Spike is home. Now what...?

M

mememeow

Will soon be banned.
Dec 1, 2007
156
0
#1
Spike.jpg


A picture of my little puppy. :yahoo: :heart::heart::heart:

He is an 8-week old miniature poodle named Spike.

Spike T. Jacobs.

He is our first dog, and we want to be very good parents to him.

And I would like to know what is the best piece of advice you can give me, to make sure that he is a happy, well adapted and healthy dog?

I would like to know anything and everything...from the best time to feed him to what is the appropriate age to start his daily walks outside the house to best food for his breed. REALLY ANYTHING.

A BIG thank you in advance.
 
#2
Well, my first advice is to get him trained to go outside to the bathroom. This requires a lot of work on your part at this age. He needs to get right on a schedule - he wakes up & goes out, he eats and goes out 15 minutes later, he drinks water he goes out 15 minutes later, he wakes up from a nap he goes out, etc. This will make your life easier as well as his. I don't advise paper training him first b/c then you have to break him of that habit to teach him to go to the bathroom outside.

You can even hang jingle bells by whichever door you take him and touch his nose to them to ring before he goes out. After some time he will do it himself to signal you to let him out (I trained my dog to do this and it's fabulous!).

Talk to your vet about taking him for walks...he doesn't have all his shots yet so he may advise you to hold off on that until he does. Also, ask your vet about feeding him...I think it's 3 x's a day at this age - morning, noon and nite. Stay on schedule just like you would w/ a baby.

There is an awesome book that I read called "Let the dog decide" that has some great advice about raising a happy dog. Treats and lots of praise are so important - no yelling or punishments, dogs don't really get it unless they are actually caught in the act of misbehaving.

Lastly, buy lots of Nature's Miracle to clean up accidents. It's got enzymes that neutralize the pee or poo so that dog can't smell it and continue going in the same spot. also, get a crate and crate train the puppy.
 
#3
Thought of something else - if he doesn't finish his food in a reasonable time (15 minutes) pick it up and feed him at his next scheduled time. Don't leave the food out, it will make it really hard for you to control when he needs to go to the bathroom. Healthy dogs eat when they're hungry and won't starve. If you catch him when he is about to have an accident, don't yell. Quickly grab him and bring him outside to go. Ok, my brain hurts now.

He's a total cutie-pie and you will do great! Get some books about the breed as well.
 
#4
Really great tips. Thank you.

It is winter here, and there is a lot of snow on the ground, so I wasn't sure if I could take him in the cold.

His previous owner trained him on a pad. I was thinking of continuing with the pads until spring. But you have a good point, it might be a lot harder to teach him to go outside later.
 
#5
I know the snow could be a problem but if you can take him to one spot in your yard to pee it will make housebreaking so much easier.

mememeow said:
Really great tips. Thank you.

It is winter here, and there is a lot of snow on the ground, so I wasn't sure if I could take him in the cold.

His previous owner trained him on a pad. I was thinking of continuing with the pads until spring. But you have a good point, it might be a lot harder to teach him to go outside later.
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#6
Ahhh small doggies and the snow outside! Mine both go outside to potty year round, even in the Indiana winter. We had to shovel them a path out the doggie door, off of the deck and into the yard a bit but they managed. They have had some accidents in the house but I can't really blame them when it's below zero and windy.
 
#7
Congrats on your new baby! Great advice already given. :tup:

Cesar Millan has a great DVD about bringing home your first puppy, too. Might want to give that a watch.

Spike is a cutie-patootie!
 
#8
Spike is adorable! I would opt for one housetraining--help him to learn to go outside from the start. when we lived up north, we did what Adriane said--shoveled a path to an area where the dog could walk around a bit to find tht exactly perfect spot to pee or poop. And our dogs have always been short hair and they managed in the cold weather.

Know what your local leash laws are, but personally I think it's safest to always have dog on leash unless we are in the fenced yard.

Dogs like consistency. However you decide to train him (and there are puppy obedience classes in lots of areas), be consistent or he'll get confused.

Good luck and congrats!
 
#9
Just like shushopn said, the most important thing I learned is to have a schedule and stick to it. Take him out for pee and poo at the same times everyday or you'll be sorry! LOL!!! At least I was!!! LOL!!! Nature's Miracle is awesome and I used a SpotBot from Bissell to really clean the carpet when there were accidents!

If you can, read a lot of dog books and use the best of their advice for Spike!

I feed my chi an organic pet food, but of course it's up to you what to feed him. My advice is to keep him on dry food and wipe/brush his mouth everyday so he is used to being handled there and won't fight you when he gets older. It is easier for the dog to get tooth disease on the wet food so try to avoid it when you can. Tooth and gum disease can be very devastating for dogs so daily wiping/brushing is a great preventive measure.

When he is ready to be taken out, bring him to dog parks so he is well-socialized with other dogs whether big or small. Carry a bag of treats that he likes with you all the time and let other people feed him and pet him. That way he will get used to people too. When I take my dog out, I let everyone hold and pet him so now he loves people!

These are all things that helped me but of course your mileage may vary. =)

Good luck! It's such a FUN and EXCITING time when you have a puppy!
 
#10
Also, just like shushopn said (what a smartie!) if you can read up on it, crate-training really helps the dog and gives them a place to hang out on their own. It's not a place for punishment like some people might think.

There might be times when you might get really frustrated with your puppy and feel like you are going backwards in terms of progress, but lots of positive reinforcement, love and patient ultimately overcomes all bad habits! :heart:
 
#11
I can't thank you all enough. So many great tips. I hope i will do a good job...so far no accident.
The lady at my pet store suggested that I take him out every single hour.
Thank you again to you all.
 
#13
mememeow said:
Really great tips. Thank you.

It is winter here, and there is a lot of snow on the ground, so I wasn't sure if I could take him in the cold.

His previous owner trained him on a pad. I was thinking of continuing with the pads until spring. But you have a good point, it might be a lot harder to teach him to go outside later.
Click to expand...


My older pom is pad trained and outside trained and it's utterly fabulous. When I'm gone for long stints she uses the diaper pad, when I'm home she tells me (it's a spin and a look) that she needs to potty outside.

Reward potty on paper and yard but consistantly use the yard as your focal point. I'm in the same boat as you, I ave a 9 week old Pom. He's super on paper and now he's being introduced to the great outdoors. TG he's starting to respond (I still have a long way to go). Also another arguement for paper as your dog ages and their bladder weakens, they know to use the paper.


Oh get Cesar Milan's book if you really want to be good 'parents' to your dog!:okay:

And good luck with your pup. You guys will be great parents.
 
#15
No wiping necessary unless your dog has longer fur in the back and some poop gets caught on it (better known as a dingleberry). If a dog has shorter hair this isn't even a concern.

mememeow said:
WARNING: a very very stupid question

Do you wipe your dog's butt after a no. 2?

I have carpet in the basement, and thought it might be wise.
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