Final Preparation Questions Before Pup Comes Home

[all that glitters]

Well my GSD baby comes home in 10 days!! I am very very nervous.

And as usual I have some questions!

1) Toilet-training while working fulltime

Mine will be inside when I am at work, in a large lino area with the doors shut so she cant get to the carpeted areas. She will be alone 9hrs at a time so I of course expect her to make messes.

I was told to just ignore the messes and clean them up when she isn't looking, and to continue strict toilet training practises in the evenings/whenever we are home, til she learns to hold? And that teaching her to go on newspaper will teach her that going in the house in general is ok - so to avoid training to paper. Does that sound right? At least it will be easy to clean off lino. Im not that fussed about cleaning up the mess, I'm more worried about her being stressed out about being alone!

2) Speaking of being alone..

My biggest fear is the whole leaving her alone thing. Hubby and I are gone 8am-5 or 6pm Monday to Friday, and I felt horrible before but it seems a lot of other DOLers work fulltime and leave their pups alone and they are fine too!

I am getting her Friday night, and have Saturday,Sunday,Monday,Tuesday off. I thought in the Sunday/Mon/Tue part I can start practising closing her in the big lino room on her own and working up the length of time I leave her in there. Do I just ignore her crying?? Do I only go back in there after she has stopped crying for 5 mins? 15mins?

When I leave for work I have no choice but to leave at 8.10am or I will be late (work 40mins away). I will just have to close the door and walk off -- will she stop crying after being in the routine for a few weeks? Heck, maybe I will be lucky and she won't cry at all! :rolleyes:

Will she adjust to being alone in the daytimes? I will have a radio on for her, a big comfy bed, HEAPS of toys, and water. I hope as he grows that she will sleep for a lot of the time, or find interest in her toys. Could she successfully be kept indoors, cos a few people have laughed at me and told me I am crazy to keep a big dog inside I have a nice yard and if she is happy out there when older, she can be, but I don't want to annoy neighbours with barking and I dont like the risks of the outdoors (theft, poisoning, complaints, escape, bugs, weather, etc). And I don't mind keeping her inside as we have this nice big lino area. And if she grows older and doesn't chew stuff, she can progress into the rest of the house and have 3 cats as company

3) Home alone treats and toys

I have a big stash of new toys for her, a few kongs, kong ball, kong bone, treat ball, teethers, cuz ball, ropey toy etc. I hope to get more and alternate groups of toys. Can I also give her those rawhide sticks and pigs ears? Or are these bad? What about those bones you can buy in clear plastic wrap that look like they have been 'cooked' (they are brown)?

4) Correcting naughty behavior

When teaching her right and wrong, how do I correct her? Do I pick a bad word like "No" or "Leave it" or "uh uh" and apply that to all bad things? When she stops the bad behavior, do I wait a few moments, then praise her for having stopped, or will this still be praising the bad behavior that she had just been doing a minute before?

5) Foods at 8wks onwards

I will be feeding the little miss Eagle Pack Holistic Puppy Large Breed as the breeder has been, and will be doing 3 meals a day. When can I introduce raw bones? Do I wait til she is much older before adding sardines to her diet (mum gives hers some a few times a week)

6) Does that spray you put on wood/furniture to deter chewing really work, and if so, which one really works? I have nothing that can be destroyed in the big lino room except for a pool table with wooden legs, and some old couches we dont care about/that can be removed. Otherwise the room will be mainly toys and a snuggly bed and waterbowl.

I'm dreading the day I have to go back to work after getting her cos I will worry sick I guess all you other fulltime workers felt the same way in the beginning tho?

I'm a stresshead.

Edited April 21, 2009 by Shellectra

[Fyscha]

I'm a stresshead.

REALLY??? I didn't notice :rolleyes:

Sorry, I'm not going to be much help with the majority of your questions. But I will say that I think we worry sometimes more than we need to. Well I know I do anyway.

One thing that might help when first getting her home is to ask the breeder to put a piece of rag (or you can give her an old t-shirt) to put with the litter for a few days then she can have the smell of them when she is first separated from her family so it's not quite so stressful for her.

[BUGGA-LUGZ]

Try not to stress so much. :rolleyes:

In regards to the toys...dont give them to your pup all at once...interchange them so she doesnt get bored while your away.

As for toilet training... I would place a large kitty litter tray in the room while your gone. I wouldnt use kitty litter in case your pup tries to eat it I would simply put sand or dirt.

I dont give rawhide bones or pigs ears to mine. I have heard of too many pups/dogs choking on them.

When training my pups I use a simple and firm No! when they are doing wrong. I dont praise them afterwards as I feel it would be encouraging them to do wrong just to get praise. When they do right like come on command, sit, or when they potty outside etc they get lots of praise then.

Is it possible for someone to go and check on your pup and give her her mid meal and a toilet break at lunch time? That may help the with the time of being left alone a little easier on her and you knowing someone has checked and fed her and all is well so less stress on you too.

Good Luck with your puppy. I am sure all will be fine.

[W Sibs]

You sound like you have everything all set and organised!!! Just take a chill pill? LOL

you're going to have so much fun with her.. :rolleyes:

You are so much more prepared then I was getting Charlie!!!! Just got him the basics!

But here is my 2 cent.. hope it helps?!

Toilet-training while working fulltime

You have 4 days with your puppy.. then toilet train her straight away. What I did was, when puppy wakes up for his sleep, I take him outside and he does his business.. then praise him like crazy when he did it outside. Puppies usually pee straight after they wake up (just like when we wake up from a sleep.. we want to go to the toilet). There is a thing called PP Pads you can get.. i have no idea if they work though.

I have Charlie to go on the papers upstairs in my ensuite (too little to go downstairs to outside yet).. and at the beginning when he did a mess inside the house, i will clean it up, he will come over and I will say 'Not allowed' and then leave. Not praising him. He picked it up quick smart.

Puppies like to please!!

Speaking of being alone..

I think it's harder on the owner to leave their puppy home alone then the puppy itself!! I usually have the radio on, i get up an hour earlier to play with Charlie, i take him for a quick 5-10 minute walk, we have breakfast together and he plays with my sister when i get ready to go to work.. i will play for him a little bit more (all this to hopefully tire the puppy out) and when i give him a treat like a small bone... he is so absorb in his treat the he doesn't even know that i'm gone!!

Charlie has the kitchen and the backyard... we leave a gap open on the sliding door to the backyard (we have really really high walls and brick fences).. and so he can go out and in as he please. ohh.. sometimes, i will throw treats out to the grass so he can spend hours sniffing them out and looking for them.

Yet, i still stress about him being lonely at home :S

Correcting naughty behavior

I don't use the word 'No'. I usually say 'Oi. Quit that' or 'Not allowed' in a very firm voice. Then ignore his bad behaviour. I don't praise Charlie if he did something wrong and then stopped it either. If you say stop, she stops.. just continue what you're doing. She will find something else to do to hopefully get a praise out of you

Foods at 8wks onwards

Puppy was on raw food from day 1 i got him home. As for bone, he is little but i give him rib bones to munch on.. although he doesn't do much damage at the moment. His favorite is chicken neck. I never thought of feeding puppy sardine... but I'm going to try it!

[puggy_puggy]

1) Toilet-training while working fulltime

When you are home take her outside all of the time. Whne not at home leave her a newspaper area. Because you will be leaving her for so long alone the newspaper area can't be avoided. If you were at home I would say forget the newspaper and take her outside all of the time.

2) Speaking of being alone..

9 hours is a very long time to leave a little puppy alone. Can you have someone come over during the day? How do you plan to feed her three meals a day? Make sure she has something that smells like you when you leave her. A towl/rug that you have slept on etc.

3) Home alone treats and toys

I have a big stash of new toys for her, a few kongs, kong ball, kong bone, treat ball, teethers, cuz ball, ropey toy etc. I hope to get more and alternate groups of toys. Can I also give her those rawhide sticks and pigs ears? Or are these bad? What about those bones you can buy in clear plastic wrap that look like they have been 'cooked' (they are brown)?

I would only give her a few toys at once. Change them around every so often so that she doesn't get bored of them. DO NOT GIVE RAWHIDE STICKS, PIGS EARS ETC!!!!! They are easily choked on so you could be coming home to a dead puppy at the end of your wokring day. They are also full of fat and nasty chemicals.

Correcting naughty behavior

Telling them 'No' in a deep voice work. A loud 'Yip' like a puppy would if it got bitten by it's litter mates also works. Redirecting biting to a toy instead of what you are not wanting bitten. Lots of prase when she is doing the right thing.

5) Foods at 8wks onwards

I will be feeding the little miss Eagle Pack Holistic Puppy Large Breed as the breeder has been, and will be doing 3 meals a day. When can I introduce raw bones? Do I wait til she is much older before adding sardines to her diet (mum gives hers some a few times a week)

How are you going to feed her three times a day if you are not home? I have fed 7 week old pups bones and other breeders here have started even earlier. If youa re wanitng to feed bones then make sure you use that as one meal a day or make the other 3 meals smaller to compenstate. Again puppies can be fed sardines at a very early age. Just watch out as they can give some dogs the runs.

6) Does that spray you put on wood/furniture to deter chewing really work, and if so, which one really works? I have nothing that can be destroyed in the big lino room except for a pool table with wooden legs, and some old couches we dont care about/that can be removed. Otherwise the room will be mainly toys and a snuggly bed and waterbowl.

She will chew if she is bored and when teething. Provide her toys to chew and tell her off if you catching her chewing something she shouldn't be.

[Pockets]

I agree I would leave nothing for her to chew on like pigs ears or raw hide as they can easily get stuck or lodged etc and the result could be horrible its more caution than anything

You will learn more once she comes home and she will adapt very easily to your way of life dogs are great at fitting in as long as you include her as part of your family and include her in family stuff

My advice is while you are at home dont leave her for long periods of time on her own. A lot of owners do what we call "FLOOD AND DROUT" which means they leave the dog outside for long periods of time and then the dogs is out for long periods of time, in some dogs this can cause Sepration anxiety if left alone for long periods without contact you can teach you pup from the day it comes home that being without you is fine, this can be done by using the following method:

Have puppy in with you for 10 minutes

Put the puppy outside for 5 minutes

Bring them back in for 2 minutes

Put them out for half an house

Bring them in for 15 minutes

What you are doing is desensativing the dog from being with you for a set amount of time and the dog learns that wether in or out, with or without you the pup/dog will eventually not worry always vary the time though, never make it the same length of time in and out etc if the pup cries at the door when you put it out or put it in a certain room of the house then yes you ignore it and dont go to the puppy until it is settled or quiet, otherwise the puppy will learn that if they cry they get attention..

Make sure that puppy has somewhere cosy they can go to, I reccomend a crate with a nice bed and blankets in there where the puppy will feel safe and secure, crate training a puppy is fantastic and most dogs will grow up to love their crates, I have 4 German Shepherds and they all love their crates and will happily run and go into them and curl up and sleep and not make a noise I have made it their own space and they feel secure in their

[Pockets]

The Best advice I can give you when bringing her home, is to get a crate and set it up in you room for her to sleep in at night so she is near you and is not alone, bringing a puppy home away from its litter mates and mum for the first time can be very daunting for a young pup and then to be put in an isolated room by itself at night can also be upsetting for a little pup, not to mention with the crying you will get no sleep

[all that glitters]

Thanks guys! I have bought a large crate for her already, and will have it set up next to my bed for night times

Well for the 3 feeds I was going to feed her in the morning, when we get home, and an hour before bed. I am not super close friends with the neighbours, we talk to the nice man next door who just retired, but I would feel rude asking him to pop in every afternoon to give her food and take her outside for toilet -- or is it not rude? I don't really know. Do I offer to pay him or something? lol I've never really asked for favours before.

Im sure ill stop stressing once she is actually here and we get into the swing of things.. Situations are always more stressful before you take them on!

[BellaEvie]

Thanks guys! I have bought a large crate for her already, and will have it set up next to my bed for night times

Well for the 3 feeds I was going to feed her in the morning, when we get home, and an hour before bed. I am not super close friends with the neighbours, we talk to the nice man next door who just retired, but I would feel rude asking him to pop in every afternoon to give her food and take her outside for toilet -- or is it not rude? I don't really know. Do I offer to pay him or something? lol I've never really asked for favours before.

Im sure ill stop stressing once she is actually here and we get into the swing of things.. Situations are always more stressful before you take them on!

I did the same with my pup feeding in the morning and then when we got home and them before bedtime

If you have a kong, you can leave some treats in that - fry food and mince etc so she gets a third small meal.

As for asking your neighbour, i didn't and it worked well for me but it is up to you.

Good luck and enjoy your pup, they grow up way too quickly

And a crate in your room is a wonderful thing, but be prepared for some noise the first night

Edited April 22, 2009 by BellaEvie

[all that glitters]

My advice is while you are at home dont leave her for long periods of time on her own. A lot of owners do what we call "FLOOD AND DROUT" which means they leave the dog outside for long periods of time and then the dogs is out for long periods of time, in some dogs this can cause Sepration anxiety if left alone for long periods without contact you can teach you pup from the day it comes home that being without you is fine, this can be done by using the following method:

Hubby and I are a bit confused about this part - He thinks flood and drought means when you ARE home with her don't smother her with too much company (flood) and then suddenly when your gone she has none (drought)? But that cant be right cos your supposed to give them attention and company when at home

[all that glitters]

Thanks guys! I have bought a large crate for her already, and will have it set up next to my bed for night times

Well for the 3 feeds I was going to feed her in the morning, when we get home, and an hour before bed. I am not super close friends with the neighbours, we talk to the nice man next door who just retired, but I would feel rude asking him to pop in every afternoon to give her food and take her outside for toilet -- or is it not rude? I don't really know. Do I offer to pay him or something? lol I've never really asked for favours before.

Im sure ill stop stressing once she is actually here and we get into the swing of things.. Situations are always more stressful before you take them on!

I did the same with my pup feeding in the morning and then when we got home and them before bedtime

If you have a kong, you can leave some treats in that - fry food and mince etc so she gets a third small meal.

As for asking your neighbour, i didn't and it worked well for me but it is up to you.

Good luck and enjoy your pup, they grow up way too quickly

And a crate in your room is a wonderful thing, but be prepared for some noise the first night

THANKYOU B.Evie! I feel heaps better now, puggy was making me feel like a meany lol

Wow that kong idea with treats is a GREAT idea too! Totally didnt think of that as a 'meal' I guess it would just be a meal where she has to work at it

Edited April 22, 2009 by Shellectra

[tez]

Its a tough call having to leave your new baby for so long but I'm sure you will all cope. We got young Jane 3 weeks ago when she was 8 weeks old. The first two weeks were school hols so she had someone around off and on during that time but we made sure she was left alone some of the day to get used to the eventual wook/ school routine.

We found that Jane became very familar with the layout of the house very quickly and surprised us by learning to use the doggy door on day 2!!!. This week was her first week where she is home alone for 4 hours at a time( I come home for lunch which is now dedicated to 'young Jane time'). She has access to most of the house including carpeted areas as her bed is in my room and she likes to sleep there during the day. So far so good...just the occasional accident...She seems to have got the idea to go outside via the doggy door(Yah!!!)

Toys...yep but if your dog is like ours then she will be more attached to other things such as socks, slippers and bloody brooms which she likes to fight with and drag about. I seriously thinks she sleeps most of the time she is alone so be prepared for some quality time with her before and after work. We take Jane out for a little 10 minute walk before work plus incidental training with food rewards. At lunch time its time in the backyard for more relaxed training including fun retrieval games and I also throw around sone cruchy food so she has to find it in the grass and after work we take her to to crater lake with a 10 metre line attached to her lead so she can run around or do whatever she likes

without too much restriction on her freedom.

Be prepared for the mad minutes of nutty behaviour before the final collapse into sleep and try not to make too much fuss when you leave if possible in order to reduce her anxiety.

The hardest thing so far for us has been the broken sleep for toilet training overnight but thats short-term. Just remeber that the quality time you spend with her when you are home will more than make up for the time she is alone. Oh and congradulations in advance for a long, happy and action-packed life ahead!!!

[all that glitters]

Thankyou tez! What an encouraging, positive response! I am sure me and my baby will be fine

If I lived close to work (or worked close to home? lol) I would totally drop in to give her a break! But I work 40 minutes away, as does my partner, bleh! Ah well, not everything can be perfect i guess Im sure she will sleep alot too

[Pockets]

My advice is while you are at home dont leave her for long periods of time on her own. A lot of owners do what we call "FLOOD AND DROUT" which means they leave the dog outside for long periods of time and then the dogs is out for long periods of time, in some dogs this can cause Sepration anxiety if left alone for long periods without contact you can teach you pup from the day it comes home that being without you is fine, this can be done by using the following method:

Hubby and I are a bit confused about this part - He thinks flood and drought means when you ARE home with her don't smother her with too much company (flood) and then suddenly when your gone she has none (drought)? But that cant be right cos your supposed to give them attention and company when at home

What I mean is, that break it up when you are at home with her while she is young, have her outside without you at times even when you are at home so she gets used to you being there but she doesnt HAVE to be with you and its ok for her to be outside even though you are home

Sorry for the confusion

For example and this is some cases, people who work full time will have the dog outside all day (drout) and then when at home the dog is inside all night (flood), most dogs cope with this fine, some dont and CAN suffer seperation anxiety I just like to teach the puppy that being outside while I am home is fine and that it is a good thing

[all that glitters]

Ohhh thanks Pockets!

Yes that totally makes sense! And I'm hoping to make a start on that after the first day I have with her, so I will have Sun/Mon/Tue/Wed to start to leave her alone for small amounts of times, yep yep

Do I have to continue this for a long while, or just til she settles into the routine?

My 'outside' will be the big lino area that gets shut off, so I will start by putting her in there on her own for little bits, and I should also do it with the outside itself too I guess, so she doesn't totally hate the backyard! Maybe after toileting I can spend time with her outside to show that outside is fun too, and try leaving her there for little bits too. Cos otherwise if its cold I would imagine myself running out there, she goes to the loo, gets praise and we run back inside -- which would end up with a dog that doesnt know the backyard/outdoors is OK too! lol.

[Pockets]

No not all the time, just so puppy learns that being by themselves is ok even if they can see and hear you puppies learn quick and generally if you make everything a good experience then they cope great guns

make the backyard a fun exciting area, go out and play with her in the yard and give her things to chew out therewhile you are home, that way they dont hate going outside as they will know how to amuse themselves without you

Once your pup is home you will learn lots from each other, its a great experience and the bond you will share will be everlasting!!!!

I cant wait till you bring her home, cant wait for loads and loads of piccies!!!

I am not bias on GSD's at all

[Fyscha]

On the topic of neighbours- we arent super friendly with ours either, but we did chat and say hi, but had to go away recently and needed plants watered. After much discussion we ended up asking them and they were happy to do it. Like I said to hubby, there is only one place to start and why not let us start it. We made it clear that we will be more than happy to repay the favour any time. We gave them a bottle of wine for their effort. I think it was a positive step in neighbourly relations!

[all that glitters]

Neither am I

GSDs have been a breed I have dreamed of since I was a little girl, they are such a true dog to me (a lot of other breeds aren't proper dogs IMO haha!). I've always been drawn to breeds that have the shape of a dog (much like a wolf), long noses like wolves, long legs and sturdy paws.

I would have chosen a Sibe, but after reading about the extra little things that you have to take into account with those beauties, I decided a GSD would be better suited to me

[all that glitters]

On the topic of neighbours- we arent super friendly with ours either, but we did chat and say hi, but had to go away recently and needed plants watered. After much discussion we ended up asking them and they were happy to do it. Like I said to hubby, there is only one place to start and why not let us start it. We made it clear that we will be more than happy to repay the favour any time. We gave them a bottle of wine for their effort. I think it was a positive step in neighbourly relations!

Oh good on you! I am sure my neighbour wouldn't mind, he is sooo nice. His Boxer passed away a month ago and we happened to have a chat to him a week later, he was devastated. The next day he rang the doorbell and offered me two strong food/water bowls that we could use now that they didn't have a dog. Isn't that sweet?

Like I am sure he wouldnt mind, but I have this issue with annoying people. I don't even ring people on the phone incase I am annoying them or being a burden! haha!

I am gonna take her to meet him and his wife when we get her, so ill go to their door and say hi with her, and ill just ask them what they did with their pup when they worked daily (ill ask if they got someone to come feed him and let him out for pees, because it has been suggested to me that I should get someone to do so for me) and then maybe I'll just wait and see if he offers, or be like sooo if you are home in the afternoons and wouldn't mind swinging by for about 10 minutes to blah blah blahh.. lol.

[BellaEvie]

GSD pups are gorgeous.

Are you getting your pup from a local breeder?

Also maybe ask your breeder some of these questions as they should have some great ideas, and they may have put them in a puppy pack for you, that they can share.