Puppy thread! (add yours)

[Giselle]

So now that PT has several resident puppies, I thought it'd be nice to have a thread just for these little puppers Particularly, I was hoping we could use this thread to ask for advice and suggestions (i.e. how to tire a hyperactive puppy out).

You can talk about anything and everything you want, and non-puppy-owners are free to reply and comment! I was just hoping we could use this thread as a puppy support group because we all know what trying times puppyhood can be

I'll be the first to pose a question: How are you all socializing and training your pups?

[chocolatepuppy]

I have a puppy! Layla, she is 9 1/2 mo. She is going to school at Petsmart. She's been to three classes so far. I do know how to train a dog and she is doing well with training, I'm taking her more for the socialization. However, all she does in class is drool. After wiping her mouth on my clothes for two weeks, I now take a drool rag. She is very shy and also a drama queen.

[husky 1]

I have a male 4 & a half month siberian puppy , kavik. Hes great on the lead, i have taught him to sit at the kirb b4 we cross the road , i started off by telling him to sit , then progressed to ''kavik what do you do'' & he now sits b4 we cross the road. we are also training for showing, which is coming along well .He gets lots of socialisation , plays with lots of dogs when out , meets lots of people , meets horses , children which he adores. Not worried by traffic either. Nothing seems to worry him

[pessimisaurus]

when I socialize a puppy I take it to 1 new place everyday, whether it be my work, a friends house, an outdoor mall, a store, etc, and expose it to a minimum of 100 people a week; before 12 weeks of age is the most crutial time, but its important to continue regular socialization beyond that age.

the last 2 puppies I board & trained were 16 weeks old when they came to me, and pretty undersocialized, one mostly to people and the other mostly to loud noises but some people too. the contrast between beginning socialization at 8 or 10 weeks, and 14 or 16 weeks is HUGE. the puppies I boarded at 9 & 10 weeks almost never had any fear of novelties, whether it be busy traffic, loud noises, strangers, bikes, joggers, vacuums, etc etc, and when they did spook it was only very minor and the recovered almost immediately. When you start to socialize a dog past 12 weeks it become much much more difficult to change their minds about the world.

With Royal I started taking him out the day I got him at 7.5 weeks. His mom was healthy so he had antibodies from her milk plus his 1st DHLPP so the risk of infection was very slim, but I would avoid any common areas of disease such as the dog park, major pet stores, etc. I took him to outdoor malls, indoor malls, stores that allowed dogs (barnes & noble, fireworks, victoria's secret, hollywood video, ross, etc), parks, friends houses, the beach, downtown Seattle, etc etc. I encouraged him to approach and explore everything, and everyone of course wanted to meet and pet the cute fluffy puppy. lol He never ever balked at anything, and remains fearless and confident which is exactly the result I wanted.

Because of my work I had various dogs and puppies going in and out of my home while he was growing up too for him to play with and learn proper doggy social skills from. He also joined in on puppy play in all the group classes I assisted in, as well as our weekend play groups that I run. He literally had at least 1 other puppy to play with every single day from the day he was born until last week. He had experience with dogs of all ages, sizes and breeds. I took him to the dog park for the first time on Wednesday and was very pleased with how well he did. He was freaked out for the first 30 seconds or so but then opened right up and confidently approached and played with every other dog there.

As for training, believe it or not I havent done much obedience stuff. lol Personally I dont care how well trained my dogs are, as long as they have good manners. So he knows how to wait at the door and in his crate until I say "okay", he knows sit & down on hand signal, and will sit for getting his leash clipped on, and sit or down for his meals, he is 100% comfortable in his crate now (that took some work) and is completely alone trained (FINALLY), meaning he doesnt freak out when I leave the room, or when hes in his crate or ex-pen (that took a LOT of work lol), and his potty training is coming along well (had a minor set back after his UTI..), he doesnt counter surf, doesnt jump on the furniture, doesnt chew or eat stuff hes not supposed to (knows "ah-ah" means stop), doesnt guard toys or food from humans anymore, he can be manhandled ALL over his body and be bathed without a single bit of resistance, he knows his name and has a great casual recall. All in all he has been a joy and pretty easy. He has a great temperament and personality. I adore my little munchkin man!

[Giselle]

Oooh, I envy you guys. I got Ivy JUST after the critical socialization window closed (14-ish weeks). She's been a bit difficult to socialize but very willing to please and responsive to training. I'm trying to get her out to a different place at least twice a week because of our schedule, but at least it's shyness and not severe public anxiety like Lucky.

Specifically, what are you guys all teaching your pups now? I'm trying to get Ivy in competitive sports, so I'm concentrating on getting a concrete basic 5 plus some pre-agility training. So far, we've got a very concrete Sit and Down and Contact, and we're working on a good Stay.

Also, are any of you losing teeth? I know dogs lose their teeth from front to back, but I just found Ivy's premolar while her upper canines have yet to fall out. Just wondering on how your pups are losing their teeth

[kallisto4529]

Reilly has been going to pet daycare, he loves it and so does mommy and daddy!!! It is actually helping with the house training, its still a slow go, but he is improving, only thing that we are having to be very stern on is the aggressive biting when he has or doing something he is not supposed to, other than that, he is doing great, daddy has taught him to sit!!!!

[chocolatepuppy]

Specifically, what are you guys all teaching your pups now?

Layla knows sit, down, shake, and is doing well at stay. She usually comes when called.(we have a fenced in yard) Teaching her to be 'quiet' when barking out the front window, well, we're working on that. I think she's realizing what I want her to do, stop barking when I say so. It's hard with the windows open. Layla of course is past the puppy teeth stage.

[Crikit]

Just thought I would bring this up so that all of us with those crazy puppies who are now probably reaching teenage or adult hood could update everyone and each other and perhaps give some more tips now that the dogs are reaching their crazy time.

[Giselle]

Just thought I would bring this up so that all of us with those crazy puppies who are now probably reaching teenage or adult hood could update everyone and each other and perhaps give some more tips now that the dogs are reaching their crazy time.

Oh, we're pretty much past the crazy adolescent stage. A blessing and a curse, I suppose. It hit us a lot sooner and a lot harder than I would have thought. After a lot of bad advice and ineffective methods, we finally found Control Unleashed. Her leash reactivity has improved IMMENSELY, and we're actually enjoying walks now. Now, we're working on her anxiety in the ring and, hopefully, we can cut down on zoomies. The first sequence is always the most jittery (read= always filled with zoomies). With a bunch of team building and focus exercises and a lot of Premack's Principle, we're coping

Yeah...I'm never getting a puppy ever again. LOL!