Comments on: Puppy Love

By: christina

christina — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:37:26 +0000

I agree with everyone - crate training is the best way to go. Your puppy will learn to love it, and it will become a safe haven for him/her. I completely understand how excited you must because because I was in your shoes this time last year! Check out my dog's blog - where I write about his antics, training, and share lots of pics. It's also what I will use to refer back to when we get our 2nd furbaby a year or so from now. Good luck! christina’s most recent blog post: Castration is a bitch

By: Becky

Becky — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:56:37 +0000

Communication and consistency between you and the mister (and anyone else who will be around the pup) is key. Make sure you have a plan for how your going to deal with situations before they happen (ie when the pup chews up your favorite shoes or poops on your favorite rug). Also, come to terms with the idea that your house will never have the same level of cleanliness, and you *will* lose something of value to your puppy. A must, must read for anyone bringing home a puppy or rescue dog (or trying to turn around behavioral issues in dogs) is "The Dog Listener" by Jan Fennell {link}. Cheesy title, but really great insight for any dog owner. My husband and I both read this before we got our newfie pup, and it helped prepare us for a lot of situations that have come up in the last two years. Becky’s most recent blog post: headed north

By: B

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:45:51 +0000

My first dog Bandit was not a chewer so I never had an issue, but with my second dog Goldie, she got into everything! I lost many pairs of shoes her first couple months with me. She also chewed on towels/pillows in her crate resulting in a very expensive vet visit. What finally saved my sanity was a sour apple spray that I put on EVERYTHING except her toys and bowls. I bought it at Petco. She hated the taste and it kicked her habit of gnawing on everything in site.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:25:10 +0000

1- Absolutely put everything away. I invested in shoe boxes and several new cabinets for things that I would normally have left out. Now I’m totally trained that NOTHING can be left out. I’ve caught puppies with nails, batteries, leather ANYthing, etc. Oh and food. i couldn’t leave any food even on the counters. You’d be amazed at how well even a tiny pup can climb to get into things.

2-Crate training is absolutely the way to go, and the earlier you start, the better things will be. It was hard for me to listen to my pup cry for the first couple of nights, but now (he’s over 7 years old!), he looks for crate-like spaces to get comfortable. They actually like having their own space, and you’ll end up much less stressed.

3-When I lived in a house with tile floors, I swept every day (the floors probably only every couple of days), and mopped once a week. I think that carpet is more forgiving. I probably only vacuum once or twice a week.

4-Decide what the rules will be NOW. It’s easy to let a cute little puppy get away with things now, but remember that what you let him do now, he’ll still do when he’s bigger and older. If you worry about guests being jumped on or having a dog plop in their lap, then you have to set those rules now. It is SO much harder to untrain those habits when they are older.

5-Good Luck!!! Puppies are so rewarding!

By: Miss Monogram

Miss Monogram — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:17:55 +0000

OK, so the best things I ever did when housebreaking Stella using a bell. I hung a jingle ball on a piece of twine right by the back door that I knew I'd take her out most of the time. Every time I took her out, I took her little paw and made her ring the bell. In less than two weeks she was doing it by herself! It really works :) Miss Monogram’s most recent blog post: Saving the Date

By: Lauren

Lauren — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:51:48 +0000

Congratulation they are stunning!
You need the Shark Cordless VX3. It is so amazing it doesn’t get put away you find yourself using it so often. It cleans carpet, hardwood or tile and is so easy to pull out that using your normal vac will seem serious work. It is as amazing as the infomercial makes it sound.

By: Jen

Jen — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:47:32 +0000

How exciting! What adorable puppies! I agree that crate training is a must - our boy LOVES his crate. We've found that its especially nice for weekends we visit friends/family - we can set up the crate in their home and the dog has his own little spot (also, if we go out, we don't worry that he's messing with their stuff or getting into things that could hurt him). We also trained our dog to enter the house after us, and to stop inside the door (until we give him the release command). When it's rainy/muddy outside, we can grab a towel and wipe his paws off before he tracks mud through the house. It might sound ridiculous, but it saves me a lot of cleaning mud out of carpet!! Good luck! Jen’s most recent blog post: our first visitors!

By: Jennelle

Jennelle — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:24:40 +0000

DH and I wish we could have a puppy, but we're gone nearly 12 hours each day at work. Those spaniels are absolutely adorable! I love puppies with curly ears. :) Jennelle’s most recent blog post: Beth's Shower

By: Jane

Jane — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:06:47 +0000

Crate training from day one is a must! We have a swiffer sweeper that gets run over all the floors almost every day. Then, once a week, it gets a real vacuum job. Don't get any toys that might resemble things you don't want chewed on ... for example, squeaky shoe toys mean that your real shoes might get mistaken for a toy! Finally, expect accidents to occur. Be prepared in advance with rug cleaner and towels! :) GOOD LUCK! PS: I'm reading this AT the dog park. I just got peed on. We'll be leaving now. While getting peed on, my golden retriever found the ONLY mud puddle within 75 miles. She now looks like a chocolate lab. Dogs are like 3 year old little boys. :) Jane’s most recent blog post: Thank you

By: Parsing Nonsense

Parsing Nonsense — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:33:51 +0000

Oh my gosh, those are some adorable little puppies! We brought our Labrador puppy home two years ago and lemme tell you, you're in for a treat! Puppies are a metric ton of work but with training and persistence they grow up to be the best companions. We vacuum every week and sweep our wood floors every night to keep the house from smelling. We give Doc a bath every week with deodorizing shampoo, too, so he doesn't smell. We kept a lot of chew toys around and constantly supervised him so he never destroyed anything (except his toys). We also crate trained, which is the best thing you can do for your puppy! Good luck! Parsing Nonsense’s most recent blog post: Siesta Fiesta!