Nushie

Just want to know how often i should take my pup to the toilet. When we are home i thought every 30min - hour or whenever we notice him sniffing and circling. Is that alright? When we arent at home he will be in a puppy pen with bed, toilet and water. So we cant really help there but he should have a fairly good grasp on newpaper training so that should help. At night he will be crated in our bedroom - how often should i take him to the toilet during the nigh? Also, if i am taking him out say each hour during the day - how do i know if i should wait around for him to poop after he has pee'd? Should i just praise him after he has pee'd and then continue to stand around for a while and see what happens? How often should a pup poo? He will be an 8 week old pug. Sorry for all the random questions. Thanks in advance

She has such a sweet face.

Also, what do you all recommend to use to clean up any accidents? We have a piece of limo to put under the play pen for easy cleaning. But the rest of the house is carpet. What can i use to clean up the mess and what is best to neutralise the smell so that he wont go back to the same place? Sorry i have soooo many questions.

I like Cider, doubt the boyfriend will though, he is so hard to please and rejects all my ideas, but cant come up with some of his own. I get home each afternoon and call Jager and then pretend to play with the invisible puppy, in the hopes that he will warm to the name. Dont think it is working. He just laughs at me. I think I need to do some research and do a field trip to the local Dan Murphy's. Maybe even do some tasting while i am there

BF - I will definately try laying on my belly and having a good look around. Its a great idea. And i have been checking out photos of Zoe. She is adorable! My main problem now is figuring out a name. Might sound weird but my past dogs have been named after a type of alcohol (i didnt start it - blame my mum) and orginially i was leaning towards Schnapps but i think that might freak some people out if i am calling him in the park. So that one got crossed off. I thought of Bailey but one of my best mate is nicknamed Bayly so that doesnt work. At the moment i am thinking Jager. Which i like but my boyfriend isn't so impressed. If anyone can think of any decent names for a little boy. Everything that i think of is all a little girly. My past dogs have been Whisky, Scotch and Jack (as in Jack Daniels). Suggestions??

Thanks for the advice, i will definately invest in some eucalyptus oil then. I have got 2 puppy kongs already and will be going shopping this weekend to get a few other things like leads, bowls etc. Unfortunately i got caught up playing with my soon to be baby and chatting to the breeder that i forgot to take some photos. I have already been scolded from a friend at work telling me that i am going to make a horrible mum if i cant even remember to take photos But not to worry, there will be an abundance of photos once he comes home.

Thanks Whippetsmum, I was thinking of putting some newspaper on top of the grass (but maybe instead of will be easier) so that he can get used to it as he will be newspaper trained as well.

We went and saw our pug puppy on the weekend. He is 5 weeks old so we have a few weeks to wait until we can bring him home. After so much research and having to move house to a place that will allow dogs, it is all finally coming together. Breeder had him picked out for us and we love him. He is a fawn and is the cutest little guy i have seen (could have taken them all though). So the count down is on. Pick him up on 16 May. We also are trying to get the place puppy proofed. We have been through and lifted all cords for the tv and stereo off the ground etc. We will make sure that everything is off the floor so little teeth arent tempted to chew. We have got some mesh for the banister across the top of the stairs so that he cant put his head through the rails. We are getting a baby gate for the top of the stairs this weekend. Any other suggestions for puppy proofing?

You do make a good point. Maybe we are best to have the toilet in the laundry anyway. The toilet we have bought is a pet loo which will be emptied and cleaned each day so hopfully it shouldnt smell too much. We also have a cat which we clean up after as soon as we know she has gone to the toilet and that doesnt smell.

Hi, We haven't actually got a dog yet but we are pretty close to it. I had it set in my mind that we could get a patio dog door like the ones that 'Pig in Mud' make. Thought that would be a great option and seemed to solve all my problems. However our sliding doors are a little odd. First off, they are double sliding doors, which means i have to be able to lock both sides instead of just one. Second and most annoying problem, is that the glass doors are on the outside of fly screen and they actually slide back on the outside of the solid glass ends. So it means that I can't even use dowel / steel rods in the runners to keep them secured. This has pretty much shattered all our plans. We were hoping to allow the dog access to the balcony (which is quite big) and put the toilet out there. Has anyone encountered either of these problems before? We rent and the agents don't want us to drill into the doors to put in pin locks. Any ideas / suggestions / theories would be great. I would much rather the dog have access to the balcony instead of having a doggie loo in the laundry. But if that is the way it has to be, so be it. Thanks in advance

Maybe it's a weight loss technique The vet does keep telling her she is a little on the porky side

My cat eats her whiskers. I think it is like someone biting their nails. Just sits there and uses her paw to push them into her month and then chews on them. So they are all nice and short.

Thanks Bluefairy, i will have to check out Kmart this weekend.

We are looking at getting a pig in mud dog door so that the dog will have access out to the loo when it is older and it can come and go as it pleases. Balcony will be secure before we get the puppy, there is a gap about 5cm either side of rail (solid frosted glass look stuff) where the rails join the wall at each end. We are intending to block those off at least until the puppy grows up as we dont want to risk its head getting stuck. Also have a question regarding baby gates. Does anyone know a good brand suitable for use with a small dog? We have stairs in our place and the living area / where the puppy will be the majority of the time is upstairs. So we want to block off the stairs to prevent falls etc. Thansk again

Hi, I just have some questions about toileting. I want to have it all sorted in my head before we get a puppy. The place we are currently renting has a large balcony which in the long term we would like to put a pet loo on so that it is outside. But to begin with do we put the loo in the play pen so when the puppy is unsupervised it is there with the puppy or outside where in the long run we would like it to be and take the puppy out to the loo every 1hour to use it. If that is the case, what do we do when we are not home and have to go to work? Do we bring it inside and put it in the pen? I just feel that would confuse the puppy, but on the other hand if we leave the puppy with access to the balcony, it is a large space and i dont want to encourage it to use the tiles. Or do we leave the loo in the play pen full time and once the puppy is confidently using it on its own, then move it outside? When we are home is taking the puppy to the loo every hour alright (after waking, eating and playing it would be straight away) but in general is every hour okay? At night i would like to crate the puppy in our room so that it is close to us and i can hear when it gets restless. How often should i take it to the toilet? I was thinking every couple of hours, 2-3 maybe? Would really like any advice and pearls of wisdom you all may have. As much as i am looking forward to getting a puppy, i am also extemely nervous. I have so many questions! PS: When i re-read the post it sounds a little weird cause i keep saying "the puppy" and "it" - thats because i am banking on a male puppy and my other half wants a female. And he keeps telling me not to call our puppy to be "he" so i dont get my hopes up. We are willing either way and would rather have a dog that suits us instead of pre-deciding on a gender.

Hi Pockets, I'm not just looking at places that advertise as pet friendly. I ring up about anything that is suitable, with my fingers crossed. Most just say out right no. I have only had 3 that said yes, 2 of which were eventually leased to non-pet households and the other one didnt have any outside area (no balcony / courtyard) not sure what they thought i was going to do with a dog all day..... Its just such a slow process. I guess we are lucky in the fact that we arent in any rush to leave where we are, I am in a rush to get a place so that i can start looking for a little furry friend, but if it takes us 6 months no big problem. I also think it is harder cause we dont actually have dog yet, so no references or anything. I guess i just get disheartened by all the rejection.

Has anyone used this when looking in Sydney?? I am looking for a place now that will take a small dog and a cat. I troll through realestate.com and domain.com every day and i would be lucky if every second week there is an add that even mentions pets. We have applied for a few that say they allow pets, but when we ask why the application was declined, they say that the owner preferred non-pet tenants. What makes it even harder is my partner doesnt want to leave the eastern suburbs so we are restricted that way as well. House hunting is horrible!

Puppy showers are a great idea. My friend did one for her kitten and ended up with a stack of stuff, stuff that she would have like to buy herself but couldnt justify. Also grandparents are great as well if they are into dogs. My mum goes overboard, I dont have a dog yet and she is already collecting stuff that she thinks i will need when i do (which is going to be at least a year away yet). She has a glory box for my puppy She has already collected bowls, cheap towels, some toys, collar and lead. I can see it now, one day i am going to rock up there and she will have bought a puppy for herself cause she couldnt wait for me to get one. But tell everyone you know that you are going to get a puppy. Might score some small gifts. I cant remember where i saw it now, but a few weeks back i found a 'puppy pack' in a store, it had lead, collar, 2 plastic bowls, 2 toys and some liver treats. It was about $25-$30 if i remember correctly. I thought that was a good idea. Good luck. And make sure you post some picutres when you get the little bundle of joy.