So after a long wait, loads of planning, lots of questions (thanks everyone for the answers) and first meeting the breeder back in September, I'm finally bringing home my puppy tomorrow! This is my first puppy and I am a mixture of super excited and slightly terrified! Is that normal?! I think everything is ready and prepared in the house and a friend is coming with me to collect her. I have a sturdy box for the car as well as towels and a waterproof blanket if she goes on my lap....we'll see how wriggly she is! I have a crate in the dining/kitchen for her but I'm still debating whether to leave her there the first night or have her upstairs for the first 3 nights until she has got used to me and her crate as a den (in the long run I don't want her to be upstairs). So just one more sleep to go!
Yup! I think so So exciting for you! Maybe you could spend your last sleepless night learning how to post photos up We LOVE our puppy fix. Good luck!
Yeah just looking at how to post photos... Think I need to put them in photo bucket or Flickr or something?
Terrified is normal, they are hard work and your life will change, BUT if you can weather the first 6 months, the benefits are ENORMOUS, they give such pleasure and joy, Labs are forever happy and optiimistic, who can be miserable with a dog like that to cheer you
Will she have a bit of blanket or a toy smelling of her mother/siblings? I've never had a puppy upstairs at night, but there's usually been an older dog to keep it company. However, a warm, cosy bed in the crate helps and also a ticking clock or leaving the radio on quietly and a Kong with a few treats to help her settle. Wispa's breeder made microwavable little pillows that worked well for giving that extra bit of warmth (but not too hot). I know some people have a crate upstairs for a while, then transfer it, so that can work too. However, several years ago when I first started using a crate I tried to move a puppy's crate to another part of the kitchen and she refused to go in it at first, insisting on trying to lie down where the crate had been! It's all very exciting! Good luck! Practise the photo posting and take lots of photos!
You sound sooo excited in your post.. Agree though, get yourself sorted with posting photos, we are quite a demanding bunch when it comes to new puppies on the forum!
Excited and terrified.....perfectly normal! I had Cooper in my bedroom, in a crate,next to my bed the first three nights and then I transferred him to the other end of the house in the family room. He whimpered the first night for a few minutes and then fell asleep. You will have to get up several times at night for a while until she can hold it for several hours. I am sure you know about this.....What joy to be picking her up just in time for Christmas! Give her time to get used to you....until now she has only known her Mum and her siblings. It is a big wrench for her. It is a very exciting time.....she will need lots of love and patience but she will repay you a million times over as she grows up. Merry Christmas!!!
Such an exciting time, but can understand you bring terrified as Harley is my first ever pup as well. In all honesty, it was worth it. Good luck and look forward to seeing lots of photos
Ok testing doing photos. ive got them in Flickr but to insert them I copied the url and click on the picture icon and pasted it but that didn't work. Hmmm
Exciting! Just see how it goes. She might be anxious and scared in which case, keep her with you. But she might be fine on her own, you know. Neither of my pups were bothered by being alone the first night. Betsy, my youngest, just took herself off to her puppy bed in her pen and started snoring. I was left standing there like a lemon, with my sleeping bag (I was planning to sleep downstairs with her). I gave her 20 minutes, she kept snoring, so I went to bed! She's been as good as gold, that night and ever since.
I slept the first three nights on the couch. Never had the crate upstairs. I was told not to have the pup there where you don't want him to be. So if he is not supposed to be on the couch, don't have him on your lap on the couch. Instead kneel down and sit on the floor and have him on your lap. I don't know if this is old school....in our case it helped....
Excited and terrified is about how we felt, and Holly was our third Lab! After four years I can't imagine life without her. I'm typing this one handed because she's lying beside my chair while I tickle her ear with the other hand! We decided that she would start in the kitchen/utility room so we started her there from her first night. It would save changing her room after a few days. We reckoned that Holly would have plenty of changes to adapt to so keeping her bedroom the same was one we could avoid. For the first few nights we joined her in the kitchen on a camp bed. Whatever you decide to do, I hope that you have many happy years together. And remember to take lots of pictures on day one.
My new puppy came home yesterday. I've not stopped since, hence the complete absence of posts and photos, but I'm with you on the mixture of feelings. Luna is my third puppy, but I was still driving home thinking "What on earth have I done?!!". Happy puppy day! It'll be chaos, but try to enjoy it, too
Thanks everyone. I know what you mean snowbunny- im grabbing the chance to post whilst she sleeps. She is a real bundle of energy! Very curious and adventurous but I'm harnessing the natural homing beacon she has to come to me at the moment and she has been bounding down the garden path toward me! She has done both her wees outside in the garden and as I was preparing my lunch she took herself into her crate and started to go to sleep! As I came into the living room she got up and followed me and is now asleep next to me! She's been out for 45 minutes...not sure how long she will sleep for in one go? She is much more mouthy than I realised she would be already...she seems to have a passion for my feet! But when I sort of Yelp she backs off. She is scratching a lot - it doesn't look like fleas, more of a red dryness on her tummy and in the crease of her arm joint. The breeder said the 6 pups had been play fighting and biting a lot so it might be scratches from that? Or could it be some kind of eczema? I will check with the vet on Friday. I will post photos as soon as I can get to the laptop. It feels very surreal.. And I keep thinking "is this really happening?!" Oh her name is Sammy Simba.
