Hello, I am newbie to this Forum and I have been just looking around all topics and comments for around 2 months... I am going to get a male lab puppy very soon.. I have less than one month left now, so exciting! His name is Eddy and he is going to be my first dog in my life, so I have had to do a lot of studying into it. I am going to go toy&supplies shopping tomorrow haha .. Any tips will be very appreciated!! and I have some specific questions... 1) should I really get a vet bed ready before he even comes? I was thinking of using just my normal blanket for a couple of months. and I wanted to get a big enough vet bed after he gets better with chewing and toileting.. 2) I am thinking of getting one big vet bed initially, so that he can use it when he grows up (48x30 inch).. do you think that would work? 3) I have been looking up some topics and comments but some of them are unclear to me.. its about crate training. I just dont understand how people can keep a puppy in his or her crate when they have gone to work.. which will be like from 5 to 8 hours.. I dont think a puppy likes that idea... I am planning to crate him during the night while sleeping (yes, I know there might some broken nights until he gets older enough to hold his bladder) and let him have the whole house while I have gone (2~4 hours)... there are sometimes some people (roommate and girlfriend) who can take him out while I have gone but I think he should be able to hold for 2 hours... what do you guys think?.... I am sorry that this might has been discussed already but I needed to make it clear as people use the different time periods..
Re: About to get a 9-week-old Puppy on May 9th... Welcome to the forum! Very exciting waiting for the puppy, what a long month you must have left. Addressing crate training: You do not need to use a crate if you don't want to. No one will force you. But it makes house training easier. The idea is that it is a small space that the puppy considers its bed. It won't want to wet its bed, and more to the point, it won't have space to pee in one corner and sleep in the other. It will have to sleep in the pee, and it doesn't want to do that, so it doesn't pee in there, as long as it gets taken out at frequent enough intervals. If you let the puppy run around the house free for 2 hours, there is a very high likelihood some things will happen: - he will pee, and possibly poo, in the house, but definitely pee - he may destroy a treasured possession or possibly even part of the house (they explore using their mouths and don't understand that the baseboard isn't for chewing on) - he may eat something that would make him very sick but you did not see him eat it, so you don't know, and then you will need to rush him to the vets if he starts displaying symptoms, but because you don't know what he ate, things might be more difficult to diagnose, etc. this is a worst case scenario, but it's definitely possible with a puppy. If there are people around *watching* him, it might be different, but that means watching him, not doing something else and being in the same house. However, you also can't crate a puppy for 5-8 hours. At least not a 9 week old puppy. Theoretically you could, but puppies that young really can't hold their bladder that long. So that would be very uncomfortable for the puppy. I worked up to 2 hours in the crate at a time at about 3 months, and now I still like to stick to only 4 hours max in a playpen. A crate is also not the only way to contain a puppy. You could block off one puppy-proofed room, or use a playpen (even attached to crate) to give the puppy more space.
Re: About to get a 9-week-old Puppy on May 9th... Welcome to the forum! How exciting that you are soon to be bringing a puppy into your life As Maisiesmomma says some people use a puppy pen (bigger than a crate) when they need to go out, but the puppy will definitely wee and poo in this. Anything that's large enough for the puppy to perceive that there's a separate sleeping and peeing area will get peed in. It just delays house training, though that's by no means a disaster. Crate training definitely doesn't mean leaving your puppy in a crate all day while you go out to work - so you are right to question that! Crates are great for overnight, or for a few hours at a time, or as a safe haven where the puppy can rest and not be disturbed. With a young puppy the ideal is to have someone around most of the time at least for the first month. Is your work at all flexible, or are there people you can call on, or a pet minding service or puppy day care in your area?
Re: About to get a 9-week-old Puppy on May 9th... Welcome to the forum! Exciting times ahead! You'll find vetbed very useful for bedding as it washes and dries easily i(and it will need washing!). Your puppy is probably also less likely to chew it than a blanket. You can buy a roll of vetbed, rather than different bed-sized pieces. Although it's expensive it lasts very well and it's a bit cheaper bought online. You could also then cut it it into larger-sized pieces but fold it in half, then spread it out more as your puppy grows.
Re: About to get a 9-week-old Puppy on May 9th... Hi Marcus! Welcome from me and soon-to-be 5 year old Lilly. We used vet bed as a pup.....and old bit that was loaned to us and it really is great. Soft and comfy but washes and dries really quickly. I have gone back to using it over the last year or so. The non slip backing variety and Lilly loves it as a bed just on its own or on her beanbag bed. She also LOVES a crate. We don't have hers up now....stopped using it around 2 years old....but she heads for my sister in law dog Georgie's crate and monopolises it at every opportunity. It becomes a safe comfortable place for them. Now with regards to how LONG they should be in there I am afraid I crated Lilly for up to 6 or 7 hours when I was working at one point. She was fully house trained and I didn't really have any other choice. I had nEver heard of dog sitters or walkers and it was just what I had to do. She would go in quite happily in the morning with a stuffed kong and was never desperate to "escape" come home time. She still loved her crate. It wasn't seen by her as punishment. And Kongs are a definite on the list of stuff to get. Great to chew on. If you don't know what a kong is i am sure you will find out. We have a whole thread on ways to stuff a kong. Good luck!! jac
Re: About to get a 9-week-old Puppy on May 9th... Hi and welcome . Harley didn't take to the crate. The only time she would go in is when I went to work for a few hours and she had a Kong. By 10 weeks old she was sleeping upstairs with us and has stayed there since. At 20 months old, I leave Harley in the living room, with the door shut when I'm at work - this has worked really well, but we only done this from 10 months old as we knew by then she wouldn't destroy anything. I only leave Harley for a max of 4 hours St a time. I use a dog walker twice a week and that breaks up the day for her.
Re: About to get a 9-week-old Puppy on May 9th... Hello and welcome from me and my two dogs . I haven't ever used a crate, but this is because in the past, we worked from our home or as now, we are retired . As all the others have said, its about keeping your puppy safe from harm in the house , electric cables can be a nightmare to isolate , I confined mine to the kitchen when we did go out with a baby gate at the door so that they could see out , until they were trustworthy enough to be left with the full run . I think it would be helpful to have a friend pop in to let Eddy out , especially whilst he is very young , they are all very different re bladder control
Re: About to get a 9-week-old Puppy on May 9th... Welcome to you - exciting times ahead! I have Tatze (2 years old) and Gypsy (10 months, guide dog puppy) I had one who took to her crate and still loves it, and one who hated it so I got a puppy pen for her - she is de-crated now. Both crate and pen were used for night time and when left alone (never for more than an hour at first, still never for more than 2 hours) Tatze (crated) took much longer than Gypsy (puppy penned) to house train, which is the opposite to received wisdom. The new puppy arrives towards the end of June (I think) and I will use a puppy pen for him/her
Re: About to get a 9-week-old Puppy on May 9th... I've never used a crate (have had 3 puppies over the years) but you do need to think about making rooms safe and accept in advance that there will be chewing of furniture, carpets, doorframes etc! Molly was not left alone at all as a puppy but still managed to chew when I was cooking etc. However I had no problems with toilet training. I've also never bought vet bed. My previous two started in a cardboard box with blankets and moved on to a dog bed later. Molly (spoiled princess and the most destructive little imp ) had a small plastic bed with matress, then a larger version of the same ( both from Pets at Home) and now has a huge soft dog bed. Your pup will need attention while you're out, not just for toileting but for play, so perhaps you just need to check with your housemates that they're up for this.
Re: About to get a 9-week-old Puppy on May 9th... I suggest you definitely purchase "The Happy Puppy Handbook" by Pippa Mattinson. It will answer all your questions and worries as the puppy grows and is invaluable. In fact, if I was you, I would go out and buy it today ;D
Re: About to get a 9-week-old Puppy on May 9th... [quote author=Stacia link=topic=10504.msg155301#msg155301 date=1428569259] I suggest you definitely purchase "The Happy Puppy Handbook" by Pippa Mattinson. It will answer all your questions and worries as the puppy grows and is invaluable. In fact, if I was you, I would go out and buy it today. [/quote] Oh yes! I will be reading it all again too before the new pup comes - you soon forget!
Re: About to get a 9-week-old Puppy on May 9th... We're crate lovers here, both my pups have been in crates until the chewing was definitely over. Timewise I try not to leave my 8 month old spaniel more than two hours crated, very occasionally I have to push that to three. He took longer to house train than my (now four year old) lab and needed to go out every 20-30 minutes for the first few weeks, this gradually extended to the three hours max we have now. Obi spaniel is on vet bed as he's much more of a bed chewer than Riley ever was and although there are a few tufts removed it's still in one piece, I got a big piece and folded it over to make a comfy bed. If he ever stops chewing I might put some extra padding underneath it : Best of luck with your new pup and I would also recommend The Happy Puppy Handbook
Re: About to get a 9-week-old Puppy on May 9th... I didn't get a crate until my boy was 10 months, I found a large sturdy play pen just worked better for me. I work, and I had to leave my pup after 10 days. He had the bladder the size of a thimble (it seemed), and I could not have left him in a crate - it is really unfair to leave a dog in a crate for longer than they can hold pee and poo and I wouldn't have risked it when he was small. He did pee and poo in his pen, but not for very long - I worked super hard at toilet training when I was at home - and I didn't have any problems toilet training him. I had to go back to work after he had been with us for about 10 days - I started off by just leaving for a few minutes (he got a small kong or chew when I left) and I did this a lot (looked a bit silly stood in the street!). Then 20 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour. Then I left him in his pen up to 1.5 hours with puppy care popping in for 30 minutes after 1.5 hours. Then puppy care went to 30 mins every 2 hours, then 1 hour every 3 hours. From 8 months, I left him for 4 hours, and now he is left for 5 hours but with a break in the middle when a dog walker calls in and takes him out. So he is left with a pile of kongs (a huge pile, not just one or two) for two hours, then has a walk, then the dog walker leaves him with another pile of kongs and someone is home two hours after that. Get your pup addicted to kongs, it's a great help if you work.... At 2 years old, my dog is still in his pen when I'm out - there is still a danger of him going on a mad furniture chew fest....
Re: About to get a 9-week-old Puppy on May 9th... [quote author=maisiesmomma link=topic=10504.msg155269#msg155269 date=1428547694] Welcome to the forum! Very exciting waiting for the puppy, what a long month you must have left. Addressing crate training: You do not need to use a crate if you don't want to. No one will force you. But it makes house training easier. The idea is that it is a small space that the puppy considers its bed. It won't want to wet its bed, and more to the point, it won't have space to pee in one corner and sleep in the other. It will have to sleep in the pee, and it doesn't want to do that, so it doesn't pee in there, as long as it gets taken out at frequent enough intervals. If you let the puppy run around the house free for 2 hours, there is a very high likelihood some things will happen: - he will pee, and possibly poo, in the house, but definitely pee - he may destroy a treasured possession or possibly even part of the house (they explore using their mouths and don't understand that the baseboard isn't for chewing on) - he may eat something that would make him very sick but you did not see him eat it, so you don't know, and then you will need to rush him to the vets if he starts displaying symptoms, but because you don't know what he ate, things might be more difficult to diagnose, etc. this is a worst case scenario, but it's definitely possible with a puppy. If there are people around *watching* him, it might be different, but that means watching him, not doing something else and being in the same house. However, you also can't crate a puppy for 5-8 hours. At least not a 9 week old puppy. Theoretically you could, but puppies that young really can't hold their bladder that long. So that would be very uncomfortable for the puppy. I worked up to 2 hours in the crate at a time at about 3 months, and now I still like to stick to only 4 hours max in a playpen. A crate is also not the only way to contain a puppy. You could block off one puppy-proofed room, or use a playpen (even attached to crate) to give the puppy more space. [/quote] Thank you so much for your comment... yep I think I might be going to use the crate until he understands what he should chew and play with for his safety as well as my possession. so.. you said if I let him have the whole house for 2 hours without any supervision there will be some accidents , so does it mean there is less likely an accident in case of being crated for tow hours?...
Re: About to get a 9-week-old Puppy on May 9th... At about 12 weeks of age he might be able to hold on for two hours but most likely not before then. Definitely not when you first get him. At first he'll need to pee very often - especially after waking up or eating/drinking.....but also many times in between.
Re: About to get a 9-week-old Puppy on May 9th... [quote author=JulieT link=topic=10504.msg155385#msg155385 date=1428602144] I didn't get a crate until my boy was 10 months, I found a large sturdy play pen just worked better for me. I work, and I had to leave my pup after 10 days. He had the bladder the size of a thimble (it seemed), and I could not have left him in a crate - it is really unfair to leave a dog in a crate for longer than they can hold pee and poo and I wouldn't have risked it when he was small. He did pee and poo in his pen, but not for very long - I worked super hard at toilet training when I was at home - and I didn't have any problems toilet training him. I had to go back to work after he had been with us for about 10 days - I started off by just leaving for a few minutes (he got a small kong or chew when I left) and I did this a lot (looked a bit silly stood in the street!). Then 20 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour. Then I left him in his pen up to 1.5 hours with puppy care popping in for 30 minutes after 1.5 hours. Then puppy care went to 30 mins every 2 hours, then 1 hour every 3 hours. From 8 months, I left him for 4 hours, and now he is left for 5 hours but with a break in the middle when a dog walker calls in and takes him out. So he is left with a pile of kongs (a huge pile, not just one or two) for two hours, then has a walk, then the dog walker leaves him with another pile of kongs and someone is home two hours after that. Get your pup addicted to kongs, it's a great help if you work.... At 2 years old, my dog is still in his pen when I'm out - there is still a danger of him going on a mad furniture chew fest.... [/quote] I really appreciate your details haha... I am working at the moment but I will be back to school for 4 months to finish up my schooling and might be back to work again after that.. which is perfect since I can toilet train him when he is very young for 4 months. I was thinking of Puppy Pen but I don't think I have very expensive or dangerous things in my living room.. I might have to double check it in puppy's perspective again. However I am also open to that option... so one more question, if you HAVE to leave him in the pen, do you put any pad where he can pee on? I am not sure if this is possible... but the best option for me is to toilet train him outside as well as on the indoor toilet pad. This way my puppy team (roommates, girlfriend, and me) will try our best to let him out at least every 2~3 hours to make him do his business outside, if we cannot he can go for the second option which is the puppy pad.. what do you think?.. I think as you used the pen, you might have tried these things.
Re: About to get a 9-week-old Puppy on May 9th... [quote author=Oberon link=topic=10504.msg155271#msg155271 date=1428548519] Welcome to the forum! How exciting that you are soon to be bringing a puppy into your life As Maisiesmomma says some people use a puppy pen (bigger than a crate) when they need to go out, but the puppy will definitely wee and poo in this. Anything that's large enough for the puppy to perceive that there's a separate sleeping and peeing area will get peed in. It just delays house training, though that's by no means a disaster. Crate training definitely doesn't mean leaving your puppy in a crate all day while you go out to work - so you are right to question that! Crates are great for overnight, or for a few hours at a time, or as a safe haven where the puppy can rest and not be disturbed. With a young puppy the ideal is to have someone around most of the time at least for the first month. Is your work at all flexible, or are there people you can call on, or a pet minding service or puppy day care in your area? [/quote] I might be able to ask some people to be around him most of the time, but he might have to stay alone at MOST for two hours even for the first month (will not happen very often). I havent decided what I should with his sleeping place as well. I know lots of people in this forum prefer crating their puppy during the night and let them out for potting, but one of my friends has a dog and he only kept his dog while he went out, which means he always slept together with his dog.. and that dog seems not to have any issue at all.. he looks so confident and very well raised.. I have never seen him make a single accident in the house.. what do you think about that?.. sorry about too much questioning.. I am just a worried daddy haha.
Re: About to get a 9-week-old Puppy on May 9th... Thank you so much to all people who left comments for me.. I sincerely appreciate every single of them. I wish I could reply to all of them but I dont think there is any replying option TO the comments to a topic. Yes I know.. I think I am a bit too much worried about so many things haha even if he hasn't come yet. Today, I bought some Kongs and toys for Eddy. This is going to hold me for a while. I just cannot wait
Re: About to get a 9-week-old Puppy on May 9th... Just stopping by to day hi and welcome,Dexter is our first dog too ,he's 2.5 now .Eddy is a great name ,will you get to visit him again before you pick him up? Best wishes Angela x
