Eeek! It's been 3 years + since our girl passed. We planned on an older (nope) female (nope) Golden (questionable) dog. Oh well!
This chonk comes home next Saturday. It's been a long time since we've had a puppy. Leash, collar, bowls, crate, baby gate, bed, puppy pads, food...what else should I have ready?
Other questions: We have all hardwood except for bedrooms. This is a new development since our last dog passed. I can train to take wood stairs carefully, correct? We live on almost an acre so an electric fence is probably the best offering for our property. What is the cost for a yard that size? He is supposedly a "golden mix". Not that it matters but this part is fun. His litter mates vary from looking super goldeny to more slender versions of him. I think he looks a little hound-ish. Any guesses? I can't wait to do DNA!
I have no guesses about his mix and no advice about training, but I wanted to say... OMG SO CUTE 😍 He's adorable!
I don't like electric fences, but that's more because the people I knew that used them were lazy and expected the invisible fence to do the training for them.
Post by Leeham Rimes on Jul 31, 2021 6:17:03 GMT -5
We have a collar for frank for his id tag and an easy walk harness for walks. We have two leashes, 3 feet and 6 feet. I like the 3 feet bc I have a lot of control over him. I wouldn’t get a retractable leash, every trainer I’ve worked with and my neighbor’s dog’s trainer advises against it.
You’ll need poo bags and a poo bag holder, stain cleaner specific for dogs, a seat cover made for dogs for the car, and/or a dog seat belt so they don’t walk/slide all over, training treats, toys.
ETA: oh, I’d do two beds, one in the crate and one out.—but maybe not while training. Oops. Forgot about that.
Last Edit: Jul 31, 2021 6:19:17 GMT -5 by Leeham Rimes
I need ham like water Like breath, like rain I need ham like mercy From Heaven's gate Sometimes ham salad or casserole or ham that’s free range, all natural I need ham
I need ham like water Like breath, like rain I need ham like mercy From Heaven's gate Sometimes ham salad or casserole or ham that’s free range, all natural I need ham
We have a collar for frank for his id tag and an easy walk harness for walks. We have two leashes, 3 feet and 6 feet. I like the 3 feet bc I have a lot of control over him. I wouldn’t get a retractable leash, every trainer I’ve worked with and my neighbor’s dog’s trainer advises against it.
You’ll need poo bags and a poo bag holder, stain cleaner specific for dogs, a seat cover made for dogs for the car, and/or a dog seat belt so they don’t walk/slide all over, training treats, toys.
ETA: oh, I’d do two beds, one in the crate and one out.
I was planning on getting a short leash so he can be connected to me in the house 24/7 (except when I sleep obv). I HAAATTTEE retractable leashes! Two beds is a good idea. Was thinking of using old blankets and towels to make a nest in the crate until we get pottying under control, just for ease of washing. Hadn't thought about the car! Our old dog hated the car so she never went in it but I am determined to get this guy to love road tripping.
Oh wow that's an interesting guess! The coloring is spot on and so are the ears! Our neighbor has a vizla and boy can he run! I was hoping to make him into a jogging buddy when he's old enough so that would be fun
Post by Leeham Rimes on Jul 31, 2021 6:39:06 GMT -5
Oh puppy shampoo? They can get messy and you’ll want to desensitize him to baths. And nail clippers? Even if you have a groomer, I would get clippers and introduce them to him. Frank is scared of everything and we got him at 6 months.
I need ham like water Like breath, like rain I need ham like mercy From Heaven's gate Sometimes ham salad or casserole or ham that’s free range, all natural I need ham
Oh puppy shampoo? They can get messy and you’ll want to desensitize him to baths. And nail clippers? Even if you have a groomer, I would get clippers and introduce them to him. Frank is scared of everything and we got him at 6 months.
This is my other objective. Getting him used to nail clippings. We have a grinder from our (failed) attempt to desensitize our last dog. I want to be able to do this at home!
Post by expectantsteelerfan on Jul 31, 2021 7:01:14 GMT -5
So we had hardwood stairs going up to the 2nd floor in our last house. My older dog had TPLO surgery after tearing her ACL, so she really needed non-slipper surfaces, so we got stick on stair treads, and she still avoided the stairs 99% of the time (she slept in the living room and is the opposite of a velcro dog so she never had to go upstairs). When we brought home our puppy last summer, I decided to sleep in the guest room with her out of desperation because the 2 dogs were keeping each other up all night. And even with the stair treads, she WOULD NOT go up or down the wooden stairs. She did fine with our carpeted basement stairs (and she is not a scaredy cat cautious pup by any means), but I had to carry her up and down the stairs for a good month, where she went from weight 10 lbs at 8 weeks to a good 25 lbs before I finally used treats and spent many days coaxing her up the stairs and back down. She has been fine with them since, and in our new house our basement stairs are LVP with no treads, and they are both ok on them. My older dog took some coaxing to go down them, but after the first week she was fine.
I love the harness by 2 Hounds design (can clip in front, back, or both) for big dogs.
We've had Invisible Fence at both houses. Our yards are much smaller...it was I think $1500 at the first house to install the fence, and $900 at this house (where we only did the back yard). Still much cheaper than the $40,000 it was going to be for an actual fence!
Our invisible fence was around 5k for an acre if I'm remembering right, but there were cheaper options if we hadn't gotten invisible fence brand. We also did the fancier option-- I think it's called boundary plus. We (mistakenly) thought we'd get better service and more training support from the name brand, but cheaper would have been fine.
Our dog does fine on painted wooden steps, but it took him over a year to even attempt them. That arrangement worked well for us so we never tried to teach him earlier. We don't have any pads or anything on them.
I agree with others that you should have lots of things for him to chew on.
If he is part hound (and I agree that he could be) and that part of his genetics is strong, an electric fence may not work. Just be forewarned. They’re useless with scent hounds.
What a cute puppy!!! I was thinking Vizsla as well, my sister has a Weim which is a close relative and she loves to run! Make sure whatever kennel you get has an adjustable barrier so you can keep it small at first and then adjust it as the puppy gets older. Most dogs won’t pee/poop where they sleep (our younger dog is an exception, he doesn’t care!) so if the kennel is too big they’ll pee in one end and sleep in the other. Duke LOVES his kennel now, he goes in there and hangs out during the day.
Post by BicycleBride on Jul 31, 2021 8:14:58 GMT -5
I’ve fostered puppies before and what I’ve found to work best is to set up a pen in the living room (or whatever room works for you) with a tarp under it. Put the crate in there and make sure the crate is small enough so that he only has room to turn around. You can get a crate divider so you don’t have to buy multiple crates. You can use to pen when you are home and relaxing so he can be with you but under control. Start putting him in the crate for short times away and gradually work up to longer times.
We have just under half an acre and our electric fence was around $1100. Since I know you are somewhat nearby, it’s AstroFence by Invisible Fence located in Boyertown.
I'm about 2 months out from bringing our puppy home. I would definitely recommend keeping puppy in a fairly small area (close off doors to other rooms for example) so that they're easier to supervise. Then you can start to open things up when puppy gets used to the space and potty training becomes more reliable. Also, it's a lot of work at the beginning but as you open up more space to the puppy, be willing to very closely supervise and use a command like "leave it!" when you notice them going for something you don't want them to get into/chew on. This is what we did, over and over again and now at 4 months old our puppy knows exactly what she's allowed to chew on (her own toys) and what she's not allowed to chew on (DD's stuffies, chair legs, shoes).
I liked the harness that tightened around her waist when she pulled, to start teaching her to walk on leash. We eventually switched to a martingale collar and finally to a slip lead.
Get more toys than you think you'll need because they destroy them SO quickly haha.