Hi! Newbie with some questions

Hi there, I just bought a new puppy 2 days ago, she is a pure bred yellow lab although right now she looks white (Her name is Riley and she is in my signature). She is 7 weeks old today. I haven't owned a dog in about 5 years and even then I had rescued that dog as an adult and not raised it from a puppy. I have a few puppy questions if you don't mind?

How old does she have to be before I give her a rawhide treat? Or others?

Should I put her food and water up at night time?

How long does the training process usually take? Of course I have already started and got her some puppy pads for the night. I notice when she has to go because she starts to head towards the door but sometimes doesn't make it in time. When she does piddle or a number 2 in the house it is usually near a door, so isn't really all over.

I have 2 cats, they are both 7 years of age, The one cat I don't really think has even seen the puppy yet, she sort of keeps to herself but the other cat (she is small, only about 3 lbs) has and it seems she sort of eggs Riley on, like she will let the puppy come right up to her, sniff her then she hisses and bats her paws, of course this spurs Riley on so she tries to play with the cat, Pepper isn't liking that much it seems. Will the cat adjust to her eventually or is she too old of a cat for such a change? Considering the cat walks around here like she owns everyroom. LOL

Training can take the rest of her life. ;) You will never stop training really.. the second you do, you risk possibility of your dog also misbehaving. You just need to be CONSISTANT in your training, get your pup on a schedule and stick to it. ;)

About the food and water, I would take water away about 1 1/2 hours before bed time. And for food, I only feed my pups twice a day - once in the morning, once at night. This helps get them into a schedule. What they don't eat (right, when don't they finish their food lol) I will put away until the next meal.

They make puppy rawhide, which is basically little bits of rawhide that have been pre-crushed and put back together. My Jamie tears through this stuff in five minutes flat, but if you chew off a piece you won't choke on it because its small pieces.

if you mean potty training, it depends on how well you train him. for a lab it normally takes a couple months. it took molli 10 months. put his water up about an hour to an hour and a half before bed and food about 2 hours before bed.

**EDIT**
it depends on the cat. the cat may end up liking him, may ignore him, or may end up hating him. it's different for every cat. but my guess is, that your cat will probably end up ignoring the puppy. it will take awhile, and any bad experiences with the puppy and cat may make it worse.
to potty train the puppy, it is necessary to have a crate, if you don't have one. and NEVER use the crate for punishment. if you do, he will associate the crate as time out, and will never like the crate. sometimes with very young puppies, you need to wake up during the night -only if you hear they woke up- and let him out to go potty. but never take him out until he stops crying.

Your pup is such a cutie. Enjoy the puppy days and good luck! :D

First of all. welcome to Pet Talk. :D


having a crate can make life musch easier.

I agree with the others except personally I don't believe in feeding rawhide or similar chew toys until your dog/puppy knows what items he can & can not chew on. Rawhides teach a dog to chew, so if he's showing signs that he's chewing objects that he shouldn't be I wouldn't feed them just yet. You see a dog has to chew & chew a rawhide to make it tasty so he thinks that if he chews something long enough it too may become tasty & enjoyable.

Getting him enrolled into an obedience class in a few weeks or so will help tremendously especially since he is so young. Idealy any dog should be kept with his mom & littermates until he is at least 8 weeks of age.

I'd take up the water about an hour to an hour and a half or so before bedtime. Food should be fed on a schedule. About 4 times a day at his age, in a few weeks feed him 3 times a day then about a month or so later he can be fed twice a day. I'd feed about 2-3 hours before bedtime.

Crate training is awesome! I've always been against it for personal beliefs but I tried it with Kaige & oh my gosh it makes training a thousand times better & easier!

As for the cat concern, you can't really tell yet. They will either love each other, tollerate each other or hate each other. I strongly suggest to refrain the puppy from chasing the cat at this young of an age. If something happens & the cat swats too hard or the puppy chases too much it can possiby scare the cat or the dog, making them hate each other for life. To be on the safe side I'd make sure the cats have somewhere to go where they are safe & out of reach from the puppy. Perhaps gate off a room for the cats. And of course teach the puppy not to chase either.

Like stated above training never really ends. Sure you should work harder at it at first but it will be never ending.

She is cutie! Congrats! Good luck with her!

Welcome to Pet Talk and Congrats on the new addition!
Everyone has given you great advise that I agree with!
I can't say enough how wonderful crates are for house training!!

Hello! Thank you so much for the kind welcome. I will certaintly be getting a crate, I have heard very good things about them.

Riley is doing okay with the training, she hasn't so much done many number 2's in the house as she has number 1's, it seems that I put her out, she runs around outside for 10 minutes or so, whines to come in then as soon as I do she piddles. LOL She is such a cutie though. I just love her.

Oh and yes she already has a chew problem, she expecially likes my feet and legs. My poor toddler, the puppy pushes her down and starts nipping at her and she can't get up cause the puppy pushes her back on so my older daughter (4) always comes to the rescue.

The puppy gets into everything, a friend of mine came over and the puppy went into her coat and ate a loose cigarette she had in there! I was so mad and upset, but she told me it wouldn't make her sick, so far it hasn't. Should I be worried?

I did wonder why the puppy was being sold so young. I knew the ideal age was 8 weeks and she was only 6 when she was taken to the pet store. The puppy came all the way from Quebec, I am in Ontario.

Thanks so much for the kind advice and again for the kind welcome. :)

Ahh about her piddling in the house --

When you put her outside, don't just put her out and leave her out there. Put her out and watch her. THE SECOND she goes potty, WHILE she's doing it, get super excited and tell her "GOOD GIRL!!!". Then when she's finished give her lots and lots of belly rubs and praise!!

When she goes inside, if you catch her in the act, say "NO" and immediately take her outside. Don't scold though or try "rubbing her nose in it", this just gives them attention for a bad action and dogs repeat actions that get them the most attention. If she gets a BUNCH of attention for going outside, guess what she's going to keep repeating?? ;)

Also lets say you come home and find she's gone inside. Well, you can not scold her for it as #1) you don't know how long ago she did it, and most likely she's forgotten she's done it already, and #2) you didn't catch her in the act.

I know its hard but I PROMISE with persistance and consistancy (but more importantly -- patience!) she WILL learn :)

Labs are natural chewers, and this is most likely a battle you will fight for years. Buy her a lot of Nylabones (original flavor -- they can't devore (sp?) these as quickly!), this has worked wonderfully for both my Labs. Whenever they want to chew they generally grab that, although Nova slips up sometimes, but she's in my sight pretty much 100% of the time. We have a Nylabone for each floor level, but since we just got Luka they are now carrying them around the house so we are going to get 4-6 more. I also have them in my car for long car rides.

Your girl is very cute. Nova is that blonde color too but she has dark ears and hocks.

Yollie is about 8 1/2 weeks old, she hasnt had an accident in the house in 3 days. Lots of Outside, outside.. :D She jumps on the door and goes in a circle and wimpers to go out..she even had the runs one days and still didnt have an accident. I have a crate, but....She loves her daytime basket better and it has worked really well, even though she can jump out of it, she also lets me know when she wants in it.. :D

Thanks so much! I do make sure to watch her when she goes out, to make sure she goes. Sometimes I go out with her too and give her lots of attention when she does go outside. Last night I put her food bowls up before bed time and since we don't have a crate yet I made a little spot for her in the house with baby gates. She did not go at ALL all night! I was so happy, then put her out right away and she did her business. :)

that is great..and a relief to you I bet..http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b212/lvpups/cheer.gif

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Originally Posted by Riley's_mom

Thanks so much! I do make sure to watch her when she goes out, to make sure she goes. Sometimes I go out with her too and give her lots of attention when she does go outside. Last night I put her food bowls up before bed time and since we don't have a crate yet I made a little spot for her in the house with baby gates. She did not go at ALL all night! I was so happy, then put her out right away and she did her business. :)

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That's great news! How is she doing during the day?

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Originally Posted by Riley's_mom

Thanks so much! I do make sure to watch her when she goes out, to make sure she goes. Sometimes I go out with her too and give her lots of attention when she does go outside. Last night I put her food bowls up before bed time and since we don't have a crate yet I made a little spot for her in the house with baby gates. She did not go at ALL all night! I was so happy, then put her out right away and she did her business. :)

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Keep doing whatever you're doing because it seems to be working great!!

great job!! :D i am sure your happy and relieved! my sammy is not doing to well with potty training...