I'm getting ahead of myself here (again, time has been going so slowly waiting for our puppy!) but a week after we hopefully bring our baby home my dad is having a family gathering for his 60th birthday. Not going is not an option but clearly neither is going without puppy but I'm worried it will be too much for her. Any suggestions? Should we pack up her crate and try and find somewhere quiet-ish for her to rest - or do I just relax, let her meet everybody and sleep on my lap when she's tired? This leads me to a more general question - I've read The Happy Puppy Handbook and obviously several posts on this forum and I'm keen to 'get it right' from the beginning and as I know I'll be home every day with her I can be in control of this most of the time - but I know for sure that if we go to my dad's party and the puppy jumps up for a cuddle from somebody else she's going to get one! Now when my children go to stay with nanny and grandad and they give them a dozen biscuits each, let them stay up late, eat their food walking around the living room I let it go because that's what grandparents are for, but what about a dog, will it undo all our previous work?! I want to make sure I don't get uptight about it all and forget to enjoy her!
Re: Family gathering with puppy At that age, your puppy will be on people's laps anyway - I wouldn't have her on the floor somewhere I didn't know, so cuddles are just fine! I guess it probably depends on the puppy, but at that age, Willow wasn't jumping up for cuddles herself, so there wasn't a bad behaviour to discourage. The jumping up came later!! With the food thing, I would be VERY firm with people, telling them under no circumstances are they to give her treats. They'd probably upset her stomach at that age, anyway, and the last thing you need is to be mopping up a messy poo that your poor pup couldn't hold because someone had fed her something inappropriate. Again, she won't have learned to beg by then, so don't let people encourage her, or you're setting yourself up for a lifetime of problems! At about eleven weeks, we took Willow to a barbecue. She was sat on my lap the whole time and didn't fuss anyone for food, not even from my own plate which was right in front of her. Try to encourage polite behaviour - from the family as well as the puppy! - from the start
Re: Family gathering with puppy Thank you! The party will be at my parents house BUT it will be chaos (my sister and I have 7 children between us and she has a puppy herself!). I will just keep the puppy close and make sure she's safe. I don't think anybody would feed her anything they shouldn't but no doubt after just one week I won't want to let her too far out of my sight anyway! I can retreat to the garden with her for some peace and quiet (for us both!) I guess.
Re: Family gathering with puppy [quote author=zanacal link=topic=9795.msg141840#msg141840 date=1423138702] I let it go because that's what grandparents are for [/quote] Charlie's human granddad arrived last night. He's 80, and Charlie is 2 - both grown ups (I tell them). They still rolled around on the floor together like puppies. Much excited nipping of ears and general outrageousness from Charlie... : oh well, that's what grandparents are for....it doesn't seem to do Charlie much harm. Then again, he's a hooligan anyway.
Re: Family gathering with puppy It will be good experience for her meeting new people, children and another puppy, but I think taking her crate is a good idea as she can then have safe quiet time out when it all gets too manic! You will be able to relax a bit too if you don't have to be holding her or keeping a close eye the whole time.
Re: Family gathering with puppy I too would vote for the crate. You may not need it, but if it all gets too much, it is somewhere for your pup to retreat to. Just a word of warning, think carefully about allowing your little puppy on your (or anyone else's) lap. They don't stay tiny for long. You then have to convince a large, bouncy Labrador that he doesn't have rights on your lap. My husband (against my advice) let Molly on his lap, three months later she was more than twice the size and still thought she could sit on his lap. A view NOT shared my husband so he had to spend a considerable amount of time convincing her that she couldn't sit on his lap
Re: Family gathering with puppy Or, you can teach them to sit properly on laps as an adult...takes dedication to cuddle training, but it's worth it... image by julieandcharlie, on Flickr
Re: Family gathering with puppy Yes, it's not something I'm planning on doing all the time, I was just trying to figure out how it might work having a 9 week old puppy at somebody else's house without a crate! I have the opposite problem generally, I find it hard to relax and always want to go 'by the book'! ETA: I just saw your photo JulieT, how cute! I love the big empty bed next to the chair
Re: Family gathering with puppy Cuddle training is worth the effort... ;D ;D ;D Well trained Charlie!!! 8) 8) 8)
Re: Family gathering with puppy The day after I got Bella we went to a friends Xmas party, she slept on my lap most of the time, waking to go out and have a wee at hourly intervals, was so impressed she had no accidents! She also got passed about a bit and got to meet a baby and various other people , having said we'd just pop in, we ended up being the last to leave!!enjoy!!!! ;D
Re: Family gathering with puppy Cuddle training is critical...Charlie can now jump on anyone without hurting them and he goes into a perfect settle (he doesn't poke people with his elbows or anything like that). Granted, new visitors are a little surprised at first, but quickly get used to it. Here he is right now, as I type...(extra towels because he's still a bit muddy : ). image by julieandcharlie, on Flickr
Re: Family gathering with puppy It really was trained..took my OH weeks to do, and lots of kibble! ;D
Re: Family gathering with puppy Being a good cuddler is essential. Charlie excels I hope you have fun at the party. Just keep an eye on your puppy getting overwhelmed. Some pups/dogs are total party animals but some might get a bit thrown by it all. I would definitely take her though and have the crate as a back up plan
Re: Family gathering with puppy If it's somewhere the puppy has never been before then maybe take the crate and find a quiet spot to put it in so that she can get some time out and relax if it gets too much for her. All new sights and smells are a lot for a puppy to take in and they might not settle unless they've got somewhere quiet to go. If they do settle on your lap then that shouldn't be a problem but make sure the puppy doesn't settle on anybody else's lap because that could open up a whole world of lap sitting for your lab! Every time my grandad walks through the door my 7 month old is straight on his knee! He's never treated her really but she just seems to love him! So it may or may not encourage lap sitting because it's something they will likely pick up at some point and then it'll be up to you to decide if you allow it or not. As for the treats, don't let anybody give your dog food that hasn't come from you. That's a sure fire way to spend a party cleaning up dog poop! Plus, you want your dog to know that treats come from you and they don't need to jump at other people to get them. I have a lab that does this and it's so frustrating when they run and start jumping at strangers in the hope of a treat so if you can get that out of her early then it's for the better! Hope you have a great party! ;D
