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Getting a Puppy - need some advice

GasX

GasX

Lifer
My girlfriend and I are picking up our puppy on Saturday.
(he's the black one on the left)

So what do I need to have to be ready?

Here's what I can think of off the top of my head:

A Crate
Food & Water Bowls
Food - any recomendations?
A collar
a leash
chew toys

What else do I need to get?
 
Give em lots of attention. Start training him for whatever you want him to be trained, and don't stop till he knows his stuff. If I were you, I'd train him to ask to go outside to do his business, I think that's a rather important one. 😀

cute pups btw
 
Pick up the pup and stare at him/her right into the eyes. If he looks away after a few seconds ... fine otherwise it staring back usually points to aggressiveness. Also, u'll need to spend a lot of time with him. Yelling at them or beating them for pooping on the couch any more time greater than 5-7 minutes is a waste ... they wont relate to it. Lots of other stuff but u can look it up on the internet ... but u gotta have time for a puppy, make sure u do!
 
Originally posted by: Vonkhan
Pick up the pup and stare at him/her right into the eyes. If he looks away after a few seconds ... fine otherwise it staring back usually points to aggressiveness. Also, u'll need to spend a lot of time with him. Yelling at them or beating them for pooping on the couch any more time greater than 5-7 minutes is a waste ... they wont relate to it. Lots of other stuff but u can look it up on the internet ... but u gotta have time for a puppy, make sure u do!
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We already picked him out. He was the biggest and most outgoing of the litter.

 
Look up a book called Culture Clash on Amazon and buy it. It will be the single smartest decision you'll ever make concerning your dog. Enjoy! 🙂
 
For food, I would recommend Iams. It's a bit more expensive, but when we switched our cat and dog from Purina to Iams, our cat started maintaining a healthier weight, and the dog didn't crap as much. Good luck with your puppy! 😀
 
Originally posted by: Vonkhan
Pick up the pup and stare at him/her right into the eyes. If he looks away after a few seconds ... fine otherwise it staring back usually points to aggressiveness. Also, u'll need to spend a lot of time with him. Yelling at them or beating them for pooping on the couch any more time greater than 5-7 minutes is a waste ... they wont relate to it. Lots of other stuff but u can look it up on the internet ... but u gotta have time for a puppy, make sure u do!
Click to expand...

Maybe I've heard that wrong, but if they keep staring back it doesn't always mean they will be agressive just that they are checking for top dog, as long as you show dominance you should be fine, but you may be correct- I just don't remembemer clearly.
And praise is the best thing you can use, shouting or agression on your part really doesn't help, and can actually slow progress.

Emrys
 
As for food, it's VERY important that you do your homework. If the breeder you're buying from is a professional, and he isn't then by all means walk away from the deal, try asking them for advice. I used to know this stuff, but i no longer remember what exactly it is that's wrong with most dog food out there, including and especially Pedigree and other big brands. I just remember that when i did the research on this several years ago, it was pretty scary stuff. The single best dog food out there is the one that comes in those black bags. I can't remember the name for the life of me, but it's the food that breeders TRULY recommend. I spoke to people from several award-winning kennels and they all told me the exact same thing. This stuff is more expensive than regular food of course, but it won't kill your dog either.
 
Two minutes and the picture is only 50% loaded. Is the host server extremely slow or was this picture taken by the Hubble Telescope?

Screw it. Anyhoo, don't feed a dog soft food except as an occasional treat. It will rot their teeth and make their jaw bones soft. Please feed dogs hard kibble as the staple of their diet. I'm sick of seeing four and five year old dogs who need all their teeth pulled because some bimbo fed it canned dog food every day.
 
find one thats already house broken?

teach it to ask to go outside is a good idea, we did that with my lab when we got him but my mom did it wrong and put him outside every time he'd look at her, so thats what he would do. took us years to get him to go to the front door and bark (my sister had to train him to bark first)
 
Decide immediately if you want him sleeping in your bedroom. If not, never let him in no matter how much he cries to come in. This will be very hard if he really wants in, but giving in will only make it harder. Eventually he'll adjust.
 
Originally posted by: stormbv
For food, I would recommend Iams. It's a bit more expensive, but when we switched our cat and dog from Purina to Iams, our cat started maintaining a healthier weight, and the dog didn't crap as much. Good luck with your puppy! 😀
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Yup. Better foods like Iams or Science Diet have a lot less filler. Less filler = less crap. This is a good thing.

If you've never trained a puppy before, I suggest you do some reading. The most important thing to remember (IMHO) is that dogs only live in the here and now. You can't punish them for something they did 15 minutes ago and expect them to "get it". They don't.

As for housebreaking; the easiest way to accomplish this is to put the dog out in the yard as often as you can and say something like "go potty" or whatever (always use the same phrase tho) for a few minutes. If they go, praise them. Do this enough and eventually they'll associate "outside" with "bathroom time".

Have fun. 🙂

 
Febreeze is your friend!
I have a lhasa apso, she's paper trained.
I feed her Iams or Science Diet, she HATES soft/canned food.

remember:
onions, grapes, raisins, and chocolate are NO-NOs, don't let your pup get near these things.

we bought our lhasa from a breeder and she kept up with us for the first 6 months to make sure that we were happy.
 
Cute pups.

One very important thing I can thing of is worm medicine. You can get it at any pet store. Make sure your puppy is old enough to take it though, I think they make some for puppies.....

Without it your pup will likely get worms, which will make him pudgy in the belly area, as well as always hungry (The worms eat the food thus the dog does not get the nutrition) and maybe even less active (From being malnurished due to the worms)

Worms can be a huge problem if they do not get worm medicine....
 
Originally posted by: depechemodeone
Febreeze is your friend!
I have a lhasa apso, she's paper trained.
I feed her Iams or Science Diet, she HATES soft/canned food.

remember:
onions, grapes, raisins, and chocolate are NO-NOs, don't let your pup get near these things.

we bought our lhasa from a breeder and she kept up with us for the first 6 months to make sure that we were happy.
Click to expand...


cool. Lhasa are great dogs. I have one, and a Maltese. Ask your vet about heartworm medicine. I can't remember at which age I started giving it to mine, but I give them a chewable tablet every month
 
Originally posted by: snooker
Cute pups.

One very important thing I can thing of is worm medicine. You can get it at any pet store. Make sure your puppy is old enough to take it though, I think they make some for puppies.....

Without it your pup will likely get worms, which will make him pudgy in the belly area, as well as always hungry (The worms eat the food thus the dog does not get the nutrition) and maybe even less active (From being malnurished due to the worms)

Worms can be a huge problem if they do not get worm medicine....
Click to expand...

Most pups have them since they get them from the mother. Deworming should be part of the initial checkup and shots given to the pup by your vet.
 
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