puppy training/advice- all info would be great

Legacy_user

ok,our lhasa apso puppy will be with us in a little under 2 weeks!

my oh has had dogs before but not me or the kids.
i will be the one home all day apart from one day a week and i am looking for advice and tips of all aspects of puppy care and training and anything else you think is helpful.
i will be using a crate and hoping to change him onto james wellbeloved food, wet then over to dry as soon as he's able.

we have brought lots of toys and cuddlys for him,vetbed for his crate,we need to buy his collar and lead and were thinking of a harness too?

thanks i n advance

OnAndUp

Get a soft brush of some sort although it won't really need it too much yet, just to get in the habit of grooming.

Maybe leave it on the breeders food for the first couple of week so not too much change. Then change it gradually over a 7-10 days. I wouldn't bother with the wet food most people feed the puppy dry food and when they are very young you just add some water to it and leave to soak to make it soft.

Also make sure you have some chewy toys like a puppy nylabone or puppy kong so they know from the start what they are allowed to chew!

I haven't read it but lots of people recommend the book Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey.

Try to get to some good puppy training classes great way to learn the basics and good socialisation for pup.

How exciting - would love to see a photo!

PinkPeach

The Perfect Puppy is a good book, I'd recommend that.

My tips would be to make sure you have lots of spare old towels which will be a godsend on rainy/damp days. After being out in the garden or on a walk your dog will have filthy feet, use the towlels to wipe the muck off before they are allowed into the living room etc.

Keep training your pup. If you give an inch dogs will take a mile! This especially applies to pulling on the lead etc. My dog is crafty and will try to take advantage whenever he sees fit!

Make sure everyone in the house is clear on what your dog is/isn't allowed to do. For example, if pup is allowed on the sofa one day but not the next, they won't understand why they aren't allowed on there and will struggle to learn what is expected of them. If you do allow the dog on the sofa put a throw over it to stop the hairs sticking.

If your pup is lonely sleeping alone at night when they first arrive home, pop a hot water bottle (warm water only) in their bed wrapped in an old towel. The warmth reminds them of their litter mates and is comforting whilst they are getting used to being alone. Its a big step for a little pup!

Enjoy your pup, it's wonderful seeing their personality come out once they get used to being with you.

Raksha

Books - Before you get your puppy and After you get your Puppy by Ian Dunbar should be your bible. I think the Before book is available as a free download (very MSE)

PinkPeach

Me again! Just remembered something else - Now that the weather is changing you will need to make sure that your dog doesn't eat slugs/snails in the garden as they can carry lungworm which can be fatal to a dog. I think there is a wormer called Advocate which protects against this although I've not used it. My dog used to be a terror for eating things from the garden when he was little and I've had to pick slugs out of his mouth on several occassions:eek: If toys have slime on them wash this off as apparently this is also not good for them.

If your pup does eat something which gives an upset stomach feed it boiled chicken and rice or something else really plain until they are better. Obviously though if things are bad then take them to the vets.

Hope you have a great time with your new dog!

System

thanks pink peach for the slug/snail tip,not come across that yet!
will try and add a picture though never done that before on here.

jaqui59

If you decide to take your puppy to socialisation classes, be very aware they can get terribly frightened if approached by a large breed puppy with an exuberant character, as this really isn't a good start in life for them.

If you decide to go down this route, you could enquire whether they have classes just for the smaller breeds, or whether all the puppies in the class are kept on leads so that the owners have more control of them.

Raksha

A good puppy socialisation class would control that kind of interaction carefully Jacqui, a small (or large) breeds only class is not a good idea, as then the pup wouldn't get socialisation with the other size of pups.

One class I ran had a very nervous GSD and a bold Yorkie - these two built up a great friendship and they taught each other a lot.