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Oh lordy, how cute is Lucy!

Sorry, I really did the wrong end of the stick! I think you're doing a fantastic job raising a puppy when you're also raising such young kids. My parents also managed to raise both child and a dog, and I'm forever grateful that they took the time so that I could grow up with a puppy friend. I didn't crate train so I can't really answer the crating questions. But I still reckon its fine for her to sleep at her feet!

Disclaimer: Am not expert. Just have puppy. And like to butt in. Hi Anna, My general impression is that you are being a bit strict for a 8.5 week old puppy. Is there any reason why you're being so strict? I gather you want her to be an outside dog? If you've got a baby it must be a bit tricky to manage everything. But, personally, I think you need to give her a bit more affection and a bit more freedom. When you say she's outside, is she outside all day until it's dark? (Then later you said that sometimes you had to put her outside during the day, so I'm confused.) What does she do out there when she's alone? It seems a bit restricted for her to just be on her cushion and a lead when she's inside. Puppies are very curious! Have you let her explore her new home? As for the "crazy" times, that's really just a part of being a puppy. I make a distinction between craziness (us new puppy owners in the Labrador forum call them "zoomies") and Martha doing things she's not allowed to do, like biting. But a pup needs to be allowed to run around like a mad thing without being isolated or thinking that it's bad. You can still reward her calm behaviour. As for the crying at night, I think you just have to wait it out. It's not a digestive thing, it's a lonliness thing — until Saturday, she slept with a loving mother and playful siblings in a great big puppy love-in. I'm not sure why you wouldn't want her to sleep at your feet? My puppy sleeps on my lap! And she's a twelve-week-old Labrador! And Martha never cried at night, so I don't think it makes them sooks. The other thing I did which was really beneficial was start training on day two. She loves it, I love it, and it gives her a framework for understanding what I want her to do. Start with sit and go from there. Benefits abound. Good luck!

Then what's the point of testing them? They are all gorgeous, sensible, even-tempered, easy-going, adoring, adorable and enormously intelligent!

Gorgeous! They make the cutest pups. I love all spaniels. Before you do another thing you should download the eBook Before You Get Your Puppy by Ian Dunbar. It will explain about crate training. Basically, you teach your puppy to love sleeping in her crate. She won't soil where she sleeps, so it will help you toilet train her. Our pup Martha slept in the laundry from the first night. She cried for about fifteen minutes, but has been perfectly happy in there every since, so not every puppy cries. Just make it as lovely and cosy as you can. Put newspaper all over the floor. You will need to get up during the night (possibly several times) to let her out for a piddle and/or poo. Hopefully she'll let you know when she needs to go by making a bit of noise, but I would set the alarm for 2 or 3am, take her then. Then get up very early and take her out again. You will get to learn how long she can hold on. Some people don't let their dogs have water in the evening. I tried this once but it didn't make any difference to the amount Martha needed to piddle and I don't like doing it so I stopped. I think the best advice is to start as you mean to go on. DO NOT GO TO COMFORT HER WHEN SHE CRIES. This is painful, really painful — that's why I mentioned the steel heart. But relenting just one time can set back training for weeks. Remember, it will be stressful for her to move into a new home, to leave her mum and her brothers and sisters. But she'll survive, and she'll come to love the space you've created for her. Also, start toilet training immediately. Take her outside after every nap, every playtime, every meal, and every hour or so even if you're not doing any of those things. Above all, have fun with your little bundle of cuteness!

* Indestructable plastic covering for every single piece of furniture and knick knack you own. And just basically everything else in your entire house. * And garden. * New shoes for each household member. * An appreciation of the smell and texture of runny poo on the kitchen floor. * A heart of steel to be inserted in chest when night time crying ensues. No, but seriously. Sounds like you're well set up. The one obvious thing that is missing is a crate. Are you not crate training? I didn't either, but since I found this forum I realise I probably should have. Everyone tells me it's not to late, but I don't seem to be getting around to it. A hot water bottle and a robust yet cosy hot water bottle cover. A radio for where she sleeps — keep it on classic fm, very softly. How old is your pup? Oh, get a clicker! You want to start training "sit" the day after tomorrow. And use the clicker for her toilet training. It does make things easier. This site will explain what I mean by all that. Um, a toy box. (We just have a plastic box with a lid.) Don't give your puppies all her toys at once. Put three out each day, or for a couple of days. That way they stay "fresh". You can't have enough toys. Get kids toys from op shops. Don't put your newspapers out for recycling! You need to start collecting them. One last thing! Plastic bags to pick up poos. (Get the biodegradable ones from a pet shop.) I'm sure I've forgotten stuff but can't think what. What are you feeding her? What is she? Can we see her photo?

I have nothing to add except I'd like to give her — and you — a big hug.

Is this too basic? It's ABC Online's Wagging School puppy personality test.

Weak? The dog would be dead if it wasn't for you. I think you're a hero!

It's Orijen Large Puppy for me.

I agree that Pedigree is junk food, but if your dog is eating then it's better than nothing! I think, however, you should persevere with a better diet. I'd do as others advice. Start mixing a better kibble in with the Pedigree. Do it slowly — 90%/10% for two days, 80%/20% for two days, etc, etc. Only offer the food for a certain amount of time, then remove it. I found (and still find) this website really useful. If you learnt to read labels you'll never have to rely on manufactures' claims again. You own a dog, so you're going to have to get used to handling meat a bit. I do sympathise — raw meat grosses me out sometimes and I'm an enthusiastic carnivore — but there it is. Start off with a few meaty bones or chicken wings that you can just give to the dog without handling much. There's no need to go the full BARF diet, but some meat is inevitable. Having said all that, don't feel guilty. You're doing great, you rescued a dog, you going to some lengths to find out what's best for it to eat. Good on you. Crysti_Lei, that's hilarious about your nanna's dog!

When you think about it, metal must be quite pleasing to lick. It's smooth. And cold. And tastes... metallic. He may just be enjoying the sensation.

Thanks Fozzie, I just subscribed. I note the website says the next sale is mid-September. Given that Martha has an indoor bed and this will be an outdoor bed for summer, I'm going to put off buying until then. Hoorah!

I have nothing more to add except that you must be exhausted, Kristin. Just remember, this will all be a distant memory one day. He will learn to hang on eventually. You just need to get there as quickly as possible.

God, you must be going nuts. I think i haz flava! (great nickname, by the way) is right — you're going to have to bite the bullet and get up every two hours. Was he weeing before you used to get up in the night or after? It's clearly a habit now, and you need to train him out of it. The only way is to catch him before he goes.

Hi all, Just thought I'd follow up on this, seeing as I said I would. We've been going to the North Fitzroy Vet Clinic classes which are run by Jean Murray. The classes are comprehensive, lots of info, basic obedience but also advice on enriching your puppy's experience at home. There is puppy play time but it's supervised and staggered, so not all puppies are playing all at once, or at least not for long. Jean is clearly very experiences and gives out handouts that cover what she's gone through at the end of class. As an example, the last class covered "drop", "give", toilet training, bite inhibition, jumping up, toys (Kong, other kibble-slow-releasing toys, the Home Alone). The fee was $98 for four lessons of theoretically 1.5 hours but in reality 2 hours. Because I've read and researched and hung out here so much I've been finding I know most of what she says, but it was great for my OH. Highly recommended as a good basic puppy school.

Thank you. It's Martha in the only bit of the garden she hasn't destroyed. After I took the photo I uploaded it to Flickr.com and edited it in Picnic, which is the editing software that comes with Flick. All free and, if the prints turn out nicely, highly recommended. P.S. I also love the word "zoomies" and we're using it at home too now! I fed Martha dry food only for the first couple of weeks, during which time I changed over from Pedigree (which the crappy breeder gave her) to Orijen. Then I couldn't get Orijen, so I got Eagle Pack instead. I didn't feel it had enough meat in it, so I started supplementing by giving her chicken wings about two nights a week. I am also giving her a tin of sardines in spring water for dinner once a week. Plain raw vegies sometimes get chucked in to the mix. I use a fifth of her daily kibble allowance for training and also give liver treats, usually at the end of training so she had great memories! I also give her a pig's ear occasionally to shut her up as a special treat. I plan to go back to the Orijen when I run out of Eagle Pack, but I'll probably continue with fresh meat a couple of nights a week. A good, complete kibble fed at the correct rate will NOT leave your dog hungry. Remember, they're labs — they always want food! But wanting and needing are different things.

I am so bloody hopeless I have already managed one of these despite the fact both Martha and I are complete beginners. When I say, "Go to mat", she jumps in the air three times. Then she goes to the mat.

First, my standard disclaimer. This site is full of experienced, erudite dog-handlers. I am not one of them. However, I have a puppy, and I can tell you what I am doing with her. Are you asking because your pup (what's his name, by the way?) is picky? If you dog's enjoying the treats, I would stick with them. You can also try cut-up vegies (experiment to find out which ones he likes), small bits of cheese, bits of leftover cooked meat. People tell me small pieces of sausage and small pieces of roast chicken are both great high end rewards. I googled "dog treat recipes" and found lots of hits. Here's one, for example. But I note a lot have wheat in them. I wouldn't feed too much wheat to my dog. Make sure you count treats as part of her food. I put a fifth of Martha's daily ration into a bag and carry it with me all day. (Haven't worn my pocketless clothes for quite some time!) I'm treating her constantly for good behaviour. Extra good behaviour gets a liver treat, which means that only the liver treats are the real extras. I've got no idea what this is but suspect it might be the corn in pedigree products? Anyone? I'm in the middle of leash training right now so I can tell you how I'm doing it. Firstly, I think leash training and collar training are different things. He should be used to the collar before you get to the leash. I placed the collar on and off Martha a couple of times over a couple of days. Then it just went on and hasn't come off since. It took her about a week to get used to it and I felt guilty every time she scratched her neck, but she's happy with it now. Once she got used to the collar I introduced the leash. Have you taught your JP to sit and stay? This was an integral part of leash training for me. She wants to play with it, and I don't exactly stop her, I just distract her with treats and keep her focussed on the task at hand. She will initially pull against the leash, so just follow her and let her take you wherever. She'll soon get the idea that leash means go forward. I use a clicker, so while there are several ways of going about it I am using this way. We literally take it a couple of steps at a time. Leash training doesn't happen overnight, so don't panic. Find a step by step way of teaching her that's going to work for you, and work at it patiently. I left the toilet training stuff for others who'll know. Good luck and let us know and show us a picture!

What this thread needs is MORE MARTHA! And this is my usual view of her: *heart explodes*

I don't think it would be too old at all. For a start, that's still a puppy in Lab years. Secondly, can't dogs keep learning throughout their lives? And Labs are so eager to please and thirsty for knowledge. I'm no expert, and I'd look forward to the opinion of those who know, but certainly my gut instinct is that you could teach your Lab not to playbite. Well done on the rescue, by the way. What a shame someone dumped such a young dog! As for the "soft mouth" debate, as the owner of a young pup, I often hear that I should teach Martha to have a soft mouth (or bite inhibition) first, then teach her not to bite at all. So you start by only responding when she's biting too hard. Then, when she begins to bite more softly, you teach her not to mouth at all. My puppy school trainer explains things this way, for example. As I understand it, that's what you're saying you've done, GSDHandler? Or am I misreading things? I must admit, the theory hasn't worked for Martha and me. But I attributed to this to my failure in training her. (Or perhaps that she just hasn't got there yet — she's only eleven weeks, after all.) Martha is biting just as hard as ever, so I now ignore her, remove her or remove myself EVERY time she bites, not just when she bites particularly hard. I've also been picking her up sometimes, and pressing my thumb under her tongue if I can't get her off me. The full range! I hope this isn't too confusing for her. But I actually think she is starting to improve since I've stepped up my responses. I hope so, anyway.

We got Martha when she was just six weeks old and she's now about to turn eleven weeks. (Weird. I feel like I've known her forever. It's actually only five weeks.) I can categorically state that she gets more mental every day. I think mentalism is condition that increases with age and, I suspect, with feelings of being pent up — she knows there is a world outside our front door now, but she's not allowed out in it! (Or at least, hardly ever. Puppy school's all right, but I suspect she'd rather be playing with Grown-Up Dogs in the Big Park.) Tayza may well end up being chilled out compared to Martha (who's not at all "chilled out", although she's quite often "passed out"), but I think he'll definitely get crazier than he is right now. As I understand it, the really testing times come when their six months old! At least we're going through it together.

Should you use treats? Hell yeah! I can't believe you attempted to teach heel without them! I am CERTAINLY NO EXPERT, but I'm using a clicker and treats to keep her moving forward and on a loose leash. I'm basically following this process: http://www.clickerlessons.com/looseleash.htm At the moment we kind of jerk along in fits and starts. It's certainly not smooth. And it goes out the window when we're on the street and she's distracted by smells. But, as with all training, I'm hoping it's a matter of time. The article has a great tip in it: I haven't tried it yet, but I will tomorrow.

I am very sorry to hear that your baby has been so ill, and of course we all understand that you can't give your pup back now. You love her. She looks completely adorable, by the way. I'm sure you're giving her a wonderful life, despite her health problems. However I concur with what's been said about your breeder's responsibilities. I think Diva has hit it on the head. The breeder has was legally and ethically right to offer you another pup. But unless the breeder did anything to cause your dog's health problems, or failed to advise you that she may have future health problems, her health is ultimately your responsibility. That's what I reckon, anyway. If I were the breeder and could afford it, I'd give you the refund, but it would be as a gesture of goodwill rather than because of a legal obligation. Either way, my heart goes out to you. It must be awful to see your beloved puppy in ill-health. And financial stress is terribly difficult to. (We have little to spare ourselves, and we'll be up the proverbial if anything goes majorly wrong.) I hope she grows out of her sickliness and you enjoy a long life with your gorgeous creature.

I keep hearing the expression "in drive" but I don't understand what it means. I'll check the training section though as I'd like to keep tugging with her if possible. Thanks for the advice.