Hey, folks. Just joined the site. Haven't have a dog since my teens (I'm 58). I'm one week into a new English style black Lab, male, from a reputable breeder on the central coast of CA. Turned 9 weeks yesterday. I live alone and have taken 2 weeks off to get him started off right. Then I'll have a service come by twice a day initially when I return to work Sep 12. First week going well, but boy-oh-boy. Working through basic training - potty, sit, come, "no", biting. And crate training: sleeps all night in his crate next to my bed - I get up once at the halfway mark for a potty break, then put him back in and we both go back to sleep. Trying to get him used to his crate during the day for his down time, in preparation for when I go back to work. So far, it's just been for sleeping (nights and daytime naps) but have lured him in for meals and treats. I'm in for the long haul, very committed, but emotionally, this is the roller coaster everyone and every book said it would be. Highs to lows. Have just started to find a way for some me-time at the right points. Glad to have found this site. I think most of what I need is a constant reminder that my problems are pretty much every new puppy owner's problems. Easy to get into a twist about "what's wrong?" and "this can't be normal" etc. That's all for now!
I would say you are doing fantastically well for only having had your puppy a week. I thought I was never going to have any me time when my puppy was little. It's been quite an emotional rollercoaster but my puppy is now 9 months and life has settled into a good pattern of time for everyone including myself . I too was glad to find this site - people have helped me enormously. It is very easy to wonder what is normal whilst our Labs are croco pups .
Hi and welcome to the world of puppy owners ! It can be a little overwhelming at first , this puppy lark ! Just try to remember that Rome wasn't built in a day , don't try and teach too much at once , and relax !! Pups are like little sponges , soaking up all the attention , wanting to learn but having the attention span of a flea , so they get bored and start messing about, which is fine , life should be fun for a pupster ! Keep training sessions very short for this reason , and give masses and masses of praise too . You sound pretty organised , you`ll get there !
This site will provide you with exactly what you need @cklehmann. There are a multitude of posts from new puppy owners feeling overwhelmed and exasperated, exhausted and regretful, I was one of those once! Keep coming here to maintain your sanity and try to enjoy your new pup. And tell us his name and post a pic of him when you can .
Hi there and welcome from a fellow Bay-Area-ite (San Jose)! Congratulations on your new puppy - what's his name? You sound very well prepared and seem to be doing great despite the very understandable ups and downs. I'd love to see some photos and hear more about how it's going when you have time - which understandably may not not happen immediately!
You sound like you are doing really well, you could try some stuffed kongs for those quiet daytime naps? They can be quite sleep inducing and an occasional sanity saver if you have them pre-prepared.
Thanks for the comments and welcomes so far everyone. Looks like I failed on the name/pic front. Corrected her. Name is Huxley Mohan. Huxley/Hux for short. Not sure how to post an image, though. Help?
So sweet Welcome to you from Mags, Tatze, Mollie and Keir from Manchester UK Tatze is my pet dog, a black Lab and she's four years old. Tatze means 'paw' in German. Mollie is my fourth Guide Dog puppy, a black Lab who is eleven months old. Keir is my fifth Guide Dog puppy, a yellow Golden Retriever/Flatcoat cross and he's thirteen weeks old.
Hello and welcome to the very sweet Huxley from Poppy (5years old) and Merlin (five and a half months old), in Germany. We are just emerging from the puppy stage and starting to hit the teenage phase... Keep on with the crate training - we failed at it totally with Merlin, he hated his crate with a passion, but if you can get your dog to like it I think it's a useful tool.
Hi and welcome to you and Huxley from me and 4 year old girl, Harley. Huxley certainly looks very cute . Sounds like you are both doing really well and I'm glad you have someone coming in on a regular basis whilst you work. Look forward to hearing more about how you and Huxley are doing.
Hi and welcome from me and my boy Bailey (18 months old). What an absolute cutie Huxley is - I look forward to seeing more pictures of him and hearing how your training is going with him. Good luck
Hi and welcome to the forum. This is a great place with a wealth of knowledge and experience. We're into our fifth week with Pippa now and it is a life changing experience, but definitely for the better. Sounds like you are starting off very well so just keep up the good work. We met up with the other 7 puppies from Pippa's litter at the weekend and it was great to see how they were all playing together and also chatting with the other parents. This really showed us that Pippa is behaving completely normally and they all had very similar personalities. Digging holes, bombing around with the Zoomies, being cheeky and having fun. It can be tough but you won't regret. Have fun.
