Puppy Advice (merged)

foreign_correspondent

yes, both mine and my mums rescue dogs are great with children - and very trustworthy

have a look at this pup for an example of a gorgeous pup in rescue that looks like he would be fine with kids...
http://www.dogpages.org.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=177429

(however, if he is a springer x he will be very high energy so beware!)

jorichste

ok, we've had our beautiful husky pup for 2 weeks, we almost have the toilet training mastered, just night time is priving difficult, always poo and several weewees to clean up in the morning. We let him out around midnight, and I'm up by 7 every morning, any ideas??
Also he's constantly scrounging after any food that we have. I'm strict about not letting him eat our food but still he will try, ha has tried to snatch toast from the hands of my 3 yr old.
Do we just have to wait for him to grow out of these things, is there a good way to deal with them now? thanks for any advice you may have

mirrorimage0

have you tried crate training him of a night time, dogs gennerally dont tend to mess thier own bed and once he is used to going through the night you can leave the crate door open for him and then its just his special place to go when he has had enough.

as for taking food out of your daughtrs hand, you must stop him doing it, dont allow him to just snatch food from anyone, ask at your puppy training class what they advice but im sure there will be many people along to give you some advice.
good luck. and what breed is it.x

jorichste

will have a chat with oh about crate training, I'm sure it works, just feel a bit bit mean. I am a soppy sod sometimes!!! Hes a pure white husky, didn't get any papers or anything so don't really know more.

mirrorimage0

its not mean honestly, we have crated trained our old rottie who passed away in feb, our new gsd.x and we are getting a new rottie in a couple of weeks, who will be crate trained, it doesnt take long for them to get the hang of it, although nelson likes to wake us up early but thats wethere he is in the crate or not. it just gives them a sense of securtiy that that is there space. we dont lock nelson crate anymore he just uses it for his bed and the kids know if he is in there then they are not allowed as he obviously wants a break from them. have you read up on the breed and thier trates and are you taking him to puppy classes, i believe they can be quite a strong willed breed so the earlier your training starts the better.

mirrorimage0

just read this in a nother page from norbertsmum, and she is much better at words than me so have copied and pasted it for you to read

I found that keeping a diary helped with the hosuetraining. I kept track of when pup was fed, when taken outside and when he 'performed', this not only put the problem into perspective (1 mess inside out of 5 was not so bad really) but it helped to refine feeding patterns in relation to toilet breaks.

I use a crate only over night and to begin with went to bed late, got up early and set the alarm clock for a middle of the night garden trip. Yes it was hard work, but from the first night the crate door was shut I never had to clean up the kitchen floor again, so well worth it.

I can't stress how important it is to introduce the crate slowly, it has to be a place of sanctuary rather than punishment. I started off by feeding all meals in the crate with the door open, new toys were given in the crate and when the pup settled down with a chew I shut the door for a few mins and then opened it without making a fuss. Gradually I'd shut the door whilst the pup was eating and leave him for 5 mins after he had finished. This built up over about 3 weeks to him staying in the crate overnight. It was a relief!!

I used the crate when I first got my other dogs and they still see it as a special place and will creep in and crash out if I leave the door open.

Fleago

I'm another who advocates getting up to take pups out through the night; from midnight until 7am is, in my opinion, too long to expect a pup to hold on because their ability to do so is something that improves as they get older and their bladder and bowels develop more capacity.

It is blooming hard work and it means being like a zombie for a while as you get up in the night but it really does make all the difference. No need to make any fuss when you get up, but do praise the pup when it does go, and then calmly put the pup back to bed and leave it.

Crates are very useful; we still have one in our kitchen that one of our dogs has appropriated as her sanctuary, but they are not a substitute for consistent house training. While the pup's bowel and bladder capacity are still not sufficient to let it go all night without toileting, it still needs to be let out at very regular intervals.

Good luck!

If you are consistent with the toilet training you will reap the rewards and one day you'll just notice that it's worked and you have a nicely trained dog who knows where to go!

jorichste

thankyou all for taking the time to reply. I'll give it a go and see how we do. I didn't expect miracle answers and understand having a wee pup is going to take effort.
Yes huskies are supposed to be very strong wiiled, I will have to see if I can find a training class, I've not heard of any here, I'm not in uk.

Fleago

Jorichste, If you can't find a training class, may I recommend to you the book The Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey. I'm sure you will be able to order it online for delivery to wherever you are.

I have a breed that can be strong willed too, although not huskies, and the secret to training them is to be consistent as well as to be firm, but fair. By firmness I don't mean being harsh in any way, but to know what you expect of the dog and to abide by that - don't let any soppy, pleading faces weaken your resolve!

Good luck - I'm sure your pup will grow up to be a lovely dog who is a pleasure to live with, but it is hard when they are puppies and you think you're never going to get there!

foreign_correspondent

Good luck, some great advice given, be consistent and put the effort in and it will soon pay off!