It's my 13th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks...two weeks from today, actually....and I told my husband that I wanted a baby. A baby girl. Our youngest is starting kindergarten in the Fall and since I work from home, I wanted a new baby to keep me busy, keep me nurturing, and be a companion. Thankfully, my husband agreed and so we adopted a gorgeous little girl with big brown eyes and soft flowing hair. We'd like you to meet "Pebbles":
She is our 10 week old Shih Tzu puppy and we love her so much! She is such a sweet girl with a calm and adorable personality. She is smart, too! Already paper trained after only being with us for one day! She is playful, curious, and unafraid...but she goes about exploring in a quiet, unassuming way. I love that about her. I knew right from the start that she was the one I wanted. She has been bred to have a smooth face, which I love...for grooming as well as looks! And her hair is smooth and soft. She fits in with our little family so well already. My poor husband is overrun with girls, now, though ;)
Now, here is where YOU come in! This is my first PUPPY. I have only had older rescue-type dogs in the past, so puppy training is new territory for me. We are going to try kennel training her, and we are already on the right trail by getting her from a great breeder who took care to start her off on the right footing, but I need all the help I can get! What rules have you implemented for your puppies? What are some big "no-nos"? I would love to hear your puppy/dog training tips and tricks to help us KEEP this sweet little girl...well....SWEET! Help!
6 comments:
So jealous! I've been asking my husband for a puppy for 10 years now and so far nothing. I've got to try the angle of the kids being in school in a couple of years and see if that wields me any luck. Pebbles is darling though, how cute! Have fun with her.
Pebbles is so adorable. So sweet looking. I wish I could help you with suggestions about training a puppy. I have no clue how to train one. I do not have a puppy or a dog and never have. I'm sure that what everyou do wil be perfect!
Mary
We have an adorable Shih Tzu Maltese mix that is so much fun. I think begging from the table is a big no no. Also take her outside at least once an hour. We had Lucy potty trained in 2 months and she never has an accident. I didn't want to train her to go on papers and then retrain her to go outside. It was December and blizzard-y when we brought her home but she learned quickly! Also make sure you wear her out. A tired puppy is a happy owner. We take Lucy to the dog park almost every day and we both work full time. If we don't go there we go for a long walk. She was walking 3 miles a day by the time she was 5 months old. Sometimes we go to the park and take a walk, time permitting. Good luck with Pebbles!
Congrats on your new baby girl! She's SO cute!
Not sure what you mean by kennel training her, but we used what we called the "crate method" with ours years ago. It may be one & the same. :) She slept in a crate that was just big enough for her to lie down comfortably, which we adjusted the size as she grew. (this was a yellow lab & her size chanced drastically from a puppy to a grown dog:) ) The point is that you don't want to give her more space than she needs to sleep, since dogs usually don't go potty at the same place that they sleep. Then we just tried to keep her on a schedule where she would nap --- then when she woke she was taken outside to do her business --- came back in & played until it was ready for another nap. Take her outside --- nap --- outside after nap then play again........We just repeated the process and she trained very easily. All the way into her old age, she almost NEVER messed in the house. The key is to keep a schedule and always immediately when she wakes up, lift her into your arms & carry her outside to do her thing before she has a chance to do anything on the floor in your house.
Of course, after she is bigger & properly house-trained then she can sleep with you.:)
This brings memories back of our dog as a puppy. I remember she used to play so hard and all of a sudden she became exhausted and would just drop over and want to go to sleep! :) So adorable!
Congrats on your new puppy! My first suggestion would be to start outdoor potty training immediately, paper training just encourages the idea of pottying inside, something I'm sure you don't want to occur. :)
Check out this website for more great tips for raising a puppy!
http://dogstardaily.com/training/raising-puppy
I've had ...five now and know they can be a lot of work, but a lot of fun at the same time. Have fun with her!
Erin & Guide Pup Rob (7month Lab)
You mean Lyndon wasn't overrun by girls before Pebbles?? :P
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