Cammie Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 We brought home an adorable Lab puppy yesterday. Kids are thrilled as am I. I am sure there are many experienced dog owners in the hive - so do you have any tried and true tips for us? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 If you do not have one, get a crate, and a good book on dog training. Puppy will need to stay in crate mostly at first, as you train him not to pee (etc.) indoors. Once he has "gone" outside it is safe to have him loose and playing in the house for 15 minutes or so - then back to the crate. Note, too, that like any baby he will need to be taken out once or twice during the night to pee for the first few months. If your kids are old enough make them be in charge of this ;) Have fun! Our Lab. puppy is 4 years old now. Ok, not a puppy anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 If you do not have one, get a crate, and a good book on dog training. Puppy will need to stay in crate mostly at first, as you train him not to pee (etc.) indoors. Once he has "gone" outside it is safe to have him loose and playing in the house for 15 minutes or so - then back to the crate. Note, too, that like any baby he will need to be taken out once or twice during the night to pee for the first few months. If your kids are old enough make them be in charge of this ;) Have fun! Our Lab. puppy is 4 years old now. Ok, not a puppy anymore. Yup... crates and Tomato staking your puppy... Easier not to get into bad habits.. than to fix them:-) Carrie:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cammie Posted October 11, 2009 Author Share Posted October 11, 2009 Yup... crates and Tomato staking your puppy... Easier not to get into bad habits.. than to fix them:-) Carrie:-) What is tomato staking??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Well, for dogs.... leash on dog when out of crate (and your hand at the other end:-) ... for a while... till you can trust them... So that they can be out of the crate... but with you not distracted:-) Carrie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Get Cesar Millan's newest book, immediately if not sooner. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adams101 Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Make sure you get an X-large crate. He may fit in a smaller one now, but won't for long! Save some money and get the largest one to start with. Our lab is about 100 lbs. and still loves to be in his crate.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Make sure you get an X-large crate. He may fit in a smaller one now, but won't for long! Save some money and get the largest one to start with. Our lab is about 100 lbs. and still loves to be in his crate.:001_smile: Yes! We got the biggest crate possible for our lab puppy, it came with a divider so we could portion off most of the crate while he was small - you want just enough room for them to turn around and lay down. Too much room and they can pee in a corner, away fro their sleeping spot. You are crating them as part of "toilet training" (holding it until outdoors.) PS four-yr-old Captain hasn't used the crate in years, now - he is a good boy. We only bring up the crate from the basement now if we have to isolate a sick CAT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st_claire Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Other people said crate and tethering, those are 100% good advice. Here is a great article on socialization (yes the s word is for dogs too lol) http://www.americanboxerclub.org/socialize-litter.html Anything you want them to be comfortable with later, start now. I regret not doing some things with him when he was a baby. Some things: Nail clipping and grinding Bath Ear cleaning Eye drops Take him tons of places. We did this and his confidence is great now. Make him a chew toy addict. Invest in lots and lots of chew toys and treat dispensers, it will save you money in the long wrong because he won't damage other things. Build him a dog run. I didn't think we would need this, but now it is getting cold I we need it lol. If you can get it done now he will be used to it. Read lots of book and watch lots of videos on training. The first things to teach in training are: focus, self-control, crate, sit-stand-down, no pulling on the leash, wait, and no jumping. Get a clicker and use food rewards. Be sure to put in place pack structure. He should not be allowed on furniture or in bedrooms. He should eat after you, in his crate, after sitting. You go first on stairs and through doors. All his toys are your toys, he owns nothing. I know this sounds harsh, but he is a dog not a person. If you are not a strong pack leader, he fears for the pack and feels he must step up to the plate. Putting that kind of pressure on a puppy is cruel. Sign him up for puppy classes. We did kindergarten and gymboree and I highly recommend you do both if you can. Use a high quality food. It will save you money on vet bills later. Get pet insurance. It's good risk-management. Get him microchipped. That's all for now. Our little guy is 6 months today. GSD cross. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions. Happy to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 LOL, you'll get a really wide number of responses. I can't stand Millan. I do allow dogs on couches, in bedrooms and on beds. I don't use the crate a lot. It's great in the car, a good trick to teach them & for some it becomes a wonderful quiet space. It's also a good back up to tethering & supervision but as far as I'm concerned, it's lazy dog rearing. The few things I'd like to tell you: -dogs and puppies are smarter than we think -dogs communicate with us & each other constantly. Knowing dog calming signals can alert you to when your dog is over-stressed (& confused by what the heck you want). You can also use them TO the dog to calm down a dog who's a little nervous or uncertain. See Turid Rugaas' site -clicker training rocks -begin as you mean to go on -it's easy to train dogs; it's very hard to train people - esp. when there's a whole family of them Dogstar Daily has excellent FREE resources for download. On the middle of the top banner is the training textbook. Also check out the downloads section: behaviour blueprints and the poignant poster "All shelter dogs were once normal puppies" - messing things up early on can lead to dogs who end up surrendered to shelters. Dr. Ian Dunbar's book Before You Get Your Puppy is available free in its entirety on the site (in the downloads). I know you've already got your pup but I think you should still have a look. If you want to see just how smart puppies are, check out puppy prodigies video clips: http://www.puppyprodigies.com/VideoClips.htm They train pups from very early infancy to be service dogs. They're clicker trained. Puppies are capable of so much more than we give them credit for. Dr Sophia Yin has a whole bunch of free training videos on her site: http://www.drsophiayin.com/dog_movies.php She also talks about the science of training. Her site is called Leadership without Force. She has an entire section devoted to discussion of dominance theories. And if you want a methodical, all laid out & free clicker training program, Sue Ailsby offers one here: http://www.dragonflyllama.com/%20DOGS/%20Dog1/levels.html Sue is a dog trainer & judge, not a website designer so the site is cheezy but the info is solid gold. It's not commercial, it's all free. There is a yahoogroup where people talk about their work through the levels & Sue often pops in with advice and tips. Enjoy your puppy! And take note of my sig line :D:D:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Hey Hornblower:-) What nice videos! I didn't mean to say that I think that you should leave the puppy in the crate all the time, BTW, just when you can't be tethered with it.... When I watch these, I kinda just wish that we had ours from the time he was a puppy... he would have been SO cute! And, he's smart, so he would have been easier to train from the start:-) Carrie:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlychan Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 I do use a crate to help train but would not leave the puppy in there all the time. I use it at night (until they can be trusted) and if we leave the house. The rest of the time I learn the puppies cues. We just picked up our 6 week old German Shepherd yesterday. I already know he lets out a little whine when he needs to go. He goes potty about 10 minutes after eating. We just take him out very regularly. He does seem to know he needs to go outside. Our beagle certainly wasn't that easy but we did the same thing with her. You do need to be the pack leader and do not let the puppy bark, bite, or in any way be aggressive with the kids. It may be cute now but not when the lab is full grown. You have to let the puppy know that the kids (and everything else in the house) are YOURS. It really does work if you are dominant. Good luck with the puppy. We are having a blast with ours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolally Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 I had a hard time with this because I'm a softy when it comes to puppies and I thought it was cruel. But, after having a few dogs now, I'm able to see it as a tool that helps your doggie stay out of trouble--and is very humane when you use it properly. Especially when they're little, its a safe, snug place to rest (seems like they sleep all day!)--and if they get used to it right off the bat, it never seems like a punishment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cammie Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 Wow..thanks guys! The problem is, I am in Bangalore. As far as I can tell, obedience schools and trainers exist to create guard dogs and security dogs, not family pets. So I think I am on my own on this. I will have to order some books and have a family member bring them over but by then...it might be too late! I will check out all the websites and try and see what I can find here to help me out. Luckily a good friend has a golden retriever whose crate is not being use -we plan to pick it up today and start using it. Thanks again!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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