New puppy - tons of questions about the new arrival.?

Question

Hey there. I recently came into a Bichon Frise. This puppy is 5 months old. He is the most active dog I've ever met (I like that he is, so no problems), and he is just a total sweet heart.

He, however, has some training issues. He's still very much a puppy, and is not house trained. If you could give me some links or tips on house training, that would be great. As of right now, I take him out every hour on the hour for 20 minutes. If he doesn't go, we go back inside. He is always at my side. He hasn't gone in the house yet. He went outside and I gave him lots and lots of praise. He looked kind of like "What the heck is wrong with you, lady?" at first, then after a second, he was happy and jumping around. He's only gone once since we brought him home (around 5PM on August 30th). They told us that he usually just goes about 10 minutes after he eats, and he was fed at 4PM, so he'd already gone. I'm not too worried about him at the minute. - But yeah, any additional training tips are love.

Also - being a Bichon, he has the tear stains. I'm wondering if there's any sort of home remedy to get them off? He has stains on his feet and under his chin, too, so really anything that you know that can get rid of stains or make them less noticeable, where I don't have to pay 8 dollars for a 7 oz sprayer is great. :)

Any other breed-specific questions.. I plan on teaching him agility and obedience well enough, and seeing if he'll fit the breed standard (he sure does look like a little Bichon). He is registered. :)

Anyway.. Thank you ahead of time. :D I know this is a little lengthy, so anyone who can answer my questions has my profound gratitude. :)

Answer 1

Hey! I would totally reccomend going down to your local petsmart and enrolling your dog in doggy training classes! theres the puppy class that accepts puppies from i think 12 weeks to a year, and then an advanced training class to learn cool tricks and advanced techniques. they are so great to help tame your dog down, help it listen to you and know basic training that I believe every dog should know. I have 2 labs, and they are SOO active and it was great to have this training because they actually listen to me and do not get out of hand and chew things up or jump on people when we walk in the door. its just a great class and its not expensive at all. good luck!

Answer 2

Keeping him with you at all times is excellent. They are very intelligent little dogs and he'll learn in no time that the bathroom is outside. Invest in a dog grooming guide ( the "Idiot's guide to... are good) and a good, motor driven (Golden, Oster) set of clippers. Grooming is not as complicated as one might think. Start now and keep it up his whole life and he'll be the better for it. There are some things you can get for the tear stains as well as natural remedies (onlynaturalpet.com) that can be used. Hint: mix your own once you find out the ingredients. The paws and chin can be kept trimmed short. You also might try contacting the AKC. They can put you in touch with a Bichon Club and someone there would probably be delighted to give you the skinny on those wonderful little dogs. good luck and enjoy!

Answer 3

to lon g cut up in little questions

Answer 4

every 20 mins after they it, take them out and wait till they go and then praise, if he goes inside take him out with the f***s  and put it in grass where you want him to go, then show him and take him there everytime if he plays for awhile take him out when he wakes up take him out before goes to sleep do it too. keep him supervised at all times and you will learn his actions when he goes and take him out and always tell him to go potty and while hes doing it then lots of praise and treat,  

Answer 5

You seem to be off to a really good start with the housebreaking.  There will accidents, most likely, sometime in the future.  It happens with all dogs.  So you need an odor neutralizer to completely remove any pee or poo odor so the dog can't smell it and want to go there again.

I keep recommending the best little book on housebreaking that I ever came across in my 45 years.  It's a skinny book, easy to read, understand and follow.  It only costs $7.99   You can get it at www.dogwise.com   The title is, "How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days" by S. Kalstone.  It works great.  It really is a help to have this book to refer back to when you have a question or just need to refresh your memory.  You can have it overnight shipped to you if you want to get started right away.

There are only two things that I know for sure will work on most or all tear and saliva stains.  They are: Angels' Eyes, which is mixed in the food, and Eye Envy which some people like and others tell me it doesn't work.  There is also a way of making a paste of baking soda and peroxide to bleach out the stains but I've never tried it.  I wouldn't want to get that in the dog's eyes and possibly blind it.  Please be extremely careful if you try this.

Be sure to keep your dog brushed and combed because that pretty hair tangles very easily and can quickly turn into one big matted mess which will have to be shaved off.

I congratulate you on your desire to train your dog.  Most Bichons seem to be a lot more than a pretty face; they are smart and quick to learn.  Best wishes to you and your new dog.