Puppy/Dog Training Tips

[roadman]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

This is all great stuff.

Thank you to everyone.

The only question I have left over would be if the dog whines or barks in the cage in the middle of the night.

Are you suppose to let them be and they'll fall back asleep or take them out for a potty break?

[Stu]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

This is all great stuff.

Thank you to everyone.

The only question I have left over would be if the dog whines or barks in the cage in the middle of the night.

Are you suppose to let them be and they'll fall back asleep or take them out for a potty break?

Depends how old. An 8 week old puppy can't hold it long enough to make it through the night. If you are locking them in the crate while sleeping, you should let them out several times during the night.

If they're old enough to hold it, and you took them out before bed, then don't let them out.

[Holic]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

Depends how old. An 8 week old puppy can't hold it long enough to make it through the night. If you are locking them in the crate while sleeping, you should let them out several times during the night.

If they're old enough to hold it, and you took them out before bed, then don't let them out.

Yeah, we crate ours at night. He's now 7 months. The first month or so he'd get up in the middle of the night (twice every now and then). Now I take him out about 11PM as always, and he holds it til I'm up or my wife is up in the morning.

If your puppy is 7-8 weeks old. You'll probably be getting up once or twice a night atleast to let him do his business outside. It's just like having a newborn again for us. But those couple of weeks were worth it. I've watched people train their dogs to go on the paper/pads. Worst method of training ever IMO.

[roadman]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

And so it begins.

We found out she just developed tapeworm, so the owners took her to the vet and started her on medication.

She was a bit nervous and overwhelmed at first, but now she is resting comfortably.

There were 4 kids (one is a sleepover) trying to get her attention. Finally, most of them went downstairs and she became more relaxed.

I'm sure she will go through some separation anxiety.

[bjf1377]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

[shameless workplace plug]
Lots of PetSmart's have pet training classes that work reasonably well from what I've seen over the past 2-3 months of working there. Its around $109 for an 8 week course (versus $50-$90 for a decent crate w/ a divider + puppy pads & or crate cushions).
[/shameless workplace plug]

[roadman]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

Rough first night at the household.

I had to take a 4 hour nap to catch on the lack of sleep last night.

Puzzle hated the crate and we didn't have enough time to train her in it. We kept in the den.

Tonight, we'll put the crate in the family room and I'll try to sleep on the couch. We will try to wean her back to the den this week.

[Happy29]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

It might sound strange but I trained my dog using oreo cookies. She'll do anything I tell her now.

[Knight165]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

It might sound strange but I trained my dog using oreo cookies. She'll do anything I tell her now.

Beware..

Chocolate...caffeine....raisins are all toxic to dogs.....ESPECIALLY PUPPIES.

DO NOT give your pup anything not specific for canines.\
Also...the Christmas Holly plant...toxic and be careful with all meds...don't leave the bottle on the table or anywhere where the pup can get to it....chew the container to shreds and ingest the contents.
Advil and other acetaminophen will cause kidney failure.
Also anti-freeze......it tastes "sweet" and dogs will lap it up....even a small dose can cause kidney failure(and death ) in a small dog or pup....

Hate to be an "alarmist"...but better to know and avoid potential trouble.
Halloween(candy bowls filled with chocolate left on a table) and other holidays are approaching. Your pup will still be quite young and adventurous and can easily get into these things before you even realize it.
When Smokey was very young she ate a whole roll of Tums I had left on the counter....while it wasn't a real health problem(thank God)....the results on the other end were quite messy for a day or two.
She also got into a tube of bacitracin once...do not ask me how...and thankfully that was also not a real problem.
I always thought I was quite careful too...but they are sneaky...they will grab something(once they know they can't have everything because you will start correcting them) and sneak away and be very quiet while they rip it apart to investigate....
When you catch them sneaking away...it's actually kind of funny...with the item in their mouth...they walk slowly by you looking at you kind of sideways while they imagine the item is invisible(meanwhile...half the time it's twice the size of them..like a shoe)...and they'll just keep slinking...

M.K.
Knight165

[Knight165]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

Also...one more....

Watch out for your wife's leather hand bags...PUPPIES LOVE THEM!(and the contents inside).

Just remember...it's like having a baby that never really grows up!

M.K.
Knight165

[aukevin]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

[shameless workplace plug]
Lots of PetSmart's have pet training classes that work reasonably well from what I've seen over the past 2-3 months of working there. Its around $109 for an 8 week course (versus $50-$90 for a decent crate w/ a divider + puppy pads & or crate cushions).
[/shameless workplace plug]

I have taken 4 classes at Petsmart and I think we had a excellent trainer and that's a big part of it. If a Petsmart near you has a good trainer and you have the drive to actually work with the training at home, it is an important thing to do. I'm a member of an AKC dog obedience club in my area and I actually think my Petsmart training was better than that of the club, but my Petsmart training was really good.

[Holic]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

Rough first night at the household.

I had to take a 4 hour nap to catch on the lack of sleep last night.

Puzzle hated the crate and we didn't have enough time to train her in it. We kept in the den.

Tonight, we'll put the crate in the family room and I'll try to sleep on the couch. We will try to wean her back to the den this week.

We got our puppy a little young. We ended up putting a stuffed puppy in with him, a wind up clock and a shirt of mine in with him. Trust me, it'll get alot easier pretty quick. Believe we were up with our pup 3 or 4 times the first night. Next day I hit google, and come up with the ideas I listed. You'll still have to take him out atleast once or twice during the night depending on how many weeks/months he is.

[roadman]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

We got our puppy a little young. We ended up putting a stuffed puppy in with him, a wind up clock and a shirt of mine in with him. Trust me, it'll get alot easier pretty quick. Believe we were up with our pup 3 or 4 times the first night. Next day I hit google, and come up with the ideas I listed. You'll still have to take him out atleast once or twice during the night depending on how many weeks/months he is.

The second night she stayed in the crate for 20 minutes before she started whining. I let her out because we have 3 kids and it was a school night. She slept till 4:50 a.m with me on the couch.

Yesterday, I put her in the crate during the day twice. She whined and barked for 45 minutes the first time and was quiet for 30 minutes. The next time she whined and barked for 40 minutes and was quiet for 35 minutes.

Last night, my wife had night-time duties. I put an alarm clock on top of the cage, tonight I'll put it with a sock in the crate. My wife said Puzzle would sleep twenty minutes, wake up, sleep twenty minutes wake up, etccc...... till 2:00a.m and then she finally slept the longest in the crate till 5:30 a.m.

Thanks for everyone's help. I'm even going to suggest the training at PetSmart to the family. It's about 15-20 miles away from us, but probably worth every penny.

[Stu]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

How are you putting her in the crate? Just tossing her in there and walking away? If you just toss her in and walk away she's going to have a negative opinion of the crate.

I've read about a couple things that might help..

- get them to go in on their own with treats, etc. Praise them and give them a treat when they do go in.
- don't leave while she's in the crate. Get her to go in, shut the door and then sit there with her for awhile.

[roadman]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

How are you putting her in the crate? Just tossing her in there and walking away? If you just toss her in and walk away she's going to have a negative opinion of the crate.

I've read about a couple things that might help..

- get them to go in on their own with treats, etc. Praise them and give them a treat when they do go in.
- don't leave while she's in the crate. Get her to go in, shut the door and then sit there with her for awhile.

Good points.

Last night my wife left the door open and blocked the opening while she petted her. She would try to get out and my wife would put her back in and calm her down. 20 minutes sleep, then awake, 20 minutes sleep, then awake, till 2:00 a.m and then she locked the crate and she slept till 5:30 a.m.

I found out yesterday from the previous owner that Puzzles brother is doing the same thing. The previous owners lives down the road and happened to be riding her bike in the neighborhood. It appears both Puzzle and her brother aren't eating as much as they used to as well. The previous owner told me that she's had to sleep on the couch with Puzzles brother as well.

[Happy29]

Re: Puppy/Dog Training Tips

Beware..

Chocolate...caffeine....raisins are all toxic to dogs.....ESPECIALLY PUPPIES.

DO NOT give your pup anything not specific for canines.\
Also...the Christmas Holly plant...toxic and be careful with all meds...don't leave the bottle on the table or anywhere where the pup can get to it....chew the container to shreds and ingest the contents.
Advil and other acetaminophen will cause kidney failure.
Also anti-freeze......it tastes "sweet" and dogs will lap it up....even a small dose can cause kidney failure(and death ) in a small dog or pup....

Hate to be an "alarmist"...but better to know and avoid potential trouble.
Halloween(candy bowls filled with chocolate left on a table) and other holidays are approaching. Your pup will still be quite young and adventurous and can easily get into these things before you even realize it.
When Smokey was very young she ate a whole roll of Tums I had left on the counter....while it wasn't a real health problem(thank God)....the results on the other end were quite messy for a day or two.
She also got into a tube of bacitracin once...do not ask me how...and thankfully that was also not a real problem.
I always thought I was quite careful too...but they are sneaky...they will grab something(once they know they can't have everything because you will start correcting them) and sneak away and be very quiet while they rip it apart to investigate....
When you catch them sneaking away...it's actually kind of funny...with the item in their mouth...they walk slowly by you looking at you kind of sideways while they imagine the item is invisible(meanwhile...half the time it's twice the size of them..like a shoe)...and they'll just keep slinking...

M.K.
Knight165

Ahh thats just talk when my dog was a puppie she had oreos, animal carckers, and we had a beer everyday and pina coladas on the weekend. She's 9 years old now and perfectly healthy, we gave up the drinking though.