Bringing home a puppy..... I need a refresher!

[blairasb]

In seven weeks, I will be bringing home my first dog.

Now, I grew up in a dog family. My dad was a K9 officer. I grew up around his partners and the assorted dogs he took on to train for protection, drug detection, tracking, etc… as well as my mom’s belgian malinois. I also groomed dogs for a couple of years before I figured out the reason I was sick all the time was allergies related to being marinated for 8 hours a day in dirty dandery pups. (I’m not really very allergic under normal circumstances at all). But… this will be my first dog that wasnt trained by somebody else

I am getting a Mini Australian Shepherd from a friend’s litter that was born monday. Little blue merle girl.

I am an apartment dweller, pup will be crate trained but become my after work companion going to the barn and for walks/runs and hopefully also be something I can show in rally or obedience and maybe agility.

My friend is a dog trainer (obedience/rally and schutzhund) so she will be able to help me out in that aspect.

Over the next few weeks, will be getting ready for the pupster’s homecoming.

Aside from the norm… crate, collar, leash, food, bowls, puppy pads… (already have grooming supplies left over)… Anything else I’m forgetting? Any recommended reading?

[Bluey]

What works best for starting a puppy in a household, when it comes to housebreaking, is to take a few days to be with the puppy all the time and take it out many, many times to a designated puppy bathroom AND not give it much freedom to do wrong up front.

As we say in our dog club, TRAIN AND CONFINE when starting will give you a dog that is obedient and has earned it’s freedom for the rest of it’s life.

Those first few days, puppies generally get uneasy and start zipping around and then you have some seconds to distract it and run it out again.
Once you have established that important housebreaking start, the rest follows easier.

I don’t know that I would use puppy piddle pads, as it may confuse puppies about going to the bathroom inside, but in some situations, when you have to leave puppy alone for many hours, more than can’t be expected to hold it, they have their place.

One old but interesting book is “How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With”, by Clarice Rutherford and David H. Neil.
That book was important when it first came out decades ago as it explained the neurological development of puppies, when they were ready to understand more and more, which in puppies happens in a few weeks.
Carol Lea Benjamin also has good puppy starting books.
Another old book that helps in general understand dogs is Jean Donaldson “Culture Clash”.

There are many here with mini aussies, they are very nice dogs, excellent size, good disposition for pets and some of the nicest, less complicated dogs to raise and live with, plus they are so pretty also.

Since you have a friend that trains dogs, I assume you will go to some puppy and later general classes and that really will give you and your puppy a good basic framework to work with, to socialize puppy and for you to learn basic dog training techniques to teach you both to communicate.

Above all, remember when your puppy is being an obnoxious puppy to relax, they all eventually do grow up.:lol: