Well. we will have a new addition to the family in just over a week when we collect 'Tilly' our golden cocker spaniel puppy from the
breeder.
She is our first ever dog so I got a few books and have been reading up on the subject. I was just after any 'golden rules' or 'key
advice' from the more experienced dog owners on here!
Don't have any power/phone cables within reach
Buy a soft furry bed and a babies blanket for it. Loads of toys it can chew (teething)
Take it to car shows/beach/crowds once its jabs allow.
Train it on a lead from the moment it can go out.
First thing you teach it is to come to you when you call. Reward it with treats to train this. It’s very important.
Loads of other stuff really, but just make sure you give it the attention it needs.
[Edited on 23/7/09 by Mr Whippy]
treat em mean keep em kean 
.
We've always had dogs and I've trained three. They're completely lovely but dont give them 100% attention as soon as you get in etc
because they'll become spoilt just like kids would.
Also get them used to a cage or bedded area that is "theirs".
theres too much to tell on here. Anything specific give me a U2U.
You are the boss..... YOU come first.... so make sure you feed it AFTER you have eaten and washed up etc every day....
This seems to be quite important with ours...
quote:
Originally posted by tegwin
You are the boss..... YOU come first.... so make sure you feed it AFTER you have eaten and washed up etc every day....
This seems to be quite important with ours...
craig is the lab in your avanta yours ?
Makes me smile every time I see it.
Its that lab 'Arnt I a realy clever dog and I deserve a treat'
quote:
Originally posted by cd.thomson
treat em mean keep em kean
We've always had dogs and I've trained three. They're completely lovely but dont give them 100% attention as soon as you get in etc because they'll become spoilt just like kids would.
Also get them used to a cage or bedded area that is "theirs".
theres too much to tell on here. Anything specific give me a U2U.
all of the advice already given above is really good advice,
the major one for me is that YOU & your wife/partner & kids are higher in status than the dog, if you lose that then the dog will wreak
havoc.
also for toilet training, DON,T use the paper on the floor trick, this just teaches the dog its ok to "go" in the house.
i have 8 dogs & wouldn,t be without them but they must know their place within the family.
last word of advice ......... enjoy the ownership of your dog.
cheers
andy
hahaha, no you've got it all wrong
thats the cats bed, silly fella (seamus) doesnt know the difference though when you tell him to "get in his bed". You should have seen my
face when I got up in the morning to find im crammed up in a tiny ball trying to sleep in it, when his bed was right next to it!
He's in a bit of difficulty today, he was left in the car for 20 minutes, managed to get into the boot and rip open a bag of dog food and chow
down - greedy lad is waddling around now like a stuffed pig!!
We rescued him when he was 18 months, so hes a little messed up, but the best dog I've ever had.
[Edited on 23/7/09 by cd.thomson]
Good advice there chaps.
I can't believe how excited everyone in my family is about the puppy arriving. The kids aren't young 15 and 19 so I think the dog will be
clear about its status at the bottom of the food chain. 
In people's experience, how quickly can an 8 week old puppy get trained to control its bladder functions?
Couple of weeks should get it 95% of the time as long as you are very vigilant - first sign of distress/squatting get it out in the garden and spend a
lot of time outside with it if possible - you can then catch it being good and offer suitable rewards.
Meantime stock up on lots of kitchen roll- it is as absorbent as they say on the adverts!
Probably one of the s best things you will ever do as a family. Good luck!
Mike
My dad always trained lab gun dogs when I was a kid some some very long pedagree's ( and the pricetag to match )
But the best one he ever had was brought to him as an 'untrainable stray', it took him 2 years to train ( and would never work for anyone
but my father ) but was working up until the day she died thought to be about 15, had one of the best noses around - problem was she was vertually
fully deaf and once she was out of range of the whistles wold keep going until she found her bird. My dadhas worked may dogs since and whe was still
his favorite
Would love a lab but away from home too long during the day.
... to add to the above
1. When feeding the dog for the first few months - regularly put your hands in the bowl once the foods in. Feel free to even help him / her to feed.
This gains your dogs trust... you won't steal their food!
This will then assist with retrieving the inevitable socks, trainers, mobile phones, etc. that your little-pal will 'find' from time to time
and think is 'his'. Shouldn't be any snapping, or growling.
2. Regularly, but gently 'poke about' the sensitive areas of the dog. No, not THOSE bits!
Pull apart the pads in his paws, touch his nails, inspect his teeth, look into his ears... again, it gains his / her trust - you won't hurt him!
Will save you a fortune in Vets bills too over time as you'll be trusted to retrieve glass, thorns, bugs, boils, etc. from sore bits that you
wouldn't normally get near for growling!
After years of keeping various breeds, we now keep Rottweiler bitches... raise them properly and I defy anyone to find a more placid and sociable
canine!
quote:
Originally posted by carpmart
In people's experience, how quickly can an 8 week old puppy get trained to control its bladder functions?
quote:
Originally posted by scootz
After years of keeping various breeds, we now keep Rottweiler bitches... raise them properly and I defy anyone to find a more placid and sociable canine!
pity it drools so much
Watch the film marley and me but make sure you have tissues.
quote:
Originally posted by speedyxjs
Watch the film marley and me but make sure you have tissues.
, dont like them that much speedy.. I would ween the dog onto Dry dog food from the start. I would avoid the can'd stuff. Just makes the crap smell worse and makes the dog a
fussy eater.
Also works out lot cheaper as well. Go for something like WAG.
Also avoid "Hills Science Diet" it is like a very hi spec Robin Reliant. Not worth the money..... IMHO a good balanced diet is better like
adding a tin of tuna in to food if they need more omega 3 / spinach for iron.
Ooo and for Treats - try veg instead of chocolates etc.
Our greek Hunting dog will eat and love Carrot , peppers, corgett, potatoe, turnip, tomatoe, cucumber, loves sweet corn (??).
quote:
Originally posted by cd.thomson
quote:
Originally posted by speedyxjs
Watch the film marley and me but make sure you have tissues.
Found a good book in the library when we got our mutt - written by a bloke called Fisher, IIRC.
Various simple rules:
Never let it sleep on your bed (you're the top dog, so lower-ranking dogs should not be allowed there). If you don't believe how important
this is, try sitting on the bed of a dog who thinks he's high in the pack! Our dog used to get quite upset if I did that.
Never let it get regularly into a position where it can look down on you (top dogs occupy the highest ground). In fact, our dog was never allowed
upstairs in our house.
Always eat first - feed the dog after (top dog gets the first food)
Never give food from the table as you're eating (it raises the 'rank' of the dog in the pack).
Always try to go out of a doorway first - you are the pack leader, not the dog.
You decide where you go for a walk, not the dog.
The aim is for the dog to consider itself the lowest-ranking member of the pack, below every other member of the family - it won't mind in the
slightest as long as it's treated well and fed regularly.
Our old dog was always treated this way, and he was the nicest animal you could imagine.
Again thanks for the advice.
I intend to keep the dog kenneled outside (except the harsh months of winter) but we also want it to be comfortable with using the kitchen family room
as well. Any tips in this respect? The puppy is already kept outdoors most of the time as its from a semi-working background breeder. I don't
want to get it too accustomed to the house but equally don't want to shove it outside in a kennel on its own the first night away from its litter
mates and mum. What would you do here?
hmm never had an outside dog, but cant see an 8 weeker doing well at all after its just come away from the litter.
Keep it in the kitchen at night while you ease it into the family, with it outside all day. After its more comfortable start extending its outside
time into the evening (and dont go out to visit it) then eventually just go to bed!
[Edited on 23/7/09 by cd.thomson]
Can’t say I’m all that harsh with mine. They get fed while I eat (usually half my dinner), sleep on my bed along with the two cats when they feel like it and lounge around on the sofa while me and missy are on the big bean bag with the cats. Then again they are extremely obedient, don’t need leads to walk in town as they just follow at my heal and perfectly good natured to other people and animals. Mostly down to the dogs being happy really.
quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
Found a good book in the library when we got our mutt - written by a bloke called Fisher, IIRC.
Various simple rules:
Never let it sleep on your bed (you're the top dog, so lower-ranking dogs should not be allowed there). If you don't believe how important this is, try sitting on the bed of a dog who thinks he's high in the pack! Our dog used to get quite upset if I did that.
Never let it get regularly into a position where it can look down on you (top dogs occupy the highest ground). In fact, our dog was never allowed upstairs in our house.
Always eat first - feed the dog after (top dog gets the first food)
Never give food from the table as you're eating (it raises the 'rank' of the dog in the pack).
Always try to go out of a doorway first - you are the pack leader, not the dog.
You decide where you go for a walk, not the dog.
The aim is for the dog to consider itself the lowest-ranking member of the pack, below every other member of the family - it won't mind in the slightest as long as it's treated well and fed regularly.
Our old dog was always treated this way, and he was the nicest animal you could imagine.
Don't drop your sunday dinner on the carpet. If you do make sure you clean it up real good.
You don't want to end up with a hole in the carpet.
Kept mine in a cage when we were out and during the night until lit learned not to poo in its own nest, then removed the cage and put the toilet on
the door mat. Two days later he would wait by the door to do it outside
Mine now knows who the boss is but take sno notice of wor lass. When we take him out he will search around for long grass and only crap on the big
clumps, or goes in the bushes out the way like he's shy (which he certainly aint, grrrrr)
He's mint, and gives us a laugh, farts and runs off a lot....
[Edited on 23/7/09 by coozer]
the toughest thing bringing a puppy into a family is being consistent.
Make sure you all know the command words for sit, stay etc and all stick to them.
Our labs stay downstairs - upstairs is human territory only, and they don't get on the furniture either (except when the yellow lab is helping
herself to a box of chocolates including the wrappers!)
When you get down on the floor into their space - it's PLAY TIME
We've got 2 Irish water spaniels from working stock and they live outside, but are allowed in the kitchen when we are in the house. We got them
in February, but they went outside overnight by about 12 weeks (in a super deluxe double skinned insulated kennel with a microwave warmed up heat pad
and a towel door - we're not cruel !). No problems at all really - kept them inside until they were toilet trained, so we can have them in the
house. Until putting them outside we had them in a very small crate, so they didn't want to crap or pee in it - they would wake up in the night
and complain - we'd let them into the garden, and then back in the house....
If you can find a copy, I'd recommend a book called Gundogs, training and field trials by PRA Moxon. It old and out of print, but covers
everything you might want to know in sensible, no cocking about language. If you can't find a copy, you could borrow mine, but I want it
back!
Anything else, U2U
Chris
Our cute little Cristal Superdog, a Spitz, has eaten 4 sets of headphones and likes expensive antique furniture. Always keep an eye on it. Always.
Please sign up for Dog/Adoptive Parent Obedience School. It has been, as our vet neighbour said, worth gold.
Don't expect it to do what you want without food rewards. If you stop to early, they may never be consistent.
Many people keep their dogs outside all year round in Canada. If they can stand it here, they can surely stand it in your mild climate.
[Edited on 23/7/09 by RK]
My neighbour has just got a labrador bitch - lovely puppy, but was always in trouble (went looking for it!). Went to puppy training classes 5 or 6 times, now the mutt is very easy to manage (but still full of beans).
The wife doesn't work and when we get a puppy she takes it outside every hour to start with and tells it to "Do Jobby" or just after
feeding "Do Big Jobby" - when it does she praises it copiously and brings it back inside to play or whatever - after a week of that you have
a dog who does it's business whenever you tell it to which is often very useful when you leave it inside when you go out - means you know the dog
is on empty at such and such a time and is OK for about 6 hours.
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
quote:
Originally posted by scootz
After years of keeping various breeds, we now keep Rottweiler bitches... raise them properly and I defy anyone to find a more placid and sociable canine!
there's a huge male one that regularly comes into our garden, a right monster it is too but is actually a total softy and just wants a cuddle