So we are getting our new pup Juno tomorrow!! I really can't wait much longer, it doesn't seem real yet! So today, I'm cleaning the house top to bottom (probably the last time my house will ever be clean!), one more trip to the pet store, and then literally count the hours down till tomorrow! Even though I am super excited I am starting to feel nervous about it all! I would just like hear how everyone's first few days went with their pup.... What did you do? How did they settle in? Anything you did to make their transition less scary?! Or with hindsight anything you wished you done differently!!! X
Re: Excited but nervous!!! How exciting!!!! It's been a while since I had a puppy but I remember just being fascinated at the sight of him trundling round the house, exploring. What are your plans for Juno's sleeping arrangements?
Re: Excited but nervous!!! Oh my goodness how exciting for you!!! Those first few days are so amazingly special, enjoy every minute of those baby cuddles and those baby eyes, little floppy ears and clumsy feet, her falling asleep on you and the complete and utter trust she will put in you. You will become her whole world and its the best feeling ever.
Re: Excited but nervous!!! She has a doggy den (crate covered with a blanket) which is in the kitchen also have a snugglesafe for her (a pet safe heat pad in a doggy cushion) I thought it might resemble snuggling next to brothers and sisters (it's worth a try!). We going to start off with my fiance doing the late shift staying up with her till midnight and letting her out for a wee... Then settling her. Depending on how she is he will stay with her until she falls asleep then I will get up at 4am to do the early shift... Then as the weeks go by gradually increase the length of time. Not sure if it will work.. But i guess it's a bit of trial and error!
Re: Excited but nervous!!! I was the same excited but also a little sick with nerves before collecting her so totally understand. I vaguely remember the first week as me being constantly on edge trying to keep her entertained (she didn't sleep much) & trying to avoid accidents indoors. However I'm on my own with her so that may be different in a home with more people, which might also help with different shifts for toilet training. I think that first week I just tried to introduce her to things I wanted her to be comfortable with; - the car (without travelling) - the crate - teeth cleaning - other people I also limited her access to only 2 rooms to help with toilet training & eventually a baby gate for the stairs, I'd get that in advance if doing it again. I didn't know about this forum before getting Kenzi which might have helped with a few "agggh what have I gotten myself into" moments in the first few weeks so you're off to a better start than me. I also wish I'd read more on bite inhibition prior to getting her, she's getting it now but would have preferred to know more in advance. Generally though the first few weeks were fun, tiring but just watching them discover things is often hilarious.
Re: Excited but nervous!!! I think we were very lucky. Molly was raised in a home and was used to being crated with her 12 litter mates. I had planned to hold her for the 1 hour journey home, but she proved such a wriggle monster that we popped her into the cat carrier we had borrowed and I sat with my hand inside it stroking her. She howled a bit but eventually fell asleep. The was a mirror finish on my oven door (now hidden by dog slime!) and for the first day she was fascinated by it, I think she thought that was where her siblings were. She cried for a couple of hours the first night in her crate. We didn't go to her because if we had we would have had to go through the hole process again. Second night it lasted 10 minutes. Since then she has accepted the crate absolutely. The worst thing about the first two days was the stink. She'd been in a crate with 12 other puppies peeing on her, she STANK. Didn't wash her first day as I thought it would be a bit much, but day two and she got dunked I the utility sink. Enjoy your pup.
Re: Excited but nervous!!! Very,very exciting Annie ;D have you got far to go to collect her ,or is she close by?take plenty of towels and covers,there might be a few accidents !That said,what do I know ,Dexter came on a plane to us at 5 months so I didn't have this little ,little puppy stage,how old is she?There is a really busy Puppy Section on the Forum with lots of new puppy owners sharing advice and asking questions.You will also find a whole Puppy Section on the main site www.thelabradorsite.com.....plenty to read and browse but you might be a bit busy at first so just shout out and someone will be along to help,x Welcome from Angela,first time dog owner with Dexter 20 months x
Re: Excited but nervous!!! Oh So exciting!!! We picked up our pup 5 weeks ago now, and she's now 13 weeks! It sounds like you have everything well planned, and are prepared to be flexible, so I'm sure it will be fine! We were lucky that Ruby took to her crate really well as she'd been used to it with her littermates (raised in a home). They sleep quite a lot in those first few days so if she's anything like Ruby she'll crash on the first night and you won't hear a peep from her. Be prepared for lots of trips outside for toilet training ;D Definitely recommend limiting her to one or two rooms at first - we are only just introducing her to our living room now really, and have our boys playroom penned off so she can't attack play with them or their toys! Maybe if there was one thing I could do differently would be to try and get her used to going for a wee and poo in a designated area of the garden, which I found hard as have two young boys needing my attention, so I was not always able to supervise her. It would have made poo patrol a lot quicker!!! Good luck, and enjoy xxx We want pics too
Re: Excited but nervous!!! How wonderful, enjoy every second with your lovely pup Juno and pictures as soon as you can please x
Re: Excited but nervous!!! How exciting. You have already had some good advice, I would add start socialising her as soon as you can. People of all ages are always keen to visit a new puppy and you can carry her around outside before she has her vaccinations. Do you know any vaccinated dogs who can visit you and if your vets run them puppy parties are a good idea. Looking forward to the photos. Alice
Re: Excited but nervous!!! We went out one Saturday to buy a new iron and hoover and came back with megs. That was 2000 and our high steet had a pet store where they had puppies and kittens. Walking past it we saw meg in the window looking very sad for herself. We both looked at each other, went in asked to see her and ended up bringing her home. She was lovely, hubs took her into garden and she came alive, running between his legs. At night time she curled up under the nest of tables, think she felt safe there like being back in the crate. Best thing we ever did.
Re: Excited but nervous!!! Hi Annie. Enjoy the moment. We took a few pictures of Holly when she first came home and still smile when we look at e pictures of this tiny little puppy. Please take a few pictures and share them with us. Remember that this is a BIG change for your puppy. It will need a little bit of time to get used to its new surroundings. Take an old towel with you and rub it all over her dam. Put it in the puppies bed and the familiar smell might help it to adjust. We stayed with Holly for her first few nights and slowly backed away from her bed. It seemed to reassure her if there were people around.
Re: Excited but nervous!!! Exciting times , I cant add anything to whats been said, but enjoy your puppy, they grow up so quickly
Re: Excited but nervous!!! Congratulations! What a lucky puppy! I've had my 13 week old Cooper now for 5 weeks. First couple of nights he slept in his crate in my bedroom....he grumbled a little and whimpered but settled in after 10 minutes or so. Third night put him in the family room which is at the other end of the house. Went to bed at 10 pm, up at 3 am for a potty break and then up at 6 am for the day. Was very lucky that he didnt need to get up every couple of hours! Now he sleeps eight hours straight.I would put nothing on the crate floor because they will chew anything up.During the day, though, you have to get him/her out every hour at least. Have a designated area where you want your pup to go. You will need chew toys, of course. Biting will be a big thing in your life! Part of being a puppy....he still bites at 13 weeks. I'm told this too shall pass! Feed puppy at the same time each day. Get pup used to the car slowly....dont take long drives at first. Very short ones...around the block until it get used to the movement. I have a smaller crate in the car. Play with him a lot. Get a leash on pup even in the house so it gets used to it. So much more advice, but this is enough for now......just enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. They are so cute and, yes, they grow up so fast. Take a lot of photos.....Good luck!
Re: Excited but nervous!!! We've had Albert for 9 weeks now and the time has flown. Make the most of the first few weeks, although they are the hardest they go so quickly and before long your 8 week old bundle of fluff will weigh 34lbs! We crated Albert from the get go. He slept in the crate in our room the first 4 nights. We decided to set our alarm for every 2 hours at first to get him up for a wee, rather than have him crying to be let out, as I didn't want him to associate crying with getting my attention! During the day we put him outside every half hour for the first 2 weeks, and said 'be quick' every time he went followed by the clicker and a small treat. We have limited Albert to one room, and only recently let him in the living room but on a house lead only. We haven't had a single accident either in his crate or the house, but it requires a lot of input from you initially, but so worth the time and effort. We put him in the crate every time he fell asleep, so he woke up in it! After the first 4 nights when we transferred him to his own room, we popped him in the crate when he was sleepy, and then sat by him till he went to sleep. This was only for a week or two, as he soon got used to it and went in by himself. We gradually increased the alarm time at night, before stopping it completely when he was able to go for about 5-6 hours before needing a wee, at around 13-14 weeks. I started to clicker 'train' him from 9 weeks, putting the lead on him in the garden, and sit, and walking to heel, clicking and treating every time. But most importantly I started using the whistle to recall him every time he ran towards me either in the house or garden and clicked and rewarded him every time. He loves his daily 'puppy school' with me, and is brilliant on the lead, and his recall is really coming along, and he now sits perfectly, and goes down, and we are working on stay! I also took him out and about in a big shoulder bag before his jabs were complete, going round the village, to the shops,and also the beach. And took him in the car for short, then longer car rides in a crate as he was such a wriggler. He got used to the car very quickly. Take lots of pictures/video, give lots of cuddles, and most importantly enjoy your puppy. It will bite you incessantly, keep you awake half the night, worry you to death, but you will love it unconditionally. Have fun Jan
Re: Excited but nervous!!! How exciting Definitely need lots of photos they grow so quickly! If I could go back I would do the same on the first week....play, cuddle, get her to follow me around, toilet training etc. I let her have access to the living room and kitchen downstairs and even at 10 months she doesn't have access to the office or bedrooms unless we are in there. I would change loose lead walking.....I would start earlier (I started at 12 weeks) and I would socialise her more by going to shopping areas or busy pedestrians areas etc Look forward to meeting Juno x
Re: Excited but nervous!!! Thank you for your replies enjoyed reading your stories! Feeling a bit more relaxed now about it all! I'm going to take loads of photos we have scrap book ready to make a little photo album of the good times we will hopefully have (a bit sad I know )! We have 3 baby gates in place... One on the stairs, one on the kitchen door and one on the utility room. We've recently moved into our first house this year so luckily we have no expensive furniture I'm worried about getting chewed! When taking your puppy out before vaccinations have finished, how did you find carrying them? Do they not wriggle and want to get down lots? I've read people put their pups in a bag to carry them around but are they not too big to put in a bag! I just have this image of this chunky pup wriggling desperately trying to escape to run around!! When I phoned up the vets to book vaccinations the receptionist mentioned puppy parties so hopefully they are the ones you can go to before vaccinations have finished! P.s. Will get a Flickr account so I can get some photos up here!
Re: Excited but nervous!!! Hi, welcome and how exciting about your new pup! I carried my pup around from 8 to 11 weeks, there was no problem with wriggling or trying to escape, but I did make sure she always had a lead on just in case. As she got heavier I tended to go to a super market and sit outside or into town and sit on a bench, lots of people would come over and talk to us! I'm going to a puppy party at my vets, but had to wait for the course of vaccinations to be finished. Looking forward to seeing some photos and hearing all about your pup.
Re: Excited but nervous!!! Hi Annie, I am excited for you! This time tomorrow you'll have her all to yourselves. I hope it goes really well for you. My pup comes in 2 weeks. There are a few new puppy owners on the forum, so plenty of people to compare notes with
