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Old May 23rd, 2011, 04:43 PM
Sunaj52 Sunaj52 is offline
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New puppy owner

Hey everyone,

My girlfriend and I got a new pug/beagle cross puppy last weekend. She's super sweet (when she's not trying to bite me) and house breaking seems to be going decently well (or so I'm told). My only issue so far is I'm finding myself extremely stressed by the new addition to our home. The day after we got our puppy, my girlfriend came down with the flu and is still not 100%, so I'm doing an majority of the puppy training and housework. As said, I'm pretty stressed out, but I know that things are going to get better. Any tips for me not having a complete break down until everything starts settling down?

Thanks!
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Old May 23rd, 2011, 09:38 PM
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Welcome to pets.ca, Sunaj52 .

When we had our first litter of foster pups, I could have sworn it was just like having newborn babies in the house. The only exception is that with pups, it only lasts a couple of months, if that, whereas with skin babies, it can go on for years. You can take comfort in that . If it's lack of sleep that's your biggest problem right now, try to nap when the puppy naps until your girlfriend starts to feel better.

Love to see pics of your 'baby' .
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Old May 24th, 2011, 07:07 AM
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just think of all the pleasure you'll have once the work is over...and believe it or not..you'll probably miss it.....if you want to calm down before you have a nervous breakdown...put the pup on your lap and pet him.....nothing like a cuddly pup to put you in the right spirit
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Old May 24th, 2011, 09:04 AM
Sunaj52 Sunaj52 is offline
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hey guys,

Thanks for the words of encouragement, I know that things will settle down soonish . I'll see what I can do about getting pictures of the pup on here.
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Old May 24th, 2011, 11:19 AM
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Maybe if you can tell us exactly what it is this tiny puppy is doing to cause you such stress we could help you more? Having such a little thing entirely depend on your good graces can be stressful - for the pup too. Can you imagine how the pup must feel to all of a sudden have to do things these new beings in it's universe wants it to do? Going outdoors to pee/poo? No biting? Only eat the food these beings put down for it? Heavens!! Can you just imagine what must be going on in this little ones' head? And you are stressed out?

I'm going to give you some reading to do. Yay!! But in all seriousness, the more you know about puppies and their idiosyncrasies, the better. For you and the pup.

http://puppycare101.com/

http://www.101-dog-training-tips.com...ng/index.shtml

http://www.animalforum.com/dpuppy101.htm

http://www.the-puppy-dog-place.com

That should give you a good base to start with.

Ummm, you and your girlfriend aren't planning on having kids any time soon, are you? 'Cause if you're feeling stress with one tiny pup - you're in for a whole new experience when it comes to the skin kids!!!
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Old May 24th, 2011, 07:22 PM
Sunaj52 Sunaj52 is offline
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Ha....yeah, not going to be even thinking about kids for awhile. I guess whats draining me the most is her constant energy. I'll play with her for about 30 minutes after her trips outside, but alot of the time thats not enough....and after a full day of work it gets to be a little much. The lack of sleep is definitely a contributing factor also. The g/f and I alternate each night getting up with the pup to go outside but most of the time we end up waking up each other anyways, even with ear plugs. I've been told the "Oh god I can't do this" feeling will go away after a couple of weeks, but it's still pressing pretty hard on me. I know that if I can make it through the first month to 2 months everything will start going up dramatically, but it's still kinda hard when you're only 1 1/2 weeks into it.
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Old May 24th, 2011, 07:36 PM
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Yep, pups can be a bit...trying...but hang in there! Just when you think you can't take it any more, things get better. And one day you'll find yourself thinking that you haven't seen any puppy shenanigans for a while...and realize that you already miss the mischief!!!

We had two in the house at one time--when Ember was 32 wks old, we got Cole, who was 16 wks old. Now there was an experience!! I have a disk I cut of video of the two of them playing--there's enough energy there to nearly pop the DVD right out of the player!!! Oh, but how I miss that now that they're 8 and oh so dignified Not that they don't both still occasionally have their moments, of course....
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Old May 25th, 2011, 08:58 AM
Sunaj52 Sunaj52 is offline
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I guess one other thing that's causing stress (I don't know if I should post this here or in the health forum) is that we'll take her outside for a potty break (Right now we're going about every 2 hours) and we'll bring her back in, and if I don't watch her she immediatly go and try and pee somewhere in the house. She does pee outside, sometimes twice, but if we don't keep her close by it's almost a garuntee that she'll try to sneak one in the house. Is this normal puppy behavior? Does she maybe have some sort of bladder infection that's making it hurt for her to pee?
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Old May 25th, 2011, 09:06 AM
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Originally Posted by Sunaj52 View Post
I guess one other thing that's causing stress (I don't know if I should post this here or in the health forum) is that we'll take her outside for a potty break (Right now we're going about every 2 hours) and we'll bring her back in, and if I don't watch her she immediatly go and try and pee somewhere in the house. She does pee outside, sometimes twice, but if we don't keep her close by it's almost a garuntee that she'll try to sneak one in the house. Is this normal puppy behavior? Does she maybe have some sort of bladder infection that's making it hurt for her to pee?
Completely normal behaviour. You have to remember she is a tiny baby. Her bladder may not be equipped to handle "holding it" for quite some time yet. May I suggest for a while until she gets the hang of it and starts going to the door herself, that you make her trips outdoors every hour? Make sure you praise her each and every time she pees so she knows she's doing what you want her to.
I'm sure one of those links I gave you explained potty training?
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Old May 25th, 2011, 09:21 AM
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make very sure you clean the spots in the house where she pee's , any odor at all left will make her go right back to that spot to pee, there are wonderful products at your local pet food store that will help you.
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Old May 25th, 2011, 09:40 AM
Sunaj52 Sunaj52 is offline
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Hey guys,

We did actually take her out once an hour for the first couple of days of having her, but she seemed fine moving to two hours. She's actually doing well for letting us know when she needs to go out: jumping off of us if she's sleeping on the couch beside us, or running to the baby gate if I'm in the rear of the appartment with her. Even at night she's pretty good for waking us up to go outside instead of just peeing on the floor. Every time she has an accident we immediately clean it up with a cleaner bought and recomended from our local pet shop. It's only after we bring her in during the day (has yet to happen in the middle of the night) and we don't watch her that she'll try to sneak another one in. If we have her on our lap or we're playing with her non-stop, then there's no problem and she doesn't seem to have an issue holding it for 2 hours during the day and even 3 hours at night.
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Old May 26th, 2011, 09:41 AM
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So the stress amped up a bit last evening when I got home. We've been leaving the puppy in our bed room when the g/f and I are both at work (approximately 5 hours or so). So far she's been fairly well behaved, and we took some measures to make sure so didn't pull the blankets off the bed. However, when I got home, she had grabbed the top sheet of the bed and essentially ripped it to shreds. We've decided from now on she's being coraled in a hallway when we're gone.
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Old May 26th, 2011, 04:40 PM
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One of the articles I gave you to read talked about crating a dog/puppy while you are not at home or at night. Crates can be a wonderful training tool if used correctly. Maybe you could give some thought to that. Puppy ripped up the blanket because puppy was bored. If she is in a crate she can't get to anything to rip it up. It's not her fault. It would be a great idea to do some reading and further research into crating a puppy successfully and then doing so. Nothing the puppy is doing is anything any dog would not do when it's bored out of it's skull.

http://www.animalforum.com/dpuppy101.htm

There's lots more articles available about crating as well. I'm sure someone with more time will be along soon to explain the fine details of crating.
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Old May 26th, 2011, 05:09 PM
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Along with the links that 14+ gave you, I strongly suggest checking out Dog Star Daily. There's tons of info there on how to deal with pretty much everything a puppy can throw at you. Start with this page, and make sure you read the "Errorless Housetraining", "Errorless Chewtoy Training", "Home Alone", and "Puppy Playroom and Doggy Den" articles: http://www.dogstardaily.com/training...home-8-9-weeks They may just save your sanity (and your sheets)!
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Old May 26th, 2011, 06:15 PM
Sunaj52 Sunaj52 is offline
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Oh trust me, I want to do the crate training, but the g/f is concerned that she's too young (11 weeks on Monday) to be in a crate while she and I are at work. So...we moved her into the hallway today with a baby gate up, and somehow she managed to get herself up and over it. Once again, this is a puggle who is less that 1ft tall at the shoulders, jumping over a babygate that's probably close to 3ft tall. We're calling the trainers we're starting with on Saturday to get their opinion on what to do. Luckily she didn't destroy the rest of the house.
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Old May 26th, 2011, 06:28 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunaj52 View Post
Oh trust me, I want to do the crate training, but the g/f is concerned that she's too young (11 weeks on Monday) to be in a crate while she and I are at work. So...we moved her into the hallway today with a baby gate up, and somehow she managed to get herself up and over it. Once again, this is a puggle who is less that 1ft tall at the shoulders, jumping over a babygate that's probably close to 3ft tall. We're calling the trainers we're starting with on Saturday to get their opinion on what to do. Luckily she didn't destroy the rest of the house.
On the contrary, now is the BEST time to start her in a crate. If you wait till she is older she may have more issues with being in one. I would much rather see her in a crate now and learning how to be content in one than to see her being taken to a shelter which I can see happening if your stress level goes up. Please please read those links. Do more research into crating your dog. Do it NOW!! Not when she's older. Read to learn how to do it properly. Her well being and yours depends on her being a good pup.

May I ask if you are taking her for a walk before you go to work? I'm not talking about taking her out for a pee. I'm talking a walk. At her age it doesn't have to be a long one. Just around a block or two before you go to work. That will help tire her out and maybe she won't get into so much mischief.

Back to the crating for a sec. When my girl, now almost 17, and her housemate were a lot younger I had crates for them. They were trained from the get go to use those crates. Every time I went to the closet and got my purse out they would head downstairs to the rec room and their crates. By the time I got there they would both be in their crates waiting for me to give them their treats and close the doors. They did this for the first two years. After that I slowly started leaving them out for longer periods of time until I was positive I could trust them. They were perfect. Never wrecked anything.
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Old May 26th, 2011, 06:43 PM
Sunaj52 Sunaj52 is offline
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Ah...I'm not sure if she gets taken for a walk in the mornings as I start work earlier than the g/f normally at least 2 hours or so before she leaves. I think she's just scared about leaving her in her kennel for more than 2-3 hours at a time. We have started getting her used to the kennel by putting her food in it. I've also spent some time with her when she's been in the kennel and she's been mostly o.k. If she continues with this behavior I may have to force the issue. But we'll see what the trainers recomend first.

So I started doing some more kennel training tonight. Took her outside, played some indoor fetch for a little bit and then put her favorite toy and a chew bone in the kennel with the door closed. Waited for her to start pawing at the gate, let her in and she sat content in there for just over 30 minutes before she started whining to get out. Once out, closed the door to the kennel again with the chew bone and her toy inside. I almost got her to go back in but she started figuring it out so I decided that was probably enough for tonight

Last edited by Sunaj52; May 26th, 2011 at 09:08 PM. Reason: Update with some new info
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Old May 27th, 2011, 08:42 AM
Sunaj52 Sunaj52 is offline
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So, not sure how we did it, but the puppy slept in her kennel all night last night! Yay! And didn't need a potty break until just before I was planning on getting up anyways. Here's hoping this becomes the trend instead of an exception
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Old May 27th, 2011, 09:11 AM
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Wonderful advice in this thread!

I just wanted to mention this..
Quote:
"She's super sweet (when she's not trying to bite me) "
What type of biting we be talking bout now, is this playbiting?
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Old May 27th, 2011, 09:24 AM
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It appears to be play biting, no actual chomping on the hand. Typically I'll pull my hand away and say "oww!" and if she continues then I'll put her on the floor and do the "tree" manuever. She's going to start puppy training tomorrow and have "puppy playtime" every Thursday so we're expecting her bite inhibition to start kicking in
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Old May 27th, 2011, 09:49 AM
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Hey guys, finally got around to trying to upload some pictures. The one where she has a green string around her neck is a picture from the breeder when she was 6 weeks old. The remainder are from the weekend we got her when she was just about 9 weeks old
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Last edited by Sunaj52; May 27th, 2011 at 09:51 AM. Reason: wrong age
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Old May 28th, 2011, 08:06 AM
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In the background, I see many dogs behind a wooden gate. Is this a barn setting? Are all these dogs of the same breed or is he breeding different types? Just curious.
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Old May 28th, 2011, 09:08 AM
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oh my goodness... too cute!!!

I completely understand what you're going through. I got 2 pups at the same time, so can you say, double trouble? Haha.
It's funny how now, only 2 years later, I miss those days.

I'm glad you're starting to see some success with the crate training. It really does make overall training easier, and it becomes a "safe haven" for your pup later on if she's feeling stressed, or just wants some peace and quiet (like if company is over). Plus, if she ever needs an overnight stay at the vet (like when she gets spayed), she'll need to be crated there so it's best she gets used to it now.

I would suggest keeping a crate in an area of the house that gets a lot of activity - like the corner of the kitchen or living room. That way, she'll still feel like she's "with you", even when she's in there.

What I used to do is wait for my boys to randomly fall asleep somewhere. Then I'd pick them up and put them in their crate with a toy, and left the door open.
So when they woke up and were still all groggy, they'd just lay in there for a while and play with their toy, before coming out when they were ready.

I think it's important for her to realize that for the most part, she can come and go out of her crate as she pleases. It's only when you're not home (or sleeping) that the door will actually be closed.
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Old May 28th, 2011, 09:43 AM
Sunaj52 Sunaj52 is offline
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She was from a Breeder near Edmonton, poor mom had a litter of 11 puppies. From what I saw when I was there, she was only breeding Puggle puppies. As for the sleeping in the crate at night, we've actually been leaving the gate open, and until in the morning when she wakes and needs to go outside, she'll stay in there all night. We're both really hoping that this is the trend with her rather than a 2 night exception. I have been bringing her into my man cave when I"m home alone, throwing a chew bone into there and making her wait till she starts pawing at the gate before I let her in. She's normally good in there for 30 - 40 minutes before she starts whining to come out. And best of all...puppy training starts today!!!
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Old May 28th, 2011, 09:52 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunaj52 View Post
Oh trust me, I want to do the crate training, but the g/f is concerned that she's too young (11 weeks on Monday) to be in a crate while she and I are at work. So...we moved her into the hallway today with a baby gate up, and somehow she managed to get herself up and over it. Once again, this is a puggle who is less that 1ft tall at the shoulders, jumping over a babygate that's probably close to 3ft tall. We're calling the trainers we're starting with on Saturday to get their opinion on what to do. Luckily she didn't destroy the rest of the house.
I agree with your girlfriend. A rule of thumb for crating is one hour plus the pup's age in months. Still, I will not crate for more than 3 hours a day. We did use a crate but placed it within a pen or in our gated kitchen. We also were able to arrange our work schedules so puppy was only alone a maximum of 3 hours at a time, however we were lucky in that.

Puppy stuck in crate for hours has limited movement which some think may lead to orthopaedic disorders in later life. Stuck in crate means she has to stay in any pee, poop or vomit till you get home. With crate in pen you still get them used to crate, but have the advantage of greater movement with safety, depending on how safe you can make your kitchen. I admit the kitchen is less likely to work for some, but it did for us. With that extra room we found puppies still train themselves in their bathroom habits, they pick a corner or back wall to eliminate in, keeping their sleeping/eating area clean.

Remember, puppies in general do not achieve complete control till about 6 months of age.

She's a cutie-pie. I think she's going to look a bit like the Puggle across the street from us. Sounds like she is going to be an athlete too. Agility anyone?
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Old May 28th, 2011, 09:56 AM
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She was from a Breeder near Edmonton, poor mom had a litter of 11 puppies. From what I saw when I was there, she was only breeding Puggle puppies.
Poor mom indeed! A moot point now, but you might want to do some education on backyard breeders. They're the biggest contribution to the pet overpopulation tragedy. And, "Puggles" are not a breed. They're a trend.

Good luck with the training! You're gonna need it.
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Old May 28th, 2011, 10:27 AM
Sunaj52 Sunaj52 is offline
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I understand your point Sugar about the "breed", but I honestly don't really care. She's our dog and I'm not exactly concerned that she'll never be able to be in a show or have purebred puppies. I used the term "breeder" because there's honestly no other word that I would use for her. I'm not here to debate over whether we did the right thing by buying from the breeder, I'm here to gain some insight and support into training her, as this is my first puppy.
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