Our First Few Days With Daphne.........

[chugo101]

Oh My......... I thought I'd prepared myself for the hard work...... my friends say it’s like having a baby again, BUT babies stay in one place and wear nappies!!!!!!

We bought Daphne our 8 week old yellow Labrador home on Wednesday, she's beautiful, fantastic and we all love her soooo much. The car journey home (2hours) was fairly easy, she whined a little, but was content to sit on my lap.

She was happy exploring the house when we arrived home and her first night was pretty easy, she whined a little in her pen in our bedroom but soon settled, she woke at 3am and we took her out for a pee & poo, she did this within 5-10mins of being out and then she settled back down til 5:30am, this has been the same since, making our night times pretty straight forward.

She is also fine when I have to leave her in her larger pen in the laundry while I do school runs/shopping etc.. She cries when I first leave her but when I sneak back in there’s no crying so I guess she must settle herself well.

When I’m in she follows me everywhere, if I sit to relax she’ll relax with me but if she’s asleep at my feet and I get up to make a cuppa she’ll get up and follow me to the kitchen and then lie by my feet, I move to the fridge for the milk, she’s up again to lie by me at the fridge. I guess it’s just her way of settling in and not wanting to be alone. I feel bad her getting up and down all the time but I need to carry on as normal and can’t sit with her constantly (otherwise I think she’ll turn into a very spoilt madam!).

She plays well and loves the kids which is great, she’s very nippy but I think most pups are and we’re just saying ‘no’ to her and turning away if she does this.

Her daytime housetraining is a struggle, when we take her outside she is more interested in eating everything in sight, bark chippings, dirt, stones, plants, you name it, she eats it. We’ve even noticed when picking up her poo that it’s full of stones. Is this normal? We try to discourage her from doing it but she pays no attention? Do we need to discourage her or is she just being a curious pup? Will she grow out of it? :rolleyes:

Also, we could be outside for 15mins and her do nothing, but then a few minutes after being inside she’ll pee on the tiles? We say ‘no’ ‘outside’ and place her outside while we clean up; are we doing this right as we don’t seem to be getting anywhere with it? Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t all the time and she does pee & poo in the garden (for which she is rewarded with a treat and lots of fuss) but if she needs it when she’s not outside she’ll just do it on the tiles? Also she could pee & poo outside then 5 mins later inside, pee on the tiles? Its rather discouraging for us when we’ve stood outside with her for 20 minutes only to be rewarded by her coming inside and peeing on the tiles 2 minutes later. We currently take her outside after waking, after eating, before bed, and every 30-45mins inbetween times.

I guess I just need reassurance that we’re doing the right thing really.

I look forward to hearing your words of wisdom! :rolleyes:

[DogsLover]

Hello chugo101,

Congratulation on your new pup!!!! We got our Dobeman female pup last month and know how you feel.

Her daytime housetraining is a struggle, when we take her outside she is more interested in eating everything in sight, bark chippings, dirt, stones, plants, you name it, she eats it. We’ve even noticed when picking up her poo that it’s full of stones. Is this normal? We try to discourage her from doing it but she pays no attention? Do we need to discourage her or is she just being a curious pup? Will she grow out of it?

Our pup is like this too. She will picks up anything on the ground that she can gets into her mouth and chews them. The only thing I will make sure is that she doesn't swallow the stones.

I am pretty sure they will grow out of it as our other dogs do not do that now and she also seems to do that lesser nowadays.

Do you crate train her?

Also, we could be outside for 15mins and her do nothing, but then a few minutes after being inside she’ll pee on the tiles? We say ‘no’ ‘outside’ and place her outside while we clean up; are we doing this right as we don’t seem to be getting anywhere with it? Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t all the time and she does pee & poo in the garden (for which she is rewarded with a treat and lots of fuss) but if she needs it when she’s not outside she’ll just do it on the tiles? Also she could pee & poo outside then 5 mins later inside, pee on the tiles? Its rather discouraging for us when we’ve stood outside with her for 20 minutes only to be rewarded by her coming inside and peeing on the tiles 2 minutes later. We currently take her outside after waking, after eating, before bed, and every 30-45mins inbetween times.

We crate train her since we got her and it really helps us in our toilet training. We will lock her in a crate with lots of toys and let her out a few hours later to pee and poo. As puppy does not like to soil their own bed, this really helps. Most of the time she will eliminate instantly once she is let outside.

I read somewhere that puppies cannot control their bladder fully until they are older. That will explain why she pee 5 mins later inside the house. What we usually do is to wait awhile after she pee or poo outside before letting her in.

One thing really helps is the introducing of a "Go Pee" and "Go Poo" command. And when they pee or poo we will treat her and praise her continuously. This really helps during those cold weathers when we just want to get into the house as soon as possible

We would avoid scolding her if she pees or poos inside as we do not want her to think that it is wrong to eliminate. We will just quietly clean it up.

It has been 4 weeks since we got her and things are getting along much better now. I guess we just have to be patient

[shellbyville]

Hi, Your puppy is gorgeous and it sound like she has settled remarkably well. Be patient with the toilet training it can take a little while for them to get it. Just keep putting her outside and praise her like crazy when she does it where you want her to. I would just ignore the inside accidents and clean it up really well so there is no odour.

I agree with crate training, it is brilliant to help with toilet training and also gives the puppy a safe place to have a good rest. Puppies grow so fast and needs lots of sleep, and the crate provides a secure, safe place for your puppy to rest. Like you said she follows you everywhere so by putting her in a crate for a rest time actually enforces the rest, and gives you a rest as well.

I would discourage her eating foreign substances like rocks etc. Maybe when you take her outside have a chew toy and when she goes to eat things she shouldn't distract her with the chew toy, or a pigs ear or something she can chew.

Good luck and have fun with her, they aren't puppies for very long!

Edited May 18, 2008 by shellbyville

[CliftonPark]

Hi Chugo101,

Your little Daphne is absolutely divine! She is so very beautiful and I can relate so very well what you are going through. My little girl now 13 weeks old did exactly the same thing with stones and it had me constantly worried and checking poo to see if she was swallowing. I constantly monitored her when outside and would just take them out of her mouth and discard. I have lots of chew toys avail for her inside and outside so there are plenty appropriate things she can chew on. Empty plastic water water bottles (lids removed and with a some dry food treats inside) have been good for outside. She seems to have lost interest in the stones now thank heavens.

Re the toileting, again I can relate BUT I had it with 2! So you can imagine double the mess and needing eyes in back of my head to monitor them. This is where a play pen when you can't watch her is a big help. There is light at the end of the tunnel and you need lots of patience. You are doing everything right (and the dog books can make toilet training sound sooooo easy), the pups have such small bladders that yes even after being outside to toilet will do it again in what seems like 5 minutes later. As she gets bigger so will her bladder and the time lapse between toileting will improve. Mine are now 13 weeks and still have occais accidents but are much improved.

Re the following you around, I would pop her into playpen from time to time to stop her following you so much. I have ours in main living area so they can see all the activity but don't always have access to us. Teaches a little independence. We also have a crate in another room where they are taught to spend some time alone where they can't see us (and sometimes apart from each other) for some of their daytime sleeps. I use a chew treat (like half pigs ear) to keep them occupied while learning to be alone in the crate.

Good luck with it all. Keep us posted on your progress.

[chugo101]

Thanks for your advice, we didn't really want to crate train but I think I'll definitely put her in her pen more in the day when she's sleepy just to ensure she rests well.

Thanks again, we'll keep working at it!

[CliftonPark]

Thanks for your advice, we didn't really want to crate train but I think I'll definitely put her in her pen more in the day when she's sleepy just to ensure she rests well.

Don't know why you wouldn't want to crate train. If trained to their crates in a positive way by good association by offering food treats and chew toys (keep pigs ears for e.g just for crate time). Our pups love their crates (as does my other older dog) and know something good is coming when they go inside. I also give all bones in their crates. They love it and I can supervise. It is a cosy secure place for them to rest and we take one with us when we go visiting. Allows us to take them visiting (good socialisation) and we can relax in others peoples places knowing they aren't off chewing or pooing where they shouldn't. I attach the playpen to the crate so they can move between the two areas. On thing though, never ever punish your pup to her crate. If you need a 'time out' place, choose a different place.

[DogsLover]

Thanks for your advice, we didn't really want to crate train but I think I'll definitely put her in her pen more in the day when she's sleepy just to ensure she rests well.

Don't know why you wouldn't want to crate train. If trained to their crates in a positive way by good association by offering food treats and chew toys (keep pigs ears for e.g just for crate time). Our pups love their crates (as does my other older dog) and know something good is coming when they go inside. I also give all bones in their crates. They love it and I can supervise. It is a cosy secure place for them to rest and we take one with us when we go visiting. Allows us to take them visiting (good socialisation) and we can relax in others peoples places knowing they aren't off chewing or pooing where they shouldn't. I attach the playpen to the crate so they can move between the two areas. On thing though, never ever punish your pup to her crate. If you need a 'time out' place, choose a different place.

My pup loves her crate and she will sometimes go into her crate herself to sleep It is a place where she can feel safe and secure.

[charli73]

Chugo what a gorgeous puppy! So fluffy and cuddly and cute, congratulations..

It sounds as though you are doing all the right things. We got our first pup winter last year (ahe is almost 12 months old) and she ate stones too, they would just pass through and she soon grew out of it.

She chewed everything pigs ears are great for them to chew on.. She weed inside even when we'd just taken her out, at such a young age the bladder control isnt great but hang in there, just continue the 'toilet' commands and pup will be going on command eventually, just be consistent but remember she is only a baby.. Our girl wasn;t able to hold on all night until about 15 weeks or so maybe earlier...

Enjoy your new puppy, shes adorable!

Edited May 18, 2008 by charli73

[Joan of Arc]

Hi, Your puppy is gorgeous and it sound like she has settled remarkably well. Be patient with the toilet training it can take a little while for them to get it. Just keep putting her outside and praise her like crazy when she does it where you want her to. I would just ignore the inside accidents and clean it up really well so there is no odour.

I agree with crate training, it is brilliant to help with toilet training and also gives the puppy a safe place to have a good rest. Puppies grow so fast and needs lots of sleep, and the crate provides a secure, safe place for your puppy to rest. Like you said she follows you everywhere so by putting her in a crate for a rest time actually enforces the rest, and gives you a rest as well.

I would discourage her eating foreign substances like rocks etc. Maybe when you take her outside have a chew toy and when she goes to eat things she shouldn't distract her with the chew toy, or a pigs ear or something she can chew.

Good luck and have fun with her, they aren't puppies for very long!

DITTO

Your baby is beuatiful and looking at the way she is laying I am sure Shellbyville will agree with me that she will have good hips.

As far as her eating stones and other foreign objects, I would introduce the 'leave it' command. When she goes near them say 'leave it' and as soon as she looks away or walks away, give her some positive breach word such as 'bingo' or simply 'yes' and then reward her with a treat.

Keeps us up to date on her antics and lots of photos.

[chugo101]

Thanks again, we really appreciate all the responses, its good to get the reassurance.

I guess with the crate training its just that when I'm in the house most of the day I want to spend the time with her rather than crate her. She's in a small pen which only fits her bed in over night (which is working great) and then a larger pen with bed and newspaper in the day when I pop out. I do watch her constantly but she doesn't circle, sniff or give any other signs before she pees, shes a little minx but I'm patient and its all good practice. I think we'll continue as we are as it sounds as though we're doing everything right. Also today we have noticed that she stayed asleep on the living room floor when we walked away so we may have made progress there.

We've had a lovely day, even took her out in the car to see the sea (as we live in Torquay its only 5 mins from our house), we got the kids an ice-cream and all sat in the car watching the waves, it was just lovely. Daphne just fell asleep on the back seat and didn't try to pinch any ice-creams, we were amazed!

I'll keep you all posted on her progress, its only been 5 days so I'm not expecting miracles.

Mercedes - Daphnes parents had good hip scores so we're hoping she'll be fit and well. I wouldn't be able to tell from looking as I'm a complete novice to raising dogs. Thanks for the comment though, great that you can see it!

[LuvMyCav]

Chugo101, congratulations!! Daphne is beautiful. It sounds like you're doing well to me (although I'm also a crate advocate,lol). Re: eating the stones, how many stony areas do you have? Could you remove access to the stones? Maybe she is digging them out of the dirt, in which case I don't have an answer except to try to distract her and offer better things - toys, treats etc. Charlie used to scrape his teeth along concrete blocks at the bottom of our garden fence and I was so worried that he'd wear his teeth down and not be able to eat properly,lol. They do eventually stop doing all the stupid stuff but of course you worry when it's something that could be potentially dangerous.

Daphne is probably following you because she doesn't know if you're going to come back when you disappear somewhere. She'll soon become more independent (you'll be running around looking for her soon )

I think you're doing a great job - good luck with the toilet training. It takes a while but you'll get there in the end - just remember not to scold her when she has an accident and well done for not letting her see you clean it up. Also make sure you are not using ammonia based cleaning products.

[CliftonPark]

Your baby is beuatiful and looking at the way she is laying I am sure Shellbyville will agree with me that she will have good hips.

Ok Daphne is goergous but now I'm studying my babies and comparing the way they lay to the photo of Daphne. What is it that makes you see good hips in Daphne? Could you please explain...is it the legs straight out at the back?....another paranoid mum here....

[Guest Tess32]

The froggy sit (legs out behind them) doesn't mean good hips

[shellbyville]

The froggy sit (legs out behind them) doesn't mean good hips

I have to agree with Tess32 here. In a puppy it doesn't necessarily mean they have good hips. However saying that you would very rarely see an older dog lie in the 'froggy sit' if they have hips that are not great, as it may cause pain.

[MissMonaro]

I have to agree with Tess32 here. In a puppy it doesn't necessarily mean they have good hips. However saying that you would very rarely see an older dog lie in the 'froggy sit' if they have hips that are not great, as it may cause pain

A few people had also told me the same thing about the froggy thing - that it is a sign of great hips.

So I watched my dogs and I have 2 that do it regularly - one just came back with hip score of 3:4. and the other has always done it and still does and she has crap hips.

[outatime]

if only the froggy were a sign of good hips, but believe me it isn't

Here's Jessie at 8 weeks old....

we had to put her to sleep a month ago. Her back legs were totally gone. Specialist told us she had one of the worst cases of hip dysplasia he had ever seen

[NoodleNut]

Her daytime housetraining is a struggle, when we take her outside she is more interested in eating everything in sight, bark chippings, dirt, stones, plants, you name it, she eats it. We’ve even noticed when picking up her poo that it’s full of stones. Is this normal? We try to discourage her from doing it but she pays no attention? Do we need to discourage her or is she just being a curious pup? Will she grow out of it?

Also, we could be outside for 15mins and her do nothing, but then a few minutes after being inside she’ll pee on the tiles? We say ‘no’ ‘outside’ and place her outside while we clean up; are we doing this right as we don’t seem to be getting anywhere with it? Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t all the time and she does pee & poo in the garden (for which she is rewarded with a treat and lots of fuss) but if she needs it when she’s not outside she’ll just do it on the tiles? Also she could pee & poo outside then 5 mins later inside, pee on the tiles? Its rather discouraging for us when we’ve stood outside with her for 20 minutes only to be rewarded by her coming inside and peeing on the tiles 2 minutes later. We currently take her outside after waking, after eating, before bed, and every 30-45mins inbetween times.

Ohhh Chugo101!!! She is gorgeous ......and what a look of "Hmmmm what can I get up to out here mum!!" As someone said, she may follow you around now but watch out .. sooon she will be up to all sorts of mischief without mum in sight

Have you tried putting her on a light lead when you take her out to toilet and standing like a lamp post in the middle of the lawn where she can't get to the stones? (mine got stuck into the bark chips so I know where you are coming from)Other idea perhaps to put one of the pens that you have in teh bedroom (minus the bedding of course) out on the lawn and put her in it for 15 minutes or so until she goes. Perhaps stay out there and watch .. if you see her starting to go mark the 'Go Wee' (or whatever cammand you choose) as she is doing whatever and then praise her and let her out? Just a thought ... not really wisdom ....

I was the lamp post with young Noodle .... noting interesting happened until she went to the toilet. As Noodle got bigger I have continued to say 'Go Wee' if I take her outside before she goes in her crate for the night. Just persistence.

Oh yeah,... 'Urine off' works well when cleaning up inside ... and paper towel ... I nearly bought shares in the company the first few weeks.

PS Good to see you have the camera out too ...... I love seeing all the photos of the pups .... a lovely 'Ohhhhhhh' moment.

[chugo101]

The latest on Daphne....

We're still going great through the night, Daphne goes to bed in her small pen in our bedroom about 10pm and doesn't wake until 4:30am when she cries to go out for a pee & poo. In the day when I pop out for an hour or 2 she goes in her larger pen in the laundry, she cries when she goes in but is good whilst in there and theres rarely any mess for me to clean up when I'm back.

However, when I'm in its a different story, and she seems to be getting worse not better! She can be outside playing for ages, and pee whilst shes out there but then she'll come back in and just pee where she's standing. Until yesterday she had never pee'd on the living room carpet (only the tiled areas) now she's peeing there too. Also if she follows me into the kids room when I'm distributing clean washing she squats as soon as we get in there and pee's, even if just moments before she's been outside for one? She does this in my bedroom too?? It just doesn't make any sense? Would there be a reason for her doing this? (these are rooms she's not allowed in normally) Also sometimes she doesn't even look like shes peeing, she sits down and does it without even squatting, resulting in her having a wet bum, wet paws and me having a wet floor. We never tell her off, we just say 'No Daphne' 'Outside' and put her outside whilst we clean up. It just seems never ending as I'm following all the training advice of taking her out all the time but she'll pee outside then inside 2 minutes later. This morning she even went outside, pee'd then came in for her breaky then stopped mid chomp to pee where she was sitting, then continued to eat!?

Its a bloody good job we love her so much!!!!!

[chugo101]

Her daytime housetraining is a struggle, when we take her outside she is more interested in eating everything in sight, bark chippings, dirt, stones, plants, you name it, she eats it. We’ve even noticed when picking up her poo that it’s full of stones. Is this normal? We try to discourage her from doing it but she pays no attention? Do we need to discourage her or is she just being a curious pup? Will she grow out of it?

Also, we could be outside for 15mins and her do nothing, but then a few minutes after being inside she’ll pee on the tiles? We say ‘no’ ‘outside’ and place her outside while we clean up; are we doing this right as we don’t seem to be getting anywhere with it? Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t all the time and she does pee & poo in the garden (for which she is rewarded with a treat and lots of fuss) but if she needs it when she’s not outside she’ll just do it on the tiles? Also she could pee & poo outside then 5 mins later inside, pee on the tiles? Its rather discouraging for us when we’ve stood outside with her for 20 minutes only to be rewarded by her coming inside and peeing on the tiles 2 minutes later. We currently take her outside after waking, after eating, before bed, and every 30-45mins inbetween times.

Ohhh Chugo101!!! She is gorgeous ......and what a look of "Hmmmm what can I get up to out here mum!!" As someone said, she may follow you around now but watch out .. sooon she will be up to all sorts of mischief without mum in sight

Have you tried putting her on a light lead when you take her out to toilet and standing like a lamp post in the middle of the lawn where she can't get to the stones? (mine got stuck into the bark chips so I know where you are coming from)Other idea perhaps to put one of the pens that you have in teh bedroom (minus the bedding of course) out on the lawn and put her in it for 15 minutes or so until she goes. Perhaps stay out there and watch .. if you see her starting to go mark the 'Go Wee' (or whatever cammand you choose) as she is doing whatever and then praise her and let her out? Just a thought ... not really wisdom ....

I was the lamp post with young Noodle .... noting interesting happened until she went to the toilet. As Noodle got bigger I have continued to say 'Go Wee' if I take her outside before she goes in her crate for the night. Just persistence.

Oh yeah,... 'Urine off' works well when cleaning up inside ... and paper towel ... I nearly bought shares in the company the first few weeks.

PS Good to see you have the camera out too ...... I love seeing all the photos of the pups .... a lovely 'Ohhhhhhh' moment.

Unfortunately we have gravel and bark chippings all over!!!.... And only a small area of lawn (which she likes to eat too), she loves playing outside so its impossible to stop her and I'm hoping she'll just grow out of it. It doesn't seem to have done her any harm so far!!???.... and look on the positive side.. the only thing she doesn't like to eat is her own poo!!!!

[CliftonPark]

The latest on Daphne....

We're still going great through the night, Daphne goes to bed in her small pen in our bedroom about 10pm and doesn't wake until 4:30am when she cries to go out for a pee & poo. In the day when I pop out for an hour or 2 she goes in her larger pen in the laundry, she cries when she goes in but is good whilst in there and theres rarely any mess for me to clean up when I'm back.

However, when I'm in its a different story, and she seems to be getting worse not better! She can be outside playing for ages, and pee whilst shes out there but then she'll come back in and just pee where she's standing. Until yesterday she had never pee'd on the living room carpet (only the tiled areas) now she's peeing there too. Also if she follows me into the kids room when I'm distributing clean washing she squats as soon as we get in there and pee's, even if just moments before she's been outside for one? She does this in my bedroom too?? It just doesn't make any sense? Would there be a reason for her doing this? (these are rooms she's not allowed in normally) Also sometimes she doesn't even look like shes peeing, she sits down and does it without even squatting, resulting in her having a wet bum, wet paws and me having a wet floor. We never tell her off, we just say 'No Daphne' 'Outside' and put her outside whilst we clean up. It just seems never ending as I'm following all the training advice of taking her out all the time but she'll pee outside then inside 2 minutes later. This morning she even went outside, pee'd then came in for her breaky then stopped mid chomp to pee where she was sitting, then continued to eat!?

Its a bloody good job we love her so much!!!!!

Oh you do make me laugh and I so know the frustration your feeling. I don't have any perfect answer for you though. I'm kind of wondering if she is marking. We deny access to any carpeted area (have barriers up all over the place) Mine are 13 weeks old now and only now really showing signs of very few accidents. It's constant and you're still in early days yet. I'd deny access until she's better toilet trained. Have you tried puppy training pads. While mine will shred them if left with them overnight, they are attracted to that spot and I have one placed near front and back door when they are loose in the house to encourage them to head in that direction for pee/poop.