[Urikorose]

Hi everyone!!

I just got my first puppy a week ago and i'm starting to train her.
She's a 10wk old Border Collie/Australian Shepherd Mix.

I was wondering if you guys know of any good books or have any personal experience
on what I should do to make this a happy experience ^^


Here's a photo for your cuteness meters: [Zoe]

[Urikorose]

Aww! Well we got Beneful for puppies and she's doing good with it. As far as toys go, we got her a rope that cleans the teeth, a ball that we had from my brother's dog (he comes over sometimes)and I just got a rawhide bone for her to chew her little heart out (she's chewing as I type!)I'd like to get the squirrel toy when she's a bit bigger.
I'll try your method of potty training. So far she's getting better at not going in the house, it's a good thing we have hardwood floors

[ZomgBlue]

puppies are not to have rawhide as they can easily choke on it they are going to chew no matter what so its best to get them something like a nylabone or kong puppy toy those dont break off in to sharp piece which can cut the stomach up and cause serious internal bleeding.

as for books there are a bunch of great ones out there. you may also want to try out a puppy training class at a petsmart or petco, there are also other places that specialize in just training. i personally did work at a petsmart and their training is hit or miss so do your homework and get to know the trainer before plunking down the 120 it is for a class. if you are set on training on your own get yourself to the book store and start looking at the books. find the one that suits you best. i havent owned a puppy in 6 years and im getting a 7wk old one in less than 20 days i just finished puppy proofing the underside of my bed. have so many dog books now its insane. the animal plant line of books are easy to read and most up to date with techs. barrons guides normally come with a dvd. also i found a hard to find book by that had first aid for dogs ONLY best investment ive made.


hope that helps. also theres never a stupid dog only stupid owners. so train yourself too, when you train the dog.

[Urikorose]

She really likes the bone I got her and I watch her all the time with toys except for the rope since its in her cage most of the time.
I really don't want to bring her to a training class because I feel like I can do it myself without spending money except for treats.

I need to go take a look at the book store, maybe tomorrow while I'm downtown since they closed all the mall stores D:

[ZomgBlue]

i like the idea of puppy classes but i hate multi dog training. as new dog owners dont know as much as owners that are on their 8th dog. sometimes kids are in the class and all sorts of random stuff. my main issue i worry about is my moms dog was very poorly socialized. she now has the worst case of social anxiety i have ever seen... the dog will freak out if my mom is not around, it will not let anyone walk it other than my mom (or me as i dont put up with the dogs crap), it goes insane if my moms not in her sight when shes in the car. i let a little girl i babysit walk the dog... yeah that didnt happen the dog started freaking out and crying because she couldnt see my mom. so i went and got my dog which is bigger but she isnt insane.

so i just worry that another dog is going to end up like my moms dog because of some nincompoop thinking its okay to let the dog cuddle up and not interact with other people or dogs. with me getting a puppy in 20 days i fear my moms gonna screw it up like her dog. though all the families i work with have given me premission to steal the kids here and there to get the pup used to them and theres a park near my house so i shouldnt worry so much.

also pick a vet you like, banfield (petsmart vet) doesnt always hire the best vets. i cant speak for every locations but i do know that some have people that could careless about your pet than they do their paycheck. a real vet will work with the person so they can care for their pet while being able to pay for the care.

like when my golden died the vet didnt even bother to bring up prices with us he just asked if we wanted the ashes or not as she was my dog i said yes. we got billed later on and our vet also made a donation in our dogs name at the univeristy of illinois for the vet department to further research in dog cancers (my dog died to cancer) so thats how we know we have a vet that works for us. he also took back the meds and applied a credit to our account. great vet. i love my vet and hes my dogs second best friend after me.

[Urikorose]

I'm sorry about your late dog =/

We have a vet near us thats really good and we've been taking our two cats there for forever so we'll try it
out with Zoe instead of going all the way out to Orland ( 30min drive )

She's very playful with everyone and isn't scared to go up to someone so i'm sure she's good on that part, i'll just keep
socializing her with people.

[Saturn's Pheonix]

Somehow I posted twice??? So I deleted this one... O.o oops my bad...

This post has been edited by Saturn's Pheonix: 06 July 2010 - 10:35 PM

[Saturn's Pheonix]

aw... lol I have plenty of experience with dogs, my family has never been without 3. Or current eldest is a sheltie collie/golden retriever mix and she is a sweetheart, the others are a yellow lab (middle child) and a whippet/ beagle mix(youngest and hurricane rescue puppy.

Anyways we find crate training/ or in our case cage training is a must. They are free throughout the day to roam anywhere inside the house but as they are trained to go to the door to be let out, the only other acceptable place for accidents from them is the cage.

It is ok for your pet to sleep on your bed as long as they don't take over the bed and make it difficult for you to sleep. That is how the youngest became more comfortable around everyone at the house, she was allowed on the bed and she slowly began to open up and be more social, as a hurricane puppy she came to us a scared and nervous wreak, now she is just like a social butterfly.

Also no table scraps, I learned this the hard way, the middle puppy is a beggar while the eldest sits there without looking at you while you eat. Its ok to give them peanut butter cookies or dog treats but only as a reward for best behavior throughout the day or for performing specific tasks properly through training. Do not overdo the treats as they can and will cause a dog to get sick its like anyone eating way to much halloween candy, the upset stomach can be a problem.

Consider changing the puppy food on a regular basis to keep them interested or else they will get bored with it and stop eating. We change food on them once every 4-6 months depending on when we start seeing them lessen the food intake. The eldest is so bored with food we usually have to start giving her tomato sauce on top of it after about 2 months in order for her to continue eating.

Stay away from any chew toys that resemble stuffed animals if you have stuffed animals that they can see else they will think those are chewable as well. We like to give them those tube dogs, the ones that are like the wiener dogs (I forget what they are called), they last for a while and the dogs share them which is cute.

Oh and make sure that all food is up and trash taken care of constantly. We have lost a few steaks to the yellow lab who can reach the top of the counter. Also if anyone in the house has a monthly issue start disposing of the material in one specific location that the dog can not get to or else you are cleaning up the materials all over the house. Trust me on that its a pain but Ive compensated by getting a metal trash bin with a push button setup to open it. That was the only way to stop them.

As for books there are a few titles that some relatives swore by when they got new pets they include:

1.Puppy Whisperer: A Compassionate, Non Violent Guide to Early Training and Care

2.My Smart Puppy with 60-Minute DVD: Fun, Effective, and Easy Puppy Training

If you look in the animal section you should also see more for puppies and even books related to both breeds your dog is. I find if I was unfamiliar with a breed if I read about all parts of it I could see why my dogs were the way they were. Its up to you what you are more comfortable with.

If you have any more questions or need anything feel free to message me at any time. Ive owned and worked with every type of dog imaginable: Hyper, calm, grumpy, sickly, energtic, arthritic, mentally handicapped, physically handicapped, blind, deaf, trained for hunting, trained for special needs,social, antisocial, and any combination of any above.

This post has been edited by Saturn's Pheonix: 06 July 2010 - 10:33 PM

[ZomgBlue]

thank you ukirose, my veronica was the best friend i had for my teenage years. she was a dog that i will always hold in high regard. on what would have been her 12th bday i got her paw print tattoo'd on my arm. as when the vet put her asleep they also made a paw print impression and i just knew then that i had to honor my pet in my way.

i also lost a puppy may 30th - june 1st to parvo she was to be adopted to be my new best friend. so i kinda now have a little area downstairs for pet tags, toys, and ashes. its a happy area as my family celebrates the life not to mourn the death.

im going to have to make sure when i die that my life is what is celebrated and not my death that is mourned... meh. also uki one thing about potty training. i was reading my books and one says to take a wash cloth you could care less of rub it on the puppies crotch after the tinky and keep it in a baggy for the next time you are ready to take them out put that same cloth down so the puppy has their scent and say 'go potty' in a cheerful yet still strong voice and the pup will be more likely to go right away, then reward and praise. if it fails no reward but the idea is for when the pup potties it learns the word go potty so that it can later learn that when you just say go potty the pup will go potty... it trains them to hold it a little longer and less picky about where they go.

mind you im getting a toy breed so im going to be outside up to 17 times a day. till shes about 5 months old. then its down to 8 times a day and after a year it should be 3-5 times a day. (smaller dog smaller bladder.) i want a newfie...