freycee

So i just thought I would give an update. Thanks to everyone for the helpful thoughts and suggestions. After seeing a number of dogs over the past 2 weeks we finally got to meet Betty the mum on Sunday. We fell in love instantly and knew she was our girl. She is calm and very sweet and was starting to bond with us by the end of our visit. We found a great trainer through the suggestions above and he is coming to us this Friday so we can make the integration as smooth as possible and he will visit again once she arrives. We have some fence proofing to do in the backyard as she is a climber and she will need a bit of work on the lead but she is super smart and food motivated so should not take a heap of work. Thanks again for all the help and wish us luck!!! P.S. decided to not adopt a puppy with her. Whilst they are divine, we want to focus our efforts on betty and giving her the home she deserves!

Thankyou soooo much!!! Those materials are great and will call those trainers tomorrow ❤❤❤

@KobiD skrry i skipped your response! Great to know you had good success. I am not worried about chewing and destroying things, agree planning is key and things will get damaged along the way, but they are just possessions more worried about chewing the baby! I will be looking at the pups this week too- i know there are no guarantees despite selection but definitely don't one which is very shy or timid. The idea of them growing together and training habits in a positive environment is absolutely the big positive for getting a puppy. We want to get one now as the house just feels so empty without a dog in it - especially when it is just me and bub all day or if hubby is away for work. Don't think i can deal with another 6 months mat. leave in a hoise without one. Just doesn't feel like our home...

It is if they are not well lead trained, don't have good recall, react to cats/birds, have the working dog tendancy to snap or chase things with wheels etc. This is the 7th rescue I will have had in my life and all have had issues which need time and the right support to work through and I am not too proud to ask for help. It has always been worth the effort. With a baby in the house the stakes are higher than they have been before and we want this to be a success. Would prefer to do the responsible thing and have the right support to hand if we need it. It is much easier to cancel a trainer than to try to find the right one after an issue has come up. It is a personal preference and will make both hubby and I feel more comfortable. If you know a good trainer that uses positive reinforcement techniques in Perth, would love to know the details.

We have a pretty good routine with bub so it just about fitting the dog into that so that their needs are not overlooked or neglected. We anticipate areas which will need work from day 1 such as lead walking with a stroller and to ensure hubs and I are training consistently. Would prefer to have the trainer on hand and scale back rather than not have in place and then have to find one etc.

Hi @Persephone yes we checked this. She has been in foster with a family who has several kids as young as 5 who always have kids over. We will be visiting next week for a long meet and greet and will be asked that she is tested with babies first or does a controlled meet and greet with ours. In the videos we have seen she has very relaxed and happy body language thus far

@juice thanks also for taking the time to reply. Yes she will be desexed before we get her. I am thinking the whole thing will be a huge change for her so would still get trainers in and really ease her into socialisation so she has a chance to settle into her new body and new environment and her place in our pack. Figure we will keep the weekly in home training up for several months and then a weekly obedience club thereafter (assuming she enjoys that environment, other dogs and activities). This should give us the opportunity to respond early for any issues which might come up. Thanks again for the reply

@Dogsfevr thanks so much for responding. You have raised excellent points- exactly the type of feedback I was looking for. This is a new situation and uncharted territory so thank you for your valuable insight. It will sound silly but I had not considered that the mum and pup might not get on. That would be a horrible situation to deal with. I had drawn up a draft routine to share with a trainer however reflected on it this morning and realised it leaves very little chance for us to enjoy and relax as will either be feeding, playing with, exercising, training, grooming, sleeping with one of the 3 (including baby) all day as their needs will be very different. It also does not have a lot of flex for sickness etc. I will ask the rescue group about hearing and how they plan to select. I believe they are just getting usual vet checks and they are selecting based on litter observations. Again I looked at this more whilst doing overnight feeds and realise that how they behave in litter can be very different to the real world and does not take into account environmental factors and changes post spay/neuter. We did adopt our other 2 as 2 y/o pups and did not miss the puppy phase at all. The shelter said the mum would help a lot with easing out puppy behaviours such as chewing and behaviour development but again on looking into it more it assumes mum is well trained and has no issues of her own (which given her circumstances is unlikely) I really thought getting the pup for her would be in her best interests but now not so much.... hmmmmmmmm Thinking very much adopting just the mum might be the way to go...

Hi all. In a nutshell we are looking for recs on in home trainers/ pupppy schools and clubs in Perth North to work with us all and set us up for a safe and happy life. Also any people with experiences or learnings to share with a similar situation? We are planning to adopt a rescue bitch (soon to be desexed) and one of her pups cattle dog cross into a house with a 5 month old baby. Plan is to have a puppy school and in home trainers 1-2 times a week from day 1 and then off to weekly obedience cl7bs thereafter. Full backstory below: We lost our beautiful cattle dog X from old age this week and her sister 2 years ago (cancer). It is the first time we have not had dogs in over 11 years and we do not like it so have decided to rescue another dog (or 2). Sounds simple but this time we have a 5 month old baby (I want her to grow up with dogs like I did) and I am keen for some advice and suggestions to get us all off to the best start possible. We have decided on cattle dog crosses again as we love the loyalty, affection and intelligence of the breed and are familiar with their needs (exercise, mental stimulation, companionship etc) so are going in eyes wide open. We have found a beautiful 3 year old cattle dog X who has just had a litter of puppies and looking at adopting her + one of her pups. She has a beautiful nature and the rescue says they will choose a pup with the right nature if we want. Thinking is they will keep each other company when we return to work part time and also allow mama to keep one of her bubs with her and help her settle. We will be taking the pup to puppy school and both to a dog club after but also want to get trainers into the home 1-2 times a week for the first few months to help work with us to set the right boundaries and behaviours (all round) to ensure everyone gets used to each other as they all grow. So looking for recommendations on any good puppy schools (evenings or weekends preferable so hubby and I can both go) as well as a good in home trainer who uses positive reinforcement techniques. We are located NOR between city and joondalup. Also anyone with any advice on integrating new dogs with babies, feel free to lay it on me. Thanks in advance.

Thanks @persephone for taking the time to respond and for your encouraging words. I will move it over to general discussion board and see if there are any recs. Being a first time poster I did not want to do the wrong thing and post it in the wrong place ;)

We lost our beautiful cattle dog X from old age this week and her sister 2 years ago (cancer). It is the first time we have not had dogs in over 11 years and we do not like it so have decided to rescue another dog (or 2). Sounds simple but this time we have a 5 month old baby (I want her to grow up with dogs like I did) and I am keen for some advice and suggestions to get us all off to the best start possible. We have decided on cattle dog crosses again and are familiar with their needs (exercise, mental stimulation, companionship etc) so are going in eyes wide open. We have found a beautiful 3 year old cattle dog X who has just had a litter of puppies and looking at adopting her + one of her pups. She has a beautiful nature and the rescue says they will choose a pup with the right nature if we want. Thinking is they will keep each other company when we return to work part time and also allow mama to keep one of her bubs with her and help her settle. We will be taking the pup to puppy school and botg to a dog club after but also want to get trainers into the home 1-2 times a week for the first few months to help work with us to set the right boundaries and behaviours (all round) to ensure everyone gets used to each other as they all grow. So looking for recommendations on any good puppy schools (evenings or weekends preferable so hubby and I can both go) as well as a good in home trainer who uses positive reinforcement techniques. We are located NOR between city and joondalup. Also anyone with any advice on integrating new dogs with babies, feel free to lay it on me. Thanks in advance.