New dog owners need Advice

beccaboom

We are getting our new Bison Frisse tommoro , its a puppy and our first dog .................... any advice greatly appreciated...
we have a toy to rub on his mother to get her scent for bringing him home and we have training mats but other then that we dont know where to start with licences vets and all that , then the training issue to

cocker5

WOW Congrats on your first puppy!!! :D

Can i ask how old the puppy is??

Firstly... dont stess too much... its all a learning curve for you and your puppy.... enjoy your puppy... as they will grow up too fast!!

Make sure he/she has all its vaccinations.. dont mix it with other dogs or walk him/her outside in public until the vet says its ok to do so.... you must be careful of parvo etc... other dogs make infect your dog... so make sure all vacs are up to date etc before bringing him/her out in public!

All puppies are chewers.... so dont leave anything you value along with your puppy until he/she learns the rules...

Puupy socialisation classes are brillant for puppy for training and so the puppy can interact with other people and puppies....

http://www.dogtrainingireland.ie/puppy_hour.php

http://www.dspca.ie/prevent_cruelty_to_animals.php?number=206&sectionnumber=34&gclid=CN-ns8vgyqICFRM_lAodFTsXwQ

He/she will more than likely cry ALL night for the first few nights.... its due to the fact he/she will be away from its mum and siblings.... give your puppy a soft toy... a comfy bed etc and have patience!!

have lots of toys to keep him/her happy!!

http://www.zooplus.ie/ask?query=puppy&num=20

It will take months and months for your puppy to learn the rules...

here's a great website!!

http://www.zooplus.ie/ask?query=puppy&num=20

Post some pics of your news puppy!!!! Pretty Please!!

cocker5

sorry!!

Get pet insurance... soooo important!! its a definite!!

http://www.allianz.ie/Pet-Insurance/?t=pet&n=search&no=10

http://www.petinsuranceireland.com/

decskelligs

beccaboom wrote: »

We are getting our new Bison Frisse tommoro , its a puppy and our first dog .................... any advice greatly appreciated...
we have a toy to rub on his mother to get her scent for bringing him home and we have training mats but other then that we dont know where to start with licences vets and all that , then the training issue to

Until you get him home you cant really plan. We got a bichon three years ago and he has never cried at night once he just seemed to accept the fact that we were now his family. One thing is to become the pack leader very quickly otherwise it will chew, urinate and defecate everywhere he wants as it will think it is the alpha. Bichons are very difficult to toilet train and you will need to be patient with it

beccaboom

he has had all his vaccinations, is chippped and registered. Im so excited will post pics as soon as I can.
was just looking at pet insurance there , will need to get his papers first then I can sort that , going to register him with a local vet recommended. then we have taken time off work to get him used to us. I think that my boyfriend is going to be here more so he will be the main person training him.

Seriously new to this so all help really is hugely appreciated

cocker5

no worries at all!! You guys must be soo excited!!

just one last bit of advice....you both have to train him... it doesnt work if one of you is the main trainer.... be consistent and he will soon get the message...

at 6 months... you should get him netuered... it will calm him down a bit!!

My dog is 5 now... but until we had him neutered he was CRAZY.... well i suppose he is a cocker... and most cockers are mad anyway!!

Do you mind if i ask...normally do you both work full time??
Like 9am-5pm??

Its just its VERY hard for a little puppy to live along all day... the day is very long and he will suffer from seperation anixiety etc..... and will more tha likely cry all day waitinf for you to some home etc....

if you both do work i woils suggest a dog walker / sitter / doggie day care etc for a couple of hours two days a week... its will make a huge difference to your dog!

We both work full time, but have a dog walker tues/thurs each week and our guy loves it!!

Anymore questions let me know!!

beccaboom

luckily I work close to home and he works shifts so the longest he would be alone would be maybe 3 hours at a time. that was the one thing that put us off getting a puppy most but we think that we will be ok to manage him hopefully . if he starts to cry tho we can bring him to his parents for the few hours so they can sit for us !!!!!

traceystacey

congrats on the new pup!

I got Kenny my BichonFrise pup 2weeks ago,it's been great fun! Make sure you have loads of chew toys as they tend to chew everything.

paultf

I would recommend crate training. I never bothered with it before but with my current pup it made a big difference. After about 4 weeks of crate training her housetraining improved immensely. With previous pups I was running around with newspapers and a mop in my hand. Crate training makes life alot easier.

beccaboom

paultf wrote: »

I would recommend crate training. I never bothered with it before but with my current pup it made a big difference. After about 4 weeks of crate training her housetraining improved immensely. With previous pups I was running around with newspapers and a mop in my hand. Crate training makes life alot easier.[/QUOTE


Whats crate training , the breeder mentioned that too

ABajaninCork

A new puppy - How exciting!!

We crate-trained our Shih Tzu who's a year old now.

Basically, line one side of the bottom of the crate with newspaper. Put his blanket on the other side. We actually had some VetBed that I'd brought over when I moved, so that was ideal as if the animal wets the bed, it goes straight through, and the bed still feels dry.

When you put the puppy in, put in a blanket with a ticking clock wrapped around it.

With our fella, it did take a couple of weeks (and sleepless nights!), but he did get used to it. He goes in there now if he wants some 'me' time and doesn't want to be disturbed. He also goes in the crate when we go out for a short time with his Kong which we fill with a mix of his food and some ham. He loves it so much, he barks at us to hurry up, so's he can have a go at his Kong in peace!!

BTW - before you pick up your little man, find out from the breeder what he's been eating. Try to keep him on the same food for the first couple of weeks at least, so that he doesn't get an upset tum!

Good luck!

ABajaninCork

You can get decent crates from Argos who've got a sale on now. Get a med sized crate which gives him enough room to move around. The bottom of the crate's washable which is a Godsend with a puppy.

Just thought of something else. Bichons (as well as Shih Tzu's) are supposed to be difficult to toilet-train. When you get him home, take him straight out to do his business. Whatever he does, say the words as he does it (i.e. wee wee or poopy doops - whatever you want to use) and praise him like mad. Whenever the puppy eats, sleeps, plays or get excited, take him straight out to do his business. He'll soon get the idea!

Hope this helps!

paultf

ABajaninCork pretty much explained it. Bascially crate training is a way of housetraining your pup. The basic idea is to keep your pup in a crate for a short period of time (preferably supervised) and then to take the pup outside to the garden to go the toilet. After a few weeks the pup gets the idea. The pup won't be housetrained completely straight away - that could take up to 6 months - but with crate training their housetraining will improve quickly.

Just google "crate training" and you'll get loads of info.

I got this crate on zooplus for my pup http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_cages_carriers/carriers/metal_cages_and_boxes/129681

But I am sure you could pick you up in your local pet shop - might be more expensive though than online.

mymo

Crate training is great, I crate trained both of mine and though they don't need them now they still sleep in the crates but I leave the door open on warm nights encase they need a drink.

You use the crate when you can't supervise the pup, it helps toilet training, place some bedding in the crate and start by putting pup in with some treats, chew toys or food, leave the door open at first. After few times shut the door, open again after a couple of minutes, stay in the room at first but after a while walk in and out.
The pup should be in the crate at night, but at first you'll have to get up about every 2 or 3 hours(it'll cry to let you know it wants out, if it doesn't set an alarm) to let it out to the toilet, I recommend carrying pup from crate to outside as they pee the minute they're out of crate, they won't go to the toilet in the crate usually as its where they sleep, but they can't hold it long at first. After a couple of days add 10 mins to length of time between toilet breaks if the crate is dry, and depending on the pup it'll be able to go all night without a break by about 5 months(one of mine was 14weeks, the other 17weeks, but that was only 12-7).

The crate can be great for if you need to wash floors or do something, and keeps the pup safe at night(no chewed cables etc).

I used the "Do your business" as the command as abajanincork said, best thing ever, if we go anywhere i can tell them to go and they do.

Jackasaurus rex

Couldn't see if someone else said it but a hot water bottle is good because they are probably is used to snuggling up to his mam

Dublinese

Con grats on your puppy, dogs are great

Yeah i think crates are good for training and handy.

Steve30x

I hope you have lots of patience. It took me three months to potty train my Cavalier. The other training is a breeze most of the time. I now have my wee bonny trained to the Toilet commant , sit and Something Nice is when I am giving her a treat. I have her trained to sit and wait for me to say There You Go before she can takes the treat. Just take your time and bite your tongue when something doesnt go right. After a little while you will see the results of the training and when you see the dog react to your commands for the first time you will feel like its christmas and your birthday all rolled into one. I love having bonny around me and dont know what I would do if I didnt have her. (poor thing is in heat now:( but she is getting spayed in two weeks)

beccaboom

ABajaninCork wrote: »

A new puppy - How exciting!!

We crate-trained our Shih Tzu who's a year old now.

Basically, line one side of the bottom of the crate with newspaper. Put his blanket on the other side. We actually had some VetBed that I'd brought over when I moved, so that was ideal as if the animal wets the bed, it goes straight through, and the bed still feels dry.

When you put the puppy in, put in a blanket with a ticking clock wrapped around it.

With our fella, it did take a couple of weeks (and sleepless nights!), but he did get used to it. He goes in there now if he wants some 'me' time and doesn't want to be disturbed. He also goes in the crate when we go out for a short time with his Kong which we fill with a mix of his food and some ham. He loves it so much, he barks at us to hurry up, so's he can have a go at his Kong in peace!!

BTW - before you pick up your little man, find out from the breeder what he's been eating. Try to keep him on the same food for the first couple of weeks at least, so that he doesn't get an upset tum!

Good luck!

why the ticking clock , so we are ordering this http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/8706416.htm

???
we line one side with paper
one side with blanket

once he soils the paper , then do we leave him a while ?

do we bring him over to where we want him to soil?

We bought a bed , do we put the bed beside the crate in his corner so he knows thats also his space if he choses the bed to sleep in?

sorry we have loads of questions , lots of patience too!!! seems we might need that

andreac

No, you shouldnt be putting paper in.

The whole point of crate training is that you dont want them soiling their bed area so you keep them confined and let them out to go to the toilet so they learn to go outside and not in their bed, hence crate training to toilet train them quicker.

ABajaninCork

beccaboom wrote: »

why the ticking clock , so we are ordering this http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/8706416.htm

???
we line one side with paper
one side with blanket

once he soils the paper , then do we leave him a while ?

do we bring him over to where we want him to soil?

We bought a bed , do we put the bed beside the crate in his corner so he knows thats also his space if he choses the bed to sleep in?

sorry we have loads of questions , lots of patience too!!! seems we might need that

That's what I did and it worked well for me. Dogs don't like to lie where they soil, so they get the idea to soil only on the newspaper.

You can put the bed close by the crate, but what we did was to place his bed next to the couch, so he's close by. The crate's literally next door, so no problem.

Yes - bring him over to where you want him to go. He'll soon get the idea! Personally, I wouldn't bother with the pet carrier. He'll soon grow out of it, and you'll have wasted your money....

The ticking clock wrapped in a blanket represents his mother's heartbeat, so that'll help to settle him. I've done this with my dogs and cats, and it's worked well.

If he soils the paper (or elsewhere!!) simply take him out and clean it up. If he has an accident, just tell him NO, but don't scold him too much.

Hope this helps, but just shout if you need any more help. I'll try to help you if I can!

ABajaninCork

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/8705273/Trail/searchtext%3EDOG+CRATES.htm

This is the crate we bought for our dog. Plenty of room for him to move around, and like I say, the bottom of the crate is plastic, which you can easily remove to wash.

mymo

The whole point of crate training is that he keeps the crate clean, you take him out of it straight to outside and put in down, he'll pee, you praise him and he learns its good to pee outside.
You put the bed in the crate as I posted last page. It helps with toilet training.

beccaboom

Thanks so much every body , couldnt sleep last night we are so excited.........

will post a pic soon and will defo still have lots of questions once we get him home:o:D:D:D:D:D

Zapperzy

beccaboom wrote: »

We are getting our new Bison Frisse tommoro , its a puppy and our first dog .................... any advice greatly appreciated...
we have a toy to rub on his mother to get her scent for bringing him home and we have training mats but other then that we dont know where to start with licences vets and all that , then the training issue to

Im guessing since you can't spell the name of the breed correctly you haven't done a whole lot of research up to now?
You can get a license from the post office, I think its about €12.70. I don't think you need a license until the dog reaches a certain age, I think its 4 months or about that, so no need to be rushing out and getting one now.
Make sure whatever vet you choose is familiar with small animals, Iv had my fair share of horror stories with country vets who mainly treat large animals who give the impression they haven't a clue about dogs, cats etc.
Plenty of advice given already about training. The trick is to start early even doing little things like sit. Short training sessions a few times a day as dogs (especially pups) get bored easily and will lose interest if you try and train them in long sessions. And always make it fun using toys and tasty treats as rewards. Set boundaries now, if you won't allow your dog to do it when he's older then don't give into those puppy eyes and allow him to do it now.

decskelligs wrote: »

Until you get him home you cant really plan. We got a bichon three years ago and he has never cried at night once he just seemed to accept the fact that we were now his family. One thing is to become the pack leader very quickly otherwise it will chew, urinate and defecate everywhere he wants as it will think it is the alpha. Bichons are very difficult to toilet train and you will need to be patient with it

I suggest you do a bit of reading on the whole dominance theory, its a complete myth and only confuses dogs when you start trying to dominate them, especially a puppy. Being a pack leader has nothing to do chewing, urinating or defecating everywhere, that is normal puppy behaviour that nearly every pup does before its housetrained and learns not to chew things it shouldn't.

Cherry Blossom

I have only one piece of advice for you. Go to a good pet shop and buy 2 books - one breed specific and one on general training and behaviour. I saw one the last day which was entitled why does my dog? or something like that. It's split into different age categories, was going to buy it but the bank was broke . Will definately be going back for it though. Will have a look later and see if I can find it on-line so you can see what it looks like. You should have done this before you considered taking a puppy but it's done now.

Faceless people on the internet tend to be sometimes very opinionated and especially forcefull of those opinions. There are many different methods of training a puppy (both potty training and otherwise) and there are hundereds of 'experts' who have published books available. You may well have to try different things to find what works for your dog and your specific circumstances. Do your homework first and perhaps ask more specific questions on here when you have done so and remember that they are only opinions

<Edit> Got my puppy on Monday after about 2 years of thoughtful consideration and I already had a dog, So far have discovered that she barks very loudly when she wakes up and remembers she's in the crate, so I let her out for a wander as there are kids upstairs asleep. If I don't put her in the crate she scratches and chews the wall untill there's a pile of debris on the floor. She understands paper training but trying to chage to puppy pads as newspaper is very messy! She doesn't get the pads so I'm putting a single sheet of paper on top of the pad, however the pad also smells like wee and she wants to go in a clean place so she goes beside it.

So basically don't waste too much time deciding on methods because the chances are they may not suit your circumstances so just try things till you find what works for you.

kylith

andreac wrote: »

No, you shouldnt be putting paper in.

The whole point of crate training is that you dont want them soiling their bed area so you keep them confined and let them out to go to the toilet so they learn to go outside and not in their bed, hence crate training to toilet train them quicker.

+1

The advice I got on crate training is that the crate should be big enough to lie down and turn around, but small enough that if they soil it they'd have to lie in it, which is what teaches them not to soil indoors.

I've heard about the training pads that they can make it more difficult to teach the dog to toilet outside because they've gotten used to peeing indoors.

ABajaninCork

kylith wrote: »

+1

The advice I got on crate training is that the crate should be big enough to lie down and turn around, but small enough that if they soil it they'd have to lie in it, which is what teaches them not to soil indoors.

I've heard about the training pads that they can make it more difficult to teach the dog to toilet outside because they've gotten used to peeing indoors.

We trained ours in a crate, not so much for toilet-training, but as a place for him to relax, sleep in and a place he could stay if we had to go out for a short while. I put paper on one side, so that if he was caught short, then he could go on the paper. Which he did and does occasionally.

I do agree that not all training methods suit all dogs. I'd heard that small breeds especially Shih Tzu's and Bischons can be hard to train. Because we chucked our Shih Tzu out every time he woke, ate, played or got excited, he was trained very quickly. He growls (!!! - Most dogs cry or bark if they want to go out. Ours likes to be different) if he wanted to go out. Conversely, we had a lady in our puppy class who still couldn't get her dog to go outside and couldn't stop it going in the house. The poor woman tried everything...

ABajaninCork

I wouldn't be too hard on the OP about her lack of knowledge either. The lady came on here looking for advice, which we've tried to give. Everybody has their own way of doing things, and everybody thinks their way is best....

As an aside - I'm English. Until Monday, I didn't even KNOW a licence was required for a dog in this country. In the UK, dog licences were abolished some 25 years ago (when they cost 37.5 pence!), although there's some talk of bringing it back now. Still and all, we've got one for him now, and I shan't be making that mistake again.

OP - have you got a vet lined up yet? I'd take the little man along and have a chat.

beccaboom

Faceless people on the internet tend to be sometimes very opinionated and especially forcefull of those opinions. There are many different methods of training a puppy (both potty training and otherwise) and there are hundereds of 'experts' who have published books available. You may well have to try different things to find what works for your dog and your specific circumstances. Do your homework first and perhaps ask more specific questions on here when you have done so and remember that they are only opinions


Thank you ...... its nice to be given advice and not criticised so far so good, we had a rough journey home in the car with motion sickness , he seems ok now tho. Did his first poo too , out the back , we're so proud !!!!!

beccaboom

Going on Tuesday to the local animal hospital and going to have a chat about the best way to do everything for him and what he needs, and the little fella is getting his last vaccination too :eek::eek::eek:

He is curled up in his blanket now sleeping off the exhaustion from the 3 hour car journey and the sickness that went with it. He has had a small amount of food and some water too and has had a bowel motion so I hope that it is the uncertainty of the new surroundings and the fact that he is missing his brother that has him zonked. If he doesn#t perk up by Monday I'll pop down to the vets


Again , thank you so much for the advice , please , no need for critising , this is a learning curve for me .

paultf

beccaboom, best of luck with your new dog! Hope it all goes well. My Mum has a Bichon too - they are great pets.