We just got home with Buddy...Now what?!

[Kim D.]

Hi Everyone,

I've read as much as I can before he arrived, but now that we have Buddy home (he is 8 weeks) I feel completely unprepared.  Can anyone guide me as to what to expect and some pointers for the first few days (weeks) home? 

Thanks,
Kim

[Carol Brand]

"What's missing is the REST of training which is more time consuming and takes a lot of practice beyond just teaching a command in the home."

 

 

Sing it sister!

[KAHLUA]

Kim, congratulations!  Kahlua will be 3 years old in October and the BEST advice I ever recieved was from a dad of a 125lb Golden Retreiver.  He told me to get the gentle leader and start using it from day one.  I did and whenever I took Kahlua out of the house she had the gentle leader on.  It helped me "train" her to sit, "stop", and "lay down".  Before she was a year old, I could have a small child walk her and if the child stopped, she stopped and sat.  If I was walking with her and a car came by to fast or something startled her, all I would have to do is stop and she would sit.  Now she is 95lbs and extremely calm when being taken on a walk and very obidient.  We have a rule, if someone wants to pet her, we stop and she sits.  If it's a small child, I will make her lay down before letting the child pet her.  If she doesn't have the leader on and we are at home, the same rules apply for anyone, especially the kids.  I want to say by the time she was two, and getting over that "puppy stage" she hardly every jumps, in fact the only time I see her jump is when the boys are playing rough with her and I think she thinks it's a game. 

 

You can find the Gentle Leash in most pet supply stores and they come in extra small to extra large.  It's going to be the best $20 you ever spend.

 

Good luck!