Puppy training

[Gail]

Most of you know my daughter, Valerie, has two new puppies. They are 12 weeks old now and doing pretty good at going outside to do their business. They do like to deposite some poopie in the living room when no one is looking.

Yesterday I walked into her house, sniffed, and sweetly sang, "I smell poopies, I smell pooooopies".

Valerie looked at me, frowned, and said, Mom! I'm cooking broccoli and carrots!

[starlasue]

LOL :laff2: Can you imagine if the puppies ate the broccoli - poo tinky. Yes, this time it was veggies Grandma, but you just might still smell poopie puppies too, so don't count your 'smeller' out yet.

Aren't puppies fun? :love:

[Don]

The chewing stage is a riot... :cuss:

[starlasue]

Maggie did ok with the chewing stage. We made sure there were lots of interesting toys and switched them out so that she didn't get bored. Other than socks and tissues she really hasn't chewed on anything else since her 2nd week here.

Gail - get the pups those toys that are made to put their food pellets in. They scew apart and then are dishwasher safe so you can clean them up once in a while. I measure out Maggie's food and then put a goodly portion of it in the toy. She always works at that first, then goes to her bowl. It keeps her busy and she is tired enough of chewing and working at getting them out, that she doesn't fuss with other things for a while. ;)

[Antsmom]

You know I was just thinking about when I buy a house how I want to get a dog. Then I started thinking about the 'training' involved and how they are like babies. Was thinking how nice it would be to adopt an adult dog that is already trained, but I want a rottie....so would prefer a puppy. What a 'co-incidence' to read this post. Is training that hard? And the chewing stage...it's been so long since I've been around a puppy. All of our family dogs are adults....

Love,
Veronica

[starlasue]

Veronica, it does take a lot of time to train a puppy properly, but the rewards are worth it. Oh and the antics make you crack up every single day. Chewing is only a problem if the pup isn't getting enough stimulation in the right areas. Not only do they chew b/c of teething, they get bored and hence they chew. They need to exercise, to learn obedience, and to be loved.

Very early on with Maggie we had some minor chewing on things that weren't appropriate but by having lots of alternatives to replace the 'wrong chewies' with, she learned fairly quickly. We also had her 'work' for treats. Sit, stay, down, drop, bring, give, etc. NEVER a freebie treat. That engages their minds at a different level. Even at a really early age she loved to please and do what we asked. At first we might only do the game for two minutes, but each day there were these short leadership/follower sessions. It was a fun game that came with treats!

I also have to tell you that little 8 pound Maggie is what is classified as an aggressive chewer. We need to get her the toughest toys otherwise they are toast in 10 minutes. BUT, she isn't chewing OUR things, only hers (other than sneaking off with socks [which she doesn't destroy btw] and tissues - no pup is perfect! :laff2: )

Our Shilo who passed away Dec 05 was a rescue at age 2 1/2. She had been abused terribly b/c she was an aggressive chewer. You would not believe what was done to that dog. We brought her home and yes, we had to show her the do's and dont's but with the right activities and working with her, she never destroyed any of our stuff. She learned quickly that if she followed the rules she was treated fairly and lovingly. It had been reported to us that she chewed up furniture, clothes, curtains, wires, shoes, door edges, etc. But once she knew our rules, she was a gem of a dog and led a happy life with 13 good years after that. We were fortunate to have that pup as a friend!

I guess my point is, no matter whether you get a puppy or a mature dog that someone else may or may not have trained, you will need to be the 'pack leader' and establish your pack rules and provide the training and activities the dog needs to be a good family member.

Sounds like your heart is in the right place, so I am sure the right critter will find you and say "Hey, come on take me along, I am ready to go home with you!" :love:

[Gail]

The puppies do love to chew and they are very quick at destroyng something, since both of them team up. :D

Simba, the male, is going to be a talker. He likes going out and actually opens his mouth and says, "Ouuuut". It's very clear. Nala looks a little like the naughty Gremlin, Stripe. She likes to pick on her brother and he allows it.

Since young Simba is beginning to take too much interest in his sister, there will be a trip to the vet before he acts on his interest. :eek:

[starlasue]

It might be a dominance thing at his age; I dont' think either is old enough yet, but yeah I'd get the vet's advice on when! Have you got more recent photos of them? 'Course maybe I should go check the gallery and see!

[Gail]

They still look like the original pictures, only larger. Very kissable.

[Antsmom]

Thank you all for your advice. When I do get settled, I would like a dog and in my family I've always grown up with "protection" dogs. Tho around family they were harmless. I has just been so long since we had a puppy, I'm glad you all refreshed my memory. When the time comes, I'm sure I'll be lead to who is supposed to be a member of the family.

Gail may just have an attraction on her hands...I remember we once had 2 dogs (unrelated) and we mated them and then kept a boy and girl from the litter. Well, as the children got older there were horrible dominance issue's between mom and daugher and father and son. We had to keep the generations seperate. Luckily we had the means to do so. That was frightening.....they were aggressive.

Much Love,
Veronica

[rvt2mt]

My Mom taught me to add a walnut when I cook broccoli. I have no idea why it works. And they look a me funny when I buy one walnut.:froggie:

petfinders.com has saved me a fortune, and a lot of heartbreak. If you are thinking of adding any critter to your home, check them out.

I have a lot of animals, always have. I'm a softy with time and room. After some very expensive disasters with free and found dogs, I tried 'petfinder.com' even though I needed a very specific dog, after some searching i found him. In short, for $200 I get a dog that is neutered, and has it's shots and is not sick. :hearts: And you are not helping a puppy mill somewhere.
-K

[MommaSassy]

the worst stage of our puppy training was the chewing on everything, but then again i did have 11 puppies ( we breed dogs) in the room that used to be my garage. the potty trained theirselves, but buddy did they like chewing up my walls. we finally sold all of them now one day we got to patch those walls :laff:

[Gail]

Valerie took some new pictures of the puppies this morning and I just posted two of them. Nala tries hard to get Simba out of the picture so it's not easy getting one of them together. :) I stayed at my daughter's house last night and saw Nala in action.

They were both outside and it was time to come in. I called them and Simba was the first to head up the three steps. Before he got in the door, Nala grabbed his tail and dragged him back down. She rushed up the steps and got in first. :D


They do love each other and cuddle together. Simba is just too sweet of a teddy bear to get angry with her.

[Don]

They sound too cute, Gail. It also sounds like Valerie's got a puppy sitter any time she wants. ;)