Puppy schedule help, please

[SebastianCat]

We just got our new puppy yesterday. She's a 12 week old miniature schnauzer. Now that she's been here a full day, I'm going to ask online what my kids have asked me today..........."What are we supposed to DO with her all day?" :)

 

Seriously, if you have raised a puppy, could you give me some idea of your schedule? Did you give your puppy "crate time" while your kids did school? How much time did you play with him/her during the day? How much time is reasonable for her to spend in the crate just to give the kids and myself time to do other things?

 

When I google topics like this, all I get is answers to the question, "What do I do with my puppy when I'm at work all day long?" and that's NOT our situation at all. However, we don't have 24 hours a day to devote to playing with her. I guess I'm wondering what a reasonable schedule looks like that balances the puppy's needs with the rest of the families' needs. I don't want to shortchange her the attention and love that she needs, but I don't want to spoil her with too much attention, if that's possible.

 

Thanks!

[AngieW in Texas]

Those first few weeks were pretty rough.

 

We got our puppy at 10 weeks in mid-September.

 

I made sure to take her on a long walk first thing in the morning. I started off with much shorter walks, but now our regular walk is 1.75-2 miles. We MUST walk every morning.

 

After the walk, I feed her and then she is fine on her own for a while. I teach a class in my home on Monday mornings and on Thursday mornings and she is in the same room as my class. I give her a frozen bone to chew on outside right at the start of each class and that usually keeps her occupied for about 45 minutes. After that, I let her back in the house and she is usually okay for the rest of the class.

 

At lunch, I make sure to play fetch with her or take her for a short walk. About 20 minutes of this will get her all set to be calm for the next several hours.

 

When she was very little, she needed another play/walk session around 5pm.

 

We go to the dog park every weekend and hang out there for 1-1.5 hours. She loves that and will find another dog her size to wrestle with most of the time. Other times she just runs.

 

She's a lot easier now that she has all of her adult teeth.

[Elinor Everywhere]

When we got our puppy last year, we found that she slept a lot. We could take short breaks from school and somebody would play with her for 15 minutes. After that I'd take her outside and try and get her to go potty, then give her a chew toy. She would hang out in my lap and chew, then fall asleep. Repeat throughout the day. My kids were teenagers, though, so it didn't seem like a big time sink.

[RoughCollie]

Post a photo, please!

 

http://www.dogstarda.../free-downloads

 

You have to join Dogstar Daily to get this now, but it is free: After You Get Your Puppy, by Dr. Ian Dunbar. I think this book is invaluable. If you don't want to read it online, you can buy it on Amazon. http://www.amazon.co... get your puppy

 

She's young and little, so she'll probably have to go out a lot, like every hour or so. Her day should consist of sleep, go out, play and/or eat, go out, sleep, go out... over and over again. In the middle of the night, after she goes out (1-3 times), she will likely want to play. Do not do this or you will never sleep again.

 

Aidan liked to play fetch when he was a puppy. We played until he wanted to stop. He had a bunch of toys. No latex toys because he chewed the nose off the one he had.

 

Your puppy probably bites and nips quite a bit -- here's a useful article about how to nip that in the bud: http://www.dogforums...stops-here.html

 

We crate-trained Aidan, then got him an ex-pen to hang out in, set up based on Dr. Dunbar's recommendations. Our crate went inside the ex-pen, and a tarp protected the floor/carpet. http://www.amazon.co...UTF8&psc=1 Our

 

Until she has all her shots, be wary of taking her out in public or to meet other puppies, so you will minimize the chances of her contracting parvo. http://pets.webmd.co...vovirus-in-dogs

 

A good place to go for advice: You don't have to join, but there is a ton of good information on here about dogs. http://www.dogforums.com/

 

Remember to get her microchipped at some point.

 

If you register her with the AKC. they will give you free pet insurance for a month. The idea is that you will buy it later, but they don't ask for credit card info.

 

Also, food. Go here to find out which are the healthiest foods for your dog: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/ . I like 5 star, grain free food, but 4-star is okay.

[Pawz4me]

She's young and little, so she'll probably have to go out a lot, like every hour or so. Her day should consist of sleep, go out, play and/or eat, go out, sleep, go out... over and over again.

 

 

Totally agree, except I always err on the side of caution and take young puppies out every 30 to 45 minutes. Especially smaller breeds/mixes. The more chances they have to be successful the quicker they understand the concept of "going" outside. So it's a good time investment. And by the time she's about four months old you can lengthen the time between potty trips.

 

Don't worry about crating her for an hour or two at a time while you get things done during the day. Learning to be content hanging out alone is a very important thing for dogs to know, so consider it part of her training.

[RoughCollie]

Also, forgot to add you can look up bell training for a puppy. We put sleigh bells on a doorknob for our collie. Others use bells they can hang close to the floor for little dogs. On the way out the door, you swipe the bell. Eventually, your dog will learn to ring the bell to let you know she wants to go out. My collie learned right away. Aidan never learned. Instead he puts his head in my lap to signal that he needs to go out (or more water in his bowl, or to play, or to sit on the couch next to me, or to look out the window with me in case a cat strolls by).

 

Another thing, immediately (within 1-3 seconds) of your puppy relieving herself *outside*, say something (I say " go potty") and give her a small treat. Before you know it, you will have a dog who relieves herself on command. This has to be reinforced from time to time throughout the dog's life, of course. It comes in very handy when you are in a hurry or have stopped for a potty break during a trip. Whatever you chose for a command, make sure you aren't going to be embarrassed if strangers are standing around and can hear you.

 

Clean up accidents in the house with something like Nature's Miracle. It removes the odor you can't smell, so the dog won't continue to use that spot. Aidan, of course, was the exception to that rule. When we had to start leaving the bathroom door closed at all times because he went in there with the boys and peed when they did, he moved his spot to right outside the bathroom door. Nature's Miracle didn't persuade him to stop doing that ... nothing did. One day, he just stopped on his own.

 

Don't disclipline the puppy for having accidents in the house. Just take her outside, and clean up the mess, and make a note of how frequently she needs to go.

 

Sorry if this is too much info. I can't stop talking about dogs tonight.

[kbpaulie]

Haven't read all the posts, but somethign that is important is keeping the puppy on a leash during the day and attaching that to your waste. Google "umbilical cord training" or "tethering". I think these are key to letting puppy know who is in charge and let them not stress out. And yes, crate time is important to them. The puppy is stil little. If you had a baby you'd give it soem down time adn would't stimluate it all day so be sure to give it a break too.