Kelpie_Pup

Absolutely. Also, the better quality the food, the less they waste.. Halle was on pedigree puppy food when we first got her She seriously used to just poop everything she ate. Now she is on a much better quality dry food and poops much less of what she eats...very good value for money

A good quality dry food is *generally speaking* better for your dog.. most wet foods have a high water content..which your dog can get for free from its water bowl

Maybe try softening the food with water? When we first swapped with our dog, we soaked the food in water first for about 10 mins to soften it, gradually decreasing the amount over about a week... If that doesn't work, then yep try tough love.. He'll soon learn to eat quickly when its given to him

Hi! Congratz on getting your new pup soon.. can't wait to see some pics! It really depends on what is available to you, what you can afford, what is recommended for your pup... Our pup was on meat and puppy dry food when we first got her.. We consulted our vet about what was the best food for our pup.. We have gone with Royal Canin right from the beginning. We took a week to change over her food so she didn't get an upset tummy.. We still feed her royal canin and she loves it, her coat is healthy and given how much she eats, she doesn't poop as much (which we take to mean that she is "using" most of what she is eating and not wasting it). We also feed her chicken wings and raw meaty bones from the butcher.. you can generally get a bag of them for about $2! We always supervised her with these while she was little to make sure she wouldn't choke or anything, but once she was about 5-6 months, she was left on her own to eat them. It just involves a little bit of trial and error, and discussing with your vet and the breeder Best of luck!

HI Emmi I don't know about how to fix these things with an older pup, but I will tell you what we did with ours when she was little. The biting used to really upset me.. it was only play biting, and only baby teeth, but still. Basically, if she used her teeth on our skin, we would yelp "OOOWWWWW" and ignore her for about 30 secs. She had three chances until play was over for good. Sometimes if she was being overly cheeky we would tap her nose and then leave her alone. Just remember, YOUR attention is all they want. If they **think** they can get it, they'll try!!! You need to try and fi the biting thing soon because an adult dog, with adult teeth, who thinks its ok to bite, can do some harm. Secondly, with the jumping, I can totally relate to this. Halle was a really bad jumper for a while there, but it was basically because every time she jumped on us, she got a pat/attention from us. We became very strict and each time she jumped on us, we would say "UGH OFF!" and ignore her totally.We would use our thigh or just turn away from her to get her off us. Once she was distracted (within a minute generally!), we would then call her over, tell her to sit, and then lavish attention on her. You have to be consistent. And you need to make sure that other people who come in contact with her do this too. If it means making your visitors stand outside the door while you get your dog settled, then so be it. We used to take treats with us everywhere, and ask ppl to only give halle a treat once she was sitting still at their feet. Most people are more than happy to help! These days, when we get home she gets SO excited, its soooo cute. She knows she can't jump up cause she'll get in trouble, but she's so desperate for a cuddle!!!, but she tries to stay down on the ground but jumping at the same time... Maybe you just have to be there! Have you done any reading on the forums? or on the net? there are heaps of different ways of doing thiese things which you may like to try., Just remember to give each one a really good go, don't swap between one or the other daily..

Depends how long you work for.. if you were at work for 2 hours, perhaps... 8-9 hours, no way. It's just not fair after spending the whole night in one and then the whole day again. I've never left Halle alone at home alone in the crate- she just goes outside- toys, space and kennel are there for her. I've only ever crated her during the day on and off in the following 24 hours after her being desexed. I think overnight is fine obviously, but personally, during the day, I wouldn't crate for more than 1-2 hours.

It would be great if you could take a bit of time off work when your puppy first arrives... allow her to become familiar with you and her new environment..it also allows you to help her adjust to having no-one at home (leaving her alone for little periods throughout the day). I personally am against using toilet training pads inside the house. Does nothing but teach the dog to do it inside.. I really doubt that at an early age they have the ability to distinguish between where is allowed and where is not ie. the pad or the carpet.... I think outside would be fine, provided you had a crate/kennel with some warm blankets in there. From my experience, its not until they're about 4-5 months of age until they decide that dragging the blankets around the backyard is more fun than sleeping on them (see pic) Every day she did it!! At this stage, it would be great if you could pop in once or twice during the day to visit your pup. And, you will need to expect that any of your training-socilisation, toilet training, bite inhibition-will take longer if she is alone for most of the day. But as long as you know that going in then it shouldn't be a problem The breeder, if he/she is responsible, wouldn't have allowed you to take Maddy if they didn't think you would be good owners!!

The concept of fetch for most dogs takes a while to learn I think. I mean, you throw the ball, they chase it, have a look at it, then get distracted by something nearby. There is not, In most dogs anyway, a natural instinct to pick up the ball and take it back. For us, Halle is 17 months now and only started bringing the ball back about3-4 months ago.. she's a clever dog but it either took her a while to figure out that if she didn't bring the ball back, the game was over, or she figured it out well before and was too stubborn to bother

Oh SOOOO precious!!!

Just give it a go! :rolleyes: try it during the day-so you can see what they're doing, and hover at the window to watch what happens Spying on little puppies is so funny. Your bigger is very unlikely to hurt your pup-the only instance I imagine something might happen is if the puppy pushes the boundaries-and even then it would probably only be a nip or a growl. When Halle was 13 weeks old, we took her to visit my partner's dad. They have a 5 year old kelpie.. we were quite concerned about leaving them outside together.. and yep, our little Halle did push the boundaries and annoy the cr@p out of their dog.. but when she did, their dog would either growl at halle or give her a quick "warning" nip.. nothing serious happened and that's how they work out the order in the pack.. as long as you and your OH remain at he top

Harlosmummy I don't mean to be rude or anything but I think you have acknowledged the issue.. they are silly fears that I personally do not feel are warranted :rolleyes: Q: why can't the puppy be in the yard?

Right from the word go, we have fed our puppy royal canin. I mean, our vet sells it, and it was recommended by them, but we have found it to bo soooo good for *our* dog. She was having 2-3 small meals when she was only little and a chicken wing or smaller meat bone 2-3 times a week. She is now 17 months old and as two bigger meals a day (not quite as much as is recommended) but we also give her a big meaty bone or chicken wing either every day or every 2nd day- we try to mix it up so that she enjoys it too and its not too dull. Plus, the bones and wings etc really help her teeth remain clean and strong It really is just what suits you and your dog.

Yep let your puppy wake you! They will learn that they need to make some noise and wake you if they need something... it can also help them learn the feeling of needing to pee, rather than you making them pee before they've even got the busting feeling

It's very hard to give an exact time ... Like vjb said, it varies with each dog. For us, Halle didn't make a mistake inside after she was 5 months, and that was her first and only one anyway. It is very much about being vigilent with your puppy and knowing the signs, and also being consistent and LOTS of praise :rolleyes: If you're happy with your dog having free reign of the house/area/room during the night then getting a soft bed for them is fine. We would prefer Halle to be contained and comfortable in her crate rather than having entire freedom of the living room. It's up to you and whether you feel you can trust him

We have used two types at different times. I personally don't like the wire cages.. don't like the look of them and they don't look very comfy etc. The first one we bought, similar to the airline crate was just perfect for us. Our one had little holes all over it so ventilation wasn't a problem and its quite cold where we live so we weren't worried about the heat. It does also have a cage-like door so it can't really be that hot in there! This lasted Halle until she was almost 5 months old. We then bought this one below on Ebay. By this time, she was toilet trained and her being in a larger crate wasn't an issue. IMO, the larger soft crate would be too big for a little Labrador puppy while you are still toilet training. The only need to be able to stand up and turn around, and lie down comfortably, not play chasies with a ball ! Yes, if it is too big, they certainly can use one end for bedding and the other for toileting. We sold our smaller plastic crate on ebay for only $10- it was in SUCH good condition, but you could really pick up a good one on Ebay, like our buyer did! We also bought our soft crate on ebay, which was brand new, but it really was worth every cent. She sleeps in it every night and often takes herself in there during they day when she wants a nap.

how old is the dog? I wouldn't expect 100% recall in a dog until absolute minimum 6 months ... Halle wasn't 100% reliable until the age of 11 months. And yes, I agree with other posters, telling off is not a good reward for your puppy to come. It requires ongoing training too.. halle is 14 months old and we still occasionally give her treats when she recalls just so she remembers how much more worth it it is coming to us than chasing kangaroos in the paddock!!

Oh HOW funny!! You've obviously broken the cycle .. she's realised you're not going to give up now. I can imagine the little squeak that she let out instead of her bark. Good work on being persistent

I'm sorry she is giving you a hard time! Unfortunately, while Halle was very stubborn as a puppy, she wasn't ever a really bad barker. I'm not familiar with clicker training, so I'm not sure if what I'm going to suggest is going to work for you, but it worked for us. Oh on a sidenote, close the door during the day. She has the freedom to go wherever she wants, whenever she wants. Keep her inside with you or take her outside, but always at YOUR decision, not hers. So, with the barking, we used a little squirter bottle. We had several of them located in the house, and also one outside. If she barked more than we deemed necessary, or she was being silly or demanding attention, she simply got a squirt with the water-on jet spray. Generally at her head but anywhere on her body also did the trick. (someone is bound to read this and tell me it is very bad to squirt water at a puppy's face, but she turned out fine). We didn't talk to her, or really even look at her. She got squirted and that was it. These days she only barks if there is a cat running along the fence.. she goes MENTAL, rasied hackles and all. but all we have to do is distract her and she forgets and stops. You're right, she is trying to beat you. It really is a battle of wits. Just remind yourself that you're the adult and you area lot smarter than this puppy. When Halle used to get like this (we were trying to teach her the down-stay command) I used to sit there and laugh at her-even though I was so frustrated- because she was trying so hard to beat me but I never let her.

Here is a good crate that we luuuuurrrrrrrrved for the forst 3-4 months-until she outgrew it-we then upgraded her to the canvas type one with mesh sides-just put a towel over the top to stop drafts... It was nice and cosy while still letting in a bit of air for circulation without to drafty.. Cannot receommend them enough

If you love HIM, and not the feelings you get when playing with him... it should be a pleasure- as you are setting him up to be comfortable and content!!! I agree with Persephone You are now doing the best thing for him! He knows where he stands, which is the most important thing :cool: You're right-he was probably being confused by being let up on the bed etc and fussing over him in the morning wouldn't have been helping with the leaving situation. So glad you sorted out what will work for you! Keep us updated

He isn't a baby human- home and cozy isn't reeeeally what he needs, particularly as he grows. He will not be sleeping most of the day for a long time either.. by 4-5 months he will be alot more active, and bigger. IMO, as long as he is tought that it is ok to toilet inside, it is going to take him a long time to distinguish the difference between where inside is ok to pee and where inside is not. Teaching to toilet inside at all is going to make things difficult. It's a shame he can't spend time outside. We live in an area where there are a lot of working properties, and TBH, its not really what I would call a secure neighbourhood. We have a purebred Kelpie who would be worth alot to many people out here. But there is NO way I would keep her locked inside for her most of her day just because I was concerned about someone pinching her-which could be done easily through our side gate. She is a very active dog and needs to be outside with lots of space and things to explore. As it turns out, Halle only ever accidentally peed inside once when I hadn't taken her outside for a while and I left her in the room on her own for too long. Are you able to construct a fully enclosed pen outside? One that can be locked if you're concerned about security?

Oooh can we see a pic?? Love little pups! Firstly, he seems to have caught on pretty quick to the toileting outside thing. And GOOD ON YOU for crating him early on.. I'm a big fan, can you tell!? You are right, it is confusing for him to be taught two different things. The only reason he continues to return to the tray is because it is close by (when he is locked in he has no choice) and it has a VERY strong scent or urine-obviosuly. Is it necessary to keep him inside when you're not at home? Is there an outside area you could put the pen that has some shade as well? He's also going to be a pretty big dog, how long will he be spending his days inside? Basically, for 6 months, we never left Halle unattended inside. The only time she was inside, without us in the same room, was when she was shut in her crate at night. If we could not be in the same room with her, she was outside. Admittedly, we spent 3 weeks at home with her almost full time before we both returned to work (we were on holidays at the time) so she was used to being outside and using it as her toilet area. We didn'd mind that she spent a fair bit of time unsupervised outside, because she always went to the same corner to toilet, and really, what damage was she going to do! She was, however, as I said, NEVER unattended inside. I think we only actually started leaving her alone in the room when she was about 12 months. It was really a mind over matter thing for me- I knew she was TT'd, but didn't want to tempt fate.

My first thought would be to treat him how you would have when he did those things as a little puppy.. as for the cry for hours last night, I would have taken him outside to toilet, brought him back in, and if he didn't stop crying, move him into a different room where you couldn't hear him. Go back to basic training, show him consistency is the key and you aren't going to change to rules now

Sorry if you haven't met any of the wonderful ones!! They can be terrific dogs... friendly, obedient and happy... like any dog- it is a combination of genetics and training! Oh I agree. I guess all the ones I have met are real working dogs on properties and, by my own admission, probably haven't received the amount of socialisation with other dogs and humans as most other dogs I know. But, what I know is what I know!

I agree. It sounds like you are pandering to her a little. If she is to eat morning and night, then feed her at these times. Leave her meal out for 5-10 mins then remove it. She will have to learn to eat at those times or go without. I think by nature they would not be big eaters anyway? Decide what she is to eat and keep it at that. She is learning that the more she fusses, the more you will fuss over her. Obviously, if she goes days without eating then you have a problem that needs the attention of a vet or dog behaviourist. Agree with everything Persephone has said