[evader]

We are bringing out new puppy home in a few days...she is 8 weeks old and I have a couple of questions...

Where should she sleep? Is it alright for her to sleep in a little bed beside our bed? I know I will be getting up with her a couple of times a night for the first little while to take her out for a pee during the night. We picked up a crate for her but to be honest, my wife and I don't really want her to have to be locked in her crate all night.

What about during the day when we are at work and she is home alone...should she be closed in her crate or should we block off a section in the kitchen or something to give her a bit more room?

Her day will usually go something like this...
She will probably get up in the morning with me at about 6am...out for a walk/pee and have breakfast. I'm off to work just after 7am and my wife will be home until about 9am getting the kids ready for school. I am then home for lunch for an hour from 1-2pm and then my wife is home from work by 3:30pm to get the kids off the school bus.
So in total she will be home by herself for about 4 hours in the morning and 1 1/2 hours in the afternoon.

For the first little while I will be able to sneak away from work before lunch to let her out for a pee...so that first 4 hours alone will be broken up.

Anyways...that's where we stand right now. We are all pretty excited to get her home. Any advice or tips you could pass along would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

[kendal]

hey welcome what have you decided to call her. do you have any photos.

its realy up to you all our girl spent the firat couple of nights in my mums room then were moved down to the crate. but some people priefer them in theor room.

for leaving her for the 4 hours i would restrict her to one room some where there are no cables for her to gst access to.

for me the crate is a safe place i know where my dogs are. i know they cant chew anything that may hurt them. i think of it like a cott when they are puppys and thef bed room when they are older. whilst its not a good idea to baby a puppy it is a babt and like all kids everything goes in the mouth its just this baby alrwady has teeth and chew things. so check the aria that you will be leaving the puppy for anything that yoh think she might chew.

i realy regrey using puppy pads with our youngest as we used them more than with the others and o feel it has blured the line between inside and out side she is 17weeks and we still have bad days when shd will go have a pee in the kitchen.

 

[evader]

Thanks for the reply...we decided on the name Callie. Actually it was the first name my 3 year old daughter said when we asked the kids what we should call her and we all seemed to like it. No pictures yet...but I'm sure the camera will be clicking the minute we get her home.

I'm hesitant to use the puppy pads as I think it kind of sends a mixed message to the puppy. I was thinking about using them in the bedroom at night for the first little while though...just in case she happens to wake up without me noticing.

 

[merry]

There are so many opinions on what is the best way to raise a puppy and really it is kind of trial and error. What works for one person might not work for another. What we did was had Dexter is a crate on a chair in our room right next to my bed so he could see me. Most the time a puppy won't stay in a bed when it has to go potty in the night. It will just get out and go on the floor. In fact, a puppy won't stay in a bed all night because it will want to be on the bed with you. I tried the no crate thing with another pup. It did NOT work. It took much longer to potty train. Dexter cried a bit the first few nights but got used to it fast. He goes in his crate when he sleeps still and e give him his kong with a bit of PB at bedtime. He trots right in and lays down. He is also totally potty trained. But do what you want. Good luck with Callie! I'm sure you will do great!

 

[wilfiboy]

We've had Mabel home for just over a week and are using a crate , she cried for a couple of minutes on the first night so I came down and spent a couple of minutes reassuring her. After that she has nt cried when she a goes in a couple of time she has called out in the night when she wants to go to loo but a few nights she s slpet till morning .. quite lucky really. If she s appeared tired or gone to sleep ive encouraged her to go in the crate. So she goes in and snuggles down. Even if you choose not to use it during the day at least you know where they are at night... good luck if something does nt work you can always change it x x

 

[strangeland86]

When Flo was a pup we had her in a crate at bed time. but it was always up in the day as well with the door open and her bed inside so she could come and go freely in it in the day. She was terrible at nights tho, cried for weeks. But from what i have read on the forum she is an exception, as most seem to settle fine, she is just a big baby (still is lol)

She toilet trained very quickly we let her out constantly and everytime she went outside we made a strange 'yaayyyy wooo' type of sound and gave her a treat, within under 2 weeks she barked at the door to go out whenever she needed too, and we had virtually no inside accidents, the only thing she did was pee when she got excited.

 

[strangeland86]

p.s would like to see some photos

 

[wilfiboy]

We've been "good girl wee wee wee wee " type of non sense when she goes but she does nt seem that impressed though ... she has realised that she can come back in when she s been. But feel so mean its been freezing and wet and she sits there shivering looking at you sometimes. Think ill try a treat cos shes food mad and definitey knows where the food comes from . majority of toileting happens outside but still have a few accidents but usually our fault .. have found a couple pf wees by door so she s trying x x

 

[evader]

thanks for the replies. Still not sure what we're going to try in regards to sleeping at night...will have to decide soon though...lol.

Will definitely post some pictures when we get her home on Thursday. The kids are pretty excited that's for sure...we all are.

Another question...any recommendations on chew toys to start out with? Is there anything she shouldn't have when she's this young?

 

[strangeland86]

I would just get the treats and chews from the puppy section of the pet shop, to be safe. and make sure you hsave some toys for when theyre teething that she casn chew on, we had a few specifically for teething when we first brought flo home and she showed no interest in them, then as soon as her big teeth started coming thru she was mad for them

 

[James Q]

Thats true Kendal cos when we tried the frozen carrot with Brontie, she got the runs, so we have to be careful. She liked the taste, but we think maybe she is too young for it???

 

[kendal]

never hered of a dog getting the runs from carrots. but some dog have sensitive tummys and anything new can upset their tummy. maybe try smaller amounts. the frozen tea towle is a good idea as its just a wet frizen cloth so they shouldnt be swalowing anything.

i know someone who can only give her dogs 1 raw hide chew a week because it gives them the runs.

 

[Dylansmum]

My food supplier told me that when they had an inspection, the inspector said that the major source of salmonella infections in dogs was from rawhide chews. That really surprised me as I assumed that because it was dried, that couldn't happen. I've been a bit wary of them since that, also apparently there is a big choking hazard. If I have to leave Dylan home on his own for a while I generally give him a raw bone (rib bone) and that keeps him really happy and busy for hours - he barely knows I've gone!

 

[James Q]

We went to buy raw hide chews yesterday but the pet shop manager told us that they contained too much salt for puppies! So much conflicting advice sometimes, so we're back with Kendal's idea of a frozen sock tied in a knot in the middle and Brontie seems to love it. We also tied a sock round her rubber chew bone (which she showed no interest in) and now she loves that too!

 

[Dylansmum]

Must try that one. These puppies do love their socks!

 

[wilfiboy]

yep keep getting mine pulled off my feet x

 

[parapluie]

yep keep getting mine pulled off my feet x

haha! oh no

 

[wilfiboy]

gives me a few minutes peace but cold feet !!! x

 

[swgurl]

I'm new to this and currently researching puppies, training and breeders etc etc so finding this forum FAB!
I'm a little confused - don't take much, lol!! Could someone let me know if crates are s'posed to be left open or closed? I'm assuming they're open when you're around but closed whilst your out and during the night?????????????

 

[kendal]

thats basicly it, but its a good idea to close it with them in it when you are in the house so they get used to it when you are in so it is easier when your not.