[Stanleysmum21]

We have just brought home our 9 week old cockapoo.
His name is Stanley and he's a sweetheart... Well as far as puppies go.

He sleeps in his crate in my bedroom at night, going a full 7 hours with only a couple of whines to see if we're still there.

We've had him three days and I work from home so I have plenty time to get this right, as I'm sure this page is always flooded with this question I'll get straight to it.... Potty training.

I know it's been three days but I wanted some good habits started working on straight away.
When I take him from his crate around 6.45am I take him straight outside, he never goes but I figured it would be a good habit. He gets distracted by all the mini pebbles.on the floor which I'm forever trying to sweep away, after half an hour I bring him in and he pees immediately on his puppy pads which are right by the door.

He has his first feed after that with the door left open incase he wants to go back out.

He never goes back to the pad throughout the morning, I take him outside after his second feed, which he doesn't eat all of just half his reccomended amount, he still doesn't go to the toilet. He plays and tries chewing on everything he can get his mouth on. I bring him in, he pees on the pad.

He doesn't go again.

I give him his final bowl around 5.30, noting his bowl of water is there all day he goes back to it every now again for a refresh.
I take him outside again he plays sniffs the area where I've left some pads and again when we come back on after half an hour to an hour and he goes on the pad.

I take him out around 10.30/11.00pm before we are ready to go to bed and before he goes into his crate.

He's never had an accident in the house, he always goes to the pads by the back door. So Im lucky in that respect.

We have had a couple of throw ups, one due to him eating way to fast and another this morning which was more like white foam before he had even eaten anything.

Am I putting too much stress on him? Is this new home nerves?

Am I doing the right thing, should I just keep doing what I'm doing?

I'm not allowed to give him any special treats yet, so occasionally I might give him a piece of his dried, royal canin, food bit I've been mainly resorting to belly rubs.

To summarise, he doesn't really eat much, doesn't wee an awful lot, good temprement so far.

Any helpful advice would be fantastic.
Can't help but feel overwhelmed with it all.

 

[2ndhandgal]

Awwwww hello Stanley - he is gorgeous.

Take him out in the morning, stick your coat on and wait until he does go. Just ignore him playing with the stones, the more attention you draw to it the more he will do it, have some toys outside to distract him but also just let him play. Sooner or later he will go and at that point you need to reward him, it needs to be something he finds rewarding so better than belly rubs, a tiny bit of his food is good - but a tiny bit of something like chicken or a puppy treat would be much better.

Repeat throughout the day taking him out often and really rewarding him for going, if he is totally drawn to the pads then either move them so they are outside only, spot him walking towards them and take him out immediately or my preferred option would just be get rid of them totally as it is not something you really want him using long term.

Eating wise my pup was on 4 meals a day until 12 weeks, pups often don't eat well in early days so could just be settling in, just make sure he is growing OK - but cockapoo pups are usually really lean and skinny under all that fluff!

 

[Stanleysmum21]

Awwwww hello Stanley - he is gorgeous.

Take him out in the morning, stick your coat on and wait until he does go. Just ignore him playing with the stones, the more attention you draw to it the more he will do it, have some toys outside to distract him but also just let him play. Sooner or later he will go and at that point you need to reward him, it needs to be something he finds rewarding so better than belly rubs, a tiny bit of his food is good - but a tiny bit of something like chicken or a puppy treat would be much better.

Repeat throughout the day taking him out often and really rewarding him for going, if he is totally drawn to the pads then either move them so they are outside only, spot him walking towards them and take him out immediately or my preferred option would just be get rid of them totally as it is not something you really want him using long term.

Eating wise my pup was on 4 meals a day until 12 weeks, pups often don't eat well in early days so could just be settling in, just make sure he is growing OK - but cockapoo pups are usually really lean and skinny under all that fluff!

Thank you for your quick reply, I got so nervous that people would find me rediculous seeing as I only had him a few days.
I've popped the pads outside today, he seems to sit on them at rip at them though so I wonder if it was a step to soon?? Or should I just take a risk remove puppy pads from the house and just take him when I see him heading towards the rug where the pads were...
I honestly feel so overwhelmed with everything

Regarding treats, when I picked him up to bring him home the lady told me not to give him anything other than his food for a while, so I'm not sure what to do with this? Some cooked chicken perhaps?

I keep thinking it will get easier but then the mouthing starts and I go into panic mode that I don't want him nipping at the kids. I feel like the worst person ever 🙈🙈

 

[Gaynor59]

Ah he’s a cutie, looks 2 different colours in the picture , which is he more like ?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[2ndhandgal]

Personally I would bite the bullet, invest in some kitchen towel for the inevitable accidents which come with puppies and take away the puppy pads. I like to use cooked chicken as rewards for a tiny puppy - but the tiniest bit ever - maybe a quarter the size of a pea is plenty big enough to reward without upsetting tummies.

Mouthing is normal stuff too but often feels overwhelming - lots of toys to divert pup onto biting them, teach the kids to stand still, be a tree and call for an adult to remove pup, and use gates to keep pups and children separately unless they are supervised

 

[Lena11]

Seems like you are doing well! Honestly, they take time to settle in! He will be like a different dog in a few weeks when he gained confidence! Monty ate little and weed little the first few days, but boy did he make up for it😂 when I changed his food gradually after using half the bag the breeders gave me and using the pther half to mix in with the new food, he started loving to eat his food! I used to never see an empty bowl and now he eats it in minutes!
An advice I would give is: use a command word when he goes outside. I use: wee. I say it when he wees, reward with a good value treat and praise. That way it is easier to ‘explain’ to them where and when it is okay to go like on walks later. My boy just shredded all puppy pets, so I can’t talk about that much. You can give him tiny pieces of cooked chicken or carrots. Watch his stool and see if his tummy gets upset. If it does: give less or other food.
Puppy biting is difficult. Never let a puppy alone with a child without supervision and always have a toy close by. Fortunately the phase does not last forever.
He is absolutely gorgeous by the way!

 

[Stanleysmum21]

H

Ah he’s a cutie, looks 2 different colours in the picture , which is he more like ?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

He's technically "apricot" although I assumed it was just 'red' 😍

 

[Stanleysmum21]

Seems like you are doing well! Honestly, they take time to settle in! He will be like a different dog in a few weeks when he gained confidence! Monty ate little and weed little the first few days, but boy did he make up for it😂 when I changed his food gradually after using half the bag the breeders gave me and using the pther half to mix in with the new food, he started loving to eat his food! I used to never see an empty bowl and now he eats it in minutes!
An advice I would give is: use a command word when he goes outside. I use: wee. I say it when he wees, reward with a good value treat and praise. That way it is easier to ‘explain’ to them where and when it is okay to go like on walks later. My boy just shredded all puppy pets, so I can’t talk about that much. You can give him tiny pieces of cooked chicken or carrots. Watch his stool and see if his tummy gets upset. If it does: give less or other food.
Puppy biting is difficult. Never let a puppy alone with a child without supervision and always have a toy close by. Fortunately the phase does not last forever.
He is absolutely gorgeous by the way!

Thank you so much for the advice, I'm honestly over whelmed with it all. I'm hoping the sleeping thing continues to work and we don't go back a step with that.
My daughter's 15 so I was nervous about leaving them together for half an hour why I went to collect my youngest (9) but she seemed ok for me to leave.
We've discussed what to do if he has a mouthing moment. I am won't be leaving him with my 9yo.

So glad it's a phase that doesn't last because that's the only one that makes me nervous.

 

[Stanleysmum21]

Personally I would bite the bullet, invest in some kitchen towel for the inevitable accidents which come with puppies and take away the puppy pads. I like to use cooked chicken as rewards for a tiny puppy - but the tiniest bit ever - maybe a quarter the size of a pea is plenty big enough to reward without upsetting tummies.

Mouthing is normal stuff too but often feels overwhelming - lots of toys to divert pup onto biting them, teach the kids to stand still, be a tree and call for an adult to remove pup, and use gates to keep pups and children separately unless they are supervised

Thanks for the response,
I am thinking about taking away the puppy pads, it does seem to be the rug he's more interested in peeing on than the pads. It's an old heavy duty tig my husband brought back from work one day and it's ugly as hell so a little puppy poop night not be the worst thing 🙈😜
I bought some of the odour remover from Simple Solution for dogs to 'prevent marking' should I clean the rug with that or will it out him off going to the door mat like he is now??

Sorry for all the questions

 

[Lena11]

Thank you so much for the advice, I'm honestly over whelmed with it all. I'm hoping the sleeping thing continues to work and we don't go back a step with that.
My daughter's 15 so I was nervous about leaving them together for half an hour why I went to collect my youngest (9) but she seemed ok for me to leave.
We've discussed what to do if he has a mouthing moment. I am won't be leaving him with my 9yo.

So glad it's a phase that doesn't last because that's the only one that makes me nervous.

Ah okay! Your kids are not babies! That will make your life so much easier. Honestly, the biting phase is not too bad. Depending on the dog lots of tricks work. I always just put a toy in Monty’s mouth. He is very gentle and doesn’t bite hard, but whenever he does I put a toy in his mouth. I say ouch when he bites me and when he has his bitey few seconds, I get up and leave the room, only for a second, but after he stops. He has never really hurt me with his teeth. His claws however are very sharp and he scratched me a lot, when he is excited

 

[Stanleysmum21]

Ah okay! Your kids are not babies! That will make your life so much easier. Honestly, the biting phase is not too bad. Depending on the dog lots of tricks work. I always just put a toy in Monty’s mouth. He is very gentle and doesn’t bite hard, but whenever he does I put a toy in his mouth. I say ouch when he bites me and when he has his bitey few seconds, I get up and leave the room, only for a second, but after he stops. He has never really hurt me with his teeth. His claws however are very sharp and he scratched me a lot, when he is excited

Thanks Lena,
My husband has never had a dog before and is quite anxious about the biting.
Just hope it's not forever

I'm a florist so sharp claws are fine for me, nothing compares to rose thorns 🤣

 

[Lena11]

Same actually! I was quite nervous about the biting, but it really is not as bad as I thought!

 

[Stanleysmum21]

Me again, sorry to be a pain

When taking my dog out for potty in the morning its normally dark, he wakes at 6am so it's usually time for me to start the day instead of ushering him back into his crate.
When I take him outside I do this on a leash, why he gets frustrated with the leash and gnaws on it it's usually dark enough for it to not be a distraction.

Take him out during the day however seems to be a problem. I take him out after I take him out of his crate after school run, usually about 8.45 give him a pet before coming out then leash and outside.
He starts to gnaw on his leash and gets distracted so im stood for an hour with him on his leash. No pee.

He comes in and pees on the floor by the door, by which time I calmly say "outside" so he associates it with being outside. Put him on the mat on the door which he's already peed on so his scent is it.
But he's not on the leash as I've had to do it so quickly.

Should I start by just taking him outside without a leash in the future??
There's a small paved area outside the door which I've corrldened off so he can't get into the garden or out onto the street.
I will continue to stand and praise when he's done well but otherwise just let him find his own way??

 

[2ndhandgal]

His leash will be a massive distraction outside so yes take him out off the leash and things should be much easier once he gets the hang of it.

 

[Lena11]

Leash training takes time and is a separate training from potty training. Don’t leah him yet, if it is distracting and slowly get him used to it! Before that, good to teach him sit, come and look at me. It makes leash training a lot easier!

 

[Stanleysmum21]

His leash will be a massive distraction outside so yes take him out off the leash and things should be much easier once he gets the hang of it.

Thank you!!!!!!!
I foolishly watched YouTube videos about dog training and it seems most Americans insist on leads both indoor and outdoor and it threw me for six. I was panicking id let four days of unleashed activity happen. 😄

 

[Stanleysmum21]

Thank you!!!!!!!
I foolishly watched YouTube videos about dog training and it seems most Americans insist on leads both indoor and outdoor and it threw me for six. I was panicking id let four days of unleashed activity happen. 😄

I should add I'm from Wigan, UK... I meant most YouTube videos seem to be Americans.

 

[2ndhandgal]

Best Youtube training videos are from Kikopup, my advice is try and sign up with a good reward based trainer who will be able to help guide you too. Best book is Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy and there is also a wealth of information here Facebook Groups

Facebook memories today have my pup from 9 years ago on one of her first walks out and about and learning about sitting to pose for photos - all off lead (pup is the black one next to posing professional Molly)

 

[Stanleysmum21]

Best Youtube training videos are from Kikopup, my advice is try and sign up with a good reward based trainer who will be able to help guide you too. Best book is Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy and there is also a wealth of information here Facebook Groups

Facebook memories today have my pup from 9 years ago on one of her first walks out and about and learning about sitting to pose for photos - all off lead (pup is the black one next to posing professional Molly)

View attachment 131483

So beautiful ❤🥰❤ and so still, this is what I'm hopeful for

My wee one is very sleepy today I've had zoomies thalen immediate crash.
Still two weeks inside and two part weeks outside. Had much more outside time today which may contribute to the sleepiness.
These dark nights aren't helping.

I've got in touch with a local dog trainer for.one on one sessions why Stanley is so small. I've tried treat's today to coax him into his crate but I'm not good at getting him to sit still and wait for treat. It's more active gobbling than rewarding I think.

 

[2ndhandgal]

Pups do sleep an awful lot so sounds like things are settling down.

Trainer will soon have you making a good start on training, they are super smart pups.