First Time Puppy Haul

[persephone]

Sorry we are telling you of all the not so good things We are many, our years of being around dogs are legion, and unfortunately, on this forum, have read about almost every accident/training problem and mistake around So - I guess we are a bit pessimistic sometimes :)

The balcony concerns me - child proof ...how high is the wall ? Remember - children know what 'danger' means ..and so ,after a certain age- (and before another certain age) ..they will not attempt things . Dogs have no such knowledge of human dangers ..and a bouncy or scared pup/dog can achieve all sorts of gymnastic things ....

[Queen Maeby]

Lots of paper towel for cleaning up wee. And disinfectant.

[Salukifan]

JW:

i was going to use the playpen as a means to restrict his access to all the rooms but to his toilet space when he is unsupervised.

No dog is going to willingly go to the toilet within the space it is confined to sleep or rest. You need to rethink this. The whole point of crate training is to prevent a dog toileting in the crate, not to confine where they can toilet.

Otherwise what you will do is destroy your dog's natural inhibitions about soiling where he sleeps and plays. Bad move.

Have you told the breeder of this pup that you live in an apartment with no yard? It's not impossible to have a working breed in an apartment but it is one hell of a commitment.

Edited June 11, 2014 by Haredown Whippets

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

hi Jasperwall

I would try to find an agility dog club close you and ask to be put in the "foundation" training classes. This doesn't involve any jumping equipment (you want the dog to be 12 to 18 months old before you do that), but does involve a lot of exercises that will teach you about teaching the dog and train the dog's brain and body, and yours. I think 5 to 10 minutes of trying to teach a dog a new trick is worth 30 minutes of walking familiar streets. It wears the dog's brain out and they sleep better.

If you're going to be home with the dog for two weeks - that's a perfect time to crate train - the point of a crate is it's like a den or safe place - not a toilet or cat litter box. It is possible to train a dog to use a designated spot in an apartment - you can definitely try this. But also try to teach the dog to use outside (if that's your preferred option).

I would consider getting a copy of Susan Garrett's crate games dvd. If you find an agility club - there will probably be someone there who will loan you a copy. She's about to open up her Recallers Games online course for registration - which has heaps of stuff about teaching your puppy to come back and relationship building exercises - teach him to pay attention to you. It does involve being persistant and consistent. Susan Garrett has a degree in animal behaviour science and is a world champion agility dog (and people) trainer.

you can look up youtube kikopup for more training ideas.

As for bed and toys...

I would not get anything you intend to last a long time - until your dog is about 2 years old or has stopped chewing things. My dog slept in half a cardboard blanket box until it was too shredded to hold it's shape and then she got the other half... lasted about a year and then I got the heavy duty plastic version. Note these were lined with old pillows (in old pillow slips) and old blankets and towels and old tshirts.

And while you are at home with your dog - you can play the I forgot something game - where you get your keys and your bag like you're about to go to the shops (or work), go out the door, shut the door, remember you forgot your phone, open the door, go back in (ignore the dog) get something - go back out - repeat... see how long you can be out before the dog starts to complain - that's your threshold - next time you need to go back in about 30% before the threshold - ie you go back in before the screaming starts, several times and then see where the threshold is... and by the end of a week - you want the dog to figure out you're not coming back in if he's screaming.

You can also do this game down the park with the crate (at agility club...), after you've got to stage 3 of crate games.

I play "what's the time mr wolf" with my dog - I approach the crate - if she makes any noise - I turn around and go the other way... until she's quiet - and then I turn around and walk back, repeat as needed until you can get back to the crate with no screaming...

[jasperwall]

thank you again for the feedbacks.

i appreciate how much you care for your dogs and be upright honest with all the warnings.

i understand. i had a dog before i got married and had children. we were so naive back then and we allowed the dog to have too many priviledges and freedom at an early stage too early. and so the dog pretty much runs the house. but with committment we still manage to toilet train her. as far as other basic obedience training - there were none.

this is why i want to ensure there's structure and discipline also with our new dog and restrict his access to all our room when he is unsupervise. by all means, this is not a permanent situation. when we are at home, i will ensure he is supervised at all time and the play pen will not be use. i want to teach him he's welcome in our bedroom when he's invited and when we are at home so he doesn't do his business there when unattended. we have thought of a place in our apartment where he can eliminate. and we plan on using the playpen and crate to toilet train him and self settle when left alone.

i've been doing a lot of research and reading about having a dog.

so now as a family we are ready to have a dog and we have been discussing and made plans to incorporate the dog in our life.

i know it's not going to be easy and it's not going to be instant. this takes committment, time and consistency.

but i'm preparing as much as i can manage before we get him.

yes, i'm subscribed to kikopup, pam's dog academy, training positive, and i'm a fan of gone to the snow dogs in youtube. :-) so i definitely want to nurture our dog to his full potential.

@mrs rusty bucket

thanks for those suggestions. i will surely look them up and incorporate your suggestions in our training. i saw something similar in kikopup youtube chanel in her crate training and being left alone.

[Justrace]

Vinegar works really well for cleaning up accidents, doesn't leave the ammonia smell that makes them want to go there again and is cheap. Good stainless bowls - preferably non slip. A good lead & collar. The kong product are great, you can stuff them with food and stuff into the groves and it will take them awhile to get it out.

[jasperwall]

thank you to @mrs rusty bucket.

i found this great article in helping us prepare our new pup to be left alone

http://www.dogstardaily.com/files/HomeAlone.pdf

[Gspsplease]

[quote name='jasperwall' timestamp='1402463464' post='6501218'

thanks for that.

and yes, we've thought of our own work and school schedules.

i agree with you that we definitely need to invest not just money and food to our pets but more importantly time.

as much as possible, this new member of our family will be involve in everything we do because whatever we do, all family members are always in it together so our new puppy will never be left out. the only time i can think of when he will be left alone is when we do our groceries and/or go to church. during this time of unsupervised time, i plan on keeping him in a playpen with some interactive toys.

i would definitely seek a good trainer to help me train him. i'm also looking for puppy schools. any advice on that would be great.

my goal is to nurture and shape this puppy to be a good manered part of our family. i am committed to invest my time with him.

Actually its very important the dog learns not to be with you all the time & how to deal with being left out especially in the environment it will be living in.

An issue with apartment dogs is they are very reliant on the humans to cater for many things more so than dogs with a backyard so balancing the line of being independent & able to live happily in that environment is so important for life .

Your collie will be to big for a playpen & not a safe option at all

[Gspsplease]

Hi, your dog is too old for a puppy school (8-16 weeks); you need a dog training club/school that takes dogs over 4 months old. Western Suburbs Dog Training Club at Homebush is a positive training club with Sat afternoon classes -- look at their website. There are other clubs that train Sundays-- check the Dogs NSW website for other locations and websites; some clubs do not use positive training methods so perhaps go and observe to be sure that you will be comfortable with the classes. www.dogstardaily.com is a fantastic resource for all dog owners. good luck

[jasperwall]

Hi, your dog is too old for a puppy school (8-16 weeks); you need a dog training club/school that takes dogs over 4 months old. Western Suburbs Dog Training Club at Homebush is a positive training club with Sat afternoon classes -- look at their website. There are other clubs that train Sundays-- check the Dogs NSW website for other locations and websites; some clubs do not use positive training methods so perhaps go and observe to be sure that you will be comfortable with the classes. www.dogstardaily.com is a fantastic resource for all dog owners. good luck

thank you! yes, i think i saw that dog club training at a park near DFO at homebush. i will check their website.

also i saw susan garrett's recaller's program coming back on again soon.

i'm also subscribe to ian dunbar's dogstardaily

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Susan Garrett has put up two Its yer choice videos (second one up this morning oz time), and those by themselves help a lot with improving dog behaviour. You give your dog some limited choices eg on lead in front of dinner bowl - and reward the appropriate choice.

I still think your best shot is an agility club that does foundation training.

http://www.agilitynsw.com.au/31.html

You might also want to have a look in the training section of this forum for the agility stuff.