[designsbyisis]

I went to bed last night with my copy of The Perfect Puppy and was reading avidly ....
woke up this morning feeling a bit confused !

When Dexter comes home I imagined taking him outside on a collar & lead to go to the toilet so that I could stop him from wandering. Its not that our garden is unsecure but it is very big & I'm scared he'll just run into the tree area & I won't know if he's done it ! However, the book advises sensibly to do collar thing slowly - so what do I do re toileting ? (this probably sounds like a daft question to all you seasoned owners )

My second question is that I'm planning tomorrow to just give the patio a wash down with some dettol to clean it of all the chicken poo (the chickens have had a winter of free ranging & are now back in their fenced area) - is dettol safe for the puppy if I give it a good rinse ?

Thank you.
I'm so excited but getting a bit worried now about making sure everything is ready & that I understand what to do

 

[Turi]

Not a seasoned owner just yet but here goes…

We don’t plan to put Saffi’s collar on until the 2nd or 3rd day. She will have dealt with a lot of changes already and I’ve read that some puppies can play with their collars and/or leads and nip/grab at them so it makes sense to get the puppy accustomed to them slowly and in a positive way.

When we sense that Saffi needs the loo we’ll chase her out the door in a fun-spirited way – one book I read said that if they run to go outside they’re more likely to feel the need to go because the run will cause their bladders to jiggle! – and once outside stand still and let her do her business. As she is doing the deed we’ll say our chosen q word (‘Hurry up’, ‘Be Clean’, ‘Wee Wee’, ‘Toilet Time’ etc), thoroughly praise her and give her a treat. I wouldn’t worry about Dexter being out of sight as I think it’s highly unlikely that at eight weeks Dexter will be able to outrun you in the garden though I’m prepared to be corrected!

I’m not sure about Dettol though…

 

[Mogdog]

I would have thought Dettol that's been well rinsed would be fine.

Re the toileting, I would take him out without collar/lead initially. They tend to stick with you when little anyway so he shouldn't shoot off to the far reaches of your garden. You will have to go out with him too, and it's good to give a verbal command when he "goes" so he associates the command with doing a wee, also give lots of praise.

Good luck!

 

[puppylove]

Hi Lisa I feel your excitement. With my own dogs I chose to fence off part of the garden to be used as a toilet area come run. I didn't allow access to the rest of the garden until the dog had toileted. With a fenced in area you don't have to use a lead and I would say my chosen word excitedly if the puppy was sniffing and circling. Afterwards I always gave a treat. Hope this helps.xx

 

[Janev1000]

You need to be close to him to say the words and reward him instantly, so you will need to follow him - but as said before, he will probably stay close to you anyway. I've never had to use a lead to do this. We haven't got a big garden but it took a while for Biscuit to feel brave enough to explore it on his own!

 

[Soo]

As the others have said a little baby pup will stay close to you. Its a big scary world out there and you are their new Mum so they are not going to leave you.

I did put my pups collars on straight away but didn't put the lead on them for a day or so and then just taught them not to pull on it in the house by bringing them back to me with it and loosening it again each time they pulled it tight.

All the best.

 

[susanb]

Hi. We have a massive garden and not all secure. So we felt we had no choice other than to use collar and lead from the first time. Gisgo did not mind his collar and lead at all and I am sure he would have run off if we did not have him on a lead - he is a very confident pup. So if you are concerned then try the collar and lead - then you have one less thing to worry about.

 

[lizzysmudge]

I partitioned off part of the patio when we first got smudge, so I could train the word and make sure she complied! I also put a collar on straight away! Had no problems at all. Good luck!! Think it is more daunting reading all about training. than it is actually doing it to be honest. Far better when you actually have your cockerpoo home, I think the main thing is that all family members use the same command

 

[tessybear]

I think its very unlikely your poo will run off. Cockapoos are very likely to not even want you out of their sight and I think the lead would put her off doing her business. Bonnie at 8 weeks would not leave my side when she was outside it meant having to stand in my garden in my dressing gown in the freezing cold at 5 am!