lashton

Well said!

OMG. Inappropriate much?! Harper is looking for advice from fellow dog owners after her partner left for the defence force and her puppy reacted in a very normal way. Someone needs a therapist, but it sure as hell isn't Harper...

Thanks, but we have been taking the advice of our puppy school trainer and all is going well. She's sleeping through the night and goes into her crate all on her own when she wants a nap. It's her safe place.

Hi everyone Well, what a journey that original post has set me on! I have had numerous messages of personal support from the more friendly members of this website (few and far between). And once I have posted this comment I will be deleting my profile from this site as it seems to be nothing more than a place for fanatical dog owners to hide behind a username and fake profile picture and hurl abuse (err, "advice") at people who are trying to give their puppy the best start in life. You know who you are and you should be ashamed of yourselves. I hope you treat your animals better than you treat your fellow animal lovers. There are some people in this world who are dog enthusiasts (me) and those who are dog extremists. Get a life. You'll all no doubt be please to hear that I didn't follow much of the "advice" some of you offered - including sending our puppy to a shelter because it would be better off there than with an owner like me (ouch)! Indi has settled in beautifully, is sleeping right through the night (from day three!) and is well on her way to being toilet trained. At 10 weeks she is already sitting on command, she is performing beautifully at puppy school and is socialising very well with other dogs and loves children, in true Staffy style. For a while I regretted coming to this site for so-called help, being greeted by vicious, unhelpful and counter-productive accusations of animal cruelty! What a joke! I used to cry when I would hear my father treading on snails on the concrete outside my bedroom window and I am a regular volunteer at our local animal shelter. Cruel to animals is the exact antithesis of me. It is quite obvious that many of you people on this site have nothing in your lives but your dogs. And for this I feel sorry for you. I have a happy and full life, and Indi has only added to this. Once my husband returned after those first few days - when I had barely slept, eaten or been out of the house - you'll probably recall that was when I came here to ask for HELP... ...well since then we have bonded with Indi more than I thought possible, and I can't believe how anyone could even suggest we give her up! The issues I was experiencing are far from unique for people who are new to the world of puppies, and it makes me sad for other members of this site who may have taken that action after being attacked by other forum members. You are only contributing the the issue of dog and puppy abandonment. I'm just glad I am a strong person who was able to rise above all of the nastiness and prove you all wrong. I wish they had an emoticon for the middle finger, because that's what most of you would be getting

I am usually very tolerant and willing to offer advice but just get so sick of new puppy owners who do no research on how to raise and toilet train a puppy BEFORE a getting one. If you don't know at least the basics of how to raise a puppy, don't get one. The OP has admitted she has never raised a puppy before but has these stupid and cruel ideas about how to do it and will not take the advice offered by many experienced dog owners on here. Anyone treating a puppy badly makes me very angry. This puppy would be far better off returned to the breeder who should also be rapped over the knuckles for selling a puppy into this situation in the first place. Totally agree dancinbcs, I understand we do not live in a perfect world but surely it would be pure common sense to research all you can BEFORE your new arrival especially if it is your first puppy. Making sure you have the "suitable" breed for you for a start. Upsets me no end because it is always the dear little pup that ends up suffering through no fault of it's own. And yes this breeder needs a wrap over the knuckles!! Just wondering why it seems a majority of the responders on here to this person who is just wanting some HELP because they are smart enough to ASK in the first place, are attacking them because they have their own ASSUMPTIONS of where they are going wrong or what they haven't done???? This person has come on here for help. They have said they are new to dogs, have done some research and bought a pup from a breeder. There is NOTHING out there to tell people that the research that you are reading IS the best way to raise a pup for a first timer other wise there would be ONE book, ONE web site, ONE way to do everything so everybody would know but...look at that, do a search on how to raise/train a pup on the net and you get pages after pages of different people opinions on how to go about it!! There are MANY web site and books that advocate MANY stupid/cruel ways to raise/train pups but what is stupid/cruel in one persons eyes isn't in another, true? As for the breeder...who knows what the breeder has told this person so you shouldn't assume that the breeder of this pup is a GOOD breeder! Any mug with a dog, a bitch and a prefix can have pups!!! The breeder might be where this person may have recieved ways of training this pup. Shouldn't a GOOD breeder give their new puppy owners ideas of training their pups?? So saying that, maybe NOT sending pup back to a person who gives out possible bad advice and giving the pups new owner advice of a good person/book/DVD or...give them good, friendly advice YOURSELF ON HERE that YOU would give someone who YOU sold a pup too or advice that you have been given just might be an idea, and give this new "pet family" a chance before telling them to give up now???!!! Just like new pups have to start somewhere so do new pup owners!! I thought part of this site was for people to ask for help and help be given? But the more I read the more it seems like it's attack the newbie for asking "stupid questions". The only stupid question is one that isn't asked!!! Some of you out there might be fantastic dog owners and have a whole lot of experience to share with these newbies...don't scare people away with attacks!! How hard is it to just say "this is what I would suggest/do if it was me" and "good luck and have fun with your new fur-baby"? Thank you. I'll be removing this original post as the comments have done much more harm than good. Dogz online need to better moderate their users.

How about you read my post properly and not jump straigt on the "you're a bad dog owner" bandwagon? We did plenty of research and have managed to get many mixed reports about whether staffys are good in aprtments or not. The common consensus is that provided they get enough exercise and human interaction they will be absolutely happy in an apartment environment - which she will! Also, I came here for advice, not a scalding! We are not deliberately doing anything to harm the puppy or teach her bad habits, but are simply looking for advice from fellow dog owners. It seems different people and dogs have different ways of teaching and learning. And we won't be leaving the puppy in the aprtment alone during the day - she will be going to work with my husband, and on the occassion she cannot do that, we have a neighbour who will walk her in the middle of the day.

You could always tell when we had Staffords in at the kennels, we had this sound all day every day... so glad Kaos is broken and doesnt do it good luck with it I am just stunned that anyone would choose a SBT as their first puppy to raise in an apartment. They are noisier than any breed on earth as babies. Not to mention it will be like having a wrecking ball in the apartment unless there is a huge amount of exercise and training provided as this puppy grows up. Yes, we did plenty of research and have managed to get many mixed reports about whether staffys are good in aprtments or not. The common consensus is that provided they get enough exercise and human interaction they will be absolutely happy in an apartment environment. And we won't be leaving the puppy in the aprtment alone during the day - she will be going to work with my husband, and on the occassion she cannot do that, we have a neighbour who will walk her in the middle of the day. Thanks for the advice.

It would also teach her to soil her bed. it would also probably make her VERY anxious about the crate ..and Lord knows what other things This is not a thing which will do anything to help the pup's development. I hope tonight you can show your puppy that you are close and make sure she has a toilet opportunity ..and that you both get some sleep. Did you thoroughly research staffords? I wouldn't pick a stafford puppy as a good apartment dog ... they are active and strong and ,as you've found, can be noisy ;) Yes, we did plenty of research and have managed to get many mixed reports about whether staffys are good in aprtments or not. The common consensus is that provided they get enough exercise and human interaction they will be absolutely happy in an apartment environment. Also, I came here for advice, not a scalding! We are not deliberately doing anything to harm the puppy or teach her bad habits, but are simply looking for advice from fellow dog owners. It seems different people and dogs have different ways of teaching and learning. It doesn't mean one way is superior to the other. She is being taken out every two hours during the day and last thing at night/first thing in the morning to toilet, and her crate is large enogh that we have been able to set up a corner with newspaper and astro turf (to reinforce the grass message) so that if she needs to go during the night she can without soiling her bedding. This is a solution that works for us and has so far seen no nasty accidents. Eventually she'll be able to hold on during the night, once she gets older. I don't want to take her out at night when she cries, as that will simply reinforce that crying = release. I have discussed this technique with our vet and he is in agreement that it is a good approach. And we won;t be leaving the puppy in the aprtment alone during the day - she will be going to work with my husband, and n the occassion she cannot do that, we have a neighbour who will walk her in the middle of the day. Thanks for the advice.

Great advice! We'll try some door open crate drills today!

She'll be going to work with my husband most days, but there will be times we need ot leave her to our own devices - which is why we want her crate trained. We already have a lady in our building who is going to walk her on the days my husband can;t take her to work with him, so she'll not be left alone for long periods of time, especially while she's still so young.

It isn't reinforcing - that's why you take her out at regular intervals e.g. every 2 hours or every 3 hours regardless of whether she is screaming or quiet. Just don't play with her when you take her out for toileting - toilet her, praise her and pop her back in the crate. Some people are lucky that their pups sleep through the night as soon as they get them home but others of us have to put in the pain of late night wake-ups. It does pay off in the end - both my pups were taken out regularly (screaming or not) and they definitely got the message that toileting happens outside and knew that they weren't being rewarded for being noisy. Good advice. We haven;t actually had any accidents in the crate so far, but we ight try this technique and see how it goes. We have puppy training tonight andt he instructor is a staffy owner as well, so I will drill her for advice on this matter!

It's like reading my own thoughts! Thanks for the helpful advice! I'm in two minds about praising her during the night when she settles, as she needs to learn to sleep right through. But we will be doing crate training during the day in short stints, where she is released and praised/treated when she settles. I think this should reinforce that crying will do her no good! In theory. We'll see how we go! Thanks again, your comments where the most helpful (and least judgemental) of them all. I think its because you could really sympathise with our very similar experiences! Thanks again

Thanks for everyone's comments. Last night was much better and we're feeling very optimistic! I went to visit the neighbours to explain to them what was happening and once they took a look at her they were very supportive! She woke about five times during the night but managed to settle herself within 15 minutes each time. We have the crate set up so its (in theory) a happy safe place. She always has her water bowl in there and we feed her in there every night and morning, and then remove the food bowl. She woke at 6 this morning and I waited for her to be quiet before releasing her from the crate with a treat and lots of praise. She was a bit confused and anxious but managed to settle nicely into a walk outside - with wees and poos on the grass and more treats and praise! I'm in two minds about taking her out to toilet during the night. We have laid down newspaper and astro turf (to reinforce the grass message) in one corner of the crate. The crate is large enough so that she can sleep in their and toilet during the night if she has to without soiling her bed. I just feel that if I take her out in the middle of the night when she cries, she will get the message that crying = release. That's the opposite of what we want. I will be using the crate throughout the day after walks and play time - just in 15 minute intervals so that she comes to see it as her own special place and nothing to be afraid of. It will also help me reinforce that crying will not get her released! I can see now that its just a matter or perserverance and setting boundaries. I guess I wasn't prepared for how emotional I would be with the screaming - I know she isn't in pain, but it hurts me to hear it! And having my husband away has made it more challenging. But I guess it will only get easier from here. She seems to be seetling in nicely and we even had a play date last night with one of the neighbours and their son. She enjoyed chasing their cat behind the couch! Thanks again everyone for all of your supportive comments and advice - I know people can get very defensive and strong-willed when it comes to these topics, so I appreciate you relating to my experience rather than attacking where I may be going wrong at this stage. I know where to come for tips and hints from now on. I will post some photos of our baby soon!

I know I should be putting her in the crate during the day as well, but once again I'm afraid of the noise she will make. I'm not really sure when I should be putting her in and taking her back out. There is so much conflicting inff out there.

Thanks. It's just difficult with my husband being away and I'm not really sure if I'm doing the right thing. Should I be letting her sleep in the evening or try and keep her awake so she's really tired when i put her in the crate?

My husband and I got our 9 week old female Staffordshire Bull Terrier yesterday. She flew up from a breeder in Vic (to Syd), so it was a busy day for a little puppy. We got her into her crate once we'd got her home, had a play and went to the park for wees and poos. We followed all the research we've done and made sure the crate was a happy place to be - her blanket (with mum's scent), toys, we fed her in it etc. The first time we shut her in there she cried and screamed for about 10 minutes – we followed advice and ignored her attempts to be let out. Once she settled she fell asleep and stayed in there. This happened about three times throughout the afternoon – each time we put her in there after a fun play session, so she didn’t think she was being punished. Each time she cried (loudly), but settled after 5-10 minutes. We thought we were doing so well, until bed time arrived... She settled and went to sleep in the crate – in the lounge room, as we were told to put it somewhere with a lot of traffic during the day so she could see us. She slept until midnight and then the screaming began. It sounded like we were skinning a pig – I have never heard sounds like it before and the neighbours must have thought we were murdering her. If it wasn’t for the fear of waking the neighbours (which we certainly did), I would have left her to cry it out. But we couldn’t as we live in an apartment and we will likely be thrown out if that sort of noise continues. So she ended up sleeping like a baby on the bed with us – not a habit I want to continue! We need her crate trained so she doesn’t tear the place apart if we need to leave her at home during the day. My husband will be taking her to work with him most days of the week while she is being crate trained. It is now day two and my husband has gone away for three days and I am playing single mum to a brand new pup – no mean feat. I have been in tears all day dreading what will happen tonight and not wanting to get too bonded with her in case we have to give her to another family . We’re new in the building and I don’t think the neighbours will let this go on. Can anyone suggest what we can do to help her settle? I’ve moved the crate into the bedroom, have a hot water bottle and a ticking clock. I wonder if the crate is too big (we bought one that will be big enough for her when she’s fully grown. We considered maybe using my husband's office for her to sleep in - it is in a building where there are no residents to disturb - it would allow her to cry and scream withour disturbing anyone, and then hopefully learn after a week or two that the behaviour is not acceptable. We would drop her there at night for bed and collect her early the next morning. What do people think about that possible solution? I am dreading going to bed tonight because I know what’s going to happen and if I give into her behaviour it will only reinforce the crying. But if I let her do it, the neighbours will kill me! What do I do? I have wanted a puppy for so long and my husband and i finally decided to do it after much serious consideration - but I had no idea it would be this hard. I am afraid I may have to get rid of her and that would break my heart. The breeder told me she was placid and we did so much research, but I am at a loss about what to do. Help!