OMG - Just got a 4 month old pup - What have I let myself in for?!! *Pic added*

swag72

swag72

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Sara
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First pet ever, a 4 month old pup. Cross between all sorts really, so no ideas there!! We got her from a rescue charity over here in Spain, she was being fostered in someones house. So, day 3 and we're wondering if we'll EVER get her trained!! :thinking:

She eats and chews EVRYTHING!! Her speciality dish is dead flies, even straight after dinner!! She can find an olive stone buried in the lawn at 50 paces and ants are pretty tasty too. Oh, and my fennel plants from the garden. She loves water and sits in her water bowl and is rather partial to a bit of digging too - Of course if we've just watered and she can sit in the mud, then so much better :bang:

HELP!! Give me reassurance that it won't be like this forever!!!
 
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These are the best bits......it's down hill from here:lol::lol::lol:



where are the PICTURES!!!!!!
 
Try to train her to catch live flies - that way she will give up eating dead ones.
 
OK, OK!!!

4777617995_84a9decd58_b.jpg
 
Sooooooooooooooooo cute......she can't be that bad :love:



Please note I have 3 dogs and cannot adopt any more ;)
 
swag72 said:
Is what she is doing THAT bad :suspect: or just normal 4 month old puppy stuff? :D
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Normal puppy stuff that turns into normal adult stuff :lol:. Has she any toys? my Westie has a teddy and the German Shepherd loves anything that squeeks.
 
She's got a colourful thread thing and another rubber toy, loads of sticks and a lemonade bottle with some stones in it. Tomorrow, we go shopping and leave her for the first time since we've had her - There's some more toys in it for her if she's good!!!

Oh and the whole garden and our hands of course!! We're keeping her awake at the mo so that she'll sleep tonight!! I hope it will take me less than 35 mins to get her to have a wee before bedtime too!!!
 
Look forward to seeing some more of her....and the mess she makes. :)
 
She is VERY cute and I see why you adopted her!

However, training starts day one and you must make that a habit as opposed to something you do when the mood takes you, otherwise it'll become a game for her to disobey.....have all the fun but lay down the ground rules as to who is 'top dog' etc relatively early and you will all benefit.

Hope you have a long and happy relationship with your newest family member!

BTW, dead spiders are fair game as well!
 
i guess you need to speak to her in Spanish then, as being a Spanish dog she'll not understand English!!! :lol::lol:
 
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Look on the bright side, you got her to sit still for long enough to take one photograph of her.... I've been trying to get a decent shot of my friends Jack Russell for nearly four weeks now... :bonk:
 
Sara, it will be a bit like that for ever - but it'll be a lot of fun along the way! :D

Since she's your first pet, would you mind if I point out the bleedin' obvious? She's a dog, she lives in a doggy world, thinks doggy thoughts and wants to do doggy things. Some of which you won't want her to do. She's not as clever as you are so when it comes to training, you must do all the thinking for both of you but you'll be able to empathise with what she wants as well.

She's a pack animal who desperately wants to be part of her group and needs to know exactly where she stands in the pecking order. As Sam said yesterday, training is a full time thing, but it can be loads of fun too. I think it's fair to say it's a full time mindset more than anything else - for both of you!

But she looks adorable, so say WOOF to her from me!!
 
She's gorgeous.
If it makes you feel better, maaaany years ago we got two pups at the same time (yes, we are idiots).
They ate - 2 carpets and pulled the underlay through. 2 holes into walls (mmmmm, tasty plasterboard), a futon, a sofa (came home to find thek standing inside the sofa, amongst the springs) and a coffee table (not the whole thing, just all the corners, so that's fine then).
The retriever liked to paddle in her waterbowl. One day I came home from work and she had chewed open a bag of grey, clumping cat litter, spread it over the floor and then paddled, so essentially the carpet was covered in grey clay.

So, actually, I think she is pretty well behaved

A
 
swag72 said:
First pet ever, a 4 month old pup. Cross between all sorts really, so no ideas there!! We got her from a rescue charity over here in Spain, she was being fostered in someones house. So, day 3 and we're wondering if we'll EVER get her trained!! :thinking:

She eats and chews EVRYTHING!! Her speciality dish is dead flies, even straight after dinner!! She can find an olive stone buried in the lawn at 50 paces and ants are pretty tasty too. Oh, and my fennel plants from the garden. She loves water and sits in her water bowl and is rather partial to a bit of digging too - Of course if we've just watered and she can sit in the mud, then so much better :bang:

HELP!! Give me reassurance that it won't be like this forever!!!
Click to expand...

Day 3! Stroll on - It ain't even started yet.
You've got a long, long road ahead.
 
Don't take her back the fun has only just begun. Our latest pup hasn't been too bad but Bobby, our 5 year old Mini schnauzer used to strip wallpaper and eat shoes. The ultimate was when she eat my £70 work boots and my Merrel walking sandals on the same day. Over £100 of damage in one day. She's still partial to a shoe so we have to hide our footwear.
 
Awwwwwwwwwwww! And yay for another rescue having a home :D

I'm in agreement she can't be that bad :p

3 days is nothing, start boundaries from now if you haven't already and she'll learn :)

I will be wanting pictures as she grows up though :D
 
If you have a secure garden, one she can't get out of, I suggest getting a flap in the back door so she can come and go as she wants to once you have her settled in properly.
 
Beautiful looking puppy, looks like she has some German Shepherd in her.
You've been given some excellent advice but I will suggest a few things if I may.
She will more than likely pull on the lead but please do not get one of those god awful choke chains.
If you can find a good training class who can teach you how to 'check' her correctly then great, otherwise, take a look at one of these www.halti.co.uk.
I discovered these via an excellent trainer in the early 90's and used one on my German Shepherd and also our current dog and they are a great device.
Keep her happy with rawhide chews (don't bother getting ones suitable for her size, they won't last 5 minutes) to keep her mind off chewing the things she shouldn't and also buy a 'kong' and pack it with food.

I am probably stating the obvious but don't forget about inoculations and get her chipped.

Personally I strongly favour 'treat based reward' training, it's very common place these days and most training schools here in Blighty use this method.
Rather than buy training treats, baked liver and chop it into small pieces when it's cooked and some people will also add things such as garlic to it.
This stuff will send a dogs senses into overload and will easily grab it's attention :)
Unless I am mistaken, Dr. Roger Mugford was the first person to introduce 'treat based' reward training in the UK.
His website has information on some basic training: http://www.companyofanimals.co.uk/

Good luck Sarah, she's gorgeous and will offer you many years of companionship.
Looking forward to see more photos as she grows :)
I will now shut up as I could sit here all day writing about dogs!
 
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Lots of positive reinforcement as to what is acceptable. Have treats to hand at all times and reward good behaviour instantly otherwise she won't understand what she's been rewarded for. No point shouting or getting angry when she does things wrong, she won't understand. Deal with behaviour you won't accept immediately by isolating her from her pack.
Oh and get her very used to letting you touch her around her eyes, clean her ears and inspect her feet back end etc, trust me I have the scratches and war wounds that come from not getting this right early, I have a long road with plenty of firm but positive encouragement to get my Ridgie to let me do these things.

But above all enjoy it, they bring so much fun into your life.:thumbs:

Edit: To slow Hashcake has said it all as well. recommend the Halti, my 8 yr old daughter can hold my 8 stone dog on one no problems at all. But don't let it mask poor behaviour on the lead, you still need to learn to correct it, again all in the timing.

I'm no expert, and in hindsight getting a Rhodesian Ridgeback as the first family pet was probably not the wisest choice I've ever made, but I love him and I know what work I have left to do to give him the reassurance that I'm in charge. Dogs are pack animals and they will always push to make sure you're still the Alpha, provided they know you are you'll have no trouble. If they think you're not they will take over and thats where all the problems start as they can't protect you when you keep leaving the house, letting strangers in etc.
 
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Thanks for all the comments folks. Here's just a little info so you can see whether I'm getting it right!! Please feel free to correct me if I've got it all wrong!!!

Living in Spain in this hot weather she's outside with us virtually all of the time. We have an outside BBQ, cool and indestructible and we are getting her to go in there for 30 mins or so a day so that we can leave her there when we go out. So far, she's doing very well and isn't crying at all. We're feeding her in there too so she has that as her own space that she wanders in whenever she likes as well.

We have a longish rope that hubby ties around his waist and we lead her about for about 3 times a day. It's long enough for her to perfect the 'come' technique. Also, she doesn't pull and tug on the rope either. She stays pretty much at your heel during this exercise, so maybe this is good.

She's not been outside the garden yet as she's only had 1 injection so far. But once these are done we'll be getting her out and about and socialising. Unfortunately, I can't find any puppy classes out here, as they have a VERY different attitude towards dogs than we do, so we'll have to work on it all ourselves. The internet has been a real mine of information as have the books I got for Christmas in preparation for having a pup.

She seems to be responding to her name now. Maybe not always coming to you, but it certainly gets a tail wag out of her. We feel we are making some progress and so far she is being a good pup - Apart from the digging!!!

The best thing we have done so far is making her come to us for affection and not us go to her - As hard as it is when she looks soooooo cute!!

So, we think we are doing it right, we are setting boundaries and being consistent.
 
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swag72 said:
Thanks for all the comments folks. Here's just a little info so you can see whether I'm getting it right!! Please feel free to correct me if I've got it all wrong!!!

Living in Spain in this hot weather she's outside with us virtually all of the time. We have an outside BBQ, cool and indestructible and we are getting her to go in there for 30 mins or so a day so that we can leave her there when we go out. So far, she's doing very well and isn't crying at all. We're feeding her in there too so she has that as her own space that she wanders in whenever she likes as well.

We have a longish rope that hubby ties around his waist and we lead her about for about 3 times a day. It's long enough for her to perfect the 'come' technique. Also, she doesn't pull and tug on the rope either. She stays pretty much at your heel during this exercise, so maybe this is good.

She's not been outside the garden yet as she's only had 1 injection so far. But once these are done we'll be getting her out and about and socialising. Unfortunately, I can't find any puppy classes out here, as they have a VERY different attitude towards dogs than we do, so we'll have to work on it all ourselves. The internet has been a real mine of information as have the books I got for Christmas in preparation for having a pup.

She seems to be responding to her name now. Maybe not always coming to you, but it certainly gets a tail wag out of her. We feel we are making some progress and so far she is being a good pup - Apart from the digging!!!

The best thing we have done so far is making her come to us for affection and not us go to her - As hard as it is when she looks soooooo cute!!

So, we think we are doing it right, we are setting boundaries and being consistent.
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Sounds like you are doing a grand job.
I would buy a training lead and use that rather than the rope.
They are easily available online if you can't find one in a pet shop.
Have a google for home made liver treats reciped for dogs, there are loads out there.
Shame you are so far away, if you lived closer I would have been more than happy to have popped over to give you some training help.
I've lived with / own dogs my entire life and even I am continuously learning :)
 
Darran - Can I do anything about her digging? She seems to be doing it in nice damp patches of ground to lie in as it's so hot.

What, you mean Spain is a long way away?!!!
 
swag72 said:
Darran - Can I do anything about her digging? She seems to be doing it in nice damp patches of ground to lie in as it's so hot.
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I've never come across a method to stop this when you are not watching but if you teach her 'no', she will stop doing it if you witness it.
It's good to use this word for things she is not supposed to do in general but it's the tone that is important as she will understand rather than the word itself.
Use it in a stern manner but try not to sound angry and don't shout it.
One of their natural instincts is to bury bones but I think in the case of some dogs they aren't sure why they dig and just do it for no reason.
 
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