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New Puppy Questions- The First Week And Establishing A Routine.


mfch
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Okay, so for me the countdown is on. I pick up my puppy on Friday.

It's been a very difficult few months, I lost my soul dog in late feb right after nearly losing my house and horses to bush fires and all that is on the end of a year I would really like to forget ... the one beacon of light for me during this time has been the idea of a new puppy. Something happy to focus on. He is a beautiful black standard poodle from the best, best, best breeder I could find!

I have the normal nerves and excitement I would expect most people have about introducing a new puppy to the house. It's not like I haven't done it before .... but it's been three years and my miniature poodle was a DIFFICULT puppy ... she is fantastic now at two and a half, but it's taken two and a half years. So I have some questions.

Puppy has been spending time with me every week since he was four weeks, and has been really well socialised by the breeder in a few different setting, he met my dog at seven weeks when she came to be groomed by the breeder, and will come home with blanket, toy and supply of food the same as he has been eating with the breeder. I will pick him up on Friday afternoon so that he will have the entire weekend with the whole family to get used to and so we can start to settle him into his routine. I have a few questions about the routine I want to establish and how to begin ...

1. Sleeping- ideally I would love him to sleep in the laundry with my miniature poodle who is two and a half. There is plenty of room for both of them but it's snug enough to be 'den like' my min is fantastic with bedtime, something I really worked on from the beginning. She is put to bed and tucked in about 8.30-9pm every night and stays there until I get up in the morning (she even sleeps in on weekends) she has the ability to open the sliding door and come out for toilet or anything else but chooses not to, on the rare occasions she does get up she goes out and quietly sits on the couch with the cats until someone gets up. She's fantastic and I would love him to follow this. However, I don't want to ruin her sleep routine by making her look after the puppy. So how should I play this- should I try and put him to bed in with her from night one so long as she is okay about it and manage it as we go, or should I get him into a routine by having him sleep somewhere else (probably my ensuite) to begin with to establish his routine without disturbing her? I have a porta-cot for him to begin with as a play pen/crate and plan to go buy him a crate as well, but I didn't necessarily plan to have him sleep in the crate ... I have lots of ideas and any one of them would probably work for bedtime routine but I just can't decide which one to go with.

2. How much access should he have to the house- my miniature poodle and the cats all have basically full access to the house (excluding bedrooms, sitting room etc.) but they have access to the lounge, dining room, kitchen, hallway and access to cat run and 1.8 acre dog fenced backyard through a doggy door. My mini had full access from when she was an eight week puppy ... she was with my two older dogs who have now passed away and they were a good example to her and she was never a destructive puppy, she started being left through the day pretty soon after she came home and although it took her a little while to work out toilet training, she never destroyed anything and settled in well. These days if she's on her own she pretty much hops in her bed and goes to sleep. I'm very lucky with her. I keep reading about restricting puppy's access to the house with a crate or pen and I'm prepared to do that, but I'm also wondering if I shouldn't just let him follow the example of my mini as long term I would expect him to be able to be left at home with no problems? I want him and my mini to bond and I worry that if he's in a crate or a pen they won't? Would it be better to leave him in a pen or leave him with my other dog from the beginning?

3. Cats- I know I've done this before! And I've never had a problem with my three dogs and the cats but I'm a natural born worrier ... what is the best way to introduce the puppy to the cats? They are 13, 11 and 18 months and have never had a problem with the dogs before I'm just worried I guess because he's going to be a bigger dog and I want him to be beyond reproach with them!

4. When to start having people over- I want him to be well socialised and I read that the best way to begin before he is fully vaccinated is to have him meet PEOPLE before he starts to meet other dogs, I have lots of friends who are looking forward to coming and meeting the puppy but obviously most will be on weekends rather than during the week. The first weekend he is home should I have people coming over or keep it only to family so that he can settle in before he starts meeting people? What kind of socialisation should I be doing in the first week that I have him home? Do I want to just be concentrating on establishing a bond and a routine with me or do I get started straight away?

Thank you so much in advance, these are just the questions that have been playing on my mind! I'm soooooo excited and have been counting down, but then you get the flip side which is all the anxiety about screwing up this crucial period in his development!

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Thank you so much in advance, these are just the questions that have been playing on my mind! I'm soooooo excited and have been counting down, but then you get the flip side which is all the anxiety about screwing up this crucial period in his development!

I'm sure you will get lots of help with the specific questions, but I have have one, no two, things to say:

1. Congratulations. Groomers down the road from me breed standards and some of their dogs are truly beautiful in looks and in nature.

2. You won't screw up, just don't overthink it :laugh: :laugh:

Oh, just thought of a third:

3. Have FUN :happydance::happydance:

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My only advice would be to make sure your new pup also gets used to spending some time alone without the other dog. One thing I always wished I did for my basset who is 4 years younger than her 'big sister' and now extremely dependant on her(barks and carries on if I have to take the kelpie out somewhere without the basset).

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ok you need to breathe :)

You will have to get up to the puppy at least twice over night to start with to take him to the toilet, then once, then rarely. I would not confine him loose with the other dog. Either crate him in the laundry or take him to your ensuite. Personally I'd be having him separate to start with so he is not dependant on your other dog.

Except for sleeping all my pups have had access to the house from the earliest days whilst I was home and could watch their every movement. Toilet training alone would ensure he is not left to his own devices for some time. If you can't watch him then he needs to be put outside or crated inside - crating only for short periods, not all day while everyone is at work or school. All my pups have just been put outside with the big dogs with no problems.

Cats, just do what you did before, size makes no difference.

People, do not have people over the first weekend and don't overwhelm him with hordes at other times.

Relax and have fun!

ETA do you really want your Mini let both dogs out over night seeing as how she can open the sliding door?

Edited by Rebanne
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ok you need to breathe :)

You will have to get up to the puppy at least twice over night to start with to take him to the toilet, then once, then rarely. I would not confine him loose with the other dog. Either crate him in the laundry or take him to your ensuite. Personally I'd be having him separate to start with so he is not dependant on your other dog.

Except for sleeping all my pups have had access to the house from the earliest days whilst I was home and could watch their every movement. Toilet training alone would ensure he is not left to his own devices for some time. If you can't watch him then he needs to be put outside or crated inside - crating only for short periods, not all day while everyone is at work or school. All my pups have just been put outside with the big dogs with no problems.

Cats, just do what you did before, size makes no difference.

People, do not have people over the first weekend and don't overwhelm him with hordes at other times.

Relax and have fun!

ETA do you really want your Mini let both dogs out over night seeing as how she can open the sliding door?

I had thought about exactly that with the door, if Isla gets annoyed when he wakes her up and leaves and I have loose dogs at 3am ... I might try crating him to begin with and possibly having the crate in my room so I can take him out during the night, but I would like long term for him to stay with Isla. That said, she needs her puppy- free time so I think that one is decided for the time being!

I have time off so I will be able to monitor him pretty much all the time, I've never locked up or crated my dogs when I'm not home though, they've just been free to go in and out and do what they like. I guess we'll just see how it goes.

Thanks for the reply ... I think we're mostly okay but I have gone from having my two elderly dogs and the young one to just the one in the space of a year so it's lots of adjustments!

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Oooh scratch that, I contacted the fabulous breeder and asked her and she had the best idea which was to have him in with Isla but in his crate so he can't annoy her but he does have the reassurance of having her close after leaving his litter ... once he's happily sleeping through the night the door of the crate can be left open and voila, puppy integrated. So I'm going to do that :D

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What your breeder suggested is what we did with our Jack Russell puppy.

He sleeps in an open crate, but in a playpen made under our dining room table. Kira (border Collie) sleeps in the corner of the dining room on her own bed. Jingo was close to Kira, but could not bug her,or steal her bed, and Kira (a lot bigger dog), could not rough house him when not being supervised. The playpen is open almost always now, but is his little den, which he usually sleeps in of his own accord. We do, however, have them sleep in separate areas at times, so both are used to being alone.

Nip any potential problems in the bud while he is young, don't let them become a habit you can't live with when he is full grown :)

You really seem to have it all covered, just enjoy puppyhood, it doesn't last nearly long enough,and yes, we need pictures!

Di

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Thank you you guys. I'm a horse person too .... so I am a control freak and a chronic worrier, I need to know exactly how things are going to work out, which of course never ever happens with animals! I think I also have Post Traumatic Puppy disorder delayed two and a half years from when Isla was a puppy. Back then, i hadn't had a puppy for ten years (since I was nine) and just expected oh sooooo cute and she absolutely was, but she was a tiny terrorist as well. New puppy- Felix- is not that personality at all really, he is a calm and cool little dude and the breeder expects he won't be the type who ever needs much telling off.

There will definitely be pictures- but for now this is Isla lying in my bed this morning ....... she has picked up some horrible habits being a pampered only dog, little does she know she only has two more days of being the prima donna of the household ...

post-51764-0-93476200-1397003148_thumb.jpg

And this is baby Felix at seven weeks (horrible picture plus black puppies are impossible!)

post-51764-0-48390500-1397003185_thumb.jpg

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They both look beautiful, mfch.

I've only had one poodle and that was a black toy whom I adopted when he was a few weeks off his 17th birthday. I was lucky to have Rover (yes that was his real name :laugh: :laugh: ) for three years before age claimed him.

Yesterday when I was out walking I saw two little apricots toys. Gorgeous. I was hard pressed not to snaffle them and run. :D :D

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17 years! So he got to twenty? That is incredible and I truly envy you. Poodles are great dogs, I love them.

I've lost both my gorgeous toys in the last year. My older girl was a month shy of her 16th birthday and in terrific health and just randomly had a seizure in the middle of the night and died on the way to the vet ... it was devastating and shocking, she had been with me since I was five. My other girl was the best dog I'll ever own in my life although she was BYB and plagued with health problems. She was the most perfect dog ever, and I lost her tragically and too soon to renal failure after complications from surgery on a broken leg. She was only twelve and a half :( That was in late feb so my little boy is my first 'happy' since then ... I've always dreamed of a standard poodle and it's very exciting to have him coming home :)

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Hi Mfch. Your dogs are gorgeous, and Ilook forward to sharing your journey with your new little guy.

You have had such a sad few months that it is nice to see there is some happiness waiting for you soon.

You are still grieving, so be gentle on yourself, and maybe do some research on grieving pets on the internet. One of the hardest things I have ever done is grieve my boy Tip. I simply could not function, was depressed and cried all the time. I really worried that I would compare a new puppy to Tip, or resent him in some weird way. Thankfully although they were both Jack Russells, Jingo is so different in so many ways that I have never had that feeling. Jingo is simply perfect in his own right. :thumbsup:

What gotr me through this time of grief was DOL. The people here become your friends, your supporters,and your "dump point" and we all understand the hard times, and we cheer with the good ones.

Di

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What gotr me through this time of grief was DOL. The people here become your friends, your supporters,and your "dump point" and we all understand the hard times, and we cheer with the good ones.

Oh, that gave me a little tear :cry: .

I certainly hope you have Isla and Felix for many many years, mfch. Rover was the oddest little boy and I just loved having him. I'll see if I can find my thread about him.

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Thank you so much, tikira that was such a lovely thing to write.

Yes, definitely still grieving here, but for some reason that hasn't stopped me from being able to welcome the new bubba ... he is not in any way replacing Bobo- my baby who I lost recently- he couldn't- ever. He's a different dog and I'm going to love him in different ways. I've found that easy to accept actually, he's never ever ever going to be her, but he's going to be him. It's been so hard for Isla going from three dogs to being on her own in less than a year and she is VERY needy at the moment and has also picked up a new neurotic behaviour since we lost Bobo (licking and chewing at her feet obsessively, she was already a 'sucker' on the side of her bed so it's an added little obsessive behaviour that I think stems from insecurity being on her own) so I can't wait to get Felix home and I HOPE she likes him. She met him at the breeder's briefly on Saturday and sniffed and wagged her tail and let him walk under her belly, but it might be different when she says 'Mum I'm ready for it to go now!' and I have to tell her he's staying for good :D

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Mr Gorgeous is home!!!

He's settling in beautifully, a few problems ... last night was fun ... but toilet training is going really well, he's great with the cats, his sister and he are getting along really well and he adores us and vice versa, he's coming when he's called and has already worked out the doggy door. Only issue is he's Mr Mummy's Boy and wants snuggles all the time, he woke up every hour or so last night and was LOUD to the point Isla got fed up and went and slept on the couch and I had about three hours sleep. So tonight he's going to be in the crate in my room (and he's had a lot more exercise, it was so wet yesterday the breeder said they didn't' go out at all so he was quite energetic and in a new place) and we are going to tough it out and hope he sleeps a bit better. My eyes are falling out of my head with exhaustion today but otherwise he is just the sweetest, most darling little boy.

He's just demolished a chicken wing sitting in the sun with his sister and is now quietly in his crate having an afternoon nap!

post-51764-0-00434700-1397271311_thumb.jpg

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Sounds like a great start. I am so glad he and his sister are getting on- it is so much easier when that happens.

sleep- who needs sleep when you have a new puppy ! :thumbsup: I am sure you don't want to miss a minute by doing boring stuff like sleeping! :rofl:

Enjoy getting to know your little boy!

Di

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