Puppy Advice (merged)

vicky86_2

Getting a gorgeous Jack Russell Puppy around the 15th October :j. Just wondering what would be the best Pet Insurance as want to make sure properly covered but obv lookin for a good price!?
Planning on crate training it and best size for the price we have been able to find so far has been on PetPlanet.co.uk. Willing to order things online as we are planning spending the next couple of weeks buying everything we can as when we pick pup up will just have come back from a 2wk holiday so want to be prepared. Can anyone else suggest any other good websites to try??

Thanks

nooksky

Hi Vicky, we have our 2 dogs insured through More Than since we got the dogs as puppies. It is one of the more expensive policies as cover for the same condition renews year after year unlike some of the cheaper policies (I'm sure someone will explain this better than me!!).

For years we didnt make a claim and we were considering whether to reduce our cover to get a cheaper premium. Then this year our older dog ate some toy and had a blockage which resulted in an £800 odd operation. Then not long after our younger dog had to start on heart murmer tablets, then she had a womb infection, then hypothyroid!! Thankfully she is much better now but the bill came to well over £1000 and they have put her on tablets for the heart murmer and hypothyroid which will continue for the rest of her life (she is only 5) so the insurance has proved well worth it!! We have up to £7000 per condition so we will be covered for hopefully most of her years.

Sorry to waffle on but just to give you an example of why the dearer cover can be worth it!! Hope this helps.

suki1964

Another one advocating the getting up to let them out in the night. I did have a crate for mine which I had in my bedroom, soon as I could hear them getting distressed/wanting out - I was up, pup lifted and straight down the stairs in the garden. soon as the deed was done, praise and carried straight back to bed (crate). If they created then I knew they were just fussing and ignored them, they soon settled.

The joys of puppy owning

jorichste

thanks again folks!! Just to let you know, I don't think the crate thing is for me. I understand that it would work but don't feel comfortable with it and there's no point trying to do something if your hearts not quite in it. I did however get up at 2 this morning to let little max out into the yard. He did what had to be done and the house was clean, not even a stray wee anywhere this morning. When I got up I let him out and he ran out for a wee straight away. I know I'm lucky that he seems to know what to do, and getting up in the night has done the trick. Thanks for the great advice.
Now just to stop the little rascal trying to swipe food off the kids!
oh and I've asked on a local website for any puppy training classes so hopefully I might find one.

suki1964

Thats great

See the idea of pet training is not to give them margin to " fail" so if you dont want them to mess in the house, you make sure they have the chance of getting outside to do it (even getting up at 2am to make sure they can)

Hope last night is the first of many clean dry nights for you. Honest it doesnt last forever

smileypigface

Hi, some of our experience might help.

Our Springer Spaniel has had a crate from day 1 (we got him at 8 weeks old) - it is a canvas crate which sits inside a 'playpen' so the crate itself is never closed but the outer pen is when we want him to be contained.

He definitely sees this as his place of safety - it's his den. With the crate inside a larger pen it allows him space to sleep on the cool floor on hot nights and there is plenty of room for food and water bowls (he has all his meals in there). When we have been on holiday with him we only take the inner crate (we have an identical one in the car all the time for travel) - and we find that he doesn't settle unless we close the crate door - even when he's sharing a room with us. He tends to 'patrol' the room and bark at any little noise outside (which can be annoying in a hotel!). However, as soon as we close the crate door he zonks out and totally relaxes and sleeps like a log (his snoring is something to be admired :eek: !!)

Because we have always had his 'den' we put him in it at each and every mealtime - my pet hate is dogs begging food from humans (and Springers are renowned for being doggy dustbins!) - we decided before we got him that he would never be fed titbits (ie, a human eating a piece of toast and giving the dog the final bit of crust - if you see what I mean) - he has never once been given the idea that a human eating might mean he could get a nibble of something.

All our meals and snacks are eaten either at the kitchen table (the dog doesn't come in the kitchen when there is eating or cooking going on - we have a gate across the door) or at the dining table which is in our conservatory. If we are using the dining table then the dog is asked to go to his den - and he stays there until the table is clear and dishwasher loaded. He is quite happy with this - he usually curls up and has a snooze.

Our springer is one year old now and I think the message is well and truely instilled in him that humans eating is totally unrelated to him eating - we took him on a family picnic for the first time last week and he happily laid down and had a snooze on the edge of the blanket while we noshed our picnic.

Sorry for wittering on - hope you might find something useful in there - I suppose the key to what has worked for us has been setting our ground rules firmly in our own minds and being consistent so there is no confusion for the dog - human food is not on his menu.

Good luck - puppy days are so much fun x

MrsTinks

Again I know you have said you don't want a crate but please please don't see it as mean... it's not if used right!
It's supposed to be your dogs "den" somewhere to feel safe and retreat to. So if the kids are getting loud or a little rough the dog will retreat without any instructions to the sanctuary of it's "den".
We have gradually removed the crate and now Kira's "den" is the hallway on her bed - it's the quietest area in our tiny house and she feels safe there - if we have guests with small kids we can close the door to the hall and let her get some peace and quiet.
The important thing is to make it a positive thing - feed them in it, give them fun treats like kongs in it etc
We got Kira as a 1 year old - about the only training she DID have was she was house trained - but we still had some accidents in the first year

~Chameleon~

I'd just like to make a comment, well an analogy really, that might help some of the new pup owners in the first few weeks/months of ownership.

This is not aimed at the OP par se, but as a general comment regarding toilet training new pups which seems to be cropping up an awful lot lately.

When you have a newborn baby in the house it is fully expected that you will have to get up during the night to feed and change nappies during the first few months. I can't imagine there are (m)any mothers out there who would expect their newborn baby to go to bed in the evening and not need any attention again until the following morning.

Well, having a new puppy is very similar. They are babies too and also have tiny tummies and bladders that need frequent small feeds and access to toileting every few hours. If you look on new puppy ownership in the same light as having a newborn baby you can't go far wrong and need to be prepared to get up during the night for the first few weeks to allow them to go to the toilet

jorichste

thanks for your comments. When someone said about taking him out in the night it did make sense. I just didn't think of it before, what can I say, I'm blonde, lol!!I took on a puppy with my eyes wide open and didn't expect him to fall in line immediately, I just needed a bit of guidance having never had pets before. All of the suggestions have been really helpful and I'm truly grateful for all of your help.

suki1964

jorichste wrote: »

thanks for your comments. When someone said about taking him out in the night it did make sense. I just didn't think of it before, what can I say, I'm blonde, lol!!I took on a puppy with my eyes wide open and didn't expect him to fall in line immediately, I just needed a bit of guidance having never had pets before. All of the suggestions have been really helpful and I'm truly grateful for all of your help.

And never ever feel afraid to ask for help

My second time of puppy owning I thought I knew it all - wow it was still all a shock and I was still getting stressed. As soon as I got him home the memories of me telling the world and his wife the first time round "never again" came flooding back