8-12 Week Puppy Routine - Golden Retriever ?

[Snowball]

Hi

Ok, have been reading the tired puppy owenrs thread and starting to get mildy worried

routine seems to come accross as important - so is anyone willing to share their routine for their new 8 week puppy and then how it is modiefied as she gets older.

We are getting a golden retriever and have a crate etc, all ready, but am concerned about the night times, I have gone through sleep deprevationa and toilet training with a child and did not expect to go through it again :p

So share your routines please, it looks like I will need them for my sanity.

thanks heaps

Snowball

[Snowball]

Hmm, just saw all my spelling mistakes and tired to edit, but somehow isnt working for me, - sorry, cant even blame sleep deprevation yet

[goldielover]

Hi Snowball. I actually haven't read the 'exhausted' thread but i don't really have a routine as such.... perhaps more of a 'what i expect of my puppy' type of scenario. Essentially i don't let a puppy do anything i don't want an adult dog to do. If you don't want a 30-odd kg dog jumping on you or laying on your couch, don't let the puppy do it. I try not to feed at exact times personally but it does suit my work, but i don't want a puppy that demands brekky at 7.30am on the weekends. I make a puppy sit before i pat it and ask my visitors to do the same, and also sit before i let him eat his food. Once he looks up at me i give him his release word to eat.

I use a crate, but mainly for night time. I have been extraordinarily lucky with my last few puppies. My current puppy whinged for about 5 minutes the first 2 nights and that was it... we went out to toilet the first few nights also but none since (i usually have to go in the middle of the night so i drag him out too LOL). You can get him used to the crate by giving him a treat in there. I also leave a toy or 2 in the crate.

Get him (or her!) used to various household noises quickly without making a fuss - washing machine, dryer, fans, blower vaccs, vaccuum, whipper snipper, loud bangs, lawn mower, car starting, plastic bags, etc.

Personally i think if you can supervise your puppy as much as possible the chance of it developing behavioural issues is greatly diminished as you are able to correct the behaviour as it occurs.

Do a little bit of training (just a couple of minutes) each day so that he is mentally tired... sit, come, etc. I think come is one of the most important commands. Goldens love food, so treats as a reward go down well!

Also, get him used to a collar and lead soon (just a few minutes the first day and build it up).

Give him lots of attention, but also make sure he can be on his own so pop him outside for a few minutes, then build up the time, otherwise you will have issues if you leave him for extended periods. Ignore any whining or scratching at the door - it will take a few days but he'll get the message!! Let him in once he's been quiet for a few minutes and sitting nicely.

So essentially reward good behaviour and ignore bad behaviour. I don't believe that negative reinforcement (eg. a stern 'uh uh' or 'no') is such a bad thing provided it's not over-used. A dog needs to learn acceptable and unacceptable behaviour just as we do.

And most importantly... don't forget to pop in the Retriever thread with pics!!!

[Serket]

What GL said!

For Gypsy, she needed to go out during the night for the first week or so (I'm sure it's in that other exhausted thread, and I can't remember the details now).

Let me stress the avoid getting into too much of a routine, and I would suggest especially the "wake up, wee, breakfast" one, and also come home then dinner right away. Gypsy doesn't demand lunch or dinner, but she's taken to waking me up at 5:30 every morning for a 'wee' which then becomes 'oh and it's breakfast time too now, right?' So now it's get up, fine, but not breakfast time, and hopefully we can get to back to at least a 6:30 wake up, that would be wonderful.

Oh, and DON'T give in to the whinging in the crate, unless it's an 'I need to go wee' whinge

[Jenni87]

Hello

Agree with what GL said as well :p

With our girl we set her crate up in our bedroom. We plan on letting her sleep in our room (but hoping not on the bed though our track record with past dogs = that will most likely not stick ) so we set her crate up there and then she is also close to us and we can hear her movements. For the first 3 nights we got up around 1.30-2 when she started whinging and moving around lots for toilet but she sleeps through now till about 5 which works out well as OH gets up for work then. Her bedtime is when we go to bed and last night was the first night she went with Nooooo noises what so ever. It only lasts for about 5 mins when she does anyway. But stay strong with it like Serket said - Ella has this one noise that just breaks my heart!!!!!

Her routine stands with breakfast from about 7-8 depending on when we're all up. Lunch is from 12-1 (but is slowly being adjusted to no lunch as we're at work) and Dinner is when the cats get theres which after we have ours so from 5-7 but I have been doing it at 6 as I've had time off work and been organised. She isn't to fussed and it's only in the mornings she runs over to where her bowl goes and sits and waits for it. She already knows sit and has to do so before I put down her bowl.

We take her out to toilet within 10mins of her waking up from a nap or having dinner but already she is getting better with toileting as will wait by the back door. She has even started going only in her designated area. We say "go wees" and she is starting to respond with that and runs to a certain spot to go. I love her - I swear she is a child genius!! (puts proud Mum hat on)

She gets outside morning and afternoon "alone" time as now I'm back to work she has to get used to it. She loves it, when we're not out there - I stop her from rolling in the wet patches (from the rain) or destroying what is left of my failed attempt at a garden bed (me + gardening = disaster)

And even inside we give her "alone" time (we have blocked off our passages so she has access into lounges/dining and kitchen which has all been puppy proofed and no go areas blocked also in that area) so she can learn we're not the main source of entertainment.

When she is bigger and able, she will get walked in the morning when we all get up and also at night when I get home from work but otherwise same kind of thing.

And we do have lots of playtime and started to get onto training.

Thats pretty much all from us. She has just settled so well, we didn't really need to think of the routine though I had stressed weeks before making sure I had food lists and a schedule and everything else. And then we got her home and it all fell into place.

[Snowball]

thanks for your replies. You are all so helpful.

I must say I was in tears reading this, as my neighbours little dog just barks all day, at anything - he is driving me crazy and the neighbours dont care. I think I am overplanning this as I am scarred that 1. - that dog will corrupt my beautiful puppy and 2. that we end up with a horrid barking nightmare.

I have talked to them, but there not that fussed. I have had the dog over for a few hours a few times so it gets used to me, and our yard, that has helped a little, he no longer barks when he sees me, but will still bark when I go into the backyard and he cant see me, or go to the car, or the garage, or the bin, or it is windy, or their are birds in the yard, visitors, schookids walking past, etc etc, you get the idea.

he really is a sweet dog, just not stimulated at all - no walks etc. I paid him a bit of attention and he started to jump over the fence to come and sit by my backdoor waiting for me - poor thing. But I just cant handle it. Anyway, I am venting. I am just so scarred of what will happen when we get our puppy, plus it is ruining my enjoyment of my backyard.

I will propbably start a seperate thread about what to do so my puppy doesnt pick up bad habits - but reading all your lovely replies and the others I have had, it is reassuring to know that there are lovely dog owners who care about their dogs and others around them. i cant believe how a barking dog has gotten me down.

anyway, thanks for all your tips, I will refer to them and use them. Cant wait to post picture.

cheers

Snowball

[Serket]

My neighbours have two yappy dogs too, every time they hear me walk out my back door they start ;): I can't water the garden without setting them off, or play with Gypsy in the back yard. They yell at them to shut them up (in Spanish :D which the dogs seem to understand at least).

I was worried that Gypsy would start barking back, but so far she hasn't She usually just ignores them completely.

If your neighbours dog is jumping the fence, I would sort that out ASAP - you don't want a strange dog coming into your yard when you're not home, and you don't want your puppy to realise that fences can be jumped over.

[Snowball]

Serket,

I feel for you, at least yours yell at them to shut up, mine never say a word - every!!!! I would feel a bit better, if they at least pretended to try and keep their dog quiet.

arhhhh, fingers crossed I can keep my goldie from being corrupted

[Jenni87]

How horrible. We're lucky - there is a bulldog puppy directly behind us and when Ella has her little whinge in the morning he joins in but she gets over it after about 5-10 mins and when she shuts up so does he. But at night time they must let him sleep outside as he starts about 10 for a good hour. She doesn't seem fazed by it at all which is good. And a German Shepherd to our left who must know when our cats are in their outside run (no idea how - they dont make noise) and he barks at the fence at them but thats all. A Shut Up gets him quiet.

I hope your situation improves soon in regards to that.

[Seven]

Just been through this with our dog a lab and he is now 11 weeks, here is what I had happen.

Week 1 - well he slept most of the time, but when awake whined to he fell asleep again. We are crate training and it has been so much more than we expected.

Rusti quickly learnt to let us know when he needed to go and it also was a great place to ensure he didn't get into anything he shouldn't

Well the first week we were up 3 times a night and this is based on him going to bed around 10pm.

1230am - 230am - 5am and then when we all would get up around 7am.

Week 2 - He changed to about 2 times 230am and 5am. At the end of the week he changed to 1 time at around 5am.

I think it was around the end on week 2 he would sleep through the night and had 3 nights with a surprise left for us.

I would suggest have a few towels handy for bedding in the crate and don't use anything else til you know he really is holding on all night.

3 weeks on he is sleeping through the night with no accidents apart from those 3 smelly nights and its not nice early in the morning.

I should add he never slept in our room and was in the family room in his crate.

By the way the whining changes to a quick couple of barks now to go to the toilet.

Hope this gives you an idea of what to expect and remember no playtime at 230 in the morning as they seem to think is ok when your eyes are about to drop out.

[Snowball]

thanks Seven, that is really useful.

Snowball

[persephone]

Snowball...one point only.

DO NOT appear anxious- do NOT fuss and watch your pup continually, or panic if you miss something!!

This will affect how objectively you see things...AND transmit to your pup..who will ,in a sense copy what you are feeling/doing.

Your pup is a dog.........he/she will see things differently to you,and react differently - so don't burden yourself with guilt etc

[Seven]

thanks Seven, that is really useful.

Snowball

No worries and I thought of a couple of other things you might find handy.

Take out for first few days every hour if possible and he/she should get used to what you are saying.

Work out what works best for you as far as last feed of the day and maybe make small adjustments so the time slightly changes when he/she needs to go in the morning.

We feed around 5pm and remove his water bowl around 630pm.

The final stop outside will be very interesting and hopefully you can get him used to having a final no 2 just before bed. Took me alot of circling around to get him to go late at night, but think it is paying off.

Good luck and by no way means am I an expert, but just my experience so far.

Good Luck!!!