I know where you are coming from. We lost our female Springer a couple of weeks before Christmas; She was 15 years old,and died in my arms as they put her down at my house. We lost her brother,who also died in my arms,four years earlier to cancer. We raised them from pups,and after she was gone,we went five weeks without a dog in the house. That's too long. A lot of people say they won't have another dog after losing a loved pet,but our way of thinking is,why deprive a dog,or dogs,of a great life? We look at it with the idea that we are not the owners of a dog, but rather their caretakers thru life. They are really only "loaned" to us,and I can't help but believe we will be judged by how well we treat these most beautiful of God's creatures.
Anyway,we brought home two new Springer Spaniel puppies about five weeks ago,and boy has it been an eye opener. We've forgotten what it was like to raise puppies. They are definitely labor intensive and high maintenance....but boy are they fun. I'm not a seasoned dog trainer,by any mean. There are some here who have already forgotten more about dog training than I'll ever know,but I can share a couple of observations from the experience.
Our dogs are related, but from different litters. The older male dog,Major,is four weeks older than Minnie,the female. He was supposedly a runt that the breeder wasn't even sure she was going to sell,so consequently we cut a deal and got them both as a package. They sleep in a large metal,albeit comfortable,crate,and it's their special place. They are comfortable in it,and really it's a haven of security for them. We started them in it from the git go, and they are not seperated in it at all,and get along fine.
Minnie, the younger female, is ahead of Major in the housebreaking scenario. It is very rare when she has an accident. Major is coming along ok, but has a few more slips than her. We don't fold a newspaper and pop 'em in the butt to get our point across, nor do we rub their noses in it. We take them out a lot, which will be a lot easier now that the weather has turned more favorable (read no snow/ice/below freezing temps). It has been a sacrifice, and it has required getting up at inopportune times to take them out when you hear them crying to go out. You have to be patient, and above all, remember that they are still pups, whose elimination processes have not fully matured yet.
It's also important to try to feed them a good dry food with as few "fillers" as possible, so that any smelly mistakes can be picked up rather handily.
We had the pups about one week when Minnie developed coccidia(sp), a stomach parasite that took a ten day medication regimen to get rid of, for her AND Major.Believe me, you are up a lot when they have to go,because it is messy. Couple that with snow/ice covered ground the whole time, and you are paying your dues. But you get thru it by being willing to sacrifice for them.
We began training with the clicker method,and have had some success. Then we signed up for a puppy class for them at a Petsmart,and although they won't be able to jump thru hoops at the end of it,we should be able to take a few things home with us for the future. Hah, it's a non clicker course,cause the instructor said it would be mass confusion for all the clickers going off at different times....what's a dog to do? I will say that the instructor, who is very good, made sure that we understood that she wasn't there to train all the dogs ,but rather to train the owners to train their dogs. Will we remember everything she says? I doubt it, but if we can come away with a few useful nuggets for the future, then it will be a success,IMO.
These two pups we have are either full on...or full off! Their attention span is quite short, and they have the sharpest teeth imaginable. We were walking on the snow to the fire pit on our land a couple of weeks ago,and I had on a sweatshirt,coat,and sweatpants. Major was behind me, and for no reason other than being full of himself, ran up behind me and jumped up and bit me in the a**. That crap hurt like hell,but I look on it now as a funny,fond moment.
You will have to puppy proof your house, and to some extent, the pups surroundings. We rolled up all the rugs in the house and stored them for after all the housebreaking was done, and now we have only the hardwood floors to have to clean up if necessary.
They will absolutely put anything and everything in their mouths and chew it,from rugs left down to library books,shoes,socks,pine cones,wood logs,ivy roots....You get the picture. Some things that can do great harm include electrical cords, any type of poison for mice/rodents that either you or your neighbors may have put out a year ago, old antifreeze that another neighbor may have left out. I'm not saying those thing are around your house, or mine for that matter, but you have to be vigilant. If it's within a reaching paw or an open jaw,they will find it and eat it!
Enjoy your pup.He will be a lifelong companion who will love you unconditionally, and the rewards are great.
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