Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Meet Charlie, our baby girl puppy!
A couple of corrections that Lisa asked me to make: She's 1/2 Boston Terrier, not 1/2 British Terrier, and that's our kitchen featured, not our living room. Puppy ate my brain!
If you have any dog-raising tips, lemme know. I have owned twenty-seven bazillion cats, but this is my first dog. Good thing she's so freakin' cute! ;)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
I had a 100% boston terrier. She was awesome, fast, and smart.
I know that a lot of people (my self included) have been able to keep them occupied with a Wubba.
http://www.wubbaworld.com/shop/order-wee-snugga.htm
She would keep her self occupied for hours (yes, multiple hours in one session).
Other then that, love them as much as you want them to love you back!
Oh.. and if you want to teach them any tricks.. be persistent. They will learn! The earlier the better
A few pieces of advice from a long-time dog owner: if you don't have one already, get a crate (research "crate training", etc.), puppy obedience classes (with frequent and consistent continuing education at home) and finally lots of socialization (once the puppy can be around other dogs/people.)
Best of luck and keep up the blog--it's great!
Marty
OMG she is adorable. Watch your shoes and slippers. Congratulations to you and Lisa.
PS I think dogs are more work than kids.LOL.
You bet that puppy is cute. Puppies are cute so that you won't kill them.
Training puppies takes a lot of discipline. Not discipline for the pup, discipline for you. There are a lot of good books on training dogs out there, it just takes discipline on behalf of the human to make it work.
Congrats of the new pup, you will get many years of love for your efforts. Sometimes, I think the rate of return is better than that of kids.
Just when I thought I would ahve to give up on my puppy (she's 9 now) as she wouldn't stop peeing inside I read the Monks of New Skete dog training book. It's awesome!
Sully, love the blog.
The puppy is so cute. We have a 2 year old field cocker who is nuclear propelled. We're still learning, but for what its worth:
1) Recall - this has got to be one of the most important things. Dogs love to be off the lead in the woods etc. but without good recall this can be sressful for the owner. We had a tip from our vet to take the puppy to a large field (e.g. football pitch) and with another person, stand at either side of the area. Armed with treats call the puppy back and forth and give a treat when it comes. With patience this worked well and now we have confidence that the dog will come back on call - no matter what.
2) Patience. Dogs are often slow to learn tricks - but if you give them time - they get there eventually. Positive praise work's best and a simple 'oh-no' and treat withdrawl when they get it wrong works well. Learning also tires them out quite a bit when they are young - so do tricks in 20 minute sessions.
3) Puppies get very cautious after 12 weeks of age (point at which the get weened in nature). If you haven't exposed them to something by then, there is a good chance they will be scared of said item for the rest of their lives (e.g. cars / buses / animals / men with beards). So get your puppy out in the world.
4) Dogs needs are as follows (A) Exercise (B) Food (C) Discipline (D) Love (can you tell I watched dog whisperer after buying my dog). Anyway - i've found this to be true - a tired, well fed dog is a happy, quiet, well behaved friend.
5) Lastly - if they get scared or anxious, the last thing you should do is pick them up and comfort them. They can build phobias very easily and unfortunatley - its the owner that reinforces phobias e.g. if you dog knocks over a brush and gets a minor hit on the head, don't freak out. I now have a dog that won't go near mops or brushes because I did just that.
Gaz
Cute pooch! Advice? Patience my friend, P A T I E N C E. We had a puppy before we had a baby... the baby was easier for the first year. Seriously... after living through puppy-hood, we have since chosen to go only through rescued/shelter dogs (Golden Retriever Rescues btw).
They are wonderful to have around. You will have a loyal friend and companion for years and years. Love em, feed em, and be patient! Thanks for sharing.
You've got some great advice here. When are you getting that cat(s) you want so bad?
I echo the suggestion to crate train your pup. She will learn to appreciate that it's her place or "home."
Expose her to as many loud noises as you can now. If there is a thunder storm, take her out in the garage or if you have a porch or other protected area, and show her there is nothing to be afraid of. Do not react to any of the loud noises. She should learn that they are part of life. Trust me on this, you do not want a thunderstorm-phobic dog. It's hell.
Check out Cesar Millan's latest book on raising the perfect puppy. Tons of good advice in there.
Socialize, socialize, socialize!
They're sort of like kids. You have to decide in advance what you expect and what you won't put up with and you have to be 100% consistent in enforcing your rules. Dogs are smart and actually want to please you, so make it abundantly clear that they please you by doing what it is that you have decided is acceptable for dogs, and they will be good dogs.
Oh and adorable as it is now, please don't accidentally train it to jump on people.
Post a Comment