Bringing home my first puppy?

Question

I'm bringing home a 8 week old shih tzu puppy tomarrow and i'm so excited. i have a bed, food, leash collar and play toys. any hints or tips? i got a book on training so i've been reading that all afternoon but if anyone has some extra pointers that would be great. thanks

Answer 1

Hi,

A good thing to try is a Puppy Preschool, these help you teach your dog commands, allows you and your puppy to socialize with other puppy owners and their puppies and they also provide great advice when you need it. They usually occur one a week in mid to late afternoon at a local vet, etc.

Before bringing the dog home consider where it is to sleep. If it is sleeping alone try using a pet bed buddy. Basically they are a doll in the shape of a dog and have a Velcro pouch on the underside. This comes with a small hot water bottle and a mechanical heart (which ticks), these help the puppy to feel that it is with someone (person or other dog/puppy). These are usually available from pet shops, vets and pet warehouses.

Hope this information helps (have fun with your new puppy),

Secca

Answer 2

Puppies are playful and like to have fun so better be ready to handle that their fun playful and can be sily sometimes liek for instance my dog used to run around the hosue for no apparent reason stop look at u make a flinch and she runs around again. They are really fun to be around ull love them. Just dont spoil them from now or they always will be like always give them ur food cuz then u wouldnt be left alone once u start eating. My dog used to eat my food i leave on the table as soon as I turned my back =/ anyway good luck.

Answer 3

Do you have a dog gate and newspaper or puppy pads for house training?

Answer 4

Always use lots of praise and positive reinforcement, never punish for potty accidents, be patient, be consistent, and enjoy.

Answer 5

keep any small items ie kids toys away from it, puppies love to chew and eat everything- i just lost a dog who choked on my kids lego.

Answer 6

1. Use reward based (positive reinforcement) training.

2. Sign her up to some puppy classes to help socialize her to other dogs.

3. Get her a crate and crate train her. The crate will help a lot for housetraining.

4. Use a 6-foot leash and not a flexi. The regular leash gives you better control so that you can teach her how to walk without pulling.

5. Teach her bite inhibition.  

Answer 7

haha just make sure it doesnt bump its head on too many things accidentally otherwise it'll be pretty stupid, like my dog

lol

:)

Answer 8

I've got a wonderful article titled "Before you get your puppy."  So read it quick ;)

http://www.openpaw.org/PDFs/BEFORE_YouGe...

Socialization is EXTREMELY important!!  Cannot stress that enough.

http://www.dogbehaviour.com/articles/dog...

More great puppy articles, in case your book left anything out ;)

http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles...

Have fun!

Answer 9

From the second it walks in, it has to know that YOU ARE the boss. Don't spoil it "just because it's SOOO CUTE!!!"

order of importance:

1. Exercise

2. Discipline

3. Affection

Yes, I LOVE my dog and I give her lots of affections (you should hear me screech I LOVE YOU SARA!!!!!!!) but I always keep in mind that a tired dog is a good obedience no barking/biting/jumping dog.

Always make him sit before going out, getting his food, etc.

Oh and one more thing. Don't make his crate (if you buy one) to be a punishment. In his crate, he's supposed to feel safe.

=) And one more thing. SOCIALIZE!!! You'll be sooooooooooooo much happier, I guarantee you if youo start socializing. For the first 2 months, let her meet only dogs you KNOW FOR SURE are good and obedient. (I know a friend whose dog was scarred for life after a huge mean dog tackled it as a puppy). But mostly, just keep her on leash. Only let her observe other dogs and people.

Then, take her to the dog park around 4 or 5 months old. Make sure he has all his vaccinations first. He'll LOVE the dog park.