Jordan Windebank

This is my little boy just before 7 weeks. Cant wait to get him next week!!! So adorable. :D

11 days until our little bundle of fluff comes home. Thank goodness I'm on holidays to distract me otherwise I'd be going crazy!!!

Hopefully one of the regulars can recommend a school as I'm only around the corner in Caroline Springs and will be looking soon. Good luck!

That will teach me to read properly, ordered a couple of bags of treats in my package and now I know why it is delayed. Was shipped on the 7th and hopefully will turn up before we go away for the holidays.

He is already about 5kgs and will be close to double when he comes home at 8 weeks. :D

Ok, here are a few from today at 4 weeks. He was a bit of a food hog and blocked his brother and sister from eating before passing out with a food coma.

Just met our little boy this morning, he is a gigantic lump. So cuddly. LOL. Will be a big, big boy. Will post photos later, am completely in love though.

The waiting is killing me now but thankfully I get to go meet the little guy in Sunday. Will take pics. Here is a recent one from the breeder. Little fatso. :D

Thanks! Luckily the house is set so the garage is on the eastern side of the building and is a proper brick/plaster garage like part of the house. I'll suss it out when we get some more warm weather. I have a portable aircon, maybe I can run that in the garage. Am asking the landlords about the shade sail, hopefully the say yes. The backyard main part is predominantly north and west so there will be a fair bit of afternoon sun unfortunately. Going to do a lot more planning over the coming days.

Thanks everyone. When I said no shelter this was due to me planning on him staying indoors. When I mentioned a puppy pen I had only considered this a short term solution whilst he is a puppy learning not to destroy stuff. LOL. I have a big backyard but it is completely lacking even the slightest hint of shade. Down the side of the house leads to a door in to the garage which could be secured open and I could leave his crate and water and toys in there? The garage is almost empty and there would definitely be nothing dangerous in there ever. I can look to put up some form of shade outside but it is hard as we live in a rental. Have definitely realised the silliness of thinking I can keep him inside full time.

Wow thanks everyone, appreciate all of the advice. I had always planned on leaving him outdoors however I don't have any shelter. I had thought keeping him inside would be an ok option but I guess I was wrong. I'm going to have a think about this today and see if I can come up with an outdoor solution. My main issue is that I don't have any shelter. Maybe I can leave the back garage door open and set up his water and crate in there during the day. Hmmmm. Thinking.

Thanks Persephone. I am already well prepared for lots of alone time when he first comes home, very clearly understand the benefits we will all enjoy from him being able to occupy himself. Unfortunately we can't put a doggy door in and I won't feel comfortable leaving him outside at all during the day. Hopefully someone can help me find a solution.

Hi all, I am feeling confident that I have almost everything sorted for my puppy before he comes home in January, with the exception of toileting. I will be home for the first 10 days with him and feel confident I can teach him to go outside during the day and night, but my concern is what to do with him when I go back to work? He will be staying inside during the day, initially in a puppy pen and then gaining access to the rest of the house as he learns proper indoor behaviour. Can anyone suggest what I should be looking at doing for him during the day as a toilet option? Would an indoor puppy toilet with fake grass on it be suitable? Will it confuse him if I want him to go outside during the night and when I'm home and then expect him to use the toilet when I'm at work? How have others handled this? Thanks, Jordan.

Hi all, I'll be getting my Berner boy in January and wanted to ask advice from other owners. Is there any Bernese specific advice you can provide for when I first get my pup home?

All sensible advice, however my in-laws purchased brother and sister labs two years ago and they are both well mannered, well behaved, beautiful dogs who are best friends. Now my mother-in-law committed herself full time to raising her "kids" so if you have the time and are committed, it can work. It was also my in-laws first dogs. PS. I would never personally try to raise two pups at once.

Here's a pic of my boy at 13 days. Starting to look less like a guinea pig and more like a puppy.

I have most things ordered and awaiting delivery (from Clean Run or eBay), The only things I still need to get are the puppy pen (which I'll go shopping for this week) and some food once he gets here.

We are waiting on exactly the same date! So far away...

Thank you everyone. I guess I don't need to cancel the puppy order and forget all hopes of raising a dog. There is definitely heaps of great information in his books but this part just seemed down right impossible. I am also waiting on my order of The Focused Puppy to arrive to see what it has to offer. I am a reasearch-a-maniac so will always cross reference information before applying it.

So I am getting my pup in late January and in preparation have been reading Dr Ian Dunbar's books "Before you get your puppy" and "After you get your puppy" following suggestions in other threads on here. The books are written in such harsh language that he makes it sound like I am going to raise a monster-puppy that will no doubt require euthanasia if I don't follow his book by the letter. Meeting 100 different people before the pup turns 12 weeks? Throwing puppy parties and inviting over every human being you have ever known? Having each of them feed, handle and "inspect" the puppy? I am not sure about you guys but if I started asking all of my neighbours to come and touch my pups rear end they would think I needed to be locked up. Can you guys please advise whether what he writes is seriously needed? I understand the needs to socialise a pup but this seems extreme in my mind, and the consequences he describes sound like scare-mongering. If I am missing the point and will be destroying my puppy from day one, I guess I need to organise some puppy parties!

Really appreciate everyone's advise on here. Can anyone recommend the best crates to look at? Seems to be a huge difference in quality/cost and just not sure what to use as a benchmark.

Thanks a lot guys. SecretKei, why do you suggest a roof? I am getting a Bernese. I am only planning on keeping the pen whilst he is a puppy until he is fully house trained whilst I'm at work. Not sure how long that will take, do I need to prepare for him to still be in it fully grown?

I can't answer for sure as I won't get my little boy until January, however everything I have read has suggested that they are not. I am sure one of our resident Berner parents can confirm though.

I had almost the same requirements as you and have chosen a Bernese Mountain Dog.

Thanks Huski! We are definitely working through all of this right now in preparation.