New puppy owner

[Kim Win]

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Hi

We have a 9 week old golden Labrador puppy. We picked him up on Saturday and he has won our hearts already .

The problem is we have never had a puppy, or dog, before and I am the one at home with him in all day and I am paranoid about him eating things he shouldn't and poisoning himself.

Being a Lab everything goes in his mouth, leaves, twigs, paper, bits of rotten wood not to mention any food that he can find; I dropped a bit of onion on the floor yesterday and he swallowed it before it hit the floor, i then worried all evening because I read they could be fatal.

How does anyone else cope with the stress?

 

[goldenbear2013]

You just cope! It's amazing how well you will cope with the stress of a puppy because of how much love and affection they give you! It all makes it worth while in my book

I have a lab and he is nearly 2 and I know exactly how you feel. I'm convinced mine has a death wish as he has poisoned himself 3 times, 2 of which resulted in over night stays at the vets! He eats ANYTHING!!!!!

We keep a close eye on him, but when he is in the fields its like a buffet for him and we cant stop him!

When he is at home he doesn't touch anything dropped on the floor as we have taught him to leave it.

Crate train your pup (get the book The Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey and follow it to the letter) and also pop a baby gate up, so he doesn't go up the stairs. Pups shouldn't be climbing stairs until they are over 9 months old as their bones are still developing and it could potentially cause issues with their joints later on in life. If you want to take him upstairs with you then pick him up, same going down.

Crate training and using a baby gate are great ways to keep your pup out of harms way, from when you are cooking, cleaning, hovering etc and for when you start leaving him alone; you will know that being in his crate, locked up (god that sounds awful doesn't it!) and secure that you can rest easy knowing that you wont come home to a trashed house or an ill puppy who has raided you bins!

The book I mentioned I followed it to the letter with Bear when he was a pup and a lot of my advice I give on here is because of what I learnt from that book and from having previous dogs. It will teach you all manner of things that should give you a well balanced dog if you follow through.

Apart from Bears' desire to gobble up anything nasty he kind find out on the field (a habit we have never been able to break! not even his trainer can stop him!) we have managed to create a very happy well balanced pup/dog from that book, and ongoing training at puppy classes we enrolled him when he was 12 weeks old. He still goes to the same trainer now but he does agility.

I wish you all the luck in the world with your new bundle of fluff and any questions or concerns you have, any of us that know how to help you will

Sophie x

 

[Raven oaktree]

ohhh the best thing we ever did with our pup was crate train her..its a god send..somewhere safe to put her when you cant watch them...willow is 8 months old now and only just trusted enough to be left for a few mins..ie left in he living room when im cooking in the kitchen...she still eats anything and counter surfs and climbs and chews and pulls out knitting...im not kidding when i tell you its only Jacks daniels and coke ..and her crate that has got me through he last 5 months hahahahaha..congratulations on your new addition btw..we need photos ..its the LAW

basically you need to crate train and baby proof your house....if that fails..YOU sit in he crate with a stiff drink and hand the house over to the puppy....they take over eventually anyway



this is how we found Willow yesterday when id left her for 5 mins while getting tea out of the oven

 

[Kim Win]

We have a stair gate and a crate so we are on the right track. He likes his his crate, has since day one, it his den, he takes everything in there with him and goes in voluntarily to rest.

It is such a relief to not feel quite so alone with him now and to know others have been through the same and survived lol.

I can't wait until he has had his 2nd injection next week and we can look forward to getting him out into the big wide world, I am going stir crazy stuck at home all day every day lol.

Kim x

 

[Raven oaktree]

omg he is sooo beautiful ..for now pop him in his crate when you eat..he will learn bu for now while he is little just put him out the way at meal times x

 

[goldenbear2013]

Oh my god my heart has just melted!!!!! I would say I'd love mine to be that age again but I really don't haha! If he was as well behaved and trained as he is now and that size it would be perfect!

He is just too cute!!!!!

A tip for you that may help, is take him out now. Pick him up and carry him around. This way he gets to see the big wide world in your arms where he will feel safe. It will get him used to traffic noises and people walking past and different smells etc so when you do take him for walkies then it wont be quite a daunting for him.

Just don't put him down, so make sure he has been the toilet before taking him out.

Plus it gets you out the house!

I've attached a pic of mine when he was a puppy and now with a jar of peanut butter in his mouth! haha!

Sophie x

 

[Kim Win]

Aww Sophie he is gorgeous.

I was unsure if it was safe to take h out in public even carrying him but I think I might have a go over the next few days.

Thankfully I have reinforcements for the Easter weekend I'm the form of my hubby, and on Monday our two grown up sons will be here too .

I can understand what you mean about not wanting h back as a pup, they are extremely cute but much harder work than I was expecting but so very rewarding when they learn something new.

Kim x

 

[Raven oaktree]

I honestly found the puppy stage much much easier than i thought it would be but we had bomproofed our house so it was easier..the teenage stage she is going through now however is a flippin nightmare..she has strops, is stubbon, she is big enough to reach everything..but she is beautiful and we can see a difference in her everyday...in 2 years time she will be fab...hopefully

 

[goldenbear2013]

Teenage years are a nightmare! Bear was a right sod! He turns 2 next month and over the last couple months he's really turned a corner! Grit your teeth and carry on lol!

Sophie x