Random Puppy Questions... Animal lovers help me please :)

[MissR]

Didn't know where to post this so I hope it's alright to put it here!

Basically me and my OH bought a puppy a few days ago. We have discussed it for months as LO loves dogs so we went out and found one we liked. She is a cockapoo and is 9 weeks old. She has a lovely cheeky temperament. However I have never owned a dog and have no idea how to train her etc. if anyone out there, vets, animal lovers, dog owners have any advice it would be greatly appreciated!!!

Firstly, how do I potty train her?! I know it takes a long time to do so and have tried to read about it but she doesn't seem to be picking it up at all. She has weed and pooed all over the house which I of course swiftly tidy up. I disinfect it so she hopefully can't smell it again. Every time she does so I put her nose near it and take her to her puppy pads. So far this has been unsuccessful. We have decided to put her in a crate overnight but I have not shut her away in there, just made it inviting for her so she gets in voluntarily. However I have put a puppy pad in there next to her bed but is this a bad idea? I can't really see an alternative if she is in there overnight.

Also, I have no idea when to up her feed. She is on a small amount of wet food 3 times a day and always has fresh water. At what stage do I begin to give her more food?

Lastly as she is just a pup, she likes to nibble at anything she can find. Her favourite being feet. My LO does not like this and gets scared as the dog is constantly going for her toes. Is there any way to teach her that she can nibble at other things, just not people?!

I know it will all take time, I just need a little help because I'm clueless as to how to get her to understand. Thanks in advance xx

 

[missk1989]

For the nibbling get some toys hopefully she will nibble those. for the training the quickest way is to reward behavior with treats. I'm no expert but for potty training I would be taking her out as often as I could and rewarding every time she wee outside. Try to take her in the garden every hour or so.

 

[Pandora11]

we have a labradoodle (now four) he was a cheeky one too. Firstly we never used pads because we thought it was pointless. I read tons of puppy books when we got him so i'll share what helped us.

We trained him to pee outside by taking him outside EVERY time he was fed, or even looked like he was going to pee on the floor, even if he already did it, we took him outside anyway, so he learned. he pciked it up really quickly but remember that even if they do know where to do it, puppies have small organs and muscles and they can't hold it as well. as the weeks went on our puppy soon could hold it better until there were no accidents in the house. We did put newspapaer down at night too.

I was told by a trainer that using product with bleach in to clean pee and poo actually heightens the smell of urine to the dog and attrachs them back (even if we can't smell it) so we stopped using this and used washing powder disolved in warm water on floors/carpets/sofa and it took the smell away and he didn't go back to the spots again. (and mopped floors with whatever as you would usually)

Feeding when they very young is supposed to be 4 times and then 3 after a few months (i was told) basically from about 7am space the meals out evenly as poss through the day and have the last meal around 7pm ish so you have time to get the pup outside and more likely avoid poos over night.

DO NOT put toilet/pads/newspaper near puppies bed as it is against their instinct to go to the toilet where they sleep, and will only rarely do so if ill etc.

Are you feeding puppy food? because that is best until 7-9 months old when their stomach mature enough for adult food. Generally go by the directions on the food bag, by pup's weight and that will tell you how much to feed in grams per day.

Nibbling (people) goes away with training, our dog used to bite DHs knees lol. What we did(and told to do is) when ever the pup tries to bite you say something like 'no bite' and give them something they are allow like a toy. puppies have to learn to be gentle with their teeth because it's their way of playing and communicating. Also, if you make a loud noise when bitten, this is meant to work too.

With puppies it's basically telling them and enforcing the positive behavior again and again until they understand. Try to praise whenever it does something you are pleased with.

Our dog wouldn't play with toys when he was young but he loved the cardbaord toilet roles and xmas wrapping paper rolls, because they were easy to chew on his tiny teeth.With most things you need to teach them, they need to see the connect asap after doing the action.

hope none of that sounds too patronising, just trying to help. i remember the first month of having a puppy was incredibly stressful and my friend having an easier time with a new born.

i'm sure others will be alone with other useful advise but message me if you need anything.

see if you can find some 'it's me or the dog' online, that tv show was a life saver for us and worked much better with methods than cesar milan etc

 

[Larkspur]

Okay, the key to potty training a dog is TOTAL consistency. I had my first dog (a breed notorious for being hard to train) trained inside a week, so it doesn't have to be a drawn-out process. He was 15 weeks old though, so he had full bladder control. Your puppy may not have total control yet.

First of all, some questions: Do you have an outdoor area? What access does the puppy have to this area? Is there someone home with the puppy all day?

If you have an outdoor area, and you intend the dog to use it, do not bother with puppy pads, as they will only confuse the dog. Basically, for the first couple of weeks, what you want to do is give the dog every opportunity to go in the right place. I chose a spot under a tree, and after every meal, every nap, as soon as puppy wakes up in the morning and right before bedtime, I would take him out to the spot and say encouragingly, 'Go toilet'. Whenever he did, I would praise him warmly and give him a treat. I also took him outside every hour and gave him the same opportunity, or when I saw him showing cues that he might need to go (sniffing around the edges of a room or circling).

If he made a mess in the wrong place (ie inside) I just cleaned it up with no fuss (rubbing their nose in it just makes them think it's naughty to wee or poo at all, and they will try to hide it from you) unless I caught him in the middle of doing it, and then I would say, "No, outside" firmly, and take him out to the right spot. If you don't have an outdoor area, and the dog will always use a pad or a litter box, pick one place only for the pad or box, and always take the dog there. Never move the pad or box around until the dog is 100 percent consistently trained, as it will only confuse the dog.

You should also have her crated all night or any time you are out of the house and do not want her to have accidents (until she is trained; so obviously you will not be able to be away from the house for more than a couple of hours until that point), and there should definitely NOT be a puppy pad in her crate. Dogs have a natural desire not to soil the area they sleep in, so they will try to hold it if there is nowhere for them to go except bedding.

Of course, for the first few weeks while they do not have good bladder control, you will have to get up 2-3 times a night to give her an opportunity to go outside. Puppies are just like babies in that respect; you should expect to be up a few times in the first weeks you have them. I personally would never get a puppy under 12 weeks old because of this, but I know a lot of breeders and stores sell them earlier.

If the crate is big enough for a puppy pad and a sleeping area, it's too big. Take it back and swap it for a smaller one. Puppy should be able to stand up freely in it and turn around but not much more. When she gets bigger you will probably have to buy a bigger crate. Don't feel bad about putting her in the crate, it is like a nice, safe den for her.

For the nibbling, it's a natural thing, puppies use their mouths to explore. I have always let my dogs 'mouth' my hands - I think it teaches them what an appropriate play pressure is. If they nip too hard, I say, "No" in a firm voice and stop the game. They soon learn to always use an appropriate pressure. I have never had to worry about my dogs nipping my baby because of this. If you don't want puppy to nibble feet or hands, you just have to always say, "No" firmly and redirect to an appropriate chew toy.

For the feeding, I think it goes down to twice a day at four months and once a day at around eight months, but that's something you should check with your vet depending on your individual dog and weight gain etc.

 

[curiousowl]

I grew up with a fair share of puppies and all of that is great advice! My one thing to add is to pick up a special deodorizer from a pet store. After you clean up the accident you spray the stuff and then the animal can't smell it anymore. In my experience it works better than normal cleaning products!

 

[LeannieB]

Hi we have also just got a puppy. He is almost 11 weeks old now l. He is a light blue roan cocker spaniel called max. We decided to crate train him which had gone really well and had really helped with his toilet training. We have only had a few accidents so far. We have not used puppy pads as I was told these can confuse them. As soon as he wakes up I put him outside and as soon as he has eaten he goes outside and also after playing. His breeder had also started to toilet train them as well which has helped a lot as he was used to going outside.
Max is fed 3 times a day. At 7am and then at 12pm and his tea at 5pm. He goes in his crate for all his naps nearly. I have two boys who are 3 and 5 so its best for him to have his naps in his crate. He goes to bed at 8pm and I let him out for a wee before I go to bed which is usually around 11pm and then he is usually up for the day around 6/7am. I stuck to the routine that his breeder advised me to do which has worked really well.
Max is very nippy and bitey at the moment and cocker spaniels are renowned for being quite bad for this as puppies. I just try to distract him with his toys if he gets to hyper but I do find that if he does get to hyper them he usually needs
A nap so I settle him down in his crate and he will go to sleep. He has been very good so far so I hope it continues. ��.
Also we got max a kong which is great and keeps them occupied for ages.
PM me if you need anything I know how hectic it can be x

 

[NicoleLJ]

THe fast way to help you is direct you to my website. This link is to my training pages:

https://giftofgracekennels.tripod.com/id41.html

They give clear and easy ways to train your puppy from potty training, food, how to teach them the difference between their toys and your childs and other important issues.

Here is the potty training link:

https://giftofgracekennels.tripod.com/id27.html

How to teach them the difference between their toys and a childs toys:

https://giftofgracekennels.tripod.com/id54.html


If you have any other questions please feel free to pm me

 

[SophiasMummy]

Toilet training, you should take puppy outside every half hour during the day and after she has eaten or been asleep obviously if she is asleep leave her until she wakes up, DO NOT punish her for going inside, just pick it up and get rid of it but if you catch her about to go toilet try to distract her and get her outside. crate training is the easiest way to deal with night times as they don't like to soil there bed, have a crate for her not massive but the right size for her now, have her sleep in it during the day too with the door open, if its easier put it in your bedroom if you want her in there at night (my boy slept in my room from day one) that being said you should get up to let her out to go toilet at least once during the night while shes so young. a good idea too is to start using a word or phrase like 'toilet' 'wee wee' or some kind of command as she does it and praise when she's finished, she will start to associate the word with going to the toilet, she may even learn to go on command (my boy goes when you tell him to 'go wee'). it is a lot harder to toilet train in the winter as a lot of dogs don't want to go outside in the rain etc but just persevere it wont be long until she gets it.

Chewing _ get her as many chew toys as possible a good home made one is old towels or tea towels cut into strips and plaited together it makes a great toy for puppies, when ever she goes to chew on anyone's feet distract her with a toy, your best friend will be the leave command so try to teach that as quickly as possible, the best way I found was distracting with treats as she goes to something a toy or LOs toes call her in a high pitched voice, whistle or make whatever noise gets her attention the easiest and tell her to leave it while encouraging her to come to you and giving her the treat if she doesn't stop what she was doing put the treat in front of her nose or try a separate toy (squeaky ones are always great and tennis balls, even better are kong air balls they are basically squeaky tennis balls, they last for ages and you can get them in small sizes too).

When you start walking its best to start with a harness rather than a collar as they find it much less stressful.

Also you should get her eating dry food instead of all wet food, a wet food diet is very bad for their teeth HTH