My new puppy is home--Meet Mickey!!!!

[Shugardrawers]

He is adorable! I wouldn't rely too much on his tempremant right now. He's in a new place and trying to figure out his place in the pack. He's probably a bit timid right now. In a few weeks you'll get a better picture of his personality. May I recommend a few books you REALLY REALLY need to get?

How To House Train Your Dog In 7 Days (don't remember the author's name but you can get it on Amazon.com) It WILL take longer than 7 days but the method they teach is the same method I have used with great success many times. I've recommended it to many disers who've said it worked great for them too.

Good Owners, Great Dogs, A training manual for humans and their canine companions by Brian Kilcommons. He's THE expert. In fact, he's the doggie whisperer IMO.

Surviving Your Dog's Adolescence by Carol Lea Benjamin it will get you through that difficult no longer cute puppy stage. Dogs hit their teenage years as early as 5 mo and stay in that stage up to 2 1/2 or 3 years of age. A large percentage of dogs surrendered to shelters are in that stage. Learn to deal with it before he gets to it.

Very VERY important, establish your dominance and position as the Alpha dog NOW. It will make training and life for everyone much easier. Remember YOU are the parent and he is the child. Expect obedience just as you would from your children. Don't take his cuteness as an excuse! All 3 books will teach you how.

 

[Serena]

Awww, he's adorable.

 

[wdw4life]

Congratulations on your new puppy, he is so cute!

 

[ckret01]

Awwwwww How adorable. Love the name and love the Mickey on his nose

 

[shep]

Cute puppy...

 

[patsvette]

Good luck with micky,cute pup.Oh those puppy years im glad those are over.

 

[lynetteSC]

TOooo cute! Good luck with him

 

[Aimeedyan]

Oh, he's cute! Enjoy him while he's sweet and wellmannered =) Harley was that way for a few weeks =)

 

[denisem]

He's the sweetest! Great nose.

 

[catsrule]

Mickey is very handsome and I would love to rub his belly!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

So cute! Best of luck to you...

 

[Bracho]

A great looking puppy and a wonderful name on top of it... CONGRATS!! and on a more personal note, it's great to hear you got it from a rescue.. I wish more people did that.

I know the puppy is in for a wonderful life....

 

[MariettaC]

What a cute, cute puppy. Lucky you and puppy.

 

[poochie]

Simply adorable, and the hidden Mickey is perfect. Talk about pre destined to belong to a Dis'er.

 

[Big V]

Very cute puppy!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

A great looking puppy and a wonderful name on top of it... CONGRATS!! and on a more personal note, it's great to hear you got it from a rescue.. I wish more people did that.

I know the puppy is in for a wonderful life....

Thanks!

The story was sad...someone found the box with him and his littermates on the side of the road and called the rescue group instead of surrendering them to a shelter .

 

[MsDisney23]

Awww, he is so cute, good luck with him. I like his nose as well. Hello Mickey

 

[avdeane]

Awwwww Mickey is just adorable!!! Congrats on your new furbaby!!!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I love him! Oh, that face!

Some puppies are just sweet and it lasts till adulthood. Really, my Monty was always kind of cuddly and still is at almost 2 years old. My new puppy is the same way so I hope that lasts until adulthood too. I feel like a lot of how puppies wind up behaving is in how you raise them. Obviously some genetics play into it, but for the most part, a puppy is going to grow into a good dog if he's raised with attention and love and good training.

Though, once he gets used to you and your home and feels comfortable, he may be a little more hyperactive. He'll start exploring, so you may want to keep him confined to one or two puppy proof rooms for now or keep him on a leash attached to you, though a people friendly dog likes to stay around it's people anyway, usually.

The first thing you need to do right away is get him to know you are in charge. Dogs are pack animals, and most are better behaved and happier when they understand their place in the pack. With mine, I'll sometimes stare them down until they roll over into a submissive position or lay down or I'll roll them onto their backs and pin them until they go limp, just so they remember, I'm in charge. Training is a lot easier with a dog who knows you are the alpha and he's not. Also, positive reinforcement works better and faster than negative. The only form of negative reinforcement we use with our dogs is a spray bottle with lukewarm water.

If you are having a hard time not using your hands, try to carry a spray bottle or keep one near you at all times when you are working with the dog. When he does something you don't want him to do, spray him, instead of grabbing for him.


Some things I find to be invaluable to have around the house while training a puppy:

* Bitter Apple Spray. Nasty spray that tastes like bitter apples. Safe to put on skin, furniture, carpets, anything and when the dog bites/chews on it, he gets a tangy, gross taste and usually does not chew on the item again. After a while he learns that chewing on, say table legs, is a bad thing to do.

* Wee Wee pads (or something similiar). Depending on how old your puppy is, these are good to keep around in case he can't make it to the outside during the period of housetraining. Good to keep near the door he goes out from.

* A good cleaner like Natures Miracle that gets out puppy accident odors.

* LOTS of good, solid chew toys. Kong and other hard rubber toys work best for serious chewers. I learned the hard way with Monty, that toys made of any other material just don't last more than a few minutes w/ my dogs.

* Clickers and training treats. Some dogs respond better to the click training method than others, but it basically works on Pavlovs principle of a sound being associated with something good. I keep a pocketful of training treats broken into even smaller peices on me, as well as the clickers. When I see my dogs doing something I want to encourage (such as just sitting quietly, or laying down) I click the clicker and give them a peice. They catch on pretty fast. I've only had Dodger for 2 weeks, and he already knows sit, down and stay because of this.

* People with children already usually have these but....those covers you can put into electrical outlets not in use. Prevents dogs from poking around in them.

* Several spray bottles full of lukewarm water. When puppy does bad, like head over towards a wire he may chew, spray him with the water. Most dogs, even dogs who LIKE water, hate to be squirted with it. We used this to get Monty to stop going near wires.

And not really something to keep around the house, but...something that has been incredibly helpful with Monty is frequent outings to different places. Gets them used to the car early on. Gets them used to being calm around different people. From the time Monty (and now Dodger) was 3 months old, we were taking him in the car at least once a week, preferably more. We'd take him on walks to places where he might see other dogs like the pet supply store. We take him to other towns for walks, including busy tourist heavy areas where he encounters lots of people. We found that doing all these things with him, has helped him to be a calm dog and he is tremedously good with people, esp. kids. Most JRTs are not like that and I really think it has to do with how much socialization he's had.

Good luck with him. He's an absolute doll. I love his hidden mickey nose.

Sheri

 

[perdidobay]

What a cutie! He's so sweet.