I’m beginning to wonder if it was absolutely INSANE to let my husband bring another attention seeking, house destroying, pooping and eating machine in the house. Never the less, our newest little addition is also the softest, sweetest and 4th most luvable little thing in the house. Now we just need to figure some things out and I need your help. We’ve never had a puppy for more than a few months and we really want Shelbi to work out for our family. I figure educating myself on some things will make this housebreaking thing go more smoothly.
I’d love a little insight from all of you doggy mommy experts!
The Fleas. It’s summer and our poor puppy has already gotten some fleas on her and now we’re looking into what will be the best medication. I looked at the comparison chart on 1-800 Pet Meds but I still can’t figure out what the best solution is. Have you used K9 Advantix, Frontline, Advantage or BioSpot? Which one has worked best on your dogs?
The Accidents. So far our housebreaking schedule has worked pretty well with crate training. She’s had a few accidents that involved pee but I know it was our fault. The puppy pads in the crate were a BAD idea, she just eats them. So now we’re not sure what to do. Do we put a small pet bed inside the crate, leave it empty, something else?
The Kids. You wanna know what happened below? Kaydee was playing with the puppy and dumped her bottle of water all over the floor, then proceeded to lick it up like the puppy. Our 2 year old is now imitating the dog, from sticking her face on her plate at dinner to lick her food to barking. It’s actually kind of cute but licking our floors or any floor for that matter is not something we want her doing on a regular basis.
About Cat Davis
HI Cat,
We’ve been raising a new puppy since she was 8wks old and she is now 5months. Daisy, our havachon, is very smart and catches on quite quickly – like your lab. As for accidents…consistancy is the key. Ex: eat, crate, out..sleep, crate, out…play, water, out. No stopping inbetween crate and outside – ever. We usually take her right out…put a leash on her and tell her the command “potty” in the spot we want her to go in. Also…some say a soft bed is good in the crate – others say no. My Daisy did pee on her bed a couple of times in the beginning, but I think it was because she couldn’t hold it. So, we removed it until recently and she didn’t have any other accidents. We only had a few toys in there with her. Make sure she doesn’t have a ton of room to move around in crate. Only enough to stand and laydown and turn around. Otherwise, she’ll pick a corner she’s not sleeping in and use for her potty. House breaking can be a looonnnngggg road like potty training a toddler. Just make sure that if you can’t watch her closely, keep her in the crate. If you are consistant, (which seems impossible with kids in the house), you should have luck. Keep us updated!!
Kasey
I think my aunt who worked in a vet’s office uses Frontline on her dogs.
I think you’ll have to experiment. Some dogs like a blanket or something in their crate with them. Others chew them to bits. Everyone I know with a chewer has gotten those Kong toys and the dogs love them. It’s also something they put in the crate with the dog when they leave.
As for the 2yo, I have no clue LOL. It might be a phase. If you ignore her, she might stop. If she keep sit up, maybe praising her when she acts like a big girl, and not a puppy will work. I’ve noticed my boys are better when we praise the behaviors we want them to do rather than telling the “No” all the time.
puppy raising can be so difficult but well worth the work
I feel your pain! We got a new puppy several months ago. He is the sweetest little thing but potty training has been an adventure. When we are gone, I put down puppy pads, which he goes on really well. But when I want him to go outside it is hard for him to do, I guess I am confusing him. But having the puppy pads down have saved my carpet. I dont crate train so this is the best option for me. Hopefully as he gets older he will catch on.
As for fleas, my dogs never get them. I use K-9 Advantix for them. Once a month. Plus we have our yard treated for fleas and ticks each yr too.
Good luck! I am sure he will catch on very soon. And the pic of your daughter, that is priceless!!
Sorry no help when it comes to dogs
as for toddlers LOL Kaydee is too cute love that picture. Oh when she grows up what a picture to show LOL
But we don’t have a dog and my 4 year old is barking and walking on all fores LOL what would you say to that. Yea she is giving us signs what she wants LOL
Frontline Plus works best for fleas. You can get a 6-month supply pretty cheap on eBay. You will pay through the nose if you get it from PetSmart, Petco or your vet. I say Frontline Plus because it’s waterproof and you have a water dog. She will find her way to any sized body of water – be it puddle or pond! I breed Labradors and can tell you they gravitate towards water at any age!
I would NOT put any kind of bedding in her crate. It’s summer, so she really doesn’t need it, anyway. She’s teething and can’t really resist the urge to chew, so she would likely chew her bedding, just because it’s there. A friend of mine nearly lost her little Labrador pup, who, on Christmas Eve a couple of years ago, decided to eat the towel that was in her crate. After an almost $2,000 surgery, her intestines were close to necrotic. The towel (and some bowel) was removed and she was touch-and-go for a few days there, but she is now three and absolutely fine. The moral of the story – unless you have several thousands of dollars lying about, DO NOT put bedding in with a pup!
I can’t speak for training your daughter not to lick from the floor – all I can say is what my mother always did, “A pound of dirt before you die.”
Good luck with Shelbi, she’s really lovely!
I don’t have and advice to offer. I wanted to comment on such on a cute puppy. Kaydee is being silly.
Puppies are awesome. We just had 14 here but managed to sell them all – no more for us. Congrats on the new member.
She is cute but I never had a dog. Don’t plan too either. I’m a cat person. Good luck with the puppy training!
I’ve had dogs almost my whole life (at least four while living with my parents) and here’s what usually is a problem:
Chewing. Paper piddle pads work for older dogs–go for a fluffy towel that you don’t care if it gets torn up or messed on. The beds can be too hot or too intriguing for puppies to want to pull all of the stuffing out of.
Biting. When the puppy starts teething make sure the kids have a place to get to where she can’t. My brother and I used to turn the pillows up on the couch so that the dogs wouldn’t teethe on us. Also tennis calls are ill-advised while their moths are growing because it teaches them to bite things hard and you don’t want that to be the kids’ appendages. Use stuffed toys instead (which can be expensive so we hit up the local Goodwill on occasion for .50 deals).
Housebreaking. I’ve actually got very little input for you here. We’ve always had indoor for sleep/when it’s too hot or cold outside dogs. Our six month old pup has had two accidents ever, but he’s outside for a lot of the day. They are like kids though, their bladders/colons get much more controlled as they get older.
As for the pest control, I like Revolution because it does heartworm too (if you’re near mosquitoes, you need heartworm) but my mom uses Advantage or the 1800petmed store version of that and my mother in law uses frontline. Both are easy but make sure the kids aren’t touching the puppy for a few hours after while she dries (the Revolution is alcohol based and goes straight into the blood system after an hour)
And now I’m done. I hope you’ve enjoyed my novella!