First few days with puppy...

[Stephanie]

So we finally got our puppy...we picked him up this past Friday. Here is the last three days....

When we got to the farm she let all the puppies out of the stall and it was like 101 Dalmations...minus the spots and whole lot furrier (is that a word??) and cuter. They all came running out, and one of them went straight to the yard and poo'd! We said..."We want 'that' one!" jokingly...but it ended up that was one of the two she had picked out for us based on our application and the temperment testing (and her time with the pups) so we played and took some time with the two puppies that were picked out for us, and one of the two kept coming over to us, and pawing at us, so we decided since he choosing us, we choose him! So off we went, on our way back home...about a 3 hour drive.

He had gone pee and poo within a 1/2 hour of us leaving the farm. About 1 1/2 hours later we were at Ritzville, and stopped for lunch and a potty break. He hadn't had an accident in the car and when we took him out to the grassy area he immediately went pee! YAY!!!! What a good boy! We were thrilled. We ate lunch and were back on our way home. About 1 hour later he was getting restless so we pulled off to the side of the road, put his leash on, put him outside and within a minute...he peed! YAY!!

We got back to my parent's house, my dog Trekker, who lives with my parents is *so* not even a little bit happy to see a new dog running around. He's obviously jealous and wanted nothing to do with the new puppy.

NOw we really need a name....We talked and talked and finally decided on a name...a name completely different than the ones I had earlier listed here. His name: Brody.

First day (at my parent's): no potty accidents at all! Went outside every time, no problem!

First night (at my parent's): slept on the floor on my side of the bed (in mom and dad's motor home) and whined to let me know he needed to go outside...perfect puppy dog! I've never been so excited to be woken up in the middle of the night!!!

We drove home with no potty accidents. But then...we got home...and all hell broke loose!! LOL Not really, but I sure have to wonder what the difference is. I think we've given him too much freedom since we've been home, so we've taken quite a bit away.

We've had 4 accidents from Saturday night to Monday night. He is still waking me up at night, but doesn't do so well during the day. We're having the same problem some of the other pups are having. He will tell me at night, but during the day when he has free roam of the house...he will be playing with a toy one second, I look away to grab something, and when I look back he's in the dining room peeing! AHHH! What happened!?!? He does so good at night... We don't have potty bells yet, but I will be getting some soon. Hopefully that will help. I'm not sure if he doesn't understand, doesn't know how to tell us, can't hold it so he just goes...but he holds it at night, *and* tells us...I don't know!

So...we're working on potty training.

But he is getting closer to 100% answer to "Brody come" and did 3 sits on his own today, without us having to help him. Not too shabby for just over 8 weeks...

He can be a defiant little turd! He is all happy and ready to go out...then you put the leash and "Nope...I'm not moving!" So...we're working on that, but he is getting much better with that too.

I'm not really worried about any of it yet, seeing as how we've only had him for 3 days.

Just thought I would let you all know how the long awaited puppy meeting went, along with his first few days with us.

This one is a little dark but its pretty cute...

[Carole (*Koda*Monty*Bindi)]

Brody is precious! It certainly does sound like you both chose each other! Congratulations! There are others on here that have far more (recent)experience with puppy training than I do but I know one school of thought is to have a leash on him at all times while you're home with him in the house and basically tether him to you. This way you're more apt to catch him as he's about to squat and quickly bring him outside. Just a thought :)

[diane silver]

I got a kick out of the picture of him with his body splayed out - Emma does that all the time! He is adorable and I wish you much luck with him. A couple of suggestions: you really should try to use the crate. Put him in it and leave the room for a few minutes so he knows that you aren't there to take him out. Also, we found that crating Emma at night (next to our bed) is very helpful. She knows that that's her sleeping place and is quiet generally until she hears us get up in the morning. I think you're giving him too much freedom. The idea of tethering him is a good one so you can keep an eye on him at all times. Or you could gate him into one room so that he doesn't wander around your house. I also found that for the first week or so it was very helpful to keep a written journal of when she ate/peed/pooped, so that I had some idea of her schedule. The first few weeks are very challenging and you have to be very vigilant and patient!! It does get better, though we're not there yet as far as housebreaking is concerned. Emma lets us know she has to go potty when she's in our (confined) kitchen/family room, but hasn't yet gotten to the point where she tells us in the rest of the house. So . . . we don't really let her have that freedom yet. Good luck and enjoy your pup!

[Jackie]

Beckett is 6 months old but when he was little we confined him to one room during the day. We also kept a very close eye on him. If we couldn't watch him, he was in the crate. He slept in his crate in our bedroom at night. I also started bell training on day one. I really think that helped. I got a lot of help and info on this site from many knowledgeable people! So ask away!!!...lol Brody is adorable.

[Stephanie]

I want to use the crate...I want him to know that it is his 'safe' place. But...I really don't see the point in crating him at night when he is already doing so well.?.?.?. What I had planned for is to crate him at night, eventually be able to to leave him out of the crate at any and all times, and just have it as a "safe zone" for him when needed. Well, if we're already at the point where we don't need it at night, then why start? But I do think I will have to use it during the day...if not only for potty accidents, also for me running arrends. I have not been able to leave teh house for the past 3 days...really hard when you have things to do!

[Margo]

Hi Stephanie, My puppy, Lily, is 12 weeks, and every day is a work in progress! Lily has adjusted pretty well to her crate, and after the first two nights, she seems to love it at night. She is a few rooms away and we don't hear a peek out of her until around 6 am. She may wake up for all we know, but so far, no accidents in the crate. Their bladders do shut down at night, I guess, since she goes out ever hour or two during the day Sometimes my husband gets her up... she is quiet but he'll hear her in there playing with a toy. The confinement aspect of crate training is key I think to the little puppy mind "getting it". It surprises me to say it, but now at around 12 weeks, crate training is working just as I had been told. She even "asks" to go in it during the day. AND, when I come home from errands, she is either asleep or just quiet when I get home, and then very excited to see me. The longest we left her was 3 hours, because we had to. She didn't mess her crate, but was so excited to see us, she peed a little on the floor before we could get her outside. I'm sure there will still be many accidents, but as of today she hasn't had one in 5 days. Accompanying this, of course, is new puppy behavior... the nipping is subsiding sometimes (but not in the evening, she's very high energy around sixish), and she has definitely become more vocal, and demonstrative in efforts to communicate with us (scratching at door, barking, etc.). She's also gotten progressively speedier once she's outside... we're usually out and back in in less than one minute. Like Ali mentions in another thread I saw today, Lily has had to be banned from the poochie bells. She attacked them and they became her favorite toy, because everytime we heard them, we'd jump up and take her outside and give her all kind of attention. I do see where they will work well when she's a little older.

[Stephanie]

Morgan,

I am wondering if the crate would be a good idea at night or not...because he is already doing so well to wake us up I don't want to hinder that. But on the other hand I am wondering if it could help him make it through the night.

Brody's crazy time is around six as well! He just gets crazy wild!!! Runs and romps around, chewing on everything and very exploratory...needing to know how everything tastes!!

He is becoming quite defiant though. Today we were playing and he stopped...took two or three steps away from me...looked at me...squatted and peed!!! "You little turd dog!!!" Got up, picked him up and ran outside with him.

He is also playing "tug of war" with his leash now. If he decides he doesn't want to go, or is done walking (not long distances....just out to potty!!) he will sit, dig his back paws into the ground and lean back...pulling on the leash! "Oh no little boy...you are *not* going to win!" LOL

I hope the potty bells will help...they may end up being put away as it looks like many pups just use them as an attention getter or a new toy...but maybe I'll get lucky huh?

When going outside, Brody is great in that he knows where to go and what we're going out for. We live in an apartment complex so we go out to the grassy area and within seconds of his paws hitting the grass he squats...and poos pretty quickly also if he has to go. We walk out the breezway and he knows exactly where we're going and what he's supposed to do...so thats nice. Its just the 'letting us know' part we're having troubles with. But I know he's apup and it will probably take a while. Just that my last dog was potty trained within about 2 weeks of us getting him, so I think I have high expectations.

He really is doing well and is so cute...and lovable, and really smart!

[Margo]

Hi again, Stephanie,
Before I forget, I've also heard, and you may have heard this too, that boys are sometimes not as fast at housebreaking as the girls. Lily is still working with the "letting us know" thing too. Her "accident" that happened six days ago now, was when I was sitting in our family room with out of town guests, and she trotted in the room, looked directly at me, squatted and peed! Sound familiar? I'm telling myself that it wasn't really defiance (maybe it was?). It was pretty late (after 10, late for us), and she hadn't been out in a couple of hours... I learned with this experience that I probably should have taken her out without making her "ask" with the bells at that point. Looking at it really optimisticly, I think she at least wanted to be sure I knew about it... HA... She has loved that rug since the minute she walked in the house. Who knows?
Lily's evening crazies continue to reach new heights! Today I nicknamed her Wolfkin, because she looks like a webkin, but charges around like a wolf! She is also quite defiant ... she only "sits" and "comes" and stuff if there is a treat involved AND there's nothing better going on. Outside is hopeless!
It sounds like Brody is doing great. If you're happy with him not being in the crate for the night, I wouldn't sweat it. I'm not a great sleeper, so for now anyway, it's nice to be able to turn Lily over her safe and distant little dreamland. Brody certainly is a looker. bye.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Absolutely Tether him to you even a longish rope tied around your waist will do. Take him out every hour and when he goes, say "Brody ....." you can use any word you want pee, potty, sniffers. Then praise him a lot ( no treats though- too confusing and distracting). Before long he will go on command. When he goes reliably on command you can go every two hours, then every three. But it will be quite a while before he can have the run of the house. Many well housebroken dogs have an urge to "mark" the inside of the house too around 6-10 months. The sooner you catch this the easier it is to stop it immediately. As he gets older you can go much longer between mandatory potty breaks until he is reliably taking himself outside or going to the door and whining.

[Park Mom]

Thank you for your great summary of your first few days. We're preparing for our puppy to arrive in Nov. and it's been a long time since either my husband or I owned a dog. It was really helpful and fun to read your story.

[Stephanie]

YAY for a new puppy, you must be so excited!! I'm glad my post about Brody's first few days were actually helpful to someone and not just a "brag" post by a new mama!

[Carole (*Koda*Monty*Bindi)]

Absolutely not Stephanie! LOL "Brag" all you want! It is VERY helpful to read all your experiences as you're going through them! :) Gaston Cramer will be here on the 30th and I'm just soaking it all up and taking notes! Thanks from me too! :) It's been a LOOOOOOOOOOONG time since we've had a "baby" in the house! LOL

[Sue & Willy Babe]

What a cute litte guy good Luck I still remember willson being so little in fact I was asking my hubby thismorning if we could get another puppy