So, puppy people...Come on in!

aMrsin09

So, it looks like we are getting a puppy.
Now, after having two cats, I'm used to the whole pets are a responsibility thing, but...

How in the heck do you potty train a puppy?

As of now, it looks like I'll pick him up Sat, puppy will be alone from 6:30 AM Sun to about noon and then someone will be home until Wed.  Wed is the day I'm worried about.  H is gone from 6:30 AM - 6:30 PM and I will be gone from 9:30 AM to 9 PM.

We aren't suitable puppy parents are we?

Snippylynn

Um.  A puppy needs a lot of attention in the beginning, and bringing him/it home and then leaving it for a whole day is going to freak it out.  Can you get him on a weekend when you'll both be home?

Snippylynn

NM I'm an idiot.  Ummmm.... hm.

aMrsin09

I love your new sig picture...

Anyway, It's more the leaving it alone while potty training that I'm concerned about.

I'm still not 100% sold that this is a good financial decision.  H is convinced that dogs are like kids.  If you wait until you can afford them, you'll never have one.

Pet insurance down here is around $400 a year.  Plus the gate for the ddrive, and the screen door for the back veranda, and all the puppy paraffanalia (sp?)...the start up costs will be ridiculous.

aMrsin09

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_puppy-peoplecome?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:50595278-bd8a-4576-84ef-cef1e4ba5a62Post:665ed3f8-38b4-44cf-ae2b-bd0fadcfca8c">Re: So, puppy people...Come on in!</a>:
[QUOTE]Here, take a look at this.  It's got a lot of extra info, but not having had a dog before, I'd suggest you read it. :)  <strong>Also, be posting pictures of this little cuteness so I can be jealous! </strong><a href="http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/how-to-train-a-puppy.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/how-to-train-a-puppy.html</a>
Posted by Snippylynn[/QUOTE]

I need to call tomorrow to make sure he's still available.  He was the last of his litter.

Snippylynn

Yeah, I think he's right, tbh.  I don't think dogs are that expensive.  They are in the beginning, yes.  But over a lifetime?  Nope.  And they give so much back. 

Leaving them alone during potty training has its ups and downs, definitely.  Just read that article I posted.  I could go into it, but I have to leave in a few minutes for my dog walking.   Just remember that accidents are going to happen, and keep him contained while you are gone so he doesn't leave presents everywhere. lol

aMrsin09

I scanned through the article.  I am so unprepared for puppyhood.

This is why I don't have kids!

akhensley81

What breed are you getting??

We don't have a dog, so I don't really have any potty training advice.

aMrsin09

It's a mutt.
His mom is a Staffy and they think his dad is a Doberman/Mastiff cross.
Puppy looks like a short Rottie. 

chrissyjake

Puppies are lots of work.  When we first got our rescue pup, we took a few days off.  She was always kenneled when we were not home (she still is).  She couldn't be left for more than a couple hours without needing to be let outside.  They really need to go out A LOT. 
As far as house breaking, we just keep letting her outside a lot so she would get used to it.  She did have a lot of accidents in the house and everytime she did she was taken outside right away.

Good luck!  I love my pup, worth the pain of house breaking!

akhensley81

Awww!! I can't wait until we move and then hopefully maybe we'll be able to get a puppy. H has finally agreed to get a bichon, since that's one of the few breeds I'm not allergic to.

Rosie109

Uh.. pictures please!!!!

aMrsin09

It's odd that I'm not allergic down here.  Usually 10 minutes with a dog and I'm all stuffy, sneezing and eyes itching.

Chrissy, no time off for us (no work, no pay) :-(.  The Sun afternoon to Wed AM is the best we can do.

I had read on the Humane Society page that puppies younger than 4 months shouldn't be crated.

chrissyjake

We weren't allowed to take our puppy until she was 4 months because the had to get her all up on shots, fix her, and chip her.  All required by the rescue before she could be taken.

There is nothing wrong with crating though, they treat them like their own little rooms.

aMrsin09

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_puppy-peoplecome?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:50595278-bd8a-4576-84ef-cef1e4ba5a62Post:c78cbfd3-e76f-420e-9219-db9fb8ca0d84">Re: So, puppy people...Come on in!</a>:
[QUOTE]Uh.. pictures please!!!!
Posted by Rosie109[/QUOTE]
<em>If</em> he is still available and <em>if</em> H finishes convincing me that this is not a ridiculous decision...

OF COURSE I'll post pictures.

chrissyjake

Do you have someone that can stop by and let the pup out? 

aMrsin09

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_puppy-peoplecome?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:50595278-bd8a-4576-84ef-cef1e4ba5a62Post:88ef61a2-f83b-4c56-99a0-4c7f62301e0d">Re: So, puppy people...Come on in!</a>:
[QUOTE]Do you have someone that can stop by and let the pup out? 
Posted by chrissyjake[/QUOTE]
No.  We've only been here five months and the only neighbor we know also works.
Plus we live waaay up at the top of the mountain.

I guss it will only be hard until January when SS comes to stay with us for a few weeks.

How long does house breaking usually take?

Rosie109

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_puppy-peoplecome?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:50595278-bd8a-4576-84ef-cef1e4ba5a62Post:2249ced4-13fa-4d8d-b6ca-59b13af2282b">Re: So, puppy people...Come on in!</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: So, puppy people...Come on in! : If he is still available and if H finishes convincing me that this is not a ridiculous decision... OF COURSE I'll post pictures.
Posted by aMrsin09[/QUOTE]

<div>
</div><div>Yay! I realized that I offered no advice and only made demands, but then again its E so thats allowed. </div><div>
</div><div>ps, its not a ridiculous decision. :)</div>

[Deleted User]

I'm jealous.

aMrsin09

See, having a dog down here is not as easy as it is back home.

Here we have to worry about Cane Toads, leeches, Red Ants, Green Ants, Paralysis Ticks and, until he gets bigger, pythons.  And we have to make sure he doesn't bring any of these "joys" back in with him.  Oh we also have the Dengue Fever Mosquitos too. And Bird Nest Mites. ::sigh::

Maybe we'll go back to the cats...

[Deleted User]

We have freaking fire ants here, which I have heard get onto pets and into their food bowls when left outside. I hate them. The first time someone talked about them, I was like wtf are you talking about? It sounded like something you would find in the desert. And they never die bc it doesn't get cold enough here to kill them.

glam70s

If you can't be consistent with it, house breaking is going to take a LONG time.. It sounds like he's going to be alone for a long time on Wednesday. Is there no way you can get home once or twice through the day to let him out? If not, I would take a look at Craigslist or whatever you have locally. There are often dog walkers on the boards here offering to let the puppy out and play for a few minutes for a small fee. It sounds like that's your best option. Or put up an ad of your own looking for someone (although you'll have to interview people to make sure you trust them with a key to your home).

A puppy really will need to go about every 3 hours, so if you're not able to let him out that often he'll have to go in his crate, and once he starts going in his crate that's a really hard habit to break, so house breaking becomes really difficult.

TBH, I wouldn't get a puppy right now. Particularly a puppy that's going to get as large and powerful as that one. Without tons of effort and time put into training, it could easily become a very large dog with no manners (jumping on people, chewing things, barking, etc.).. I don't think this is a matter of money so much - dogs don't cost a lot to maintain once you get done with training and such, but this is a big dog and if you don't have much spare time, it could really go wrong.. At the very least make sure that you enrol in puppy training classes! They can be expensive but are SO worth it, especially if you've never had a dog before.

chrissyjake

We got our puppy back in March.  I work 12 hour shifts and FI works 24's.  We have gotten to the point where she is perfectly fine if she is in there for 8 hours max now.  It took all the time to even get her to that point and I still feel bad if we have a day when that happens.  

Jelenny

Puppies are a lot of work....housebreaking can be tricky since a schedule is best.  And honestly you need to start by taking them out on the hour and slowly increasing the time so they get the hint - outside is good.  I have also done the bell method - hanging bells on the door.

How old is this pup?  My foster pup Ziva we ended up being lucky enough she got the whole pee pad idea so we were able to baby gate her into the dining room since we knew she would hit the pad.  We tried kenneling her but she would end up covered in poo so a bath first thing when I came home three nights in a row not a good thing....

Not sure how sold you are on a puppy, but you can get a dog closer to a year old that has better bladder control.  They are less work still have the puppy antics and what not. 

Jelenny

Glam I agree wtih you....I do what I do (rescue) because (and I am NOT saying you are this way aMrsin) people hop on the puppy bandwagon because lets face it puppies ARE cute.  But they are like an infant and you can't leave them alone long, they need lots of attention and work and what not.

Some people like the idea and don't put in the work so when the dog isn't trained they dump them at the shelter...then those lucky enough get adopted or move to rescues.  My dog in the siggy was dumped twice at the shelter.

I had to call to see WHY she was there because she was so good...the people that had her said she wasn't crate trained, barked, dug, was not house broken, etc, etc....yeah they were liars our dog is amazing - their loss my gain.

waltzingmatilda13

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_puppy-peoplecome?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:50595278-bd8a-4576-84ef-cef1e4ba5a62Post:4a4a881c-9f1b-427c-82e5-5c2613904de8">Re: So, puppy people...Come on in!</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: So, puppy people...Come on in! : How long does house breaking usually take?
Posted by aMrsin09[/QUOTE]

It can take a while. I don't think we had our dog completely house broken until he was 9 months old. The hardest part was figuring out his signal that he needed to go. Most dogs would paw at the door or bark, our dog sat down by the door and stared at us.

When we first got him we started taking him out every 45 mins when we were home on the weekend. Then DH would drive home during the workday and take him out. Our trainer and vet said that a good rule of thumb is that a dog can hold his bladder for an hour for each month of age. So a 4 month old dog can hold his bladder for 4 hours. Any longer than that and it's a toss up. I think if you can't be around to take him out like he needs to, then I don't think it's time to get a dog. The last thing you want is for the poor dog to pee himself. I hope it all works out whatever your decision is.

kikibaby

Have you considered adopting an older (as in 6 mo's- year) dog that is already potty trained?  Yeah, puppies are cute, but they grow fast and they're a ton of work. 

Dogs are expensive, though.  Not as expensive as children, but... are you going to be ok, financially, if the dog gets sick?  I have no idea how much vets are in Oz, but every time I have to take J to the vet it runs at least $100.  And when my other dog was sick, we spent about $3000 in a month (!). 

Just some things to think about!

Jennifer&Nate

I agree with kiki - look for a slightly older puppy. A very young puppy has to go to the bathroom every 2-3 hours and needs lots of attention. If you leave it alone for 8 hours + you run the risk of it developing behavior issues such as chewing to entertain itself, not to mention the puppy getting used to pottying in the house! Talk to the rescue group you were planning on adopting from. They know their animals and would love to help you find the right pet for you (and the right home for the pet!).

mica178

I'm agree with looking for an older puppy or young dog.  Many breeds are still very energetic for up to 3-4 years.  I got mine at 2 years, and pound puppy that she was, she still grew a little after I brought her home and provided a safe place for her (she came to me with eating issues and all sorts of weird phobias).  And she's just now growing out of her hyper terrier ways now at 5.5 years.  But the glory of buying a 2 year old dog was that she came totally potty-trained and post-teething.

Jelenny

mica she is soooooo cute!

Birdie1483

I'm bad. I didn't read the other posts, but this is what we did for Oz:

- We kept him on a schedule of going out every 30-minutes to an hour.
- We hung a bell on the doorknob to the backyard and rang it every time we went out. He eventually learned to hit it with his paw to let us know he needed to go out
- FI and I would alternate coming home every day for lunch to let him out
- When he would potty outside we would pratically jump up and down giving him praise and would sometimes give him a treat
- When he pottied inside we would be stern with him and say things like "No!" in a stern voice and basically gave him the ol parent guilt trip
- We also bought spray that had enzymes or whatever in it that would eliminate the smells and stuff that dogs look for when they're looking for a place to go potty

It took about 6-7 months because he had a reoccuring UTI that was giving him problems. One day it just clicked with him. We don't have the bell anymore, but he knows how to reach up and jiggle the door knob to let us know he needs to go out.

ETA: They say puppies can hold it for however many hours they are old plus 1. So if they're 4 months old, they can hold it for 5 hours.

ETA 2: We crated Oz during the day until we thought he could hold it for however long he was alone and we trusted him to do so. They say that puppies don't want to potty in the same place they live, so keeping them in a crate will teach them that if they potty, it will be uncomfy and they won't want to do it again. This is where my mom went wrong with potty training her dog...