who fits into your lifestyle perfectly 😊

I’m going to echo what someone else has said, he’s your dog, not the random stranger who wants to pat your dog. Train him to sit and wait, and only on your command goes and say hello to another dog or person. You may have use the ‘he’s in training’ phrase. When you have a cute puppy, everyone think it’s a free-for-all, and they’re entitled to stroke it, but you got the puppy for you, not for them.

(and thank you for the photo. Very cute. Can I have a cuddle…?)

I agree you have to do what works for you. For your questions id say there’s no right or wrong.

for me…the dogs go in the garden first thing as I need coffee before going out for a walk.

one dog is crate trained and doesn’t come on the bed. My older dog isn’t crate trained and was allowed on the bed in the morning before puppy arrived. She sleeps on a mat on the landing.

i think training to settle on a specific mat is good, especially if it’s a foldable portable one you can use out of the house. I haven’t done this.

both my dogs have harnesses in the car and are on the back seat clipped into seat belt attachments. I have a back seat “hammock” from Amazon which I got to stop puppy falling in the foot well. I also have a softer, squishy back seat cover on top of the hammock. From FunnyFuzzy but it took six months to arrive so not sure I’d recommend.

hoping a pee break first thing followed by a walk before breakfast will work well for us so I can walk him before work most days

The best thing I did was not get into too much of a routine, mine are now equally happy to get up and go for a walk first thing before breakfast or have breakfast and go for a walk later on.

Certainly not- he’s in training! 🤣 But come round at 6am tomorrow and you can cuddle while I have a long lie!!

You got my joke!

When you can take your dog out (pup is too young) do you waken up and go right out? So he has his wee and poo on the walk? Or let them in the garden first, breakfast and then walk later? We let her out into the back garden for a wee. She gets her first walk about 9.30am - she's a lazy madam and would happily sleep all morning and hold her wee if she could. She gets breakfast on her morning walk - she gets dry kibble throughout as constant reinforcement for recall.

For those who have crate trained do you ever then let them sleep on your bed (eg if you’re poorly?) or is that a slippery slope? Pass, she sleeps in bed with us if she likes. She goes have a bed in our room that she often goes to herself.

For those that have taught settle, when might this be reliable and any tips? We were thinking of a specific mat but is that silly?
Pass, she's naturally v lazy and settled.

is there a best travel system you’d recommend? Soft seat thing with harness? Just harness and seatbelt? Boot thing (though I have no space in my work car in the boot, so would always need an alternative). We use a dog seatbelt that attaches to her collar. It has a bit of movement so she can lie down with it on

Dogs can get bloat, it's most common in big dogs. We used to feed our Rottweilers 3 equal sized meals per day, so that they weren't eating too large a volume at once, to avoid bloat. If we'd left 4 hours between food and exercise they would never have been walked!

Oh, and our top tip. If you have kids, make sure they're involved in the training process. We have three, and one is much more involved in walking, feeding and has taught her basically every trick she knows. The dog definitely respects her more than the other two!