First couple of weeks with a puppy and surprises, what are yours?

[Margo]

Hi, Lily, our new puppy is 9 weeks today, and quite the young sophisticate. It seems like each day brings a new surprise. Here are ours over the past couple of days.
- How many baby wipes we use. I didn't even know I needed them, but it became apparent quickly that they are a necessity for wiping paws and faces (and, of course, rear ends). With all the rain we've had here in SC this week, my yard is teeming with critters and loamy nature, all quite disgusting.She doesn't love being wiped off, but she sure loves all this mess she finds in the yard.

- the first few days she had no interest really in food, or all these expensive fancy treats I've stockpiled, based on the fact that all dogs are supposedly so food motivated. I wondered, how will I train her if we don't have treats? Well, it doesn't matter now, because she has seriously become quite interested in food and treats after a few days of settling in.

- I thought the whole "hand feeding" idea that I got from Ian Dunbar's book sounded kind of unlikely, but it turns out that it is working great for us. Now that she's food motivated and all, it's a great way to keep her attention to use her kibble as training food... since everything we do, it seems at this early stage is training.

- How much time she can spend with a bully stick! (I didn't know about these, but a dog owner friend suggested them) She is a world class chewer. It keeps her in one place when we are hanging out and she's still hyper, which is definitely a good thing.

[Adina P]

I think I've forgotten almost everything about puppy ownership. I do remember they are FAST...I was surprised at how quick they can be. And how much they sleep...
I took off almost a whole week off work when Rosco came home...and I feel like I was busy the whole time. Not because i had to be but because I couldn't NOT play with him or stare at him...I think I lost 5 lbs just being a doting doggy mom!

Yes those wipes come in handy! And paper towels...we went through many rolls. I also followed Ian Dunbar and was SURE we'd need hardly any Nature's Miracle because...I was gonna be the perfect potty trainer! Well...we used probably 2 gallons overall.

If I think of more I'll share!

[Margo]

Wow, the puppy diet, that sounds cool. I hope I lose five pounds. I bought a small spray bottle of nature's miracle and today I'm going to buy a big gallon refill bottle.

[sbis0oszc95r]

We were surprised how much our puppy slept the first two weeks. We thought something was wrong with him, but the breeder and the vet told us to enjoy it while it lasted.....:)

It's fun to seem him get all worked up and excited and then he CRASHES.....

[Sandy]

Ha - I've lost five pounds too! It's an excellent weight loss plan. :)

[Margo]

Hi Sandy,The puppy diet didn't end up working for me! Probably because Lily and I spend too much time near the kitchen:)

[Carol and Banjo]

Yea! Our Banjo has been with us for almost 2 weeks and I'm thrilled to say he's a wonderful trainer! I stepped on the scale this morning and was thrilled to see I'd lost 5 pounds!!!! He's certainly kept me hopping and also so preoccupied that I am not wandering into the kitchen as often- and when I do it's more often that not to prepare something for him! Let's keep it up Banjo!!!!! OH! And I think he gained my lost pounds! : )

[Stephanie]

Sounds like my house! I thought...oh this potty training business is going to be so easy, we had our last dog trained in a matter of a couple weeks. HAH! NOT BRODY!!!! LOL We're now going on 4 weeks home (almost 3 mos old) and we're still using Nature's Miracle...and we're still going through towels (both cloth and paper) like we have stock in them!!!

Sometimes I think it'll never end!!!

[Mary, Scrappy, Sully and Olive]

We were suprised at how often Grover pees, compared to our 1 year old when she was a puppy. It's been much harder to train him(is it a boy dog thing?). Seems like no matter how I ration the water supply, he has to go every 1/2 hour to hour and when he does go, he'll sometimes go twice within 5 minutes. Like he's too busy to stop and go completely the first time :)
He's getting better at 14 weeks. I shouldn't even complain because he sleeps from 10:30 until 9am some mornings, but he does tend to drink gallons at a time and very loudly I might mention!

[Adina P]

Sounds just like my Rosco! Big drinker, frequent pee-er.

[Margo]

That's amazing that Grover sleeps that much! Do you take up his water a few hours before he goes to bed? My breeder suggested taking Lily's water up 2-3 hours before bedtime. She's staying in her crate (I'm assuming that she is sleeping!) from around 10 - 6 ... she's always awake already when I get her up, but not making any noise, except for a little whimper when she hears us nearby. (I feel incredibily guilty about that little whimper; I'll get over it eventually I hope)

Like Grover and Rosco, Lily is a frequent drinker and pee-er too. She does this little squat and squirt, where I'm barely sure what I just witnessed until I see the small spot on the floor! She'll do the "squat and squirt" thing sometimes right after we've been outside - in the rain, with her eating bugs (yuk) She'll catch on to the going outside thing someday, right?

[Adina P]

yes she will catch on =) her bladder control is weak still at this age...she'll get better and better though!

[Mary, Scrappy, Sully and Olive]

yes, I do try to take up Grover's water at around 7:00pm, but he does sneak a drink in quite often from our pond/waterfall, or his pool if I forget to dump the water.
He's exceptionally good, so I can't complain. He rarely whimpers in the AM and alot of times the only way I know he's awake is when my other doodle barks at me and goes to sit next to his crate!
During the day is my problem. I could be right next to him in the kitchen and next thing ya know there's a huge puddle on the floor. No noise, no whimper, nothing. He did that twice today while I was cooking.