Off Topic - Puppy experts only

Avatar for u_s_limey
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Registered: 03-25-2003
Off Topic - Puppy experts only
23
Sun, 05-22-2005 - 4:33pm
I am having a love/hate relationship with Charley my ten week-old Bichon.

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Avatar for beviej
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Registered: 03-25-2003
Sun, 05-22-2005 - 7:51pm
OH ((((SUE))))Your post brought back memeories of 7 and half yrs ago. Thats when I brought our Charlie into our lives. Now my DH was dead set agaisnt me having a new puppy mostly becuz of the arther and my dealing s with it.But oh No I insisted and went out and got Charlie. Well the first month I cant tell you how many times i nearly gave up and handed him over to our son.But I hung on and though I was exhausted,tore up and bruised Charlie and me made it through that first month. After that things did start to settle down though got to tell you untill he lost those sharp puppy teeth and his claws got a lil bigger my arms looked awful Now you can add to all of this we live in a bilevel and lil Charlie could barly get up and down all thos steps so I was in/out/up/down every hr on the hr potty training.I did crate train Charlie and I am now a BIG believer in dog crate training. When youve had enough you can just put them in the crate.ALL i can say is I am so glad I hung on becuz Charlie turned out to be our bestest lil doggie ever.
And heres something more to add. When I had this hand/thumb surgery in April the surgeon wanted to know what all the scars were from on my arms...lol!!! Yep thats how bad it was.
I also would recommend a puppy class if they have them in your area. That was a God send for me and Charlie and I have recommended them to everyone I know getting a new puppy.
Hang in there Sue don`t give up. I know your pooped,bruised and cut up but it will be so worth it.Bev
Avatar for u_s_limey
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Registered: 03-25-2003
Sun, 05-22-2005 - 8:02pm
Bev - bless your heart - did I ever need to hear that post!! Thank you so much.

Avatar for dfyrabnd
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Registered: 03-25-2003
Mon, 05-23-2005 - 2:37am
Sue, I sent your post over to my DD in GG. She is a certified dog trainer and is an advocate of crate training as a MUST. Hopefully she can come up with some suggestions. Her business is called Taming the Beast if you are interested in signing Charlie up for some behavior classes. She also does group training for Dog Services Limited, at least I think thats what it's called and its in your area. Her name is Khara Knight and email is taming_the_beast@yahoo.com. Good luck with Charlie. I'm sure a few months from now all this will be forgotten and he will be huggy. Love ya, Diane
Avatar for dfyrabnd
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Registered: 03-25-2003
Mon, 05-23-2005 - 3:00am
Ooops, she works for Dog Services Unlimited. Their online site is www.dogservicesunlimited.com and she is listed there under Trainers with her picture and her dog Angel.
Avatar for beviej
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Registered: 03-25-2003
Mon, 05-23-2005 - 6:49am
Just call em lil ankle nippers..lol!!They can`t help it they are just bein puppies.Good luck Sue and I`m tellin you hang in there!!!!
Bev
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Registered: 11-03-2003
Mon, 05-23-2005 - 1:00pm

Oh Sue, I completely understand.

Molly

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Registered: 03-25-2003
Tue, 05-24-2005 - 4:09pm

I have to agree that crate training is the way to go.

We bought a soft sided, collapsable, portable pet crate for Piper after she was potty trained (we had the hard one for easy clean ups for "just in cases" pre-potty trained). And It was a lifesaver, (along with being very portable). Puppies can get into so much trouble when you can't hobble around after them 24 hours a day, and it made potty training a breeze.

Although she still sleeps in it when I'm away from the house during the day...she has crept onto the bed and slept inbetween my husband and I occasionally. Exspecially during storms.

Good luck with the puppy training. It will be worth it!! The only thing I missed on my holidays was MY DOG.

ttfn
holly

Avatar for dfyrabnd
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Registered: 03-25-2003
Wed, 05-25-2005 - 4:01am
Sue, I talked to my DD and she had couple suggestions: give him ice cubes to chew on to help with the teething; use a crate to keep him restrained when you need a break; She uses wire cages with paper in the bottom; keep him on a leash at all times even in the house, that way you can easily grab the leash instead of the nippy little pup when you need to. She does that with all her training dogs, leash all the time. The dogs don't seem to mind and just run around the house trailing their leash. Good luck with that little rascal...he is just to cute to give up on.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Wed, 05-25-2005 - 6:48am
Sue, I dont know if anyone else suggested this as I have not read all the posts, but I do know this technique does stop biting puppies in their tracks.
You have to be very persistant and loud and do it for a couple of days and the biting will stop. When your puppy bites or jumps you you need to react with a LOUD SCREAM NO staight into the puppies face. Scream as loud as you can in an authoritive voice.
this advice came to us from a very experienced puppy obediance trainer when our dog was biting & yapping worked within a few days and stopped the behaviour.Lell.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Wed, 05-25-2005 - 6:55am
Sue I reread you post & all the others (now), maybe you should ignore my other post. And just take the little puppy to obedience classes. Since screaming no at him make make him a nervous wreck, lell

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