So... my son Sam has been BEGGING for a puppy for about 2 years(he's 10 1/2)...
So... a week ago Monday I had sent an email(a few days before to a rescue scenario of Cockapoo puppies and I was reluctant but when I got the call Monday of last week, I went back and forth with my husband and we decided that we should go (my son and I) that night to check them out before they were gone.
Needless to say, we came home with CHAI T.(that's Chai Tavill)
She's a 3 lb Cockapoo and will be 10 weeks Thursday. Her bday is
11/11/10(very cool).
AND my life has been turned upside down...
I scrambled to read all of the recommended book friend's told me about by down loading on my IPAD through Kindle and ordering from Amazon.
I get the training... I get what needs to happen...
I DO NOT GET the TIME FRAME.
She's really good, frankly.
Not sure how long I should let her be in the crate in the day time to get work done...
OR let her play(alone)in an enclosed gated are attached to the door of my studio- so I can keep an eye...
If she sleeps during the day more... I imagine it will throw off her nighttime sleeping:
7-10:30,11-7...which frankly, works for me...
I know I can't have everything but I want a well adjusted, well behaved puppy/dog and not sure where to draw the line or not neglect!
Babies were tough but I have experience with them... puppies????
Not sure!
When will things normalize?
Is normal over?
Opinions are requested!!!
Realistically, a couple of months...and even then, the puppy stage can last a full year. Your world is upside down & so is the puppy's. Nothing happens over night, but eventually you'll all adjust and the puppy will prove that she can be trusted to be unsupervised.
ReplyDeleteOkay, not exactly a puppy, but when my daughter was potty training - I was at my wits end. I thought I would be changing diapers/accident undies etc. for the rest of my life. My friends all told me, don't worry - they're all potty trained by the time the head to college, hahaha. Before you know it, it happened and well before preschool - it just seemed like forever.
I think your son is old enough to be responsible for cleaning up any messes that occur on his watch so that you can get some work done in the studio after he gets home from school. Good luck!
Puppies are easier than kids, you can crate train a puppy. Your life will be normal, but it will be the normal life of a dog owner.
ReplyDeleteShe should spend all night in the crate and you should use it for house training but I wouldn't keep her in there for more than a few hours at a time during the day when someone is home and able to watch her.
Let her play in the yard after she has done her business. Let the weather help you decide.
Puppies sleep alot, she'll grow out of this as she becomes an adolescent. If she's not sleeping through the night try to keep her awake but clam for a few hours before bed time.
Email me if you have more questions and good luck.
My wife breeds and shows English Cockers so we have been through this a few times.It's easier to teach a dog to potty outside than it is to teach them not to go inside.Use lots of praise and occasional treats for success. (Works with humans too!)Dogs can sleep 20 hrs a day so I wouldn't worry about a few hours in the crate.It's their den not their prison.Always outside directly from crate.There are lots of good training books and your vet may even have some free booklets from pet food manufacturers. Good Luck.
ReplyDeleteWe've been training our puppy. General rule for the crate is she can be in there 1 hour per month old (a 5 month old can be in there for 5 hrs). So you increase it as time goes on. They really like being in their crates- they're den animals. We always give her a treat when she goes in- so she's excited to go in there. If we ever try to leave her out of her crate while we're gone (or just on a different floor) for maybe 15 or even 60 minutes- she hates it. She'll spend the entire time barking. She much prefers her crate- it's comforting. I was in my studio in the basement, and tried to leave her out- she just barked and barked and barked (couldn't actually hear me). When I went upstairs, she immediately ran to her crate because she wanted me to put her in there.
ReplyDeleteThere have been problems with accidents- certain parts of the house (we have a pretty open floor plan) where she can have some privacy, so she'd always have accidents in those spots. It really started happening after it got super cold and snowy. So we just started closing off those areas so she had nowhere to hide! It's worked really well. She rarely has any accidents now. It's usually our fault for not picking up on her signals when she does have an accident.
Well Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteAll the above posts offer excellent advice. Our dogs love the crate and often gravitate to that space on their own for personal time outs. They never resist it- in fact they learned the command "Go to your room" (said in sing-song, not mean) and they head right in...we always reward with a small treat/kibble as they do so. Don't worry too much about schedule, the dog will adjust to you. That said,regular bathroom breaks are needed for the first 6 months...the dogs gain control very quickly.
Remember to enjoy!! She is adorable and I love the name!!
:)
It won't be much different than having kids - you probably didn't know much about them either until you had yours and then you learned as you went along. I would suggest obedience training just as soon as possible - it will, without a doubt, help you enjoy your new family member more and it will also help get the dog socialized (used to being around other dogs without fighting).
ReplyDeletesoooo cute :) All i Know is that when we raised our puppies, you get to one year and you are relieved :)
ReplyDeletehi judi,
ReplyDeletei have to say that my blog chronicled our rescuing a dog for quite some time. it took way too long for me and it's really not over. she shat in the foyer just last week and we still have the living room barricaded. it's getting to the point now where i've grown to love her but trust her? no way in hell. we got her for sofia and sofia's in school all day and as for standing in the back yard every night before bed with her on a leash waiting from her to do her business in the freezing cold and watching her sniff every blade of grass or flake of snow before doing the deed got old the first week we had her. good luck! of course we didn't do the crate and we should have.
Love the advice guys... I am like a sponge! I am doing crate training and it seems to be working... The weather sucks. She basically poops and wees in our gravel driveway and some of the snow meltint could practically drown her... She trying to eat mulch and leaves and rocks!
ReplyDeleteMore snow is coming!i had really planned on doing this in the spring!
Jim- curmudgeonly? Not you! You AKWAYS CRACK ME UP!
Yeah, I swear by the crate. Emily is right.. 1 hr for every month old. (That's essentially how long they can hold it) Take him right outside when he comes out of the crate and praise him. And there are patterns you'll recognize.. like after he's had a real good chew on a bone/nylabone/kong, etc, he'll most likely have to poop.
ReplyDelete..but you prolly know that :)
A book that I always swore by was "Good Dog, Great Owners".. can't remember the author's name, but it's excellent.
Such a cute puppy.. :)
I'm a new follower to your blog as of today...puppies chew A LOT! so anything you want to keep and not have teeth marks in...put out of his way! LOL...I was constantly saying no! just like you would to a child and they also pee A LOT needless to say I invested in a floor cleaner...just when you thought they would never learn, they do and they grow out of their bad habits and into wonderful companions...Jennifer oh, I also bought a baby play area fence and let him play in that so I could keep an eye on him...I would crate him when I went somewhere and when it was time for bed...hope this helps
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