poochmad

Hi. Our pup also likes all things metal. I'm not that concerned about it and remove anything that can be swallowed.

When we first got Henschke (2 weeks ago), I gave him a little drink at night time (the last being around 9.00pm) and then out to do a wee before bed time. Then up through the night as soon as I heard his collar tinkle. (He has a collar and ID tag that tinkle when he moves - very handy!) For the first week I was getting up 2-3 times a night. During the day he was going out for wees, what seemed like all the time, every half hour, after feeding, playing, waking, etc. This has now been reduced to every 1-2 hours. We bought him a crate - one for an adult Golden Retriever, put his bed at the back of the crate and then newspaper at the front. We sprayed the newspaper with that stuff that smells like wee (stinks horrid!) and then left him to it. I heard him shuffle in the crate and when I woke up in the morning, he had not peed - he held on the whole night. The third night he did this we realised he was holding on. He wakes us up at 5.30 in the morning now, I get up, take him out for a pee and then back to bed where he sleeps until 6.30ish. We will soon be taking out the newspaper (as he just shreds it) and replacing the whole of the inside of the crate with one bed (i.e. mattress). (As the mattress we use comes out of his day bed.) My understanding is that dogs don't like to pee where they sleep. You could try doing what we planned to do; we just got lucky with our pup. ETA: changed word bed to 'mattress' for clarity.

Did you read the links I posted pooch? Expect adult teeth to start appearing around 5 months. Actually, I read through them all and this is the first time I've seen the actual age. :rolleyes: Thanks for the info, though.

OK, can we get back to my original question please? :rolleyes: We will continue to train him not to mouth us at all. (Personally I think it's easier not to have a dog mouthing at all, even if they're not biting. I had a setter that used to put his teeth gently on you [i was told it was a quirky breed thing] and I was told by a dog instructor at a club, that he was being aggressive!) Perhaps my original question should have been....at what age do adult teeth come through?

Thats great We are still, after 2 months, tearing our hair out with Oscar. Crate training him at night just has not worked. Admittedly we let him in the bed because we had 6 weeks of next to 0 sleep. He would literally scream all night! He is a dog who needs company, whether it is from us or from Patch, however we do know he is largely trying it on, but he has got to the point where he hates the crate (but will travel in a crate with little to no fuss). Last night we popped him into his bed next to us, blocking him off from the rest of the room (so he didn't wander and annoy Patch) and he was much better. He did wake up a few times but settled quickly in his bed again. We are hoping this is a solution that will work for us. Sorry to steal your thread, but we made the same mistake of letting Henschke sleep with us. The result? He was over dependent on us and would howl anytime if left alone. (And one of the reasons that attracted me to the breed was their 'independent' nature!) We got around it by making the crate a fun place to be and also it's placed next to the bed. So if he whinges, I put my hand down and he sniffs and then settles for the night. We have also created a puppy pen - that was much harder than the crate! It's taken almost 2 weeks of 'training'. Again, this was made to be the best place in the whole world! By feeding, playing, cuddling, etc he's now at the stage that when he's in there he knows that he won't be let out until WE say it's time, not him. (This has taken a bit longer than what I've said, so if you're interested in knowing what we did, PM me and I'll fill you in.)

He's very cute. Love the photo of the collar - how adorable!

How old is your pup? And was the breeder feeding this to the pups? See I would more likely change your shampoo to Aloveen and check you yard of things like wandering jew or other itchy plants before jumping the gun on changing foods! I've heard of Aloveen, but can't remember what. My pup is 9.5 weeks old and he was being fed Optimun, but the breeder said Advance was better. Could he be allergic to grass as he lies on the grass a lot?

Henschke's on Advance, but I'm thinking of changing as he is constantly biting himself. It could be the result of his first wash last week (not sure if we got all the soap out or it could be the shampoo itself). Unfortunately, we bought a large bag - won't do that again! If he keeps biting, I will try him on other foods to see if that's the problem.

When I first read this, I thought it was a bit harsh...then I went out and he bit me, and lo and behold, I tried it and it worked! Only thing is, he jumped back and looked like he was going to bite again. So I quickly gave him his toy instead. I have noticed that his biting is becoming harder - if he follows the normal pattern (i.e. biting stage) at what stage can I expect him to stop? When he gets his adult teeth? And what age is that?

He's gorgeous poochmad - congratulations, what a lovely choice Love the name too! Thanks. Do you know the breed? My husband picked the name...he LOVES red wine...

I can understand what you mean about getting him excited. He does seem to bite more when we do it. Just sometimes it's not possible to either remove him or ourselves. We were trying to encourage him to use his pen as a place to chew and play with toys. Lately he is bringing them out of the pen and onto the rug - closer to us. Normally I wouldn't mind about this, but he's still getting over separation anxiety...so I wonder whether this should be encouraged or discouraged?

Henschke is pretty darn cute...however, at times he makes it hard for us to love him as he goes into that crazy biting phase, where he just can't stop biting...we seem to be saying AH-AH every second, clapping our hands, stomping our feet or crowding him (when he doesn't stop) and I was just wondering how long do we have of this? He's 9 weeks old and every day I check to see whether he's lost any teeth!

Hi PandaGirl. We had the same problem with our pup. He'd wake in the middle of the night wanting to go for a wee and then when I tried to put him back to bed, he wanted to play. For the first couple of nights I stayed up trying to get him to sleep and then we bought a crate. The first two nights he whinged, but we ignored him (he had an area to wee if necessary, but he held on all night) and now he doesn't make a sound. This morning he was let out early (as my husband went to work early) and I put him back in the crate and he fell asleep again. You could try what we did and see how you go, or do as the others say and get up and then put her straight back in the crate without any fuss. She'll soon learn that the crate means sleep.

Name: Henschke (it's a red wine) Sex: Male Date of birth: 31 May 2008 Age: 9 weeks Colour: Liver Breed: Field Spaniel Hobbies: sleeping, cuddling, meeting people, playing, digging. Loves: cuddles. Hates: getting his ears cleaned and being brushed.

Thanks for this...sometimes it's so confusing! It's been 12 years since we've had a pup and I feel like I need to learn all over again. I'm hoping that it's like riding a bike and I will remember as soon as he's here. I'm very excited about tomorrow - I just want to go to sleep until tomorrow! (Although I don't think work would be too happy!) :D

Thanks for your response, you've made me feel a lot better! With regards to the initial house training, how long should that continue - the every hour thing? A couple of weeks or more?

Hi all I'm sure these questions have been posted somewhere deep in the forum, have had a search with not much success. As we are picking up our Field Spaniel pup on Saturday (can't wait), I have a number of questions that I need your help with: 1. What sort of bones should I give him? Chicken/turkey wings, chicken/turkey necks and brisket bones. Anything else? (I read that you should give bones to the pup and match their size.) Are shank bones too big or too hard? 2. Does anyone know the size of a pup's bladder and what the time plan is for house training purposes? For example, at 8 -10 weeks of age, they need to go to toilet every hour, 10-12 weeks every xxx, 12-14 weeks every xxx, etc? 3. I've read that I should socialise him with other dogs (as well as people, but that's not my concern as he will meet many people before he's 6 months old), but where I live there are no puppy schools. To counteract this, I have organised visits with older dogs once he's vaccinated, but am worried this may be too late. Will this be ok? (He's a 'soft' breed so I'm wondering whether I'm being too over anxious.) Any thoughts/suggestions always welcome. Thanks Meg ETA: Pup is due home tomorrow - so excited!

Thanks for all your comments...we did consider the newspaper, but have decided on the Pet Loo. Since we are commuting back and forwards from Canberra to Goulburn, we have decided to go this way. He will be enclosed in a puppy pen as well until he's 4 months old. When we're home, he will be taken outside to use the grass. We have decided that he will be enthusiastically praised when he uses his indoor loo and then when he goes outside, we will praise as though he's just won Olympic Gold. I figure that he will learn that going on the pet loo is great, but going outside is even better. (When he's four months old, he will be given access to the backyard via a doggy door and the pet loo will be removed.) The reason we have decided to keep him inside for 4 months is that Goulburn is quite cold at night and I can't just 'duck' home to check on him. I'd rather have him inside (nice and warm) in a safe place until he's old enough to go in and outside of his own free will. By the time he's 4 months old, it will be spring and he will be more confident. I'll let you know how I go with this arrangement.

What do I do though when I'm at work? I can't presume he will be able to hold on all day...(he's inside while we're at work in his puppy pen).

Hi all. In two weeks I am getting our Field Spaniel. I am looking at using an astro turf box (that you purchase from pet stores) to have in his puppy pen for when we're at work. When we're at home he will be taken outside and trained to go on a particular area on the grass. My question is, will this confuse the pup using different materials (one grass the other fake) or will it not matter? Any thoughts/assistance/experience welcomed. PS. Whilst we're at home he will also be crate trained. Thanks!

Thanks for the links...I will have a look. Will definitely be getting a breakaway collar - I too have read the many sad stories from dolers on here. We're getting a male - but we don't have a choice as there are only two pups - one will be a show dog and the other will be ours. I'm not fussed on not getting to choose, as we've waited 12 years for this breed - Field Spaniel and I'm just delighted to get the chance to get one.

Thanks for the info. Can you get these breakaway collars at pet shops? Or at vets? Or only online? Eww! Thanks for the image of the ear stuff. :cool:

I didn't put the 'usual' items on the list, such as puppy wormer, heartguard, etc as for me they are a 'given'. However, what do you mean by 'ear cleaner'? What product would you recommend? Also, what does a breakaway collar look like? Are they the ones that are 'clicked' together (don't know how else to explain it). Regarding the puppy pads, I've decided not to use those, as I think they will just confuse the house training. I am looking at providing him with a puppy tray in his pen, like Dr Ian Dunbar recommends. This will be canturf and will get him used to going on grass. Later when he's older (3-4 months) I will move this tray out to the back yard so he is used to the scent and then it will just be left there. (This will be used in conjuction with a dog door - once he is used to going outside and using that particular spot.) And, yes, I am getting very excited. In 3 week's time we are planning to have a look at the pups (there are only 2) and they will be approximately 5 weeks old. The next time we go back...will be to bring him home. Can't wait!

Hi Christina. I checked out the dealsdirect website...and it's very, very good. (Oh dear.) Today the other half and I went to 'Pet Barn' to check out all the items that are 'needed' and he didn't even bat an eyelid as I went from one thing to another...in fact, he got quite involved and was looking at things that weren't even on the list! I'm beginning to think our new pooch might end up being one spoilt puppy!

Yep, have already decided on that idea - it's a very good one. :D Oh. And as soon as I have him home, there will be many, many photos!