Anonymous wrote:With all the adult dogs in the shelter I don’t understand why people get puppies- they are a huge pain in the rear.

I totally agree! I wish we had done that instead of getting a puppy.

We got a 14 week old Great Dane and what a nightmare it has been! No kids in the house just cats. But it’s operator error not the dog I can tell you. My DH is terrible with training animals and I’m the one who follows all the protocols by the book. As soon as she barks in her crate he runs and gets her so now she will not go in her crate except to sleep at night. She chases the cats, jumps on kitchen counter, does what she wants because my DH has zero ability to discipline and train. When she’s alone with me she is a completely different dog because I enforce and rule with an iron fist which is necessary for such a big strong dog who can severely injure a cat. You both need to be on board with training, crating and discipline or it ends up being a bone of contention in your marriage. And don’t even think your kids will help! My old wise grandmother told my mom 50 years ago, “dogs can cause trouble between husbands and wives “ and boy she was right!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m amazed at all the young dogs sleeping through the night. I’m posting because I’m awake at 2am having just let the dog out. At 14 weeks she never makes it through the night, which I thought was the norm (after reading that they can hold it one hour plus month in age).

What breed? I think smaller dogs take longer...even though my dog is only 14wks she weight probably 30lbs already (german shepherd)- will see at her next vet appt on Fri.

Lab. Sorry she's 16 weeks (four months) and probably also 30+ pounds. Never sleeps through the night. Up between 12-2, up again between 4-5am, up for the day at 5:45. It SUCKS.

Oh ugh..I’m sorry!! That sucks!!!! Are you totally sure she needs to go both times? does she have access to water in her crate?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m amazed at all the young dogs sleeping through the night. I’m posting because I’m awake at 2am having just let the dog out. At 14 weeks she never makes it through the night, which I thought was the norm (after reading that they can hold it one hour plus month in age).

What breed? I think smaller dogs take longer...even though my dog is only 14wks she weight probably 30lbs already (german shepherd)- will see at her next vet appt on Fri.

Lab. Sorry she's 16 weeks (four months) and probably also 30+ pounds. Never sleeps through the night. Up between 12-2, up again between 4-5am, up for the day at 5:45. It SUCKS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10 month old golden and he’s still a lot of work. He house trained pretty quickly and sleeps 11-7 but he’s high energy and needy and eats everything in site. He also digs a lot in our yard and gets super dirty. Basically, he’s a huge PITA ans I can’t wait until he matures, but he’s also a love.

He won't mature, he's a Golden
Mine is 5 yo, still high energy and crazy like a puppy.
what you need is training and exercise.

Really depends on the golden. Our male golden was pretty chill in the house at 2 years old, our female lab puppy is starting to be predictable and more chill at 15 months. They do need lots of exercise a couple of times a day and you've got to train them, but they do settle down. They think they are puppies forever though, which is part of the joy of the breed.

Anonymous wrote:With all the adult dogs in the shelter I don’t understand why people get puppies- they are a huge pain in the rear.

We did because my husband wanted a larger breed dog, we have children, and I am not very experienced with dogs. I would not have felt comfortable adopting an adult dog at this time- not knowing it’s history & having little experience with dogs (easier for me to experience it from the puppy stage and gain confidence).

We’ve already decided that our next dog (after this one) will be a shelter dog- adult. The kids will be mostly grown by then and I’ll have experience and more confidence with dogs by then.

We have a 14 year old and a 9 year old in the house, and are on month 4 with our Labradoodle puppy, which is our first dog. We had educated ourselves on the nuisances of getting a puppy but since due to Covid we were able to devote more time, it did not feel as onerous. We wanted the cuteness and a clean slate to work on, which may or may not be the best thing. Our 14 year old is a BIG help and our 9 year old helps off and on but whatever we can get considering the amount of supervision involved is great! Potty training and night-training were easier than expected but biting/nipping/leash train is not. Due to covid we hesitate going to obedience classes, but will do it eventually. I think we lucked out, and do adore the puppy in her, but still cant wait for her to calm down

Anonymous wrote:I’m amazed at all the young dogs sleeping through the night. I’m posting because I’m awake at 2am having just let the dog out. At 14 weeks she never makes it through the night, which I thought was the norm (after reading that they can hold it one hour plus month in age).

What breed? I think smaller dogs take longer...even though my dog is only 14wks she weight probably 30lbs already (german shepherd)- will see at her next vet appt on Fri.

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10 month old golden and he’s still a lot of work. He house trained pretty quickly and sleeps 11-7 but he’s high energy and needy and eats everything in site. He also digs a lot in our yard and gets super dirty. Basically, he’s a huge PITA ans I can’t wait until he matures, but he’s also a love.

He won't mature, he's a Golden
Mine is 5 yo, still high energy and crazy like a puppy.
what you need is training and exercise.

With all the adult dogs in the shelter I don’t understand why people get puppies- they are a huge pain in the rear.