6 Week Old Beagle Puppy Coming Home

[jillandbray]

My boyfriend and I are welcoming Lammbo our little beagle puppy home very soon.

I have never had a puppy before, and the last time my boyfriend has was when he was young himself and his parents did all the work.

So we have alot to learn....

We have been reading this forum and other sites alot over the past few weeks to get ideas of what to do and how to look after him.

However we have some questions still.

First of all, somewhere to sleep. Our laundry is currently occupied by a cat and his kitty litter, we dont really have anywhere else to put the kitty litter in the house. We were hoping to keep our beagle in our bedroom in a big cardboard box with towls and paper in the bottom until he is house trained. Is this an ok solution? Our room has carpet which also could be a problem. We know at 6 weeks we can expect plenty of accidents and we dont really know how to keep him during the night.

I have heard alot about crate training etc but how does that work if he has an accident? Also i dont really want to shut him in a box for the whole night.

We are thinking of getting a big cardboard box (fridge size) which will fit him and his water and food bowls and some soft bedding (washable) and line the bottom with heaps of old news papers. Will this be ok?

As you can tell we are very confused about this. I think i will buy a book, i saw the idiots guide to beagles on the internet maybe that will come in handy haha.

If you have any suggestions that would be wonderful

Jill and Bray

[Miranda]

At six weeks your puppy is too young to leave the litter and you may have problems with bite inhibition. You should also wait two weeks for the first vaccination to take effect.

I wouldn't keep a puppy in a cardboard box, the puppy will chew it up and any spilled water or urine will soon soak through onto the floor underneath, your puppy may also whine because he cannot see you or anything that is going on around him. A wire crate is by far the best option, do a search for 'crates' or 'crate training', there are many threads on the subject.

[Steve]

You dont mean the pup is coming home at 6 weeks of age do you?

Do you know much about how its been reared and if its going to be with its litter and its Mum right up to home time?

Have you spoken with the breeder about this ?

[jillandbray]

Thanks for you quick replys

He will be 6 weeks old. Is that too young? He is with his other little mates and mum and dad currently and the breeder said that at 6 weeks he would have his vacination and be ready to come home with us.

I guess we should go to the pet store and find something more suitable for him to be in.

One of us will be home all of the time because we both study uni full time at the moment. So we can commit all our time to making sure he is comfortable.

Im sorry i didnt realise 6 weeks was too young

also the picture above is him at just under 4 weeks

Edited April 10, 2007 by jillandbray

[Miranda]

No reputable registered breeder will allow a puppy to go to its new home prior to 8 weeks of age, it is not in the best interests of the puppy's future wellbeing and for this reason it is against the ANKC code of ethics.

The puppy will also take two weeks to develop immunity following the first vaccination, if you take him home immediately he will have no immunity whatsoever.

[jillandbray]

Well what should we do?

[Kavik]

Can the breeder hold onto him until he is 8 weeks old?

I agree with the others about the choice of bed - puppies chew everything and a cardboard box won't last long. You could put a cardboard box inside the crate for a bed if you want, but I wouldn't use it as the sole place to sleep. Crates are a great idea and you can easily monitor them and take them out before accidents happen. Puppies don't like to go to the toilet where they sleep, so he will likely let you know when he needs to go.

[caffiend42]

Hi jillandbray, welcome

Yep, at 6 weeks your pup should still be with his mum and other littermates - they learn so much in those two weeks to allow them to be good adults.

You want your little guy to sleep where you want him to sleep from day 1. If you don't want him in the bedroom when he's older, then don't have him there from the start - it's not fair to get him comfy and then change the goalposts (or the bed, as the case may be).

If he is inside with you, you will need to take him outside to the toilet:

when he's woken up

when he's had a feed

when he's had a play

when he hasn't had one for a bit.

Try to anticipate his signals - nose on the ground, circling.

Feed him in your kitchen or outside, no real need to feed him in a box

Ask his breeder if they are prepared to keep him until he is at least 8 weeks old, if you are dead set committed to having this little guy. If you are still prepared to look around for a reputable breeder, now is the time

EFS

Edited April 10, 2007 by caffiend42

[Miranda]

If this is a registered breeder she is contravening the code of ethics and I wouldn't buy a puppy from her. Alternatively if this person is an unregistered breeder she can do as she likes, whether what she does is in the puppy's best interests is debatable. I don't know what health testing needs to be done in beagles but if I were you I'd find out and ask this breeder if all her stock is tested prior to breeding.

I would recommend that you find a reputable registered breeder who abides by the code of ethics and refuses to sell puppies under 8 weeks of age.

[jillandbray]

From what we have heard now we would have preferred to look for another breeder but we have already put a few hundred dollars down as a deposit

I will call them and ask if they will keep him for another two weeks hopefully they will say yes.

How big should the crate be for a beagle so he can get used to it?

would something like this be suitable? http://www.petsplus.com.au/pet-shop.asp?id=741

Edited April 10, 2007 by jillandbray

[monsterpup]

Hi Jill and Bray,

Here's a webpage that explains a bit about widely accepted views of puppy development :

http://www.thepuppynetwork.com/puppy_development.html

(I don't agree with the feeding etc on this site - just this page has a quick overview of development -hope it helps)

To make it easier on yourselves and the pup is there any way you can arrange to leave him with the dam for eight weeks?

I'm in Victoria, and under the impression that it is actually illegal for registered breeders to send puppies home even a day under 8 weeks? (I could have that wrong) Is it different in other states?

If you can't leave him, hopefully some other people here will be able to suggest how you can make up for the early departure from the litter.

Good luck!!! I hope it works out for you.

ps welcome to DOL

ooh people here are too fast - lots of answers before I posted

Edited April 10, 2007 by monsterpup

[R00]

and make sure you stick around DOL . My Staffy pup is now 19 weeks old and there is plenty of good advice to be had around here. No question is stupid.

I would take what some of the previous posters have posted very seriously, they do know what they are talking about. 8 weeks is the mimimum time you should remove the pup from mum.

Cheers

Roo

[jillandbray]

Ok we will ring the breeder (obviously must be unregistered breeder) and ask for him to stay two extra weeks.

But after 8 weeks, then what should we do? was the "crate" i posted above suitable. We were going to take him to the vet when we got him and ask them about food etc.

We have a border collie aswell who lives outside. When should we first introduce lammbo to her (she is 10 and desexed)? We also have a rag doll cat under a year old. How should we control their interaction?

[Miranda]

jillandbray Steve is a registered breeder of beagles and has many years of experience with this breed, I'm sure she'll come back soon and reply to this thread, she knows just about everything there is to know about beagles

[bikle]

I would suggest a metal crate rather than a soft-crate as you pictured.

A pup could chew right through the sides of one of those. They are more suitable for dogs that are already crate trained.

http://www.petsplus.com.au/pet-shop.asp?id=659 << would be more suitable. I would probably get a Large for a beagle and use something (such a plywood) to block off half the internal area for when the pup is small.

[jillandbray]

thanks for all your replys everyone, im glad i found this out now, not later when it was too late.

I didnt really know there was a difference between breeders, im too trusting sometimes, i just knew i didnt want to buy from a pet store where they were in cages all day with little kids banging on the glass.

[wisdomis4thoseseek]

2 weeks doesn't seam like a lot but it REALLY does make all the difference in the world.

I know how hard it would be but would it at all be possible to get your deposit back and go to a regestered breeder? I have been in your situation and I whish I knew then what I do now, would have saved a lot of heart ache...

Good luck with anything you decide, and stick a round DOL the people will offer you any help anytime you ask for

[Steve]

Usually, before one of my beagle babies goes to its new home I ask where it will sleep so I can set up a similar place for it to sleep here for the last few days so its not such a big deal for the little guy. Alot depends on how the breeder handles the puppies as well. Beagle puppies prefer to be clean and they dont as a natuaral like having to go to the toot any where near where they sleep or eat but some breeders keep them locked up in small areas where they have to walk through thei own poo etc which makes life much more difficult when it comes time to train them.

Their bladders are only tiny and they can only hold on for a few hours so they cant go all night without needing to go to the toot . If you use a crate he will cry and let you know he needs to go out. He will also try to work you over a bit to see how much you're going to give. If you dont want the pup to sleep with you dont lift it up onto the bed no matter how much it begs and yells. There are also mats you can put down for the pup to use to go to the toot on as well . But honestly if you can go back to your breeder and ask some questions about how the pup has been raised it may take a lot of the stress out for you and the pup.

You also need to ask the breeder what they have been feeding the pup - not the vet because you need to stick with what the breder feeds for at least a few days and you need to know now ,so you know what you need to bring the puppy home to.

Im happy to email you some of my Beagle puppy notes if you dont get enough info from your breeder .

Julie