Puppy Advice (merged)

MRSMCAWBER

Hi there

It may sound mad -but it may help her settle if you have an old wind up alam clock in with her..The ticking helps them settle I guess a bit like mums heartbeat.. you could fasten it up in something like an old towel so she can't hurt herself on it..also how about taking the towel with you whe you pick her up and giving her mum a good rub down so you have the scent on it for her too

TAG

Oh yeah forgot to say that I used to put a hot water bottle under her bedding at night. And when we picked her up the people we bought her from gave us a teddy that had her mum's and siblings scent on. It stunk to high heaven put used to help her settle down.

thatsnotmyname_2

Hiya!

Our first puppy Diesel had the run of the kitchen. We simply got her a nice soft bed and for the first 2 nights made a warm hot water bottle, wrapped it in a blanket and left it in her bed. She did howl for a while which as tag said, is to be expected, but on the third night was fine. The worse thing you can do is keep going downstairs to your puppy whenever they howl, they'll do it all the more!!
It will be upsetting to listen to but trust me, they get over it quicker than you!
When we got puppy Lewis 2 years later we decided to go with the "crate training" method, whereby they sleep in basically a cage. I know this sounds awful but it is the best thing we did. Lewis simply went in there whenever we went out or to bed. This method helps to house train them quicker as a dog wont "go" in its own bed, so you have to bear in mind to take them straight out afterwards!
Having spent many a frustrating time clearing up after Diesel, I would defo use a crate again.

All dogs and owners are different so really you'll learn the most from your own experiences!

Good luck!

mookiandco

One of our pups had one of these. She had newspaper down one end, her food and water in the middle and her bed at the other end. Her bed was one of those soft ones with a little roof so she felt safe and protected. She had one of her cuddly toys in the bed with her. They are also great when you travel or have visitors.

Here are some pics:

Paparika

http://www.canineconcepts.co.uk/ccp51/cc/dog-training/dog-crate.shtml

how about a crate, obviously size depending on breed.

its also good as a travel crate as well as toilet training too.

Congratulations on becoming a forever mum/dad

Pink_Eyes

When we got our dog (wasn't a puppy) we got her a brown mat which was put in the dinning room. We did put down a carpet square anad blanket from the dinning room to front room, (because she runs and sometimes slips!) and she likes to sleep on that as well. She does sleep on the sofa as well, which she always kicks the cushions and blankets off.

Savvy_Sue

Merged you into our long puppy advice thread!

leimichellecat

My pup is 4 months old, and from day one of having him home with use, we crated him every night. This has been great (he can be a little horror if not supervised, and liberated the hamsters from their cage) as every time we go out, he's happy to go in the crate. Only problem i'm having at the mo is he will insist on going to the toilet in his bed, even though he is sent to the toilet before the crate!

suki1964

leimichellecat wrote: »

My pup is 4 months old, and from day one of having him home with use, we crated him every night. This has been great (he can be a little horror if not supervised, and liberated the hamsters from their cage) as every time we go out, he's happy to go in the crate. Only problem i'm having at the mo is he will insist on going to the toilet in his bed, even though he is sent to the toilet before the crate!

Thats cos hes too young to go the whole night. Like a baby you need to get up to him in the night to let him out. Crates DONT train bladders -bladders train the humans to keep an eye and look for the signs of needing emptying.

Myself, always kept the crate in my bedroom. As soon as I heard pup wimpering, scratching at the gate to be let out - I was up, pup was down the stairs out the back door, business done, praise given and straight back to bed. Keep to as few lights as possible and keep as calm as possible, this is toilet time and not play time .

If you cant hear pup at night - set the alarm for halfway through his sleep time see if you catch him before he needs to go. If hes already been then you know to set the alarm earlier

Shortie

Hello

This might sound odd but does anyone know the easiest way to tell if a puppy is overweight? My Dad mentioned the other day he thought our female was overweight and it's now made me paraoid...

We have 2 cavalier king charles spaniels and we're new to this breed (I grew up with collies, Mr Shortie with GSDs). I've always thought that they're chubby looking breeds when I saw them out and about (sorry, hope I didn't offend anyone there, I think it's quite an endeering look) but am trying to keep our pups fit, healthy and lean.

I don't want to just weight them, as one pup is a teenie weenie version of the cav king bred and the other has more cocker spaniel genetic 'throwback' in her so is naturally taller and more stocky than most standard king cavs. As such I don't think it'll help me to compare them to published 'standard' weights.

How do you tell otherwise if they're overweight or on track? As I say, sorry if this is a reeeeaaallllly dim question :rotfl: