I'm getting a puppy soon

Post by **Sylvus** » October 13, 2008, 11:36 am

I've been looking at houses lately, and am probably going to buy one in the next month. One of my first priorities after buying my house is to finally get a new puppy. I've been waiting my whole adult life until I bought my own place to get a dog.

Unfortunately, it's been since I was about 10 years old since I've had a puppy, and I don't really recall all that it took to properly house train the dog, or things I might be forgetting. I'm going to go with adoption from a shelter, and definitely get the dog spayed/neutered asap.

Does anyone have any resources that they would recommend for tips on training a puppy (both house training, as well as making sure it's a good dog in general)? One thing that I'd really like to do is train the dog to be an off-leash dog, but still come to me when I call him and such. I welcome any other advice that other dog owners can provide.

Any help is appreciated.

Aardor · Post by **Aardor** » October 13, 2008, 11:56 am

http://www.amazon.com/Be-Pack-Leader-Ce ... 715&sr=8-2

Soreali · Post by **Soreali** » October 13, 2008, 12:27 pm

Get wee-wee pads and a lot of treats..

I have two english bulldogs that I got when they were both 3 months old. The oldest one (who is now over a yr old) I had house broken in a month.. I also think she was a gift from god because she's the best puppy i've ever seen. But it really wasn't hard house breaking her.. we setup a wee wee pad in a certain spot and kinda baby-sat her as much as we could. Everytime she went on the pad we gave her a couple treats and a butt ton of lovin. If she went somewhere else we gave her a gentle scolding then put her on the wee wee pad so she knew where to go... all in all it took about a month..a month later she was going outside on a leash.

Any other questions feel free to ask because I'm going through it all over again with my 6 month old puppy.

And if you're looking to rescue, I would totally suggest a bulldog.. they're big mush balls, they're not all over the place and they love being couch potatoes with you.. and they'll also be very playful when they want to be.

laneela · Post by **laneela** » October 13, 2008, 1:34 pm

I agree with Soreali on the bulldog thing. I have 2 American bulldogs and they're angels. I don't know if I could walk them unleashed. Never tried and don't know that I would want to. American bulldogs have a tendency to look like pitbulls, one of mine looks extremely similar to one and I'd be afraid of people's reactions. They are however awesome dogs. Friendly as hell, sweet tempered, obedient and playful. The downsides are they tend to have health problems, the can jump up to six feet so there's always the worry that they'll jump the fence and they think they're lapdogs.

Spang · Post by **Spang** » October 13, 2008, 2:02 pm

Get a crate. Stick dog in crate. When it's gotta go, take it outside. Give it a treat. Put back in crate. Rinse and repeat.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » October 13, 2008, 2:21 pm

Spang wrote:Get a crate. Stick dog in crate. When it's gotta go, take it outside. Give it a treat. Put back in crate. Rinse and repeat.

How cruel. Don't foget to drill holes in crate!

Spang · Post by **Spang** » October 13, 2008, 2:25 pm

It works. Dogs don't potty where they sleep.

Knarlz · Post by **Knarlz** » October 13, 2008, 2:27 pm

http://thedailykimchi.blogspot.com/2007 ... seoul.html

Soreali · Post by **Soreali** » October 13, 2008, 2:38 pm

laneela wrote:I agree with Soreali on the bulldog thing. I have 2 American bulldogs and they're angels. I don't know if I could walk them unleashed. Never tried and don't know that I would want to. American bulldogs have a tendency to look like pitbulls, one of mine looks extremely similar to one and I'd be afraid of people's reactions. They are however awesome dogs. Friendly as hell, sweet tempered, obedient and playful. The downsides are they tend to have health problems, the can jump up to six feet so there's always the worry that they'll jump the fence and they think they're lapdogs.

God do they ever think they're lapdogs! My older one is 65lbs and shes in my lap all the time!! Mine are actually very behaved off the leash. They never leave my side.

As for their health issues, as long as you keep them on a proper diet they're normally rather healthy.. I also give them hip and joint supplements because they're carrying a lot of weight on those stubby legs of theirs.. But i love them to death and I dont think I could find another dog that is as good around people as they are.

Soreali · Post by **Soreali** » October 13, 2008, 2:40 pm

Aslanna wrote:
Spang wrote:Get a crate. Stick dog in crate. When it's gotta go, take it outside. Give it a treat. Put back in crate. Rinse and repeat.
How cruel. Don't foget to drill holes in crate!

He's actually somewhat right on this one.. I had a cage for my youngest puppy that she stayed in at night. They tend not to go where they sleep.. Of course she was only in there when we were asleep or at work.

Psyloche · Post by **Psyloche** » October 13, 2008, 2:53 pm

Spang wrote:It works. Dogs don't potty where they sleep.

My dog was/is the exception. When we were trying to house break her, we'd use a Crate when we'd sleep/work, but sometimes either we'd take too long or she just didn't care. Usually she was fine through the night, during the day from the time we'd go to work 7:45am-8:00amish to when we'd come home for lunch at 12:00-12:15(we work about 10min from home) she would sometimes pee in there.

We tried using the pads, but they also didn't work for her. What really just ended up working was every 15 minutes, swear it was like clockwork, we'd ask her if she wanted to go outside and walk her out to the backyard and let her go. She'd have accidents inside sometimes, but we tried to just clean them up and ignore her for a bit after, every now and then we'd scold her if our patience was running thin. Most people basically told us scolding after, even immediately after doesn't help and to just use positive reinforcement and no negative.

I think we did a bad job of making the crate fun/acceptable, because our dog never ended up liking it. She realized what go inside the crate meant and would always do it for us after a few days of it, but would whine until she finally fell asleep. I don't know how to advise you to do this, because giving her treats in it and trying various things from the video we got from the shelter when we adopted her didn't help.

In the end, my dog now only pees when she's really excited (typically when a new person comes, it depends on how much she likes them) and for the fucking life of me, I don't know how to make her not do this. She doesn't have accidents in the house and has free reign all day long. Steps we ended up taking were:

3-5 months slept in crate during night/work
Edit: I forgot to mention, during the first weeks of the above time period, my dog was usually my alarm clock and I'd take her out of the crate and run with her (she fit along my forearm, think smaller than high school football) outside because if I let her just walk with me, she'd usually just pee!
5-8 months slept in bed with us during night, stayed in guest room w/door closed during work
8 months til now, sleeps in bed with us during night, usually will be sitting in guest room w/door open during work

Seems like a long time to get her to where we're comfortable with her running around the house, I hear of people doing it in a much shorter time. This was my first dog/puppy ever and I'm enjoying every second of it. Well almost, I still hate it when she does her excited pee when guests come.

I am teaching her how to play WoW and grind honor for me

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » October 13, 2008, 2:53 pm

Soreali wrote:
Aslanna wrote:
Spang wrote:Get a crate. Stick dog in crate. When it's gotta go, take it outside. Give it a treat. Put back in crate. Rinse and repeat.
How cruel. Don't foget to drill holes in crate!
He's actually somewhat right on this one.. I had a cage for my youngest puppy that she stayed in at night. They tend not to go where they sleep.. Of course she was only in there when we were asleep or at work.

I meant it was cruel to put them in a crate with no airholes. Nevermind!

lmnt9 · Post by **lmnt9** » October 13, 2008, 3:08 pm

Just leave it outside, then you dont have to do any training.

Soreali · Post by **Soreali** » October 13, 2008, 3:54 pm

Aslanna wrote:
Soreali wrote:
Aslanna wrote:
Spang wrote:Get a crate. Stick dog in crate. When it's gotta go, take it outside. Give it a treat. Put back in crate. Rinse and repeat.
How cruel. Don't foget to drill holes in crate!
He's actually somewhat right on this one.. I had a cage for my youngest puppy that she stayed in at night. They tend not to go where they sleep.. Of course she was only in there when we were asleep or at work.
I meant it was cruel to put them in a crate with no airholes. Nevermind!

Flew over my head! No coffee + 2 hrs of sleep = brain dead!

Spang · Post by **Spang** » October 13, 2008, 6:14 pm

Holes included:

Add a cushion for comfort.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » October 13, 2008, 6:18 pm

Here in America we call those "cages".

Spang · Post by **Spang** » October 13, 2008, 6:19 pm

It's a dog crate!

Also, from the Iams website.

Crate Training
This is one of the best puppy house training tips we have to offer. Training a puppy to be comfortable in a crate is a good way to keep him safe and confined during housetraining. Most puppies will quickly accept crate confinement when you make the introduction fun. Since it's important to associate favorable things with the area where your puppy is confined, it is a good idea to play with him there, or simply spend some time reading or watching television nearby as he relaxes with a favorite chew toy. If he is only in the area when you leave, it becomes a social isolation area that he eventually may resist entering.

A good time to start crate training is at dinnertime. Feed your puppy his dinner, one piece at a time, by tossing pieces of kibble into the crate for him to chase and eat. This way, you can make a game out of training.

When you pick up his toys, store them in the crate so he will enter on his own to play. You may even want to occasionally hide a biscuit in the crate as a nice surprise.

You should not use the crate for periods that exceed the length of time the pet can actually control the urge to urinate or defecate. If you are gone for long periods each day, you will need to provide a larger confinement area. You may want to consider using an exercise pen or small room.

Provide an area large enough so that if your puppy has to potty when you are gone, he can do it in a space that is separate from his sleeping area. A 15- to 30-square foot area is adequate for most puppies. If he chooses a specific place to eliminate, cover it with paper to make cleanup easier.

Timing Is Important!
A six- to eight-week-old puppy should be taken outdoors every one to three hours. Older puppies can generally wait longer between outings. Most puppies should be taken out:

* After waking in the morning
* After naps
* After meals
* After playing or training
* After being left alone
* Immediately before being put to bed

Nick · Post by **Nick** » October 13, 2008, 7:23 pm

I think I'll be getting one of these at some point. I recommend it solely for their ridiculous faces. The downs syndrome of dogs if you will.

(don't know how to look after puppies though....keep it warm presumably and feed it?)

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » October 13, 2008, 7:52 pm

Nick wrote:I think I'll be getting one of these at some point. I recommend it solely for their ridiculous faces. The downs syndrome of dogs if you will.

(don't know how to look after puppies though....keep it warm presumably and feed it?)

Just not after midnight. Although I think it's too late for that one.

Sueven · Post by **Sueven** » October 13, 2008, 8:03 pm

Don't think of your dog as a person. It's a dog, you're a person.

When the dog misbehaves, don't ratchet up the excitement level by yelling and getting out of control.

Consider the breed (or breeds if you get a mutt). Different breeds have very different temperaments and are good for very different people and lifestyles. Will your dog get a lot of exercise? Meet a lot of people? What kind of activities do you want to do with it? Think about what your life with the dog would be and try to think of breeds with a compatible temperament. Not a bad idea to meet some dogs of breeds that you're thinking of either.

I love bulldogs, as a few others have said, but they're not for everyone-- they can be very stubborn (witness the challenges potty-training them), they have the potential to be violent (although responsible ownership will almost always negate this problem), they have health issues, and they don't have much endurance. That last one's a dealbreaker for me-- I want a dog that can hike and run with me, so I'll probably go for something along the lines of a lab, collie, or shepherd.

Truant · Post by **Truant** » October 13, 2008, 9:10 pm

I want to be a dog when I grow up, so I can maul children like dogs did to me when I was a child.

Seriously though, please read up a bit on dog behaviour and how to properly train a dog to be obedient to you. I dislike being around dogs that aren't well behaved (for above stated reasons), and abhorr watching their owners ineptly try to make the dog behave.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 13, 2008, 9:43 pm

Don't forget to declaw you dog!

Spang · Post by **Spang** » October 13, 2008, 9:45 pm

What?

Pherr the Dorf · Post by **Pherr the Dorf** » October 14, 2008, 1:49 am

Olde English Bulldogge ftw

You get wrinkles without the health issues and athletic as hell

Noysyrump · Post by **Noysyrump** » October 14, 2008, 4:10 am

Basset Hounds are teh bomb... SNOOPY!

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » October 14, 2008, 8:36 am

Snoopy was a Beagle.

Post by **Sylvus** » October 14, 2008, 10:21 am

I wasn't looking for suggestions on a type of dog, sillies!

I'm pretty sure I'm going to go for a lab or retriever, or ideally a mutt that is predominantly one of those breeds.

Thanks for all the tips though, everyone! Feel free to keep them coming. I'm still probably a month or more away from picking one out.

For now, I think I might pick up a couple books. The one by Cesar Millan and possibly another by the Monks of New Skete (Skeet Skeet).

Pherr the Dorf · Post by **Pherr the Dorf** » October 14, 2008, 12:36 pm

Read and watch as much Cesar Milan as you can, he makes it easy to be a good dog owner.

lmnt9 · Post by **lmnt9** » October 14, 2008, 1:38 pm

If your choice is a lab/retriever I hope you are considering yard size and not going to be keeping it in a cage inside all day when/if you are not home.

Put away anything you dont want chewed up, because it WILL get chewed up.

Anything in your yard WILL be dug up - so avoid a house with an elaborate garden unless its fenced off.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » October 14, 2008, 3:01 pm

Let that dog grow wild, and then maybe you can get British doggy dominatrix Victoria Stilwell to visit you.

*~*stragi*~* · Post by ***~*stragi*~*** » October 14, 2008, 5:07 pm

golden retreivers are the best dog anyone who says otherwise is a stupid nazi jerk

lmnt9 · Post by **lmnt9** » October 14, 2008, 5:21 pm

*~*stragi*~* wrote:golden retreivers are the best dog anyone who says otherwise is a stupid nazi jerk

Australian Shepard > Golden Retreiver

-Stupid Nazi Jerk

cadalano · Post by **cadalano** » October 14, 2008, 5:31 pm

know whats silly? breeding of ALL WHITE german shepherds:

was supressed by the nazi regime because they were a perversion of a pure german breed. THATS SO COUNTER INTUITIVE

valryte · Post by **valryte** » October 14, 2008, 8:28 pm

It works. Dogs don't potty where they sleep.

That's true...but no one ever said anything about them learning to lift their leg and peeing OUTSIDE the cage!

If this is your first dog, I can not emphasize how important it is to get the dog trained. If you find yourself putting it off, stop. Either send the dog to a training school (cheaper) or get a personal training to come to your house. Having an untrained dog will make you miserable and regret ever getting a dog, unless he looks like this and then you forget all about the crap he chewed and pissed on

Psyloche · Post by **Psyloche** » October 15, 2008, 11:04 am

^
That there, is an awesome looking dog.

Soreali · Post by **Soreali** » October 15, 2008, 8:21 pm

Pherr the Dorf wrote:Olde English Bulldogge ftw

You get wrinkles without the health issues and athletic as hell

They fuckin pwn! I saw one at the dog park I take my pups to last weekend.. Thing is a beast! And its built! Looks like a damn boxer.

These are my two mush balls..They love that chair.

Pherr the Dorf · Post by **Pherr the Dorf** » October 16, 2008, 7:05 pm

Those are some awesome looking bullies.

*~*stragi*~* · Post by ***~*stragi*~*** » October 16, 2008, 8:55 pm

lmnt9 wrote:
*~*stragi*~* wrote:golden retreivers are the best dog anyone who says otherwise is a stupid nazi jerk
Australian Shepard > Golden Retreiver

-Stupid Nazi Jerk

golden retreiver is the best dog you should probably get cancer mp get a GR

Soreali · Post by **Soreali** » October 17, 2008, 12:58 pm

Pherr the Dorf wrote:Those are some awesome looking bullies.

Thanks!

I could crash VV with the amount of ridiculously cute pictures I have of them.

Sheryl · Post by **Sheryl** » October 17, 2008, 2:15 pm

if the puppy is still poopin' and peein' in the cage, i would recommend barricading off some of the space. i didn't know any better, and my pup had a nice, roomy cage. she'd do her puppy business in one corner and sleep in the other. very frustrating! i felt like an asshole blocking off 2/3 of her house, but it worked. she was housebroken in under a month. that's the only method i've ever tried.

Pherr the Dorf · Post by **Pherr the Dorf** » October 17, 2008, 6:25 pm

This thread is about our dogs at this point, screw Sylvus

Lalanae · Post by **Lalanae** » October 18, 2008, 2:34 am

One of the tips we learned too late was to regularly "handle" the puppy's paws, ears and teeth. In other words get them used to you messing around with those areas otherwise they'll be grouchy or skittish when you try to clip their nails, clean inside their ears, or checking out their mouths.

Crates are the way to go. Both our pups almost never had accidents, but then again I work from home so was able to take them out more frequently than most people. Just make sure the space is right. It should be big enough for them to fully stand and turn around. If you give them too much room, they'll potty in the crate.

Sometimes it's just luck. Our 2nd pup was very vocal about needing to be let out of his crate when he needed to potty. The rescue lady that cared for him and his litter (he was born in rescue) said he would wake her up at night hollaring.

Other crate tips that worked very well for us:
* When possible, don't put your dog in the crate, encourage him/her to go in on their own & reward them with a treat when they do.
* Keeping toys in their crate not only makes the puppy associate the crate with a happy place, but it also helps them associate what is THEIR toys (as opposed to other things laying around the house).
* Speak a command when you place the dog in the crate (or when encouraging him/her into it). Eventually just saying it will signal the dog to go their their crate. We use "Go to your room" ("Go to bed" in our house means they get to sleep in the big bed

)

Praise them each and everytime they potty. Make them think they are doing the most fun amazing cool thing ever and you won't have potty issues.

If your dog ends up a hard chewer (both of mine are) stick to toys made out of heavy duty rubber. Kongs and Cuz toys are the greatest. My dogs destroy pretty much every thing else I give them as a toy except those.

Dog parks are important to teach your dog socialization skills (and a ton of fun for dog lovers too). Wait until your pup is around 6 months old though. Your vet can tell you the exact time, but you want to make sure that his/her vaccinations are in full effect. You'd be suprised (maybe not) how many people do NOT vaccinate their dogs.

Dogs are amazing and I wish you all the happiness they can bring. My life would not be as fulfilling without my little turkeys.

Pherr the Dorf · Post by **Pherr the Dorf** » October 18, 2008, 12:11 pm

http://www.dog.com/item/hol-ee-roller-ball/

Best ball ever for chewers

Soreali · Post by **Soreali** » October 19, 2008, 6:34 pm

Pherr that is a cute SoB.. Think its time we make a "Post your pets" thread lol

Lalanae · Post by **Lalanae** » October 20, 2008, 1:59 am

Pherr the Dorf wrote:http://www.dog.com/item/hol-ee-roller-ball/

Best ball ever for chewers

I've probably bought a dozen of those over the last few years, mostly because my dogs lose them, but they have chewed through a couple (no loose bits though, which is good). They are great for giving treats, which is primarily what they are used for now (otherwise my dogs play tug with them and their teeth catch on the sides, so I worry about them rippinga tooth out). I buy dog biscuits large enough that they don't fall out of the holes and the dogs have to "work" at getting them out. It's funny to see how each dog has a different strategy

I've yet to find anything 100% indestructible (except the all-rope toys which they have no interest in). My dogs have even chewed the feet off of Cuz toys (the hardiest so far), although at 3 years old, they seem to have mellowed out a little on the chewing and some toys are actually starting to last longer than a few weeks.

Dregor Thule · Post by **Dregor Thule** » October 20, 2008, 2:38 am

Everything Lalanae said is very true. We handled my dog a ton as a puppy and we can now handle her with ease, opening her mouth and touching her teeth. She also views her crate as her space and will go chill out in there without any issues. When getting toys for your dog to chew on make sure that they have 2 holes in them to avoid creating a vacuum effect on their tongues.. can be pretty nasty.

Post by **Sylvus** » January 5, 2009, 12:43 pm

Little did I know when I started this thread that my dog had already been born on August 12th.

On Saturday, I welcomed young Bocephus Jackson Schembechler Pollak ("Bo" for short) into my family. He was rescued from a kill shelter and fostered by a couple people, and I gave him a permanent home. He's the cutest little guy in the whole world, and if you don't believe it, you're flat-out wrong! I was sad that I had to go back to work from vacation today, but he seems to love his crate and I only have to leave him alone for 4 hours at a time, I'll get to go see him at lunch.

Here are more pictures.

Psyloche · Post by **Psyloche** » January 5, 2009, 1:42 pm

Congrats on the dog! They're pretty god damn awesome and I can't believe it took me 26 years until I finally got to have one myself.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » January 5, 2009, 1:49 pm

Just wait until your dog adopts a cat like mine did!

Spang · Post by **Spang** » January 5, 2009, 2:44 pm

Nice chairs.