Advice on getting new puppy

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Apple In My Pie

Apple In My Pie

Congratulations! I’ve never been a puppy person (too jumpy and Yappy for me!) but my sister has got a puppy recently a little black Labrador who is, honestly, brilliant. Cried for a few nights but settled in well and doesn’t really have toilet accidents. When my sister is at work she has a baby monitor type thing where she can watch what the puppy is doing and speak to her which she says really Helps both her and puppy - if you’re WFH it’s probably not a big a deal for you but still possible!
You will likely get a bit of the puppy blues and that moment of ‘what have i done‘ but it will pass and I’m sure you’ll have a lifelong pal. Whenever I see my sister’s puppy she has so much love to give - it’s wonderful 🥰
 
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Orange Creme

Orange Creme

Apple In My Pie said:
Congratulations! I’ve never been a puppy person (too jumpy and Yappy for me!) but my sister has got a puppy recently a little black Labrador who is, honestly, brilliant. Cried for a few nights but settled in well and doesn’t really have toilet accidents. When my sister is at work she has a baby monitor type thing where she can watch what the puppy is doing and speak to her which she says really Helps both her and puppy - if you’re WFH it’s probably not a big a deal for you but still possible!
You will likely get a bit of the puppy blues and that moment of ‘what have i done‘ but it will pass and I’m sure you’ll have a lifelong pal. Whenever I see my sister’s puppy she has so much love to give - it’s wonderful 🥰
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Ah that's lovely to hear 😍 yes I'm actually dreading the blues which are bound to happen so I'm just going to brace myself for it! 😁
 
S

Sp20191

ebayseller said:
Oh wow! ❤ how is he getting on with teething and toilet training? Xx
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He’s 9 months so we are way past all that, he was fully toilet trained by 14 weeks and although the teething stage was an absolute nightmare with the kids, he was out of it by 19 weeks old. They are extremely clever (His parents were cockapoo and poodle) and they pick up training quickly x
 
Orange Creme

Orange Creme

Sp20191 said:
He’s 9 months so we are way past all that, he was fully toilet trained by 14 weeks and although the teething stage was an absolute nightmare with the kids, he was out of it by 19 weeks old. They are extremely clever (His parents were cockapoo and poodle) and they pick up training quickly x
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Oh no! I have 3 kids 🤦‍♀️
 
J

Jaeme

Fab news, hope the viewing goes well!

Thought of another tip kinda relevant to working from home -
Train the puppy to be left. Initially just a couple of minutes and slowly build it up so they can be left alone if you need to pop to shops or whatever.
It’s harder to do that when you work from home as you’re together a lot so likes of initially make the pretence of going out but just be a little bit down the road etc

Helps to stop separation anxiety being a thing further down the line if they do need to be left for any reason.

About to have to do that myself as we are looking to get another Labrador and I work from home most of the time just now 🙂
 
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Rose91

Rose91

Also encourage people not to use puppy pads as this can cause laziness and delays toilet training. Best thing is to take the puppy outside every half hour, no matter the weather, and use words such as ‘hurry up!’ And ‘pee pee pee’ and don’t go back inside until they have been then do loads of over the top praise (even if the neighbours think you sound weird).

Mine will pee on command when saying hurry up
 
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F

FCD

ebayseller said:
Yes that's what I'm doing at the moment. I know what you're saying but I'm not the type to buy an animal for its looks. I'm considering a small terrier such as a border terrier as that's what I grew up with. I'm giving myself about 12 months to research and learn etc.
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Be VERY VERY careful about where you buy from. Puppy farms are a huge problem. You should be able to see the mother and the rest of the litter as well as any other dogs the breeder may have.
 
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GossipMongoose

GossipMongoose

I have a Labrador. He is fab but bloody hell he was hard work as a puppy (and he was an entirely normal puppy in terms of behaviour, from what I saw in puppy class and from talking to other owners). Toilet training was fine but the chewing and nipping (biting) was a definite challenge. My youngest child is at sixth form and she very quickly had enough of his biting shenanigans, I wouldn’t want a bitey, overexcitable puppy around kids, tbh.

Managing puppies behaviour and supervising them at all times, including the very regular outdoor toilet visits and multiple night wakings for toilet visits is knackering and stressful. Adding young kids into the mix and my nerves would be in shreds. You get cabin fever during the first 4 weeks before they are able to go out properly (fully vaccinated). The advice about carrying them is great if you have a little toy breed but if you have a large breed puppy, they soon get very VERY heavy and impractical to carry about. My lad was 9.5kg at 10weeks!

Honestly, I love my dog but the puppy months are RELENTLESS.

I would voice a word of caution re these trendy mixed ‘poo’ breeds. They are almost exclusively bred by puppy farmers and backyard breeders (because they are fashionable, very expensive to buy, in high demand). Finding an ethically bred, healthy puppy of this type is very, very difficult indeed. With recognised pedigree breeds you can source quality breeders and litters via sites like Champdogs (require at least one health tested parent). Please also avoid brachy breeds (flat faced like pugs, french bulldogs etc). These dogs are so poorly bred that they fight to snatch every breath and many have to have painful airway surgery.

Whichever breed or mix you choose, please read into it properly, speak to a vet or two for advice before you buy and understand what you should be looking for in terms of health testing, traceable veterinary care (headed paper? check up on it, it is easily faked), ask how many litters the witch has had (max of 4 as recommended by the Kennel Club but many reputable breeders will only go to 3). When did she deliver her last litter? If it is less than 12 months ago, be concerned. 18months+ is preferable. Avoid Gumtree, Pets4Homes & Facebook puppies.
 
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T

TescoSainsburys

If you get a cross bred (or any other dog) make sure all necessary eye, hip etc tests have been done, as many cross breeds are bred by first time breeders they may not recognise the importance of this.
 
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GossipMongoose

GossipMongoose

TescoSainsburys said:
If you get a cross bred (or any other dog) make sure all necessary eye, hip etc tests have been done, as many cross breeds are bred by first time breeders they may not recognise the importance of this.
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First time breeders AKA ‘backyard breeders’ who are after a quick buck from mating their pet ‘cute dog’ with their mate’s/neighbour’s/bloke from the pub’s pet ‘cute dog’. No health testing on either parent, no thought to the compatibility of the temperaments of the parents (and the result it might have on the puppies), just ££££ in their eyes at the thought of £2k per puppy. 🤬
 
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Rose91

Rose91

And don’t get two! Even if you feel the puppy may be lonely without a brother/sister, they won’t be. It would be very irresponsible of the breeder to advocate this.

If you do get a cockerpoo get it use to going to the groomers at a young age. A family friend is a groomer and she says so many doodle mixes come in and are matted/nervous because they’ve never been before and the easiest thing is to clip them and start over again
 
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T

TescoSainsburys

Definitely don’t get two you need it to bond with you so you can train it, if you buy two it’s bond will be stronger with its kennel mate.
poodles and spaniels are both intelligent, high energy dogs which may not be the best choice for first time owners.
also it’s not true that cross breeds don’t have the health concerns of pedigrees, they can inherit issues from both breeds.
 
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Orange Creme

Orange Creme

Yep I know which health tests the parents need to have but I will definitely check what the paper should be like as I was wondering how to spot fakes. I haven't chosen a breed because its trendy I'm not that shallow.

Hmmm I'm not worried about my clothes but I really dont want my kids to be negatively affected 🤔
 
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T

TescoSainsburys

Are you planning on crate training? It’s a good idea and also will give the puppy and your children some down time/separate spaces.
 
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