new puppy coming - a few questions for a 1st time owner
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Anonymous
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We are getting a new puppy next week. A dachshund - about 3 months old. I have never had a dog before (my DH has when he was a kid). We met with a trainer once already but I have a couple of questions.
1. Trainer recommended we use a spot on the side of our house for the official "potty spot" for the dog... we were going to get a small fake grass pad. but now when I'm looking to buy one, I'm confused. Will the pee just go through the grass pad onto the dirt/concrete? Do I have to clean the grass pad? I'm not sure this is worth it (we do have some small grassy areas in a very small yard). 2. Trainer also recommended NOT using treats for potty training. I feel like people always use treats? Any other particular advice? We have three kids, some of whom will be legit helping while others will be "helping" with the dog. |
Anonymous
| I have never heard of not using treats. I would pick a spot in your yard that has actual real grass. Or get some sod from a landscaper. |
Anonymous
| Is the trainer older? I've had older trainers say that treats didn't use to be a thing in dog training. We used treats and when puppy stomach was sensitive, kibble. Adjust meals down as needed if you feel you're using too many treats during training. We designated a potty spot in the yard. The grass on it is dead and we've re-sodded it before. Start with your yard and see what happens? |
Anonymous
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1- Use the real grass for potty.
2- We used treats when potty training for the first few weeks and lots of excited praise. Most important for potty training is crate training. My advice is be consistent (especially all members of the household doing the same exact thing and using the same command words, etc. so the puppy doesn't get confused) and have LOTS of patience. Something that a lot of people don't realize is that you WILL get the puppy blues at some point. Puppies are super cute but super annoying - the nipping/biting and accidents inside can get so frustrating. Just remember that this phase will pass and an amazing companion is on the other side 
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Anonymous
+1 The fake grass thing sounds gross- I’d just encourage puppy to use the real grass areas. They tend to go in the same place each time. I see no problems with treats..however, we just used a clicker and kibble. Our puppy has a touchy stomach and most treats seem to give her the runs. |
Anonymous
| Best advice: expect to regret your decision to get a puppy. For the first few weeks/months it's like bringing a new toddler into your house: suddenly everything you do is controlled by the dog. You may be getting up to let it out 3x a night. You'll have to watch it constantly to make sure it's not chewing things it's not supposed to. You'll be eaten alive by small puppy teeth. But hopefully, you soon come out the other side and have a still cute but much easier puppy. I just didn't realize how overwhelming it would be and was ready to give up. But I'm so glad we didn't. |
Anonymous
+1. |
Anonymous
This. I felt this was the best prep ever for parenthood, lol (we had a baby a year after getting a young puppy). |
Anonymous
Makes me happy we’re adopting an 8-month-old pup this week. She’ll be further along this path. |
Anonymous
| We’ve been conned by our pup who knows it will get a treat for putting the wrong things in its mouth. We tried that distraction tactic...fail. Please let us know if there is a better way. The dog picked up an empty ziploc bag DS dropped and ran with it. |
Anonymous
| We’re picking up a rescue puppy tomorrow. I was recommended Training the Best Dog Ever and learned a ton. We plan to use the program exactly. |
Anonymous
That is actually okay, if the dog is bringing you items to trade. It is *much* preferable to eating contraband and requiring surgery. |
Anonymous
Haha! So true! We just got to the other end of the tunnel. We brought home an 8 week old puppy and it absolutely controlled our life. We thought it'll help us deal with the pandemic better but it actually put on extra stress on us. To give you just one example - during one visit to the vet the puppy had an explosive diarrhea on the back seat of my car! Another one - she swallowed a whole rib bone by accident! Fortunately, she was fine, but she kept us extremely nervous for 24 hours. At 14 weeks she was finally able to sleep through the night and had no more than one accidental pee inside the house every day. She still needs lots of training, but it's getting better. |
Anonymous
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So glad to have seen this thread-- we are also expecting a first puppy-- an 11-12wk old lab/hound mix. Any advice on:
1) Crate recommendations? 2) Also- should we set up a puppy play pen or just play to keep it in the crate mainly until housebroken (which we've been advised) 3) Treat recommendations for training? 4) Trainer recommendations? TIA for any advice!! |
Anonymous
Avoid Midwest crates. They don’t round the edges of the wires and my son got a cut/scratch on the leg. I personally like Luckydog crates with sliding doors. We got a playpen. If you want your dog to pee/poo on a pee pad inside it will be useful. Otherwise don’t buy it. Get a puppy bed or cushion and fit it in the crate. Also get the adult size one with a divider |