this is mattie! she is a lab golden retriever mix! we love her to pieces! this is our first dog so we are new at it all! here is some of our issues so far: she bites!! obviously!! mostly my hands. it hurts like heck! I try so hard not pop her. but I'll be honest sometimes I can't refrain. and it makes me feel so awful! she was doing really good with her crate. we would take a treat and she would run in her crate no problem. but we messed up and did this every time we would leave to go places. so now I think she knows we are leaving and she has started running from us instead of going into the crate. we have to crate her while we go to work. which also makes me feel bad because we are gone awhile. I noticed a sheet weeks ago she was peeing in there during the day. that broke my heart. I don't want her to go potty in her home!! she is good about going outside for the most part when she isn't crated. we use "go potty" and most of the time she will run to the door. she has started going to the door to tell us she has to go also. she has been bad about jumping up. like on the table and counters. I need to break her of that ASAP before she gets any bigger. she doesn't listen to "no" or "down" probably because she doesn't understand what it means. I tried to keep her off the couch but i have failed miserably. I just ordered new couches that will be here in a few weeks and I would love to keep her off of those as much as possible. she doesn't like the leash! I got her a harnest last weekend and she freaks out when you try to walk her. which I don't want! i want to be able to go on walks with her. I have considered the petsmart puppy classes. has anyone used them? recommend it? any pointers and tips on raising my baby girl are greatly appreciated and more than welcomed! I want her to be an awesome obedient dog as she gets older. I want to raise her right. sorry this is all over the place!! hopefully yall can relate to some of my puppy problems!
Hi - would love to see a photo of your lovely new pup! I would strongly suggest that you need to make some other arrangements while you're at work other than a crate,as a 14 week old pup has limited bladder control and it's not nice for her to have to soil her bedding. How about getting a large puppy pen and putting either newspaper or puppy pads at one end and her bed at the other? Puppies also need company, so I would also suggest looking into getting someone to call in to let your puppy in the garden and play with her while you're out at work (and when she's older to take her for a walk). Or perhaps even better might be doggy day care. Lots of people on this forum do work and have dogs, but it does need some organisation to make sure you dog isn't left alone for too long.
Welcome to the forum. 14 weeks is far to young for a pup to be left home alone for any length of time. She needs you there to learn everything from. Dogs are social animals, just as we are. Imagine leaving a 3 year old child for hours on end, the result is similar with pups. My Twiglet (also a Lab/GR cross) is 16 weeks and we leave her for an hour a day - absolute maximum. You need to arrange doggy day care or someone to come in and start to teach and socialise your pup.
She is still very young and you are expecting an awful lot from her. One of the problems with a large breed (like a Labrador) is that the puppies are quite large and we think they are capable of more than they are. As has been said, her bladder is still quite small and she cannot be expected to hold it for too long. She is a teething baby, which is why she chews on you all the time. When her adult teeth come through it will largely stop. You are right when she doesn't listen to "no" or "Down" because she doesn't understand them. Dogs don't come ready trained, it is our job to teach them. Could I suggest a book on dog training. I understand "The Happy Puppy Handbook" is good. It was published after Molly had gone through puppyhood. As a first time owner you are both on a steep learning curve, so it will be difficult for both of you, but labs are intelligent dogs so you will get there in the end.
Hello and welcome to you and Mattie! As the others have said, Mattie is far too young to be left alone for any more than a few hours a day. Lots of people manage to have a dog and work at the same time, but with a puppy you have to arrange things so that she has company and exercise. Family, friends, neighbours, dog walkers, doggy day care - there are lots of ways of organizing someone to play with her and make sure she is happy and stimulated. Do let us know how you get on with your lovely girl; she sounds gorgeous.
