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So it's the third day in our puppy's new home and be seems to be settling ok.
He's turned into a bundle of energy now he's happy with his new surroundings and goes from being off his head to sleeping baby within seconds at times lol
Anyways I thought I'd check in to get some top tips and a bit if advice to make sure where all on the right track.
He'll be toileting in the garden eventually but for the first few days I've concentrated on getting him to go on newspaper in the kitchen which he's managed prob 90% of the time which is awesome.
We'll be using a crate for his den in the house and when where not here and have been slowly introducing him to that which is going well, no majors dramas so far.
The main thing in my mind at the mo is dealing sight he night time. First night was spent in the cage after he'd been introduced a good few times during the day. I put the cage in our bedroom to make things easier for him and set an alarm every 2 hours or so to toilet him. He did really well, no accident in bed and went on the paper as soon as I put him on it when I'd taken him to the kitchen. He went back to sleep every time but the 5.30 was a bit laboured and I slept on the floor so he could see me which settled him down and kept him happy and in there until 7.30
So last night was the second night. Left his cage down stairs in the back room where its going to be. He'd already had two or three one hour+ naps in there during the day. So I thought I'd sleep in the room with him to settle him down. This worked a charm. I set my alarm but during the night he whined every time he needed the toilet, woke me up and then I toilette him in the kitchen, back to bed, three no. 1's and a no. 2, good stuff I thought.
All going well until we hit 5.30 and he's going batty again. Whining clawing the cage etc, way to noisy to sleep, I try to ignore him for a bit but he's not for chilling out. So I go to the cage, wait for him to settle then give him a fuss, wrap him up and leave him again. 5 mins later same story. By 6 I except its a lost cause for now and we get up.
So my main concerns are...
1. What's the best way of making sure he gets up when I say its time to get up, not him.
2. What the best transition to get him to be sleeping on his own down stairs. I'm happy to sleep in the front room for a bit if need be so I'm close by but not in the same room but don't want him to get dependant on being there to deal with his every whim.
Say hello to Bobby everyone!!
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Awwww puppy!
Awww.
Oh, did you ask something?
Awww, puppy! 😀
I try to ignore him for a bit but he's not for chilling out. So I go to the cage, wait for him to settle then give him a fuss, wrap him up and leave him again. 5 mins later same story. By 6 I except its a lost cause for now and we get up.
Ignore him (its not easy) but at the moment your rewarding his crying and so he is controlling you not the other way round.
Just leave him downstairs on his own. He might make a bit of noise for a few nights but he'll get used to it. I think you're trying a bit too hard, let him get on with it.
Plenty of stuff for him to chew so he won't get bored!
Looks lovely 🙂
What Muke said. Sounds like you've got further than this, but we started with the crate in the bedroom, then gradually moved it further away... landing, top of stairs, bottom of stairs, then downstairs. Worked ok.
Dog (now aged 5) still yaps to wake my wife up at 6am now though, but I reckon that's cos I'm not there anymore.
Firstly I would say don't sleep near him. He will quickly get used to you being there. YOu really need to ignore him. Unfortunately puppies will wake at stupid o'clock and it could be 6 months before you get a full nights sleep.
For my dog I used a pen with training mats at the furthest part to the cage. She soon learnt to use them. I also trained her during the day to go outside. After every meal and sleep I would take her outside and use an associated word for when she had a wee or poo.
He's very cute!
dont let him sleep in your room, if he's whining ignore it, only let him out the crate when he's stopped whining and fighting for your attention.... even if it means sitting silently near the crate checking your phone or something whilst you wait, he needs to understand that acting like that wont make you appear to let him out.
if you can get on top of the early stages of separation anxiety at this stage he'll be awesome with the crate as he gets older 🙂
Our monster is now 3 months (plus another of 7 years).
Just stick the crate downstairs. Get some earplugs. 2-3 nights and it'll be fine. No need to let it out during the night. Didn't with either of ours without a single incident.
Early starts. Older dog when a puppy had to be dragged out of bed or would happily snooze until mid-day. Current one gets up at 6:30. We get up at 6:30. Looking forward to BST. If it was earlier we'd be using the earplug approach.
Obligatory picture of the monster:
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I would let him sleep in the bed so he's not all lonely without his mum and put some paper out on the landing for his mess for now but then I'm not some kind of inhuman monster like you. Give it a week or so then start all that training business for goodness sake, look at him, bless. Crate training is equally horrible if you ask me, never did it with either of mine, sounds a bit "kennel club". If you wanted convenience a puppy was prolly not the way to go.
old fashioned tick tock clock and a hot water bottle wrapped in a blanket
After almost breaking me in the first 3 nights, with our pup sleeping in her cage in the bedroom I put her in the kitchen with the cage open and fitted a baby gate (we're semi open plan) to keep her limited to the lino. Left paper out away from her cage and let her do her business whenever she felt the need and we never looked back.
Pretty much full nights sleep ever since and pup never soiled her crate.
J
You sleep in the kitchen and let the dong ahve the bedroom, problem solved!
Seriously though you have to just ignore the whining and barking at night it does stop although it can take a week or more, just tough it out. It is better for you and the dog in the long run. Try to stick to the same routine as much as possible this is what they prefer. And dont shout and make a fuss over the barking as this negative response has the same effect of making your puppy into a needy and insecure dog!
Do give lots of fuss and praise when he has been quiet and settled.
nice pic.
Cheers guys, really appreciate the input.
I might just leave him in the cage downstairs then and but a training pad at the side of his cage, he good at going on it anyways. Think ill still get up a couple of times in the night to toilet him though for now so its not all to much to soon.
I would let him sleep in the bed so he's not all lonely without his mum and put some paper out on the landing for his mess for now but then I'm not some kind of inhuman monster like you.
Your right I'm not trying hard enough, ill but some spikes in the cage and maybe plug one side into the mains.
On a more serious note that's top advice from FFEJ. Don't lock him away in a crate that's just not good and there is no need.
Also you might find the absorbent mats you can buy less hassle and more sanitary than newspaper.
Pups are great! Not without challenges (I wasn't fan of the razor sharp teeth phase) but stick with it.
Then..
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Now..
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Ffej sounds like a good plan. Why people close the cage is beyond me.... Dogs will not want to sleep anywhere near their wee/poo, let them out.
We just put ours out in the stable at night from day one and never had a problem. In fact the current dog can't wait to go to bed - at 10:00 every night she comes to me with a slipper/teddy ready to go! (I may cover her with a blanket if its chilly though!)
go to boots and buy a job lot of ear plugs.
put cage down stairs.
put blanket over cage so he/she feels enclosed.
kick him outside for a wee/poo
stick him in cage.
go to bed
place earplugs in ears of all occupants of the house who get woken up by very cute puppy.
go to sleep.
wake up in morning and go down stairs.
DO NOT acknowledge the excitement.
open back door
open cage
boot very cute puppy outside telling him/her to have a wee/poo
make huge fuss when they do
continue with your day.
worked a charm for us and our springer. and my mum and hers. and my aunty and all her dogs. and most of my friends who tried it.
the important thing is not making a fuss of them when you are trying to gain control over a given situation. middle of the night, returning from being out etc. ignor them until they calm down then fuss them. if you fuss them straight away they take tat as being the acceptable greeting. if you ignore them until they are calm then they will stay calm so you fuss them. you may want to go down in the middle of the night to let them out for a wee/poo as their bladder/bowel control isnt that great when they are tiny. do not make a fuss just open the door and boot them outside. dont deliberately let them do their business in the house. straight outside. they learn quicker that way.
shutting the cage helps them to learn to hold in what ever they need to do as they dont want to mess their bed. not sayings its fool proof but thats the theory and it worked for us. 🙂
where are you based? any thoughts on what sort of training you'll do with him?
he's gorgeous by the way
I put her in the kitchen with the cage open and fitted a baby gate
Same approach as me. Hated the thought of locking her in a cage! She now just has her basket and has the full run of the Kitchen and hall and is always the last one up.
Dottie the day we got her.
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Dottie age 2.
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our springer had no issues clearing a baby gate at about 10 weeks. 😕
Really cute Pup, when we went to Puppy training classes with our Pup the trainer said Dogs only really respond to two things. Food and sex.
Always carry treats with you when you are near him and every time he does something you approve of give him a treat and over praise her, but it must only happen on the event as Dogs cant reflect on past events. Never shout only treat. Get signed up to some Puppy training classes which were really helpful, if not just for the training but also the socialising with other dogs.
Spent alot of time with our Collie when she was a Pup but it was so worth it 2 years later we have no probs at all.
We had problems with ours, border collie, first year was him barking me awake at 5am every day. After a year we had him neutered, he wore the cone of shame, barked once at 5am,must have been like being in a megaphone, has never done it since
Disclaimer, I think it was a year but don't quote me, it was a blur of no sleep
go to boots and buy a job lot of ear plugs.
put cage down stairs.
put blanket over cage so he/she feels enclosed.
kick him outside for a wee/poo
stick him in cage.
go to bed
place earplugs in ears of all occupants of the house who get woken up by very cute puppy.
go to sleep.
wake up in morning and go down stairs.
DO NOT acknowledge the excitement.
open back door
open cage
boot very cute puppy outside telling him/her to have a wee/poo
make huge fuss when they do
continue with your day.
worked a charm for us and our springer. and my mum and hers. and my aunty and all her dogs. and most of my friends who tried it.
the important thing is not making a fuss of them when you are trying to gain control over a given situation. middle of the night, returning from being out etc. ignor them until they calm down then fuss them. if you fuss them straight away they take tat as being the acceptable greeting. if you ignore them until they are calm then they will stay calm so you fuss them. you may want to go down in the middle of the night to let them out for a wee/poo as their bladder/bowel control isnt that great when they are tiny. do not make a fuss just open the door and boot them outside. dont deliberately let them do their business in the house. straight outside. they learn quicker that way.
shutting the cage helps them to learn to hold in what ever they need to do as they dont want to mess their bed. not sayings its fool proof but thats the theory and it worked for us.
+1 good advice sir. Very cute puppy btw 😀
Right cheers for info everyone. Pretty much what I was thinking but I think I'd been a bit over the top with the small bladder front. Had though about getting a playpen so will go down this route and have it attached to the cage with it left open. He's so good on the paper anyway it makes sense at this stage (7 weeks) of night weeing. Ill introduce him to the garden this afto and start taking him out for a wee. It was snowing yesterday and I felt a bit tight! Lol
Phil Im Stockport way, right in the edge of the peak so plenty of fun near by for him.
Was going to do the puppy training as soon as I can.
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Great thread, we're going through the exact same phase as you Gravitysucks, our springer is 8 weeks and we only got he on Friday.
She is great during the day, no hassles with peeing in the house, she now tells us when she needs by going to the door. I'm currently off work after having an arthroscopy last week so getting to spend plenty of time with her.
Night time is different, i followed the above advice and put her outside for the bog, the fired her into the cage for the night at 11pm. First night very little crying and a dry bed @ 6am when i got up, second night the same, little crying but an accident, last night the same as night 2! So i'm thinking i will get up around 3am to let her out for the toilet as i've read how distressing it is for the pups to mess their own bed..
This is Sona; 8)
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Like you, she is also a bundle of energy when she is awake, needle teeth but stunning nature with the kids. She got her first jag yesterday and was a star, but its going to be a long 3 weeks until she can get out and about..
This is her currently as i type..
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second night the same, little crying but an accident, last night the same as night 2! So i'm thinking i will get up around 3am to let her out for the toilet as i've read how distressing it is for the pups to mess their own bed..
If she's crying in the middle of the night, rather than just after you put her to bed then I'd definitely get up to let her out to the toilet, don’t say a word, go outside with her until she goes, then pop her back in the crate and go back upstairs. At that age being able to hold on all night would be a serious achievement.
shutting the cage helps them to learn to hold in what ever they need to do as they dont want to mess their bed.
Sorry but that's just not possible at 8 weeks. It is wrong. Let him get out of the cage for a pee on some paper.
When he's bigger you can try that method if you feel the need but not when it it's impossible for him to comply.
Helios - MemberIf she's crying in the middle of the night, rather than just after you put her to bed then I'd definitely get up to let her out to the toilet, don’t say a word, go outside with her until she goes, then pop her back in the crate and go back upstairs. At that age being able to hold on all night would be a serious achievement.
We never heard her crying in the night, if i had i would have been up and let her out, but tonight i will wake at 3am and take her out for her own sanity..
I hate cages, what exactly is the point? Just seems really cold. This is a pup in it's most natural environment, no cages required just a baby gate to keep him on the hard floor. I suppose we had the benefit of another dog to keep him company.
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Puppy Thread!
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This is Roger on his first day with us.
He's bigger and bouncier now, and ACE.
Sorry but that's just not possible at 8 weeks. It is wrong. Let him get out of the cage for a pee on some paper.
Worked 100% with both ours. I'd assumed it was the norm. It certainly is "possible".
steviegil - MemberWe never heard her crying in the night,
Ahh - I misunderstood then. Fair enough. We used to set alarms for the first couple of weeks, but he quickly got to the point of sleeping through from 11-6 without issue.
joolsburger - MemberI hate cages, what exactly is the point?
Well for us, we can't keep him in the kitchen because it’s too small and freezing cold, so the only option is our open plan living room. I don't agree with giving dogs the full run of the house (ours isn't allowed upstairs) and certainly wouldn't want him roaming around our entire lounge before he was toilet trained and over his chewing/teething stage. So a crate was the best option for us. It means we don't set him up to fail. I know some people think they're cruel - but I simply don't agree.
5thElefant - MemberSorry but that's just not possible at 8 weeks. It is wrong. Let him get out of the cage for a pee on some paper.
Worked 100% with both ours. I'd assumed it was the norm. It certainly is "possible".
I understand that puppy walkers for Guide Dogs are instructed to do exactly this - personally I'm too much of a wuss to feel happy forcing him to hold it all night long at such a young age so I got up twice a night to begin with... It didn't last long and a few nights of disturbed sleep for me was worth it to think he was comfortable.
Yup, never used a cage here either..
Just left her downstairs with Eric, and she followed his lead.
Think we may have one accident, and that was it. We sent them outside last thing, and again first thing, and she soon learnt to use the garden..
Esme the first day we got her:
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It is possible as I know a number of people, including myself who use the method who it has worked for. I only recal a couple of accidents and she soon got the hang of going outside. I'm not saying its the only method. Use whatever you are happy with. All I'm saying is it worked for myself and a number if friends and family. Feel free to use whatever method you feel happiest with. 🙂
Gotta agree with topper's routine, and that's the key, Routine! It took us nearly two weeks but then he gave up the fuss at night. As long as you know they are safe then never go back. Looking back it was only two weeks, oh! then the vet cut his knackers off and we had to do it all again!
Ah Springer pups - the cutest things in the world.
Mine sired 9 of them ...
We had one of them but dad did not get on with Elvis pup at all ...
Boy - they have very sharp teeth
Cheers for the info guys and pics, keep them coming!!
So I've taken a bit of advice and built him his own room. Like above we also have a small kitchen that is freezing so I nipped over to pets at home and bought a run. With a bit of ingenuity, a fair few cable grips, an old buckle belt and some lino I nicked from my mum its come together pretty well. This way he has a bit more room to play, chew, has a toilet area away from his cage / bed. I've took the door off the cage so he still has his den.
Ironically now he's out in the garden he wee'd on the floor once or twice and just wants to eat grass!
One step forward, two steps back eh!
Open pen when we are about...
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Closed pen for night time...
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And one tired pup in his new bed for the front room after spending the afternoon pouncing on my feet as I tried to put it all together!
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Don't be too concerned about them eating grass (I'm not saying you are). Mine eats it all the time. Always has.
The Cockapoo puppy...aka the fluffy terror. I win cutest puppy award. 😈 Also, I taught her to sit, lie and roll on command at 12 weeks and she was fully house trained by 11 weeks. Epic dog. Next trick is to play dead when I make a finger gun and say "bang".
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Wet puppy!
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My deceased working Springer, looking as though she's seen a ghost or taken copious amounts of drugs.
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And another where she looks as though she's thinking "wtf, I'm not amused".
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oooo Ill enter the cutest puppy competition. Hard to beat a big dog as a puppy.. its the skin!
on the way home from breeders
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cuteness
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You've pretty much got all the advice you need, you just need to pick whichever works best for you and stick to it! They grow up so quick!
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Golfchick, what is that? Nice dog!
Golfchick- Rogue waves his paw to say hi 😀 and your not wrong about growing so fast, it doesn't seem 2 minutes ago he looked like this:
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Now look at him
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Bwaarp she's a rhodesian ridgeback!
Try the hot water bottle and ticking clock as someone said on here earlier. I have it on good authority that is helps a lot! Stick ear plugs in and leave dog in cage until you get up. Try not to feed the dog too much later on too. If the dog messes in the cage it will be a last resort for it as they tend not to want to mess there sleeping area up. If you have a big enough cage it will probably do it in the corner anyway. If you do wake in the night go let it outside as soon as you get up to get it used to going outside as soon as possible. If you don't wake up just worry about it in the morning and let him out straight away.
The approach you are adopting at the moment seems too mollycoddling to me and the dog will be pining too much for you and become too dependent. I think its good to get dogs independent as soon as possible, or they can become a nightmare when your not around them!
Some dogs are harder than others though most good dogs are sound after a few weeks I have found though as long as you don't pander to them all the time as that just slows the training process down in my opinion. Nice dog though nothing cuter than a little puppy they do grow up quick though!
I tried the same as gravitysucks last night, the cage is in the back hall so i closed off the doors and left the cage open and left her a few toys to play with. I put down training pads at the back door, water beside her cage and went to bed at 10.30pm. I woke at 6.30am and went down the stairs to a big steaming shit on pad 1 and 2 patches of piss beside the pad 2 😆 i put that down as being a nearly successful night and gives her the peace of mind that she hasn't messed her bed.. 🙂
I would try and get away from the pads as soon as possible, we have friends who used them for their puppy and even now that it’s 2 years old their dog will pee on any newspaper/magazine/blanket that is left on the floor.
We crate trained our pup, we thought the fact that you have to get up during the night for the first few weeks far outweighed the fact that you have to un-train the peeing on paper pads behavior.
UPDATE: So last night was hard times for him. no more coddling him. wee and poo before he went down and just left him in his bed. He went friggin batty, ear plugs are a god send!!!!
went down at 3am to a dry area and let him out for a quick wee then straiht back to bed. queue battyness again at 3am. Anyway this morning we went down to a calm dog that was still alive (until the neighbiurs get hold of him).
Im laid in bed typing this and heard the mrs take the kids to school before, a little whimper from him but he's quietened down after a minute so seems to be doing the trick!!!
Nice one Stevie, good fun ain't it! Mines just 7 weeks so will be nearly 4 weeks before we can get him out!!
Some seriously cute dogs on here.
Mines just 7 weeks
😯
Its brilliant mate, wish i done it years ago, hard work but very rewarding.
Tonight i'm putting a pad out, but i will get up in the night to let her out, hopefully get her into the way of thinking the pad is only for dire emergencies rather than habitual?
I'm only a week ahead of you age wise and i've been thinking its going to be a long 3 weeks til she is out, as her energy levels are growing each day.. 😯 😆
Does make you laugh how they go from a sleepy docile baby to a coiled spring in about 10 seconds.
Luckily we've got a massive garden which we got rid of most of the borders so the kids have more grass to go at, so at the mo he's got about 500 sq ft of grass to play on / eat and a whole lot more to explore.
I've wanted a dog for ages but left it until the kids were old enough to not be phased and get involved.
It's worked out pretty well as I've taken this week off work and the mrs will be off with the kids for the the next three weeks. Hopefully within a month we'll have broken the back of getting him sorted.
Today's task is to dig out and bin all the bark mulch and replace it with slate chippings. It seems the local cats have been using the border as a giant litter tray and guess who's discovered all the poo!?!?!
It seems the local cats have been using the border as a giant litter tray and guess who's discovered all the poo!?!?!
This morning on our walk my lab gorged himself on a nice big pile of cat crap, then proceeded to lick me in the face as soon as we got home.
I was not impressed.
When our Lab was first home we had her house trained in 3 days.
Used a crate, Have used one for the last 3 puppies.
The method we used was the same as Toppers.
For the first week we got up at 3 am the first night for toilet outside. then the next day 3.30am, day after 4am etc. Worked for us
A really good book to get is 'The perfect puppy' by Gwen Bailey.
A really good book to get is 'The perfect puppy' by Gwen Bailey.
I read that book before we got Dottie. It made the process so much easier knowing what we needed to do before we got her.
What a gorgeous puppy! Breaks your heart to hear them cry, but you have to be consistent with puppies!
Are you planning to take this little one to a puppy training class? My mom's a dog trainer and her first advice is to always always always go to puppy classes, to get the basics of sit, stay, down, discipline, etc under control. It's best to be coached by a professional on these things, even if you've had a dog in the past! That way, you'll set the foundations for a happy and healthy relationship with your puppy. He's such a cute little guy! Good luck.
3 days later and were good to go!! Excellent night last night went down without a fuss, I got him up at 3.30 for a wee then came down at 7 to a dry happy pup.
A little whimper when he went back in at 3.30 but that was it.
After two nights of ear plugs it was an awesome feeling.
Blanket over cage, a hot water bottle and ticking clock works wonders!
So 5 days after getting him he's hopefully house trained (no accidents in 2 days now), happy to spend time chilling in his den, and hopefully now is not a whingy pants when left on his own. Still another three days until he's 8 weeks, can't wait to be able to get him out and about!!
Happy boy this morning!
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awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww puppy!
glad things are improving at nights 🙂
It's amazing how quick they change. What seems like a never-ending nightmare just stops.
Our puppy's final remaining failing is chewing stuff (our old dog when a puppy never ever chewed anything he didn't ask for first). Highlights of stuff destroyed so far are an iPad and a light flex which tripped the house.
Still another three days until he's 8 weeks, can't wait to be able to get him out and about!!
I don't think you should be taking him outside (aka public areas) until the couple of weeks after the 2nd vacination. I would check with your vet.
BTW enjoying this thread, keep it going. 😉
Not sure if this will work.. 5 months ago..
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I don't think you should be taking him outside (aka public areas) until the couple of weeks after the 2nd vacination. I would check with your vet.
You should certainly be taking him outside well before this. Just don't let him wander round on the floor where there have been lots of other dogs so that you minimise the risk of parvo... Carry him about with you and let him see things. 8-12 weeks is crucial for socialisation...
Most vets do a puppy socialisation class for the exact reasons Helios has given. They are controlled and low risk of catching anything.
Yeh I know he won't be able to get out for another 3 weeks.
Got his 8 week injection on Tuesday then it'll be another 3 weeks before be can get out after his 2nd one.
Luckily we've got a big garden so at least he can run around like a loon!
great looking pup 🙂
puppy party's through the vets are great and good value for money .
hi from Colin , when he was 8/9 weeks old
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Cheers for the heads up Helios. Was thinking we were restricted to the garden for the next 4 weeks!
Time to head out and find the doggy friendly areas of this world...
Good thread that. Our Lab pub (now nearly 5, how did that happen!) was 16 weeks nearly when we had him. He was in a cage. First night he'd managed to snaffle loads of food from the breeder and was properly sick. Dog ownership at its' finest 😉 Next few nights whined a lot.
In the end my better half decided to approach the problem through the medium of a) a rolled up newspaper and b) the pup's nose. Never had a problem again. I want another pub, rest of family says no
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/2789637010/ ]Murphy (15 of 15)[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr
First time out with the big dogs tho, he got done over!
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/3120349706/ ]Murphy - 8 months old and stinky[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr
gravitysucks - MemberCheers for the heads up Helios. Was thinking we were restricted to the garden for the next 4 weeks!
Time to head out and find the doggy friendly areas of this world...
As I undertand it - you need to be worried about parvo from other dogs if you don't know whether they're vaccinated, and from any dog or fox poo... So letting them on the floor isn't a great idea until they're vaccinated... But that doesn't mean they can't leave the house...
When we got our pup I carried him round for walks each day so that he saw bin lorries, skateboards, kids, other dogs, cats, policemen in hi-viz, sirens etc etc... I also let him meet friend's and family's dogs which I knew were vaccinated - in fact - here he is meeting my father in law's dog at the tender age of 10 weeks:
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Dogs in bedrooms is just not right. Dogs are ment for outside living, cage and run outside with a heat lamp for the colder nights is the way forwards...