Kelpie_Pup

She is just beautiful!! Now that she has been let out of her crate just once after putting up a little protest, it is going to be that much harder to ignore her crying from now on. Puppies are much more clever than we'd like to think sometimes.. if she were an adult dog and crying like that for no good reason would you have let her out? I'd hope the answer would be no. Like a PP said, the midnight toilet trips will gradually decrease-all depends on the individual puppy. Halle only took 3 nights, but we were lucky. Basically with crate training, make sure they are toileted immediately before going in, do not put water in the crate, and leave them be. Any crying/wimpering will only be to get attention and nothing else. I know this is so much harder in practice, but its worth being tough now! We put Halle in our room in the corner for the first week, just so she could hear us talking etc, but after that she was out in the kitchen. Once she goes to sleep, YAY!!! :D if she wakes at 2 am crying, its obvious then that she needs to pee/poop, so going outside then is fine, but no play or chit chat, and then straight back in the crate like the initial bedtime (come to think of it, its kind of like changing a baby in the middle of the night :rolleyes: ) Obviously crating isn't for everyone, but if you're willing to give it a go, make the decision and stick to it. You'll be amazed at the difference it will make within the week

HI Firstly, can I request we see a pic of your beautiful new girl?? :D Secondly, there isn't one right or wrong way to do this.. its all about how you want to teach your pup-because what you teach them to do now should be what you expect them to do for the rest of their life. For us, personally, we used a crate. It was the best, safest way for us to ensure she was not going to toilet all over the house during the night time, but also to ensure she was warm and cosy. For about the first 4 nights, she woke during the night to toilet. And by that I mean she woke at about 2-3am only. Went outside to toilet, then back in her crate. She put on quite a show for about 15 mins, but we just ignored her. She had just been to the toilet so she obviously didnt need to go again.. she was just pi$$ed off that she wasn't out for a play! Just remember that if you go into your puppy when she cries, it will only make her realise that its her crying that will get your attention! I don't have any other suggestions that don't involve crating, because thats all we did, so hopefully some other DOLers will be on to help soon :rolleyes:

Since it is a house that is specifically designed for holiday makers with dogs, one would have to assume that there is a constant stream of dogs coming in and out. I doubt the owners would be able to have any control over the vaccination status of the dogs in the yard. Your concerns are warranted IMO. Can you organise to keep your dog with the breeder for another week or two? I would also consider the double whammy the puppy will get with yet another 2 different environments, routines in regards to settling in and toilet training..

Well done Seashell!!! What a bonus this morning :rolleyes: Remember, to use the crate effectively, if he cannot be supervised, he should be in his crate, or when he's a bit older, outside. This morning when you were in the shower, he had the opportunity to make a mistake .. when he is in his crate, he won't be able to do that 10-15 mins several times a day is no problem at all for a puppy Just do the toilet thing straight after

Hey Seashell For us, we would wait 10 mins. If Halle didn't go in this time, she was brought back inside and either confined in her crate or to the kitchen area-which is tiled-right next to where we were in the living room (they're adjoined). She was only EVER allowed in with us on the carpet if we had taken her outside to wee just before. We pretty much removed the oppportunity for her to make a mistake. Re the whining in the crate- you must persist Fully crate trained doesn't refer to them not crying once they're in there. The crying will be for one of two reasons- they need to wee/poop.. tough luck-you've just been outside for 1/2hour+ so should have done it then! OR he's cranky cause he's been confined. He will need to get over that. He has probably already learnt that if he is put in his crate, and has a bit of a whinge, you will get him out after only a short time. What you do now is what he will continue to expect in the future.. Halle cried a few times in her crate for up to 20 mins. She'd already eaten, had peed/pooped outside so there was nothing wrong with her.. it took her two nights to figure out that crying and wimpering was NOT going to get her out of that crate for cuddles. It's quite similar to controlled crying with babies actually LOL ETA- the most important thing is that you persist. Choose a method and stick with it for at least a few days. It's the only way to really see if it will work or not

Is the newspaper necessary? ie is it on carpet? Newspaper, IMO, only encourages inside toileting. If you don't intend on allowing it forever, don't start it now. When outside, like PP said, keep it very business like. No toys or playing. Repeat the command to your pup-whatever you have decided that is- and do not look at them...some dogs see this as an invite to play. Stand still, arms crossed. If you then must bring him in and he hasn't toileted, put him in his crate .. then try another 10 mins later. He will have to learn-well this is what we did anyway- that if he isn't going to toilet outside as you have requested, that he will have to remain in his crate... which isn't such a bad thing you know!! IF he toilets inside, and you CATCH him in the act, it is ok to kick up a stink but ONLY if you do it RIGHT as they are in the act.. they will then associate your annoyance/distress with him weeing/pooing inside... Halle tried to poo inside only once.... we stopped her with a very high pitched, distressed "Halle NO NO NO!!!!" and picked her up and ran outside..where she finished on the grass I mean, obviously you don't need to get really angry, just enough of a change in your mood for them to think "hang on, what I just did really upset them" If it's been a considerable amount of time since he has peed, don't allow him free roam of somewhere he could pee that is undesirable ie. in his pen. If he hasn't peed outside and he really should have, bring him in and put him in his crate only.. he has to learn that he wll have to pee outside or nowhere at all

Oooh also! The little rope toys used for tug-o-war.. soaked in chicken/beef stock and frozen

A $3 bag of quality bones from our local butcher

I'd say its a combination of those three things Not grazing all day is far better, and I personally am a Royal Canin fanatic ! We found Halle "wastes" alot less when she is eating Royal Canin ie poops less, and her coat is so shiny What he has just pooped out will be what he ate this morning. Since he is still so small, perhaps consider still feeding 3 smaller meals a day? We dropped to 2 feeds a day at about 14 weeks. Once you have a routine set up for mealtimes, you should be able to predict poop times pretty well too- within 5-10 mins of each meal.. particularly when you drop to two feeds! Oh, and stop counting the dollars you're spending NOW!! :D

Yep. Go the Vet asap. In the meantime, if your Pup is really hungry, perhaps a small amount of plain rice and plain cooked chicken.. and I mean only a small handful.What you describe is defintely diarrhoea.. poor little thing. Halle has had it once and she was up about 5 times during the night with the runs :rolleyes: For the fleas, rinse with a flea rinse shampoo throughly to remove what is currently there, then use Frontline-or another high quality product. They aren't cheap but you can't afford not to really. Explain the situation to the vet in the morning-or as soon as you can- they'll fit you in pretty quick Just keep up little bits of water regularly. Your pup could definitely do without a feed tonight-won't do any harm.

We waited until Puppy cried.. you'll know that if they wake at 1am crying, its not cause theyre cranky about being put in their crate.. they already did that at 10pm! Literally race to get your dog and take it outside... don't let it walk out on its own four feet.. it WILL wee in the house on the way outside! Having said that though, the Puppy will only cry cause it doesn't want to wee in its bed. Make sure the crate isnt so big that your pup can get up and wee in one end of the crate and then go back to sleep in the other end..

I agree with everything said so far Naturally! At night time, make sure he toilets right before bed, then put in crate, shut door and no fuss. If he cries for a half hour or so, just ignore. You can talk to the pup, but make it very matter of fact(not "its okaaaaay we're heeeeere!!" just "ok don't be silly, we're still here ) We put her crate next to our bed for the first two nights. She winged for about 10 mins the first time, but she had been toileted so we knew she was just protesting. She woke again at about 2 am wimpering, so we opened her crate, carried her outside to where we wanted her to toelt and she did her thing.. praise etc! .. Straight back to bed with same routine as before. Each puppy is different.. some dogs will continue to wake through the night for a toilet for months, even years. Halle went two nights.After that, it was 6 am before she would cry, but that too lasted a few days. We normally crate her about 10 at night and she is up and out by 6.30-7am. We still continue to take her straight outside for a wee first thing in the morning. I guess if it continues for some length of time, you can change the siutation so you don't have to get up at 2am every morning. Also, remember that EVERY time you get your puppy out of the crate, even if its only been 5-10 mins, take them out for a toilet. Good on you for deciding on Crate Training !! It's the one thing I couldn't recommend highly enough to a new puppy owner It won't take long before your little boy loves going in there and treats it like his own little home :D

Our guys never have any meat/bones indoors.. all outside, with the doors shut! Same here... I've never even thought of giving Halle a bone or anything to chew inside. She enjoys laying spread eagle on the grass when she is chewing a bone lol. And its just gross!

If you can at all restrict him to the grass when its time for wees, he will get used to it eventually. Even if it means you take treats with you for a while to encourage him to wee on the grass-would help if you were near where you wanted him to go We didn't have that problem ourselves.. Halle was fine weeing in grass-in fact she only ever toilets in the same spot. She has only in the last 3-4 months started to wee when we're at the park leash free area! Before that, she'd hold it then RUN to the backyard when we got home !

Just wanted to add .. our Puppy is on Royal Canin Puppy Medium breed-soon to be adult- Hope you stick with it.. I personally think its pretty good She seems to like it too!

ooooh! I know xbreeds are an unspoken evil on this site hehe but what kind of puppy are you getting?? Puppies of all sorts are just wonderful! I agree with everything said With recalls and "come", ensure that it is always obeyed.. even if this means practising on a leash and guiding the dog to yo after the command is given .. We learnt the hard way that if you give them the choice to come, sometimes they won't. Once they learn they don't have to, it's hard to fix. Particularly if they are quick on their feet and think you're playing chase with them when you go to get them and bring them back!!! Typical Kelpie there. As for things to do/get.. cannot recomment crate training highly enough..when done effectively of course

Good suggestions charli We tried the growling and boss grip thing with our dog, which worked momentarily.. after that, she just got more excited and confident May I suggest something that worked for us? Firstly-biting and mouthing at this age is totally normal behaviour for puppies-although we don't like it and they must learn that it is NOT acceptable behaviour..As even though it may not hurt alot now, by the time they are 6 months old, they will have stronger jaws and the potential to do more harm. Keep in mind that it is our job to TEACH them that its not ok to chew/bite these things and that we need to TEACH them what is acceptable to chew/bite.. they don't automatically know this difference. Negative response for undesired behaviour and positive response for positive behaviour-which sometimes we forget. We did this.. Halle would mouth/bite/nip .. we "OOWWW"ed in a highpitched yelp.. somewhat like another puppy would do if it was bitten too hard during play.. this is, after all, what the puppy is doing. We stopped play immediately and turned our back on her, or even walked away but still in her sight with our back to her. We left her for 30 secs-much longer than that and she forgets why we left and she goes off to do something else. We then went back to play with her.. we always had a TOY for her to play with and praised her when she used the toy as opposed to hands/ clothes .. offering her only our hands pretty much limited her play toys to our hands.. by giving her a toy to play with always meant she had an acceptable option other than our hands/feet etc. We would repeat it 3 times if necessary-if it got to that- as repetition is the key here-after that, we would stop play for good. if she continued, we would put her in her crate and shut the door.. She obvoiusly needed to calm down. If youdon't have a crate, perhaps a pen or restricted area away from people. After min. 5mins, we would let her out and take her outside to toilet-makes sense after playing and being confined. Halle did this for a good few weeks, but she gradually started biting less and less. Basically, let your puppy know that that kind of behaviour isnt acceptable with people, but remember to teach her what is.. kongs stuffed with treats or rope toys soaked in chicken stock and frozen worked a "treat" for us

Wow! She managed to chew through two collars.. thats commendable We had a collar on Halle 24/7 right from the day we brought her home. It was non-negotiable. She used to scratch at it and wiggle around in it for a while, but she got used to it eventually... Within a week I'd say of having it on 24/7. Have you done any training tying her up? It sucks having to do it, but we found it helped us with Halle. We used to spend time out in the yard with Halle restrained on a lead. For example, we'd sit on the grass and just chat, she'd be able to get to us but couldn't run far. It only took two sessions but she got it after about 10 mins.. she stopped trying to fight the lead and just went with it. We also used to attach her lead to her collar inside and let her drag it around with her.. not play with it but yea, get used to it being there.. might that work? At 12 weeks, don't even expect your dog to come every time. Halle is just 12 months this week and only 1 month ago has started to recall every time (she is a pretty dominant dog though-we never thought we'd get there!) When I say she comes every time, its with a proper, firm "Halle, Come", not an excited "Here Halle!! Come here Halle!" Sounds like now is a good time for Mia to understand that YOU are the boss and what you say goes. Having said that, Halle only really accepted that about 2 months ago. She growled at me once when she was eating her food-she hasn't done it since and is now almost a prefectly mannered dog. I don't mean being unfair in your expectations of her, but be fair and consistent. Don't allow things to happen that you don't want to continue forever. Just remember.. she is only 12 weeks old Try sticking with it for a little longer. You're certainly not behind the 8 ball to have a 12 week old puppy who doesn't like being on a lead.. we've all been there

I would say once a week may be a bit too much.. it could definitely br stripping your dogs skin of oils. It can be hard when you have an inside dog that needs washing We sometimes add a small amount of avocado to Halle's food.. or just feed it to her on it's own. We also make sure we rinse and rinse and rinse again when we wash her If you can get the hose attachments (we bath Halle in the lanudry tub-it attaches to the spout and has about 1m of hose, and the end of it is like a shower head but looks like a stuff brush.. about $4 from Woolies ) It gets right down to her skin to remove the shampoo and she loves the massage. We only wash Halle when she needs it.. she is an inside/outside dog so generally about every 4-6 weeks, depending on how stinky she is!

Yep I think one everyday is too many .. perhaps one, maybe two a week? Also, keep in mind that dentabones are VERY high in calories and fat.. we gave Halle one of those a week only when she was that little. We used kongs and stuffed them with cooked pieces of chicken, and she also had fresh lamb bones-although we only let her have these when we were there to supervise Something else we did was soak one of those little rope toys in chicken broth (the liquid we cooked her chicken in) and let her chew on that for as long as she was interested.. and then wash it! hehe. Try keep it as fresh as possible

Hi Wing We took our Puppy to preschool when she was 10 weeks old, so she had only had one vaccination. All of the other puppies there were also of the same age, and had also had one vaccination-they were not a risk to our puppy.. nor was ours to them. NB. Why is your puppy having 3 vaccinations?? Some people might have issues with it, but really I personally don't think it would be a problem. The period of 8-16 weeks is crucial for socialisation-not only with other dogs and people, but places and noises too. Hope that helps

In my experience, it could be both a fear period and the thunderstorm itself.. We, well I, made the mistake of comforting our puppy once when she was SCARED out of her mind the first time we started up the lawn mower in the yard.. it took alot more exposure to get her over it. Its very easy to do, and perhaps your comforting may have made her realise that indeed she did have something to worry about... We didn't force her into it, but she eventually got over it. For a little while, we used to put the mower where we didn't want her to go in the yard.. it was enough to keep her away hehe. You might just avoid the areas that are causing your puppy grief for a while.. I would continue to go walking, making it a pleasurable, happy experience Talking to neighbours, talking to your dog, but not comfirting as such... just bright, happy and casual. If you want to keep walking those roads, just use the tug and release awith her leash and tell her to "stop it!". She needs to know you're in control and that she has nothing to worry about by walking on that road..if you let her behave differently, she will think her fear is being given the ok by you. Hope that helps.. keep us updated

I think the running would be the problem here, not the sand?? .. soft sand is actually better than hard sand for joints.. Well yes, the running is the main issue here when done in extended periods for pups. I agree, running on hard surfaces is not good for joints, but I would imagine running through soft sand is not good either as it's hard work! Have you tried running through really soft dry sand opposed to the more solid stuff, it's hard work on those legs! To be safe, I would probably avoid having the pup run on both Its hard work on muscles, not joints same for us humans Lol I walk on the hard stuff, but it does really pound those joints.

We bought our first one from a petstore. It was big enough for her to walk into, turn around in it, and lie down comfortably in. It can be bigger than that, as long as its not that big that your dog can "toilet" in one end and sleep in the other without being bothered by the mess! Like a PP said, if they toilet in the crate, you WANT them to be bothered by it.. it will deter them from doing it.. if you put absorbent towels in the bottom of it, it will soak up the mess and leave them comfy and dry! The first one was a plastic one with a metal grid door that opened outwards. It was great for strapping into the car. The second one, however, is a large canvas/mesh one that isn't really portable. It is probably too big for her now, but as toilet training isn't an issue anymore, its not a problem. Be sure to read some info about crate training too, it is such a useful method of training. If you'd like some starter tips, let me know i'll PM you some stuff :D Our puppy never had an accident in her crate, and only woke mid night to toilet for the first 3 nights we had her.. after that she slept through till 6am :p This is of course also due to her, not just the crate !

I think the running would be the problem here, not the sand?? .. soft sand is actually better than hard sand for joints..