blonde poker forum

Any tips on things to do/not to do ?
We are a first time dog owner family, picked up Bella on Saturday, been going pretty well so far.
At night we put her in the utility room, first couple of nights were sleepless but she has been getting better through the week :)
Anyway, im sure there was a thread on here but search did not find anything.\
Also re: feeding we have mixed advice some say leave a bowl down all the time other say we should have feeding times???

Any advice most welcome.

Cheers

Its good she is getting better every night, the first two weeks are hell but they soon learn.

Feeding - I personally like to give them a certain amount of time to eat then pick it up again (tho I do cave in), I like to only give him dinner after we have eaten, so he understands his role in our pack.

Biggest single advice I can give that worked wonders for us is to socialise her in every way possible as soon as possible. As soon as you can take her for walks, take her up to as many people and dogs as possible, take her near busy roads (on her lead obv) and anywhere else loud.

Personally I think you should let her off the lead in parks and stuff right away, while you can still catch her. I hear people say the opposite and you should practice recall first, but I know loads of people who went that route and really struggle with their dogs off the lead.

Pictures please

Thanks for that Dave,
I may try her off the lead in the garden first as its quite large and secure, at the moment we have been keeping her on the lead.
@Eating - Sounds like a  good idea.

Cheers

What sort of exercise do you plan on giving her once she is fully grown? How often, how close are you to good parks etc?

The biggest single mistake I think any dog owners make relates to how much exercise they give them. I have a ton of mates who have what they call a 'naughty dog' who is in fact just a frustrated dog (I have two particular fuck wit mates who think that two walks a week is fine for a boxer, which makes me angry).

Obv it depends on the type of dog how much they need, but also I think a real key is what sort of walk they get. If you can get other dogs involved thats the best, 5 minutes playing with another dog is probably worth 30 minutes of me just walking Charlie. Likewise playing find and fetch games is a good way of giving what they need. More than anything, I think dogs crave activity and challenge in their walks, so vary the walks, socialise with other dogs and give them challenges - mentally and physically. The most knackered I've seen my dog is not when we run him raggered but when we hide things in the park or throw balls into long grass and he has to go and find them.

A nicley knackered dog is the most satisfying image a dog owner can have imo

We're a couple of weeks ahead of you Tractor, picked him up late September.

We've gone with fixed meal times but the bowl stays down and empty most of the time. A small treat when he goes outside to crap/wee seems to be working well in reinforcing good habits. I'd also echo the points about getting him to meet as many people and dogs as possible in these early days.

(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_rIClPgXHBn0/TJ4FFD2Pp3I/AAAAAAAAAEw/z3qjfkWvs38/s512/RIMG0628.JPG)

Best advice I could give is to hand feed instead of using a bowl. It's a great way to build a relationship with your dog.

If you combine it with training you're on a winner.

Start recall training now combined with hand feeding. Sit in a chair with the dog's meal and throw out a little bit of food. 99% guaranteed the dog will come back. When it comes back give it more food and praise. Praise should come first btw. You praise to tell it it's done the right thing then provide a reward. Repeat loads of times and start using your recall command as the dog is returning.

Recall will become automatic because they'll associate it with meal time and always want to come back to you.

Let it off lead as much as possible while it's a pup and work on the recall. They don't stray too far while they're nervous little babies but when they hit 5 - 6 months they're off. If you get recall sorted now you won't go far wrong.

Never use your recall command if you know the dog won't come back. You're destroying it's effectiveness. If a dog is chasing something or playing with another dog it is unlikely to come back unless your recall is brilliant. If you shout it to come and it ignores you you're teaching it to ignore you. The more you shout the more it learns it doesn't have to come back.

Practice recall 40 times a day when the dog has no reason to not come back then it will become automatic. The biggest mistake people make with recall is not recalling until the dog is doing something it shouldn't be doing. The problem is that the something is usually fun so it won't come back.

One more thing. Go to puppy classes. It doesn't matter what they cost they're worth it. You'll learn loads.

Good luck!!

ah , my family had west highlands when I was young , beautiful dogs.

When we first got ours , anyone who came into the house left with their socks in tatters.....she would stalk them from afar like a lioness and then launch herself at the feet - great fun.

Would you like me to introduce you to my puppy?

Is that because you would run a mile from a full grown dog?

Meeting with Ronnie def required!

People who are cruel to animals have small penises, fact.

just so you all know, Lundy gets blaped (abit like fraped but for blonde) by his housemate a lot.

Though I really like the idea of a meeting with Ronnie for anyone who wants to stamp on dogs.

Jon Lundy has already been banned for a week recently, until we discovered that it was someone on his machine.

Be careful Jon, we don't have the time to fk around wondering if its you posting or not

If your frapper oversteps the mark, the next ban will be longer.

Change your password, and log off blonde before you leave your computer please

yeh was milo, sorry and will do.

Windows Key + L will lock your computer and stop such things happening. Faster and more convenient than logging out of everything every time you want a drink or something.

leaving a bowl down all the time with food in is probably the worst bit of advice you could've got

he never leaves PC unattended, he just takes my laptop when he cant leave the sofa and logs in forever like a retard

me and my gf just got a puppy its 10 weeks old now


i been told to put her food in a bowl and take it away after shes stopped eating

dont put the food and water bowl near where she shits

and play with her alot and praise her with treats and stuff


the pics are too big to post so heres a link on my gf sis fb account

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10150093069945903&set=a.10150093059665903.304529.668580902&pid=7612188&id=668580902

She ok at night? Our Lola was a nightmare, we Wrapped an old alarm clock in a blanket and placed it underneath her, worked a treat.

I'm lost. why did you do this?

At the start she was abit restless but we had a toy dog with her mums smell on it
Which we put near her when she should be slEeping put it near a clock and some warm water. This is to think her mum is near by

Ticking simulates a heartbeat. Mother's heartbeat to be precise.

Yeah sorry Gatso it does sound a bit random. Evilpies right its the heartbeat.

She is sleeping well but if we have problems we will give it a try.
She is biting everything at the moment, especially likes feet and hands and not her toys! Any ideas?

Pre puppy purchase - the best piece of advice I would give would be to make sure you do not buy from a puppy farm, sadly so many people do & line the pockets of the scum that run them without a care for the puppies.

Rescuing a dog is also an option that so many people don't consider, yet so many wonderful dogs are to be found in rescue centres.

+1000000000

went to one and it was horrible. cant imagine any of these puppys were happy and the breeder looked like a dick

Did u lay some smackdown on his candy ass Paul ho?

What sort is she Tractor? Cocker? When she bites push in her floppy jowls, so she bites on herself. It won't last long anyway at the end of the day shes a pup just wanting to play but it hurts like fuck.

Shes a Cockapoo, yeah its just play and i suppose teething?

Best bit of advice we got about biting was from a dog trainer and it worked. We would play with Charlie and whenever he would bite our hands, we would make yelping 'oww' noise, then get up and walk away from him. This was to make him realise he had done something wrong and punished him by taking the fun play time away from him. He was a right little sod for biting but he literally never did it again after we practiced this a few times one afternoon.

One thing I have noticed is that dogs are way more motivated by fun/play then they are by food when it comes to training.

Poodles are really clever so teach it loads of tricks

They look like poofs though :D

I'd take a poofy looking poodle that could knock up unlimited chicken fried rice!

The problem is often that when a puppy bites your hand or foot or tugs on your clothes you make loads of noise and move around a lot. This is fun for the puppy and is a nice way of playing.

When you play with a toy people generally just dangle the thing in front of the puppy and expect it to know what to do with it.

What I'm trying to say is that most owners are boring when they play with toys. Make the toy more interesting and exciting than your trouser leg and you've got it sorted.

My minature is awesome, don't be tight!  2nd pic shows her letting our hamster nibbling her nails...

I had a lovely black miniature poodle called Marcus, one of the sweetest and smartest dogs ever.

We take our dog to the park at the same time most days, we are lucky as there are 6-10 other dogs owners that meet up and we can have a chat about mundane life while the dogs run around having fun.  Its been mentioned earlier but it really uses up energy and Billie loves it!  The other benefit is that she is great with other dogs! if you have any mates with dogs or a park where lots of other dogs go taking her as a puppy is a great idea as everybody loves a puppy and will more than likely introduce themselves to you!

Red gave me some superb advice when I got Billie which has really helped us now.  We took her in the car loads, right from day one.  We sat in the car, turned the engine on, put her in the boot closed it then opened it doing it for longer and longer.  It might sound stupid but Billie is so good in the car now which is really important to us as we often travel to the missus family in Southampton, quite a long journey.  We went camping and she sleeps in the boot.  Its like a home from home! 

We also took her to busy roads, just carried her let her hear noises that would come later in life and now she isn't afraid of anything.  Bonfire night doesn't even cause us any problems - not sure if we are just lucky with this one though!

I am really thankful for all the help I got with Billie,  both Tom and Matt really gave me some great advice and I would say that if you ever have a problem or are struggling with something bring this thread back up and ask. 

Owning a dog is one of the most amazing experiences, however at times when things aren't going well it can feel like a nightmare.  We were very close to giving up with Billie, she was fine with me but my missus was having trouble with discipline, with advice from Matt we managed to turn things around and now have a wonderful dog that is a joy to have.

We had a problem with Billie mouthing, and to a certain extent still do.  My dad is a real pain in the arse, he loves putting his hands in my dogs mouth and did from day one (we did fall out over it and he is getting better), we thought she would grow out of it but when we realised she wouldnt we had to really work on it, its much more difficult to stop something later than if you can nip it in the bud from the outset.

I think the collar says it all mate :D

lol - missed that!  beautiful.  billie has a blue collar... need a nice pink one really

She's a right diva, lovers her bling.   :-*

Ronnie's collar is black with bullets encrusted in to it which he eats for snacks.

Thanks for all the advice, really appreciated.
Everything going really well now, mainly down to some good advice from here :)
She is learning real quick, sleeps all night, sits, lies down etc etc and recall is getting there.

Thanks.

Hi everyone. This is Hank. He's a 12-week Hungarian Puli.

I've just put him into his crate for the first night, and it's so far so good (only about two five-minute bursts of barking and then - fingers crossed - silence). We tested the waters about two hours ago, and he went absolutely mental for 25 minutes. It's tough to hear a puppy in that state, and you can't help but worry about him, but we ignored him and then let him out after 10 minutes of silence.

My main concerns are the neighbours complaining, and Hank's health if he throws a massive tantrum and starts bashing into the cage or something. We keep him in the kitchen in a decent-sized crate with a little bit of food, lots of water, newspaper on the surface and two of my old T-shirts. I'm not 100 percent sure what time I'm meant to let him out, or how to treat him when I do. Also, how many blankets and whatnot does he need to be comfortable? We don't normally have the heating on at night (even in this weather), so I'm unsure if he'll be warm enough down there.

He's a bugger with nipping (would make good poker pro). Hands, feet, leg - whatever is dangling.

Any advice appreciated. Definitely want to nip (excuse the pun) nipping and barking at night in the bud early doors.

Snoops

Snoopy how does your dog see ?

PS Class looking dog.

these dogs will end up looking like sheeps

Absolutely no idea. It's really weird. He did run into a glass door earlier, but I did that on my first day too.

could probs do with a bit more than 2 old tshirts. get him a bit of vetbed tomorrow and stick that down for him. more comfy and a bit of insulation if it gets nippy

Don't leave the food with him through the night and take him out for a wee break right before you intend to hit the pillow.  The crying usually stops after the first couple of nights and the first night will be abso torture, but hold tough.

PS  He's lovely  :)

Fuk me now this I'm sosiso close to buying a puppy
Been looking at minature shorthaired dashund
I want a dog and then keep thinking they are a big tie around ya neck
I'm 50/50 o won't commit till I'm 100%

Had a good night with Hank. Just a bit of barking at around 7.30am and some minor defecation in the crate. Main problem at the moment seems to be nipping. He's pretty incessant and, even at this age, his teeth are quite sharp. I try to say no firmly, and often he'll stop and sit there quietly, but if you move or go to stroke him, he'll just go for the nip again. I tired yelping and then walking to my chair and ignoring, but it's not really working yet. Any advice for nipping this in the bud?

i got a wired haired dashund pup a couple of months ago and it was the worst idea ever with a 9 month baby in the house.dashund are notoriously hard to train as they have a very stubburn streak in them and they tend to bond with one member of the family more than others.
we had to give up after 6 weeks it was just to much,if you have all the time in the world to train one then i would say go for it they are lovely dogs but if you are going out a lot then they are not the right pups fpr you imo
gl if you get one

and snoops your dog is so cool

Toy poodles ftw!!!

Thanks. We got v lucky to get him. Only 39 Pulik were born in the UK last year, so you normally have to wait around a year.

We were pretty close to getting a Dachsund, but I was worried about the problems you incurred with training. Hopefully Hank will keep improving. He's very cute, but nipping more than TJ Cloutier. I'm just relieved that he slept well tbh.

Going for our first walk soon.

Try watching some episodes of the Dog Whisperer for some good tips on how to handle dogs (showed on various sky channels most days).  Cesar Millan is a genius when it comes to dogs.  

http://www.cesarsway.com/

Better hair than snoops tbf

you need to train him to do this snoops

(http://www.jmbroughton.com/Portals/0/Hungarian%20Puli%20sheepdog.jpg)

I might pop round and borrow him sometime, he's pretty cool looking

It's been an up and down day. Took him for his first walk at lunch time, met some dogs, he slept a bit, didn't nip much and was generally well behaved. He's now misbehaving terribly and nipping has been incessant tonight. He's in full ambush mode and won't let go when he's got my trousers, growling and pulling the trouser leg from side to side. Before, saying no and ignoring him worked, but not now. I wasn't really sure how to react, so I've decided to put him in his crate. Is that the right thing to do? Is it normal for him to suddenly start misbehaving? What do you do when they won't let go and aren't responding?

Phew. Exhausting day.

Get Sofa-King to come round with a 3ft lump of wood and a balaclava. Will soon teach him to behave :-)

Cracking dog by the way snoops.

Nip it back see how he likes it!!

Don't use the crate as punishment. I'm not really the best person to advise on the other stuff, just know the crate should be a happy place.

When he nips you, make an angry sound (Doesn't have to be loud, just a GRRRR noise) and at the same time, grab his scruff and give him a bit of a shake. Just make it clear that you don't like it.

This is the way his mother, or any other dominant dog would teach him.

Be consistent, and he'll catch on in no time

yeah, this is good advice

just spoke to my mum who's a dog trainer. she hasn't worked with many pulis but says the biggest problem with them is that they can't see a bloody thing

apart from that they should be pretty easy to train, same as any sheepdog

Many thanks. I think we're getting there. His naughty time seems to be 7pm.

Looks like some good advice on here, ready for the arrival of our Black Labrador puppy, Archibald George Pendock Prime into the Jaxie household on Saturday.

wtf?

lol

Bit of spam on behalf of a friend.

http://www.cadelac.co.uk/dvd.html

Denise is a really good friend of mine who I've got to know through dog training.

She's only recently made this DVD and there's some fantastic stuff in there. I'd really recommend it.

If you can handle the drive from Leicester her puppy classes are really good as well.

Good luck with the new addition.

Don't worry, the short version is Archie.   rotflmfao

You wont regret it, best dogs in the world, best thing I ever did.

Cause you wont get much sleep and you are about to have a bunch of stuff get torn to shreds, but otherwise good times ahead.

(http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/302564_10150344375308175_534978174_8201518_685154583_a.jpg)

I'm a firm Labrador fan. We had a couple of Labradors at home from the age of 15, then my dad got another a short while after they died. That one died about 6 or 7 years ago. This will be the first dog of my own though.

Big Labrador fan.


(http://i1.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/590/draft_lens17715305module151751211photo_1311451462dog-figurine-fan.jpg)

Keep them in a crate
Always feed them outside then they know to do their business after
The crate is their sanctuary and not for punishment it also keeps them from choking on anything they might chew on when u arnt there
Pick up uneaten food
They will give you a lifetime of companionship
If u ever doubt who loves u the most put the mrs and the dog in the boot drive em down a bumpy road for an hour or more
Open the boot see who is most pleased to see you !!
My border terrier is 4 now wouldn't be without her best company ever

Yeah...good luck with that.   ;nemesis;

Just in case the point somehow needed proving.

Lol

I know two lads who once put what they thought was a dead badger into the boot of a car. During the drive home, they realised it was not only alive, but it was now concious and madder than Hell.

They only just managed to stop the car and do a runner before it tore through the back seat and trashed everything in sight.

We've all been there, if I had a penny for every time me and a friend loaded a dead badger into a car, only for it to actually be conscious and start trashing the back seat, forcing us to do a runner...

Lol. Very droll Mr S.