I Have a Puppy!!!!!

[msteddom]

I never thought I was a dog person until I met my dog. The family that lives across the street from us adopted this puppy a few weeks ago, and he kept getting out of the yard when they would leave for work every day. Well both my mother and I have been home when he has gotten out, so we have taken him in on several occasions until his owners returned home. The little guy completely stole our hearts while we were looking after him.

Well finally his barking and escaping got to be too much, so the family decided to return him to the adoption agency (they were still on their trial period), but my family has completely fallen in love with him, so we offered to take him. I have a dog for the first time in my life and I couldn't be happier. His name is Jake and he is three or four months old. He is a mutt, but you can see that there is a good dose of yellow lab in him. He is not housebroken yet, and cannot stand to be left alone, but I am hoping that with a lot of love and patience we can teach him to overcome these. We now have him on our own trial period. I really hope everything turns out alright, it would break my heart to have to give him up! If anyone has any tips on housebreaking or how to ease seperation anxiety I would love to hear them!!!!!

 

[I Love Tigger]

We got our first puppy Izzy in April, and at first we wondered if we would cope with house training and what would he do when we left him. Hes now a happy contented 7 month old and hes just wonderful.

We never told him off if he had an accident inside, we kept him confined to our kitchen though, to make clean ups easier at first. We made a really fuss if he went outside, both with a treat and lots of praise, but if he went inside we ignored him. He soon learnt that it was much better to go outside and it wasn't long before we had a housetrained puppy!! Obviously all dogs are different, but its how we did it.

When we only left him at first for a very short time, even five or ten minutes so he knew we were coming back and gradually increasing the time until he was quite happy being left a couple of hours. The longest we ever leave him is four hours occasionally, and we always make sure hes had a good walk or play session first so hes happy to curl up and sleep while we get back.

I hope you and your new puppy work out fine, as he must be a bit confused just now and needs a stable routine so he knows what he supposed to do.

Hope this helps

Bev & Izzy

 

[Tuffcookie]

Our first dog was a part Lab mix and a stray we took in. He turned out to be the best dog! He was about 4 mos old when we took him in and completely housebroken (how could we have asked for more?) so I didn't have to go thru that with him. Just be careful not to leave him unattended in the house when no one is around, unless he's crated. Labs (or any young pup for that matter) will chew on any and everything! It is your job to protect him from himself! Did I mention crating? It's not being cruel to the pup. They really can get into a lot of things that can hurt them! Congratulations on your new family member!

TC

 

[SillyOldBear66]

HAPPY NEW PUPPY!!!!!

Pictures??

 

[Dan Murphy]

That is wonderful, msteddom. Puppies/dogs can be so much comfort and bring so much happiness over the years, and you to them. Congratulations.

Not sure if you can at his age now, but a wonderful way is crate training. We (my son, Vince, actually, though at out home) has a Rottweiler, that he crate trained. It worked wondefully, and today, that is his comfort zone. When he wants to relax, or 'get away from it all', he ALWAYS goes to his crate (a big one). He loves it.

Several links on crate training

 

[Pin Wizard]

Congratulations! Where's his picture? Just last weekend I had my puppy and my son with me for the housebreaking class at Pet's Mart. She definitely stressed the crate! Dogs have a packing instinct, and they feel secure in the crate. I've had my puppy 5 months now, and just recently he started going in his crate during the day when he wants to nap. The door is open all the time while we're home, and he's in there with the door closed while we're out of the house and at night. Actually, the trainer said that any time no one is right with him, put him in there and close the door. Sometimes I'm in the kitchen and he's not. The housebreaking has improved one zillion percent!! Any time he goes near the door, I take him out. I try to get him to jump on the door, but sometimes that doesn't happen. Good luck with the little one!

Also, your story reminds me of my cousins. They had a German Shepherd in the neighborhood who was always outside when they came home from school in the afternoon. This dog followed them to their house every day, and they would play with him and then take him back home. Finally, the owners told my aunt and uncle that they may as well keep the dog because he was always at their house rather than their own. So they took him and just loved him to bits!

 

[nativetxn]

Congratulations on the new addition to your family. I will let the experts here help you with the housebreaking question but if Jake has lab blood rest assured that once he is trained he will be perfect.

We adopted a shepherd/retriever mix about 13 years ago. She has never had an accident in the house except for one occasion when she was ill and we were not home.

Be prepared, though, our Sassy could not bear to be left alone and she ate a couch, a pair of cowboy boots, one pair of dress shoes and a stuffed bear, on different occasions. I would get a crate if I were you and crate Jake while you run to the store or leave for short periods. Once he is secure in his new home and is sure that you won't abandon him I'm sure he will get over this separation anxiety. It took our Sassy girl about six months but she got over it.

Now, where's the photo?

 

[msteddom]

Thanks for the advise everyone!!!! I don't have pictures because I don't have a digital camera or a scanner, but I'm sure I'll find a way to show Jake off to all of you. I am proud to report that he hasn't had an accident in the house for over 24 hours. He seems to be learning quickly where the door to the yard is. Thanks again, and Jake says hi!!


Melissa

 

[browneyes]

Congrats on your new puppy. I'm not sure what to suggest on the separation anxiety thing. I suffer from that everytime I go out the door.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I want to echo Dan's crate training idea. It is the easiest way to train a puppy. At 4 months, he is a bit old, and most are housetrained by that time, but it certainly is NOT too late.

Put him on a schedule. Let him get used to sleeping in the crate and he should become used to it as his home and bed. When you are trying to housebreak, turn him outside to relieve himself only. If you allow him to play out there, he will have to go again just as soon as he comes in and changes locations. Once he has relieved himself, praise him and use a word you want that means "go now". I use "hurry", but you might use potty or anything else. Once he is done, take him in and play with him for about 15-20 minutes. Then take him out again, as he will probably need to relieve himself again. The second time he comes in, put him in the crate for a "nap" and a break. After a couple hours, start the process over again. The most important thing is consistancey. He will get the idea quickly if you are consistant. Be sure you feed him on a regular schedule as well, and take him out to do both jobs after he is done. You will get a feel for when he needs to relieve himself. The next step is to get him to signal when he needs to go out, but first you need to establish only relieving outside.

BTW, I am a breeder/exhibitor, so ask any questions you want.

 

[KaterBell]

CONGRATS on your new puppy!!! I wish you the best of luck, and most importantly, lots of patience, when training your new best friend!

If you can, please post some pics! Give him a big kiss from me and my pug.