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How To Prepare A Puppy To Be Adaptable?


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Hi everyone :)

I've been reading the forums or a while now but just officially joined today - I am getting a puppy in 2 weeks (cross breed (multi generation (labrador x poodle)) so I won’t post photos but she is from a reputable breeder)

I would like to be able to take her anywhere: camping, hiking, pet friendly accommodation, friend’s city apartments, country holiday houses, to cafes and parties.

I want her to be able to settle down by my side and not toilet inside anyone’s house. So I’m hoping that teaching her to toilet on command will avoid any accidents so she can relieve herself before we go inside new places.

Training questions…

1) Can we teach a puppy to go to the toilet on command if we only want to use it sometimes? When the dog is home, we have a doggy door and would like the puppy to go to the toilet anytime it wants in its designated spot, we will take the puppy there when teaching it both the location and the command etc. but after a few months we’d like the puppy to go there on its own.

2) However we would like that anytime she is outside the house, she only goes after the command, so we can take her anywhere and she doesn’t go where she shouldn’t.

Is this doable or is the toilet on command only effective for people with apartments who HAVE to take the dog out every time…?

What kind of socialisation do we need to achieve this...? I've read that there are people who want the puppy to have neutral value for other people, so that it ignores them on walks/at the park etc

We would like our puppy to be comfortable and happy being patted by our friends but be able to settle down and not nag to get pats from random strangers... if thats possible!

We will bring her crate/bed for the most of these so she can get away if she likes

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Edited by mowgliandme
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I'll get this out of the way first ;)

reputable breeder and cross bred dog are usually not found in the same sentence. ;) :(

here are some links which will hopefully prove really useful for you - and your very lucky puppy!!

good for you in wanting to spend time in educating yourselves and the new puppy ! :walkdog:

LINK

LINK

LINK

LINK

oh - and toilet on command is the BEST thing , next to a really good recall :)) I always train as a baby puppy ... and then, use it when I take dog out before bed - before getting in the car , that sort of thing ..so that a bed time treat or a car ride is the reward . Nothing happens unless toilet is seen to be complete!!

Don just about squeezes out a few drops before he tells me he's finished , and ready for bed/and his apple ! :)

Edited by persephone
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Guest crazydoglady99

I'll get this out of the way first ;)

reputable breeder and cross bred dog are usually not found in the same sentence. ;) :(

Hehehe

Edit - what is a lab x poodle called?

Edited by crazydoglady99
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I'll get this out of the way first ;)

reputable breeder and cross bred dog are usually not found in the same sentence. ;) :(

Hehehe

Edit - what is a lab x poodle called?

mowgliandme is doing the right thing and NOT posting the name these crosses are known by :) from memory the board rules ask that AxB is used- not the 'designer' name .

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Thank you for the links persephone - I am still reading them :)

I'm not allowed to post the "designer" name on this forum... I agree those phrases are not normally in the same sentence but there are some out there (I am happy with this one after extensive research)

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I get mine to wee on command so they can go last thing at night etc, they are outside allday anyway so then they wee whenever they like.

I taught a new older dog really fast, you just take them out and keep them in the spot onlead and just keep repeating the words you want to use over and over, then lots of praise.

Every designer cross i have met, and there are shed loads around here ,have been crazy hyper nuts,or nervous nillys, one is now 6 and her owners said never again as she never switches off even after hours of exercise, be warned!

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Look up Dr Karen Overall's Protocols. If they appeal to you, start with the Protocol for deference and Protocol for teaching sit stay and come.

Choose your puppy preschool wisely. Some are poorly run free for alls when it comes to socialisation with other dogs and/or they punish puppies even when they don't even know what they're meant to do. Puppy classes should be fun, educational and SAFE.

Roova's links are great. :thumbsup:

Finally, whether you'll be able to do all those things you've mentioned with your dog is partly due to how you raise it but also genetics. Good puppy raising and socialisation (socialisation isn't just with other dogs but with different people and all sorts of things in the environment including the situations you have mentioned (safely)) will only allow your dog to reach his or her full potential, which is not identical for all dogs. Like humans, some dogs are born more nervous or excitable, or genetically predisposed to anxiety disorders, or simply don't like all that stimulation you have mentioned and are homebodies. I hope temperament has weighed in on your decision to go with a particular puppy from that particular breeder, and that you have seen other dogs they have bred. Some people will tell you anything for a buck.

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So many warnings! I do appreciate the concern - I am against back yard breeding and puppy farms and pet shops too, I am happy to learn more too! If there is any thing else i need to check about her, or the puppy - please let me know and I will gladly do so!

I am not interested in promoting the breed on this forum (so I have listed no positives about them just the breeder)

I’ve visited the breeder a few times and met at least 25 of her past pups (through external meet up groups for the cross breed and spoken to many of their human parents, great reviews) very happy with the puppy environment and the mother and father (they operate under a guardian home arrangement, so dogs are not sold off once they are past breeding age)

She breeds for temperament also (calm and gentle, the kind that are good family pets or used as assistance and therapy dogs) which was confirmed at the meet ups

She assesses temperaments and places the right dog for the right home (she knows what we are after but puppy allocation isn't til next week)

She health tests the dogs for at least 15 common genetic diseases and only breeds dogs which are clear of them and are in the top 20% for elbow and hip dysplasia

She socializes the puppies (around 100 people before 8 weeks) and does early neurosimulation, she also socializes them to different surfaces, locations (she takes them out in a baby stroller that they can see out of)

If at any time someone cannot continue to take care of their pup she will take it back and assist with rehoming so that none of her dogs ever end up in the pound

The puppies have started toilet training and know to sit for attention from people by the time they leave

There are also a few prominent people on these forums that are trying to get this breed legitimized under the name cobberdog by the MDBA

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Thanks everyone for the links :)

I absolutely loved kikopups and training positive youtube channels (I may have watched them all – ooops!) And Ian Dunbars books too – looking forward to a month of puppy parties (with the aim of creating positive experiences for the pup not running a free for all crazy session)

Any recommendations for a good puppy school? I am located near chadstone in Victoria and am happy to travel to give the puppy a great start :D

I think Moorabbin obedience club has a puppy class which i assume would be a bit better than most because they are an obedience school? But I dont know anyone who has been there...

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There is a thread in here somewhere where I was very impressed with their puppy raising culture - they provided some links. The user who started it is starkhere (sp?) and I think you could glean many tips and methods for helping set your pup up in the long run.

I know if I get a puppy I would be hunting down their thread. I'm on mobile right now so struggle to search myself.

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There is a thread in here somewhere where I was very impressed with their puppy raising culture - they provided some links. The user who started it is starkhere (sp?) and I think you could glean many tips and methods for helping set your pup up in the long run.

I know if I get a puppy I would be hunting down their thread. I'm on mobile right now so struggle to search myself.

This one? http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/266081-puppies-have-arrived-photos-galore/

Puppy Culture https://www.puppyculture.com/phone/index.html

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1) Can we teach a puppy to go to the toilet on command if we only want to use it sometimes? When the dog is home, we have a doggy door and would like the puppy to go to the toilet anytime it wants in its designated spot, we will take the puppy there when teaching it both the location and the command etc. but after a few months we'd like the puppy to go there on its own.

2) However we would like that anytime she is outside the house, she only goes after the command, so we can take her anywhere and she doesn't go where she shouldn't.

Is this doable or is the toilet on command only effective for people with apartments who HAVE to take the dog out every time…?

What kind of socialisation do we need to achieve this...? I've read that there are people who want the puppy to have neutral value for other people, so that it ignores them on walks/at the park etc

We would like our puppy to be comfortable and happy being patted by our friends but be able to settle down and not nag to get pats from random strangers... if thats possible!

We will bring her crate/bed for the most of these so she can get away if she likes

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Q1. Yes you can teach toilet on command and use it sometimes but if you don't use it they will lose it - learned behaviours are like muscles; they need to be exercised. I teach and use it with both my dogs; they take themselves out to toilet when they want, but at night or getting into the car, I get them to evacuate on command. I spend the first six months, taking puppy outside on a lead to toilet to teach evacuate on command. We live in a house; the dogs have inside and outside access.

Q2. I train for neutral value for strangers with both my labs; it's been an utter failure laugh.gif because people will not leave us alone when we're out and about. I mat train so my dogs have a place to sit and a job to do when we're out at cafe's etc. The dogs are good in that they will sit with us and stay; unfortunately it's other people that i have no control over; calling the dogs to them; coming to the table for pat etc etc I have harnesses/jackets for my dogs asking people to ignore them - they often read the wording while they're trying to get access to the dogs confused.gif One guy even told me he can pat my dog if he wants; i told him where to go fairly quickly.

It takes time and commitment to train for the behaviours you want - I would suggest a good training facility/club for support.

Edited by suziwong66
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Those threads are great :)

suziwong66 thanks for the answers - that really helped clear things up for me!

I am a bit concerned about other people doing that too... and a lot of people have no idea how to approach or pat a dog at all :/

I was at a cafe and a lady had brought her CKCS puppy and everyone was just going straight for its face/head and it was clearly not very comfortable

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Love them!

Thank you definitely going to keep all of that in mind :D

5 more sleeps :)

Ive been looking for a vet that does the puppy vaccination where you only need two (not three) and can take them out and about at 10.5 weeks but I havent found any near me yet :/ (SE melbourne - near Chadstone)

Do you take puppies out before all of their vaccinations...? Im getting conflicting info with socialization before 12 weeks (before she enters a potential fear period) and waiting for all the vaccinations

I want to take her places (local cafe, shopping mall entrance, friends houses) and have her watch from my lap (she's fairly small) rather than be cooped inside for four weeks

We have another (vaccinated) dog at home, who goes for walks (and marks where other dogs mark) and will play with her so unless im meant to keep them completely separated until shes vaccinated, if he steps on diseases on the grass i think they can end up on her anyways?

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