Adopting a six month old pug cross

LastApacheInjun

Hi all

We’re adopting a six month old pug cross from a shelter in Wicklow. While both myself and my husband had dogs growing up, we are first time dog owners. We have three kids, aged 12, 9 and 7. The 12 and 7 year old are fully on board, the 9 year old is very nervous as she has always been afraid of dogs (one of the main reasons we are getting one). My 7 year old is autistic but great with animals.

I think I’ve bought everything we need: House crate, car crate, dog bed, toys, feeding bowl, collar and lead, pee pads, stair gate, food. We haven’t met the dog yet so we have it on a weeks trial. If all goes well, I’ll book into puppy training classes.

Anyone got tips to make my 9 year old more comfortable? Am I missing any dog items? Any tips on house training? I’m sort of overwhelmed here so any tips gratefully received!

wandererz

Re: house training

I trained our dogs to use puppy pads which we place close to the doors. So if they need to go at night when we are asleep or when we are away then they can do so. I don't have the option of a pet door unfortunately.

They go in one place and one place only, if they cannot get out.

tk123

I’ve only ever toilet trained baby puppies and never used puppy pads. I take them out regularly, after they wake up, after they’ve eaten and during the night if they cry. I also have a bell hanging at the door that they can ring if they need to go out. Usually after a week or two they’re sleeping through the night. You’re adopting a 6 month old though - it’s not a puppy anymore so may already be toilet trained in that it has bladder control and is able to hold its wee/poo! 🤞🏻

SuperBowserWorld

We had a puppy in a crate at nighttime and very absorbent mats in the crate that wash and dry very quickly. So any night time pees were not a big deal.

Crate training is important. They need to not be afraid, so lots of treats, cajoling, toys. You might have to stay with the puppy for the first night or so, e.g. you on the couch until they settle in.

Positive reinforcement training. Some training classes should give you this knowledge. Then use any opportunity you can to train the dog. It's not just a walk, it's training + a walk, etc etc

Bring the 9 year old to the training, and all the kids if the training allows. There will be lots of puppies at it if it's a class. It's training the humans just as much as the dogs. I would hope that would help the 9 year old - it should be fun and not stressful for the humans or the dogs.

Also, you need lots of patience. Try not to get anxious around the pup or shout etc.

Good luck !

volchitsa

I'd totally agree about crate training - like a lot of first timers I found it hard to get my head around it, but it's actually great. You have to get the children to respect the fact that it's the puppy's own personal space: that will mean he can take refuge there if he's feeling overwhelmed, which should in turn help your 9 year old as it should lead to less negative interaction.

As for toilet training, some breeds are easier to train than others, so I don't know about yours, but in our case we were advised not to use puppy pads as they can then confuse the dog and make it harder for him to do without them. You do have to do a bit more work at the start without puppy pads, as explained above, and TBH if we hadn't had a closed-off, safe garden I probably would have used the pads, but as it is, it worked fine without them.

Last thing is: puppy training classes - absolutely essential IMO especially if your child is nervous. But a brilliant experience even without that need for reassurance, we found. They really are all about training the humans rather the dog, and if you can get a good group class, which is a lot cheaper than individual classes too, that will be a great way for your child to get to see how dogs behave generally, as well as working with his own dog. That should really help him learn to recognise when a dog is angry and when it's not, and make him more confident around unknown dogs as well as his own.

And as above again: PATIENCE. It's like having a new baby (but doesn't last nearly as long, luckily!) but you will really get out of it what you put in. If you are gentle but consistent with training, once they get to adulthood they are such a delight. And a great confidence-builder for children.

volchitsa

Also, if you have a crate, you probably don't need a stair gate: you just tell the dog "no" and bring it back down when it disobeys at the start. Our dog never comes up the stairs because she knows she's not allowed.

The only times she ever has done, after the first few weeks, is a couple of times she was ill and needed out to the toilet before we got up in the morning, we heard her scrabbling around outside our door. So, not her fault really - she was looking for help!

You do need to dog proof your garden though - make sure it can't get out. That will make a huge difference to your peace of mind. And a small dog like a pug can probably get out of a tiny space. On the upside though, fences don't need to be tall! 😉

josip

We've had 2 dogs from pups and gave the puppy pads a go with both but gave up after a few days because of mixed results and chose a fortnight of sleep deprivation instead.