Hi,
I am picking up my 8 week old English Staffy puppy in 2 weeks. I am organizing to have a couple of days off work to hopefully train him some basics and get him to feel comfortable in the house. Because He (Vinnie) will eventually be an outside dog, i would like to get him used to going to the toilet outside. After reading numerous websites offering advice, i was thinking of doing the following:
- Buy a crate, and teach him to like the crate. I was going to leave the crate in the laundry, because this has a doggy door which has access to the backyard where we would like him to go to the toilet.
- The laundry will be where he spends most of his time, i will make sure he has a couple of toys and water.
- I will be spending the first 4 days with him, then i will be at work during the day. I was going to feed him in the morning. i will then go to work, so i will leave a kong toy with some snacks to keep him entertained during the day. when i return at 5pm i will feed him again. i will spend most of the evening with him to let him know he is wanted.
- i was going to wake up every 2 - 3 hours during the night to take him to the toilet outside. i am hoping that he will get used to the doggy door over the first couple of days. obviously i will use the treat method when he goes to the toilet outside.
- in regards to food, i will ask the breeder when i pick Vinnie up in a fortnight.
Do you think this is ok, please let me knoe if anybody thinks i should be doing something different. I am really looking forward to picking Vinnie up. I will be spending most evenings and weekends with him, so he will know he is a part of the family.
any advice will be greatly appreciated.