Cazwah

You haven't undone all your good work at all, don't be discouraged, these things will happen. To sympathise with you, I learnt the 'I need to go' whine the hard way too, only I'm betting you didn't get wee'd on? I was holding my 9 week old pup in my lap in the car (can't remember why he wasn't in his crate) and he was whining and squirming, and kept trying to jump off my lap, but I held him! He did this for some time before he finally stopped and all I could feel was WARM over my lap- Ewww!! In the car, on the way to our first puppy school session! And no change of clothes! He then went in the crate where more whining persisted, then the silence and then the most awful smell- poor little pup had diarrhoea all through his crate and my OH had to clean it up on the side of the road, as well as clean pup up too.. (I was too traumatised already of course, to help with that ) I was convinced that he'd never like his crate after that, would never like riding in the car and might not like puppy school. Wrong on all accounts as his crate is his favourite place to be, he sleeps when the car turns on and he adores puppy school days. So if we can overcome this series of unfortunate events I'm sure you and your pup can overcome a wee in the crate. Just keep going like it never happened, you'll be fine! :D

Hey Goldengirl, don't know if I can offer much advice, but I have learnt with my 17week old dachie Chestnut that any change in routine will confuse him thoroughly! More than I first thought too, so maybe the change in your routine is just confusing your little pup a bit? For example changing the location of his outdoor toilet (a mere 2m away) has caused endless confusion, now he goes straight to the spot where it used to be even though he avoided that spot previously!! The submissive weeing I've got no idea I'm sorry, if you're at puppy school perhaps you could ask your trainer? As for the connecting the 'go pee' with the dog actually peeing, I have had mixed success. I have done just what Swiss girl did with attaching the cue as it's happening and lots of rewards after, and still I don't have it on solid command (travelled with him recently and never have I wished more that he would pee when I asked! Still, from the dog's point of view I guess it is a bit of a random thing to request :D ). However sometimes he will get it, I'll say 'outside outside- go pee!' and I see him stop and start to sniff and then pee where I asked.. so I guess it's got to be the right time for the dog too. Best of luck, hope things start to improve for you both.

Hey all! I can reccommend a GREAT water ski park if that's your thing! Located on the Hawkesbury River, just 1km out from Wiseman's Ferry, Sydney. http://www.waterskinsw.com.au/skigardens.php Camping and day fees are extremely cheap, there are permanent concrete based shelters int he camp grounds with tables and power fitted, there's a sink for washing up (drains into a bucket!), the campgrounds are right next to the river which, at low tide has a small beach and best of all- they allow dogs!! So many ski parks in the Hawkesbury area do not allow dogs, so this was a great surprise. They also have cabins available. Our dog loved it, and I absolutely loved having my dog with me- even on the boat!!

There is a big difference between the puppy kongs and the standard kongs; the puppy kongs are much softer and are easy to squeeze whereas the standard ones are pretty firm. We tried giving Chestnut a standard kong recently and the kong stayed completely full! I find I get success with using the puppy kongs and just pack the food in harder if I want it to last longer.

Oh how awful, I know how it is to be sleep deprived. What works for us (with our 16wk mini dach) is that when he first wakes up and whines, usually around 5am (sometimes before), we ignore it and he usually settles down after a few mins. Then he wakes up and whines around 5.30 or 6, usually that is okay as we get up for work around then. On the weekends however (no such thing in doggy life) it is tricky. I find that if I get up at the 5.30 whining session and toilet him then make him a couple of kongs with his kibble and a bit of wet dog food it will keep him quiet and put him back to sleep (most times) for at least an extra hour. If he goes back to sleep he won't wake up sometimes for a couple of hours- bliss!! Also I find once he's been toileted and fed and got a bit of attention, being in his crate with the door on helps him to settle down better than if he's in his play-pen. Of course I'm up anyway not long after, but especially on the weekend I appreciate any extra time asleep. Maybe the kongs would work for you too? PS- also, when he was younger and I thought he might actually be scared that he was alone etc I would get up and just walk past the crate/playpen so he could see me, without talking to him. It always stopped him temporarily and at least I knew that he knew we were in the house with him. During the day I would totally ignore any whining and then I would reward him for being quiet in his crate and that really worked very quickly to help him settle down in there. Even waiting for a second's pause seemed to work. Best of luck!

Mine too!! We also use a little lite philly cream cheese in the big end, mix his kibble with a bit of wet dog food and he LOVES that. When he was still getting used to the idea of the kong and what to do with it we tried all sorts of things; meat baby food was a hit, and was all natural, no nasties just meat and veges. I always stuff an 'unobtainable' piece of liver in the small end too.

Hi there, I was more frightened than my pup was at our first visit, I reckon I agree, take lots of treats (liver, not cheese, we got an earful for bringing cheese!) and definitely something to chew.. I'd reccommend writing a list of any questions you have too. We wrote one and still managed to forget to ask some things. Best of luck, I'm sure it will be fine. Also don't know if it helps but we got the vet to clip his nails for us and showtalk us through how to do it ourselves.

Hiya there, Our trainer told us that the very first thing we should teach our Chestnut is name recognition. He said when you say "Chestnut", ideally you want him to give you his attention, to make eye contact (not to come running over or to sit or do anything else). This way when we say "Chestnut, come" or Chestnut, sit" we get his attention first then give the command. We taught name recognition by saying his name "Chestnut" then putting a treat to his nose and then drawing it up to our nose to get the eye contact. Once we got the eye contact we'd mark it with a "yes!" (or click) then reward. We'd repeat that say 10 times in a row then move on to something else. We did that a lot at first, every time we took him out to play or train and it's been really good. I still do it now sporadically (sp?), and also under more distracting situations. More recently at our last puppy school class the trainer advised to practise saying our pup's name in an angry or stressed out tone, as sometimes it can't be helped, and the pup should learn that responding to his name is always a good thing regardless of our tone Have fun! Edit to add: I'm also a big fan of the Ian Dunbar books, highly reccommend the website!!!!

Amazing... I've read about how to give CPR to a dog, but touch wood I never have to!

I had never really thought about umbrellas either & we never had any rain for the 1st few months we'd had Tilba. Then I remember doing some exercises with umbrellas, party poppers etc at a dog club I used to go to. So, I thought, I'd do some of the same with Tilba only to find when I brought out the umbrella. She shyed away from it & still does. I have no idea what spooked her with them, I guess she's just a little nervy around things that doesn't often experience. Another point to remember is that if you don't do these things with your dog on a regular basis, even if you've done all this socialisation with him now, he can forget them. So true. I know I have to keep doing these things, I think I'll just keep going over them, taking him new places, etc. Our puppy school reccommends that our pup meet one new noun (person place or thing) each day, so hopefuly that rule will keep us keeping Chestnut socialised. I got out the rainbow umbrella today and it went pretty well. Of course he wanted to chew it at first but then with enough liver I got him sitting and looking at it, and actually staying still while I opened it, twirled it and shook it out (as if it were wet). We also practised giving attention and doign basic commands outisde on the footpath while cars and trucks went by. The actual 'walking' on the walk didn't go so well. He did some spectacular sit and stand stays of his own volition though! Thanks everyone for the advice.

Thanks for that! I'd forgotten about the umbrella :D

Wow, that's so great!! That's so awesome, two puppy classes and beginner obedience? I think we will do an obedience class or something regularly after puppy 2, I guess we'll see how we go. More trips to the vets is a good idea I've heard mentioned a couple of times so we'll have to do that. He met a lot of people at the local market today, he did really well with giving us attention when we asked for it too, and doing a few basic things with distraction. Thanks for your post!

Fair enough! It's true, I wouldn't be worrying about what I haven't achieved yet if I didn't have the calender stuck to my door I guess I hope that so far with the things we've shown him eg. camping, that he's associated camping to good times, and that by setting up the tent in front of him the pegging and poles and canvas flapping, and rewarding him for just sitting and looking will have made it a 'no big deal' thing. Basically I hope that I'm preventing nervous behaviour in the future that might occur if he, say, met a harley davidson for the first time as an adolescent. Thanks also for the reminder to concentrate on breed specific areas, I will look into that. Nekhbet, thanks for your explanations, it's very reassuring. I will keep rewarding for calm inquisitive behaviour and be careful not to reward craziness. I will also work on gaining his attention in distracting situations. Yep, I've got my tally on the fridge too ;) I'm glad it worked out well for you!

Chestnut scratched at his collar a lot at first. We would practise putting it on just for short amounts of time at first and building the time up. We tried putting it on and then playing with him to distract him, or practised some sits and downs etc. What really worked was that first day at puppy school- Collar? What collar? Increase the amount of distraction in the environment and you automatically decrease the attention he will pay to the collar and the lead! I'm sure he does associate the collar with puppy school or walks now, and I can practise loose leash walking around the house pretty well now (he's 13 weeks old). Good luck!

Ok, I can kind of see where you're coming from, but remember that this is all new to me. What is 'common sense' to me is to do a lot of research and to take advice from people who have a proven method. From the reading I've done in books and online websites, articles etc. the critical socialisation period is stressed as life defining for the dog. Don't get me wrong, I'm not paranoid or stressed or anything like that, but I'd be silly not to listen to this advice when it has been so thoroughly researched. Also Luvsdogs thank you for your advice on the flapping stuff and dogs in crates. We might visit a dog show the next time there's one on at durak

I kept my puppy at home for te first week and concentrated on house training, then took him for short 'walks' which was me carrying him and walking up and down the street. Believe me that was enough for Chestnut, the first time we went outside the front door he was scared, so I just built up the distance in little amounts and with lots of little treats. Now he's had his second vaccination (still due his 3rd at 16 weeks) I've been taking him for actual (puppy on the ground) walks around the block, meeting people but no strange dogs yet. Also took him camping which was great. Chestnut is good at being carried around now, he's very calm. You might find that in a strange environment he is not so wriggly, at least that is how Chestnut is. Now when we pick him up he just settles straight away. Also rewarding for being settled in our arms helped I'm sure. Good luck!

Mmm, I know what you mean. I know it's important to remain calm and not coddle him in a new situation- which is very hard to do! I've been trying to let him sniff and look as he pleases, and jolly him up with clapping and a silly voice if he looks concerned. Is that right? As for dog-dog socialisation, we take Chestnut to puppy school every week, got one more week to go, but after that they run a puppy 2 course, which I think carries on with junior obedience, so we'll enrol in that too to keep Cestnut socialising with other puppies and dogs.

Thanks Pip! Will do We have a few kites so must make sure we do that.

Thanks Nekhbet, I know what you mean, as much as exposure to a variety of things is important sometimes I feel I'm ticking off a list for the sake of it and am not sure if I really am teaching him good social skills. So should I be watching his response to things and only rewarding for calm behaviour? Or for being curious? If, say, I take him to outside a construction site nearby, should I just let him sniff around and reward for inquisitive and happy behaviour (as I've been doing) or be asking for his attention and doing a bit of basic obedience? Or should I only do this (ask for attention) if he's looking concerned or uncertain (to teach him to look for my lead if unsure?) Sorry if these questions are basic, I am a bit confused if there is more to socialisation to just exposure + reward. Thanks in advance!

Just wanted to say I'm greatful for this discussion, we've just put Chestnut onto Nutro Chicken and Rice, was concerned at some reviews online but they turned out to be reviews of the american product. We've only tried two products, California Natural and Nutro, I prefer Nutro becuase it is australian made and I can purchase it stores other than pets paradise. As for nutritional value I think they're both good products, not too sure, it's all so complicated. chestnut produces better poos on Nutro (soft but well formed) than on California Natural. Other than that Chestnut seems to like them both. Thinking of trying the Innova but agian, can only get it at Pet's paradise, grr.

Well done!! Dont worry about the oopsie pups will be pups and their tummy well get the best of them one time or another. I have had only the one accident to date under the same circumstances . Agree, that happened to us once too- only once mind you and it was an upset tummy, poor love. Keep going with all the good work you guys, you are doing so well!

Hello Wealth of Knowledge! My little Chestnut is 13 weeks old today and according to my puppy development calender I have one more week to easily socialise my pup to new people, places and things... I really want to keep doing all the right things for Chestnut, so can I have some advice on what I really need to focus on this week? I'll give you a quick run down of what we've already covered: People: Chestnut has met 63 strangers (34 women, 23 men and 6 children), most of the adults between 20 and 30 I'd say so no elderly people yet, has met children from 2 to 13. Has seen 1 person with lots of dreads, has seen pony tails, hats and sunglasses. The people range from very dog savvy, to gentle to a bit rough, to a little weird. Places: Mechanical workshop where my partner works, the car, the country/bush, the vets (one ok/not so good experience, one fabulous one), around our block, arterial road traffic, puppy school. Things: Home: all appliances (vaccuum cleaner, dish washer, mashing machine, dryer, shower, extraction fan), lots of loud cooking sounds (unintentional but there you are ), television, radio, loud music, loud movie, inside and outside, the puppy bath tub, phones ringing, leaf blower. Outside: setting up a tent, 4wding (fairly extreme even red tracks!), cows (one wearing a cow bell), one horse, cars, buses, one motorcylce, couple of loud trucks. I've heard different surfaces can be a problem, puppy school has helped with that, but he has been on astro turf, pavers, carpet, concrete (footpath), gravel, grass, dirt.. I think that's it. He's not too sure of the slippery surfaces at puppy school so should work on that.. Thanks in advance for the advice, just writing this out has made me remember some things I still want to do, but I still feel like I need advice on what to concentrate on. What are the things you wished you did more of when your dog was a pup? Thanks people!!

Cool, this makes sense to me. My now 13 week old pup has been for short walks to meet the traffic, workshops and different smells as well as people on the way, but I haven't let him near any dogs apart from at puppy school. I'm also not taking him to the dog park probably until after his 16 week vaccinations, 1 because I think it's high risk for contracting something another dog is carrying and also because as long as I can still socialise him to dogs at puppy school (and then puppy 2) I don't think the dog park is necessary yet. We took him camping this weekend, quiet spot, no other dogs, met a few people and got VERY socialised to the sensation of 4WDing. I was amazed at how well he handled to rocking and bumping of the car, he was so calm throughout, I'm sure if I'd tried that for the first time at 16weeks it would've been a different story so I'm really glad I took that calculated risk.

How's it going Nadz? Have you made it back into your bedroom yet?

How's it going Nadz? Have you made it back into your bedroom yet?