[Dexter22]

Hello everyone!

I went to the breeder today to look at the puppy and ended up bringing him home. Dexter has a chocolate coat with green eyes and is soo cute! He is 12 weeks and about 5-6 lbs. Should be about 10-12 lbs as an adult. He did really well on the 2 hour car ride home and now he's wandering around the house, getting used to everything, and following me around.

A few things that I'm worrying about:

1. He hasn't eaten or drank much since we've been home (about 3 hours). Could this be because he is just so busy exploring and getting used to his surroundings?

2. I have taken him out about three times and he has not used the bathroom. All he really wants to do is put the leash in his mouth and chase me around. Not sure if this is also normal, but in addition to the car ride, he has not been to the bathroom in at least five hours.

I know its only been a few hours since he's been here and I'm probably just worrying for nothing. Tonight should be very interesting with the first night in the crate, I think I am going to put him near my bed so he can hear/smell me. I will keep you all posted!

Enjoy the picture!

 

[sonatalady7]

Congrats Rebecca! He's a cutie pie! My hubby saw the picture and said, that's Bella' right? I said, nooo this is Dexter. Your little guy looks like Bella did when she was a pup!

That seems like a long time for him not to go, but I'm sure everything is totally fine. Just keep taking him out. Good luck on your first night! Our first week was pretty rough, but we made it!

 

[lady amanda]

Maybe your breeder didn't feed any water or food for a while to make the ride easier on you...if worried...give cutie pie dexter an ice cube, he will likely play with it and lick it and get some water that way...but if he is thirsty he will drink...if he is chasing you around and isn't lathargic then I think you don't need to worry. he is just going to need to get used to his surroundings....Lady didn't drink till the next day...and sure didnt pee. untill she was in her crate alone.
the first night was rough for us too...she ended up sleeping on my chest and conking out for three hours straight...thank goodness!!!!!
if you want...show him where the water is splash your fingers in it a bit, wet his little lips...but I am sure you will be just fine....dexter is adorable

 

[Kel]

Congrats, Dexter is adorable

 

[Dexter22]

so i got dexter to eat...sat on the floor with him and put some food in my hands and let him eat out of them. is this a bad idea? i was thinking maybe he wasn't used to the stainless steel bowl? maybe he was just so excited in general?

and I have good news and bad news....

good news is: he had a pee and a poo!
bad news is: he went in the kitchen! (after about two trips outside)

I know it will take time and I'm pretty sure he isn't used to being outside/on a leash in general, so I will just have to be patient. Unfortunately, we're going to be getting some rain/thunder tomorrow so hopefully that doesn't deter him from going to the bathroom outside!

I put some newspaper in his crate (just in case) and now its time for bed! Will update more in the morning.

So great knowing I have fellow cockapoo owners to lean on through all this

and since I keep posting so much, I figured I'd post another picture...

 

[terrym2442]

Rebecca, he is adorable! Where did you get him?

We brought ours home 3 weeks ago today and as others on the board know, it's been quite a journey working on the housetraining. We've been getting lots of rain, too (I'm in Michigan), so the constant running outside with my Elliott has not been fun.

It takes quite a while (at least for us) to get into a rhythm, and I still don't have it down, pat. Elliott will also go in the house even after I've taken him outside.

How did his first night go?

 

[Dexter22]

The first night went well?

Part1: I put him in his crate on the floor next to my bed and dangled my arm down so he could see/smell it. Unfortunately he still wasn't a fan of this! He began to cry and whimper and try to break free from the crate. Maybe he's scared of the dark? So I laid down on the carpet next to his crate so he would know I was close and he seemed to like this. I laid there for about 30 min and tried to sneak back into my bed but he caught me and began to cry. I then moved the crate onto my bed so I could be comfortable and he could see me and this worked just fine. THEN....around 4am he began to whimper and cry and start moving around frantically (I now know the difference between whimper a) get me out of the crate and whimper b) I need to use the bathroom). So he pooped in the crate (luckily I had put down newspaper) so I got him out and cleaned out the crate and played with him a little since he was so hyper (bad idea?)

Part2: After that ordeal, I lured him into the crate with a treat and toy and he went in surprisingly well. I moved the crate back onto the bed and we both went to sleep. He slept quietly until about 10am and probably would have slept longer if I had not got up. Part 2 definitely went well. Hopefully he is starting to get used to the idea that the crate is not a bad thing.

So we got up this morning and I took him outside. All he did was try to eat the leash and grass/leaves. Tried to feed him breakfast and he took a few sips of water and ate a very small amount of food that I fed him from my hand. After about 10 minutes I took him outside again and decided I was just going to stay out there until he went to the bathroom. 30 minutes later, no success. He's currently sleeping in my lap as I type this so I'm assuming he doesn't have to go?

Any tips on getting him to realize that outside is a bathroom and not a feast of grass and leaves?!

 

[Newbie]

Aaaw! Dexter is GORGEOUS!

We got our puppy a week ago and she didn't eat much on the first day - I think nerves? Excitement? But is now eating all of her meals and whimpering for seconds! After a couple of days of watching her like a hawk and legging it outside with her everytime she was about to crouch to go to the bathroom, she now whines at the door when she needs to go. She still uses the puppy pad at night.

Enjoy him!! I am so smitten already!!

 

[terrym2442]

Rebecca, I think he will settle in nicely and start to eat better. Elliott was the same way- not much interest in food the first few days. Even now (we've had him for 3 weeks), he's not a big eater at all. He eats ONE piece of kibble at a time. I think you're doing a great job with the crate. I have a friend who put her new pup in a crate on their bed and it worked like a charm, too.

To Newbie above, congrats on your new puppy! Please tell me how you trained your so quickly! I am jealous! I've been running Elliott outside constantly for a few WEEKS with little success. Paper towel is my new best friend

 

[sonatalady7]

Rebecca,
Sounds like things are moving along! Don't worry, this phase goes by quickly (in the grand scheme of things!)

Here are my thoughts/comments:
1. Bella cried and cried when we put her in the crate. So, we spent a LOT of time working on crate training in the evenings. She was so obnoxious that we ended up putting her downstairs in the opposite end of the house so I couldn't hear her. I was so anxious about it that after one week of having her I nearly had a nervous breakdown! So thankful that's over! Anyway...for the first month or so (right or wrong) hubby would take her out at midnight, then get up at 3 and I would get up at 6. After the first month, we started pushing the 3:00 potty back by 30 minutes until there was no more middle of the night pee!
2. When you get up with him in the middle of the night, do NOT play with him. Take him out, let him do his business and put him right back. If you play with him, he'll learn that if he wakes up he can whine, you'll let him out and then he gets to play. You don't want this!!!
3. Maybe I was mean, but we tried putting the crate in our room, but it just made things worse. That's why she ended up downstairs. The worst of it was over by the end of the first week!
4. Our trainer had us purposly feed her out of our hands. We would also intentionally play with her/tug her ears, put our fingers in her food bowl while she ate. Why? So that if we had children or when we had children over, she wasn't protective of her food. Bella's 9 months old now and I still occasionally bug her while she's eating!

I hope this information is helpful!!! You're doing great! She'll be sleeping through the night in no time!