Tips for a soon-to-be puppy owner

[texas*princess]

I've been wanting a puppy for YEARS... and after moving out of the sorority house, and hopefully getting a real job, I will finally be able to afford a little bundle of fluff. I've been waiting for awhile and have tried to be patient. I wanted to be sure I would have money in case something happened (allergies, grooming, vaccines,etc.) and to spoil the little ball of fluff to the core!!! (lots of toys!)

So I would like any "tips" for those who have (or have had) puppies.

I'm confused on a lot of things... like paper training, crate training... what should I do? should I do both? is it supposed to be in some kind of order? or should it be one or the other?

I've narrowed my breed choices down to 3 - bichon frise, maltese and shih tzu.

I came thisclose to buying a shih tzu puppy just this weekend!! But i had to restrain for a few more weeks when I know *for sure * if I'll have a full time job soon after I graduate.

So any "tips" would be greatly appreciated!

[OtterXO]

I HIGHLY recommend crate training your dog. It gives them their own space (like a den) and you get the security of knowing that your little friend isn't tearing up the house or your new shoes when you're gone! Also, be very consistent with your training. It's really easy to let a puppy get away with inappropriate behavior because they're so little and cute. But remember that if you let them do something while they're a puppy then they'll do it forever. I think it's wise to think about the finances of owning a dog. You never know what can happen. My dog has torn a nail off her paw (one trip to the emergency vet) as well as had a severe allergic reaction to shampoo from the groomer...both of those cost about 500 bucks each. DOn't let this discourage you, t's all worth it!!!

[honeychile]

Sounds so silly, but... my mother bought tons of toys for her Bichon (Buffy the Wonder Dog), and he never played with any of them.

Then, while she was eating some grapes, one fell onto the floor. Buffy batted it around, chased it, threw it up in the air - became a total puppy with it!

And that is how we learned that Buffy needed small toys, his size, not the regular sized toys most dogs use!

[winneythepooh7]

I also recommend crate training. My puppy knows the crate is his house and I also feel it gives me peace of mind when I am at work during the day or out for the evening knowing he isn't home tearing up the house. Plus he will "hold it" in the crate because he knows not to go where he sleeps. I was going to try paper training but so many people recommended against it because it could result in your dog feeling he can go on the rug at someone else's home, and I really didn't like a big wee-wee pad lying around my house, in my opinion, I think that looks gross. Just remember it takes time in the beginning, because puppies don't have control over their insides when they are so young. My pup is 9 months old now and never has accidents in the crate. On occasion he will still have an accident in the house but this is usually from my not paying attention to his needing to go out. I confess I haven't gotten him command trained yet, but I am planning on it in the near future. If I could afford it I would send him off to one of those doggie camps for one week where they do all the training for you. As for toys, they can get pricey so I recommend staying away from pet stores and just going to the 99-cents store. A good chew toy for puppies are pig ears or pig skin twists. PM me if you have any more questions

[AChiOAlumna]

When I had a puppy many moons ago, at night when we went to bed, she would start to cry. We learned to put an clock (the kind that actually "tick-tock" under her pillow in her bed. this would calm her down as she substituted the mother's heartbeat for the clock's ticking...

Worked like a charm!

[texas*princess]

Thanks so much for all the responses so far!!

So it sounds like crate training is the way to go. How exactly does it work? I found this: http://www.perfectpaws.com/crt.html which kind of explains the process... but it honestly confused me.

It says: "Be sure to understand the difference between temporarily confining your dog to a crate and long term confinement when you are not home. The major purpose of confinement when your are not home is to restrict mistakes to a small protected area. The purpose of crate training is quite the opposite. Short term confinement to a crate is intended to inhibit your dog from eliminating when confined, so that she will want to eliminate when released from confinement and taken to an appropriate area. Crate training also helps teach your dog to have bladder and bowel control. Instead of going whenever she feels like it, she learns to hold it and go at convenient scheduled times.

Crate training should not be abused, otherwise the problem will get drastically worse. The crate is not intended as a place to lock up the dog and forget her for extended periods of time. If your dog soils her crate because you left her there too long, the house training process will be set back several weeks, if not months.

Your dog should only be confined to a crate when you are at home."

Does this mean it would be bad to leave the dog in a crate while I'm at work? Obviously if it is a puppy at first it will have a hard time but after awhile it will learn to control it's bladder a little bit more. So if the dog soils her crate .. say while I'm at work, would that set progress back a lot? I'm really worried I will mess up the dog or something

And why would you confine a puppy to a crate while you're at home?

[kafromTN]

1st off the maximum amopunt of time a puppy should be in a crate is the age in months + 1 (i.e. a 4 month dog shuld be in the crate no longer than 5 hours at a time)
2nd the crate is wonderful as it builds a dog's independence,just make sure you get the puppy when you don't need much sleep[ b/c you will need to ignore the dog when you put him in the crate unless you hear the "bathroom whine" as opposed to the "I want you whine"
3rd dogs learn to love the crate, my chocolate labe prefers to sleep in his crate even when I'm home b/c that's where is he comfortable, his "blue blanket"
4th my dog learned very quickely to go outside to do his business b/c I kept him around me most of the time so I could tell when he started sniffing around at which point I would pick him up&run him outside and when he did his business I would praise him, soon there after he started goign to the door
5th make sure the crate is not too big for the dog, otherwise accidents in the crate are more likely, expect to buy 3-4 crates as the puppy gets bigger

just my $.01359494 worth
Mark

[winneythepooh7]

Mark is right. When I got my puppy, he was very small, only 4 lbs and 2 months old. When I went to work I would just put him in the kitchen and put newspaper down because I knew there was no way he could hold it in the crate for 8 hours, or even 4 or 5 if I came home to walk him. I made sure too that I did get him at a point in my life when I was able to take some time off from work in the beginning to be with him, and also, my position at the time allowed me to go home during lunch for an hour to be with him. When you get a crate, there is an extra piece to put in the middle to section off. This is so the puppy will be in a spot that is not bigger than him so he learns through your repeated walking him that it is not cool for him to go in this spot. If you don't use the sectioner, the crate is generally gonna be too big and he will still go inside the crate. It gets easier as the puppy gets older. Just remember as was mentioned here already, that very young pups do not sleep much when you first bring them home. I remember when mine was waking up like every hour on the hour. I guess it wouldn't be a big of deal if you had a big house and could put him on another floor, but in an apartment, you can forget about a solid night's sleep. Also, my dog wakes up to go out between 5:30 and 6 am every day. This is fine during the work week but can be a pain in the butt on weekends. Sometimes he will go back to sleep but not always so be prepared for that.

[texas*princess]

yay! thanks for all the great replies!

Does anyone have any recommendations on puppy products? (shampoos/puppy food/grooming supplies/products that can clean puppy accidents/anything else you can think of)? Or is that something that kinda depends on the breed?

[CUGreekgirl]

check out www.petfinder.com

They have a place where you can search for a particular breed of puppy.

They also have a message board (up near the top theres a place that says "messages" or something like that. There are several EXPERTS on there that can answer any questions you may have. You will learn more information on there than you ever thought possible!

[OtterXO]

Originally posted by texas*princess
yay! thanks for all the great replies!

Does anyone have any recommendations on puppy products? (shampoos/puppy food/grooming supplies/products that can clean puppy accidents/anything else you can think of)? Or is that something that kinda depends on the breed?

For accidents there is this stuff (I can't remember the name) that they sell at Petco and places like that which works wonders! Or the old standard of vinegar works also if they have an accident...be prepared for them!!!

[AOIIBrandi]

My dog refused to be crate trained, we had to go with gating him in the kitchen when we were away. I don't know why but he preferred the space. I didn't work when we got him so it was pretty easy to potty train him. He now goes and sits by the door when he wants to go out Be prepared puppies are like babies. You will be up with them in the middle of the night for the first couple of months. My dog still gets up at 6:30 AM no matter what - it is annoying on the weekends.

When you are looking for a Vet, if you don't already have one, I suggest you look for one that is AAHA certified (American Animal Hospital Association). This is a voluntary certification so you hope that vets who have this hold themselves to a higher standard. If you move a lot, like I do, then this makes it easy to find a Vet in your new area as well.

[MiamiADPi]

I have some interesting crate-training stories....

We got my puppy when she was 10 weeks old. Her crate was in our living room and we'd put her in there anytime we left the house (or pretended to leave the house) that way she couldn't get into any mischief. At first she hated it and would cry all night, but someone told us about putting an alarm clock in there (like a big ben) because the ticking motion under a blanket would remind her of laying against her mother. She loved it, as long as the alarm clock and her blanket were there she would sit for hours. For her first birthday (July 4th) we got her a bigger crate and since she's such a baby and hates fireworks we put it in our basement with the door open so she couldn't hear the noise. When we came home that night she had CHEWED the plastic pan and somehow managed to squeeze through the tiny opening. We bought a replacement pan and moved her crate back to the spot it used to be. I guess she hated it because it reminded her of the fireworks, so she chewed her way out of that one too. When we got home she was laying next to the chewed up plastic outside the crate. The next day I got ready to leave for school and my mom took out her keys, the dog ran to the spot where her crate was and laid right next to it. 7 years later, all we have to do is say "in, Amber" or just jingle our keys and she goes to her spot. (granted if I was a dog, I'd want to go there too with her big bed pillow and mountains of toys. haha..... although at night she'd rather sleep in MY BED)

Best of luck & enjoy!! There's nothing like a puppy.

[texas*princess]

Originally posted by CUGreekgirl
check out www.petfinder.com

They have a place where you can search for a particular breed of puppy.

They also have a message board (up near the top theres a place that says "messages" or something like that. There are several EXPERTS on there that can answer any questions you may have. You will learn more information on there than you ever thought possible!

CUGreekgirl thanks for the heads up on the message board there

[valkyrie]

Here's my obligatory adoption post -- I highly recommend adopting a puppy or dog from an animal shelter or rescue organization rather than buying a puppy from a breeder. There are tons and tons of animals out there who need homes, and many of them are pure breeds. Shelters tend to fill up with puppies and kittens during the spring.

If you search online for breeds you're interested in and "rescue" you should be able to find rescue organizations -- for example, here is one for Bichons. I plan to adopt a greyhound someday, and will go through greyhound rescue.