I bought a puppy!!!

Well last night i was looking through the paper and found some pups for sale. So I went to go look at them and they were really clean, calm and cute! I put a deposit on a male, he was the smallest of the litter. The pups are 3/4 maltese and 1/4 shih tzu. I took pics with my digital camera and will try to post them. I am really nervous, I don't know if that is normal. I mean did I do the right thing? I have never had a indoor dog before, I always have company over and how will the dog react to visitors? How long til the dog will stop crying at night? What if my dog bites me or someone? Please help me guys, I am really scared I have never had a small dog before, when you guys go to the movies or dinner where is the dog usually?

 

Congrats to you, first and foremost!

Now, as far as the nervousness... I remember being slightly nervous before we got our pups, but deep down I knew that I had done all of my research, read as many books on owning a puppy that I could and prepared myself as best I possibly could. Even as prepared as I was, there were still nerves that first day we brought our girls home, I think that is very normal!

The type of pet that you choose should fit into your lifestyle. My thoughts are that you should have a pretty good idea what the temperament of each of these breeds are before you chose that mix (or purebred).

As far as your question about the puppy biting, this all comes down to how much time you put into training your new puppy. You teach your puppy not to bite! Every puppy adjusts to its new environment differently. Your new puppy may not cry at all.. he may cry for one night, maybe a week. How long it takes will depend on how quickly he feels safe and comfortable in his new surroundings.

If hubby and I go out, we leave the girls in the kitchen, usually. We've been doing work on the house so it's not completely "puppy proofed", thus we do not let them roam just yet. Where you leave your puppy will depend on how you decide to train him.. whether it be constant supervision method or crate training etc.

I suggest that while you wait for your little guy, you do some research and/or buy a few good puppy books. There's a lot involved with puppies and you need to be as prepared as possible

Good luck and I can't wait to see pictures!

 

Thanks so much for the advice. I am sure I will get over this nervousness. I am just really worried about being able to resume my daily life (I mean cleaning the house and dishes etc) tasks done and the puppy being able to play by himself for a little while and not just cry. I will try to post pics soon!

 

I understand your nervousness...I had never had a small indoor dog before either, only big outside dogs.

I wondered if I was doing the right thing also, and was a nervous wreck the first 2-3 weeks we had Molly.
But, once you get your routine down, you'll bet better.
My day usually goes like this:
6:30 AM- Alarm goes off, I get dressed, take Molly out of her crate by my bed, take her into each girl's room and put her on their bed, where she helps wake them up by crawling all over them and kissing their faces. I only let her do this for a few seconds, as I know she probably has to go pee really bad!
Then I take her out to go pee, and put her in our detached garage. We have an exercise pen with an attached crate set up in there. Then i get the girls ready for school and on the bus.
8:00AM- I take Molly her breakfast in the garage. Then I come in and eat mine, and do some quick cleaning.(picking up, dishes, laundry, ect.)
10:00-11:00 AM- I go get Molly out of the garage, and sit with her outside in our enclosed yard area so she can play for awhile, and poo and pee.
Noon- Molly eats her lunch inside the house, and so do I. Right after, we go for a walk, as this usually makes her have another BM.
1:00PM-Molly goes into her crate inside the house for about an hour nap.
The rest of the afternoon she stays with me, in the house, or outside for potty breaks. Sometimes we drive to the post office for the mail. This lasts until 3:15 when I have to go pick my kids up from school, and she rides in the car with me to go get them.
Around 6:00PM- Molly goes back into the garage and has her dinner there, and I go inside to feed my family. Afterwards around 7:00 we go for another walk. Then, depending on if there is something I want to watch on tv or not, she either comes inside or goes in her exercise pen in the garage.
8:30-9:00PM- Molly goes in her crate by my bed for bedtime. Soon after, I go to bed also.

Of course, this varies some...like now she is in the fenced in area outside by herself for a little while, and my DD has a volleyball game later so she will have to go into the garage when I'm gone for that.

The exercise pen with an attached crate works great for days when I have to go to the store, or have to be gone for more than a few hours. She has a place to sleep, and an area to play in or go potty in.
In fact, Saturday I'm going to lunch and shopping with a friend (kids free!!! something we do very seldom), and she will be in the garage during that time.

It'll all fall into place, it becomes much easier once they start "getting" house training. But, I won't lie to you, I was pretty stressed out there for awhile, but I have relaxed considerably now. (we've had her 2 months).

 

Aww, congratulations! I can relate to the nervousness. Mine was attributed to a tiny toy puppy (and my husband and son or well over 6' tall, and afraid they're gonna step on them. Well, you know, it's happened before, unfortunately).

Anyway, I'm sure that will pass. I know I was excited but nervous about bringing our first little puppy into the house. But it'll be fine. If you love him/her, that's what matters. You'll do right by him.

Enjoy!

 

Congratulations on your new arrival!! Keep us in pictures...

 

CONGRATS!!!

I would highly recommend that you get a few really good puppy books! I can't remember which member said it, but I think someone mentioned that the "Puppies for Dummies" book was really good! I know I've heard a few other recommendations, but I don't remember what all they were, unfortunately.

Also, there are a lot of great posts here on Auspet about housebreaking/potty training, biting/nipping, what to do when you need to leave your puppy alone while you go out, walking your dog, and all sorts of other puppy/dog-related issues. So, I would recommend that you use Auspet's search feature to look for all those previous threads! :y_the_best:

Best wishes, and once again, a huge congrats to you on your very first puppy!!!

 

First off congradulations!

I just wanted to add that in addition to all your research you know that it will take time and things dont go away overnight if there are issues. The only reason I say this is alot of dogs end up in pounds every year for simple behavor problems that owners didnt take the time to work with or the dog wasnt learning fast enough. I am by no means saying this will be something you do but please remember patience is the key to raising a good dog. Good luck to you and I am sure you will find alot of information and support on this board!

 

VERY good point, 4dogs!!! :y_the_best:

A good reminder for all of us...experienced or not! :wink:

 

Thanks for all the input guys, I really appreciate it, and i know i can count on you guys through the tough times. I was just curious, does your dog scratch hardwood floors when he or she walks on the floor? I think nervousness is fading away into excitement. I am just worried about him not being good with visitors.

 

Doggielover... Congratulations on your pending new "baby"!! You've received great advice... enjoy!!

Can't wait to hear all the fun details

 

Great advice, everyone!! By the way, I did buy the "Puppies for Dummies" book and I LOVE it! I actually pulled it out the other night.. it walks you through the different stages of the puppy and what to expect, etc. Also has a page that you tear out (it's perforated) and hang up (I have mine on the fridge) that contains emergency info (like if they are choking, common poisons etc.) ~ very handy!

About the hardwood floors.. our entire first floor is hardwoods and I haven't noticed any scratches from Molly & Emma.. even when they are TEARING around the house!!! :lol:

 

To answer your scratching issue - nope. Or at least I haven't noticed it (and I have a big 80lb one and a 6lb one). I do try to keep their nails trimmed tho.

My little one does seem to like to scratch the couch - like he's diggin or something. lol so cute.

 

My little ones like to scratch the couch too, most of the time before they lay down. I guess they are trying to fluff it up. But they dont actually do any damage to it thank god!

 

Regarding scratching, I have wood floors in my front hall and dining room, and I have yet to see any scratch mark on the wood. So, nope, no scratch marks, and believe me, they really run and skid on those floors all the time, and still nothing!!!

Come to think of it, I often took care of an APBT for a little while, and even she (and she's not light) wouldn't create any scratch marks on the wood floor despite her running and skidding on the floor!

Concerning my couches and such, they would dig/scratch at them if they could, BUT, I definitely had to teach them NOT to. I have leather furniture in my family room, so scratching that furniture was a HUGE no, no!!! [-X Before I fully trained them not to scratch at the furniture, I had to have several scratch marks repaired, but thank goodness, they've learned not to do it, so no more scractch marks. :-k Same is true for the couches and chairs in my living/front room, although they're not leather, the fabric is not something I will ever allow them to scratch. Basically, in their eyes, scratching/digging at the furniture down stairs is OFF LIMITS! However, they are allowed to scratch while on my bed (since it's just sheets), which they usually do every night before they go to bed! :lol:

Just my two cents!

 

A HUGE portion of your dog's acceptance of other people is HIGHLY dependent upon you, believe it or not! If you take the time and effort to fully, and extensively, socialize your puppy to all kinds of people and situations, chances are more than high that your puppy will be good around strangers/visitors. If you don't take the time to do so, it is quite likely that you will end up with a big problem! I honestly can't even begin to emphasize just how important it really is to extensively socialize your puppy starting at a very young age!!!!!!!! :y_the_best:

I've been around one too many dogs who were obviously not socialized (or well socialized) as a puppy, and trust me, the owners (if the dog is owned by someone, as opposed to a shelter dog) are really paying the price for not doing so, and unfortunately, the dog is too! It's sad and it's frustrating to know that it could all be very different, in a positive way, if the proper time had been spent socializing the puppy!

Please be sure you do, you (and your visitors/strangers) will be happy that you did!

 

Book Recomendations

Congrats! I can't wait until I bring home my little girl (not until Feb)! I have been to TONS of breeders site's and the #1 book I see them all raving about is The Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of New Skete. They also have another book called How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend. Here is a link to them- http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... ce&s=books