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yournamehere · 02-21-2010, 05:27 PM

I'm another big advocate of crate training, especially for housebreaking. Dogs will try to never go to the bathroom in their den, so as long as she's in there, she'll develop more control over that. However, you can't expect a dog to go 8 hours without going outside until they're around six months old. I believe the axiom for determining how long a puppy can "hold it" (in hours) is their age in months plus 1. So - and this is very important - you will have to take the puppy out of the crate every couple hours so she can do her thing. Yes - that means you'll have a week or two of interrupted sleep, so if you need to sleep peacefully through the night, now is not the time to get a puppy! Also, if no one will be home during the day, it's not a good time to get a puppy. When you see or hear her start to get agitated, or crying, you've got to be available to take her outside. Set her down and wait till she goes, then praise her (I always used the stupid baby-talk voice and say "Good girl go potty outside!!); make a big production of it, and then give her a treat. It doesn't have to be an unhealthy treat - just a piece of her normal dog food will suffice. She'll catch on fairly quickly. Most dogs can be housebroken within a few days; but don't get discouraged if it takes a couple of weeks. And there will be accidents - it's part of having a puppy, so go buy a Resolve spray bottle and some more paper towels - you'll need them!

As far as food - I also agree that Blue Buffalo is a decent brand. Presently I use Canidae All Life Stages (our dogs are both 2-yr olds). Just look at the first several ingredients and make sure they're healthy (Corn or wheat or animal by-products should not be among them). And whatever you do, don't buy into your vet's recommendation to feed her Science Diet. And your vet will recommend it - they all get huge markups to sell that crap.

And patience, patience, patience . . . . . always remember she's a puppy and is still learning what pleases you (and that's their goal in life - to please you). But she'll also test you to see what the limits are. Dogs are pack animals and are used to a social order, so always be the pack leader. If you're not, she will - dogs have to know who's in charge.

And finally, just try as hard as you can to love her back half as much as she loves you, and you'll both be fine.

EDIT LATER: I would highly recommend a book on training - most humans have no idea how a dog's brain works. One I'd recommend is Good Owners, Great Dogs, by Brian Kilcommons. Look

here

One more thing - especially since she's a terrier, she'll be a bundle of energy. Plan on devoting an hour a day to getting her enough exercise !! That means a few walks per day plus throwing a ball a couple times a day. Don't forget the old saying - "if a dog is overweight, its owner needs more exercise."

As far as toys go, I'd recommend sticking to Kong or Nylabone brands - but then again, I've got a couple of big dogs that will chew anything else to pieces within minutes. I doubt you'll have that problem with a 10-lb dog. But the above two are pretty bulletproof. And if you give her enough toys to play with, she'll be less likely to use your slippers as toys.

02-21-2010, 05:27 PM	#13 (permalink)
yournamehere Invisible Location: tentative, at best	I'm another big advocate of crate training, especially for housebreaking. Dogs will try to never go to the bathroom in their den, so as long as she's in there, she'll develop more control over that. However, you can't expect a dog to go 8 hours without going outside until they're around six months old. I believe the axiom for determining how long a puppy can "hold it" (in hours) is their age in months plus 1. So - and this is very important - you will have to take the puppy out of the crate every couple hours so she can do her thing. Yes - that means you'll have a week or two of interrupted sleep, so if you need to sleep peacefully through the night, now is not the time to get a puppy! Also, if no one will be home during the day, it's not a good time to get a puppy. When you see or hear her start to get agitated, or crying, you've got to be available to take her outside. Set her down and wait till she goes, then praise her (I always used the stupid baby-talk voice and say "Good girl go potty outside!!); make a big production of it, and then give her a treat. It doesn't have to be an unhealthy treat - just a piece of her normal dog food will suffice. She'll catch on fairly quickly. Most dogs can be housebroken within a few days; but don't get discouraged if it takes a couple of weeks. And there will be accidents - it's part of having a puppy, so go buy a Resolve spray bottle and some more paper towels - you'll need them! As far as food - I also agree that Blue Buffalo is a decent brand. Presently I use Canidae All Life Stages (our dogs are both 2-yr olds). Just look at the first several ingredients and make sure they're healthy (Corn or wheat or animal by-products should not be among them). And whatever you do, don't buy into your vet's recommendation to feed her Science Diet. And your vet will recommend it - they all get huge markups to sell that crap. And patience, patience, patience . . . . . always remember she's a puppy and is still learning what pleases you (and that's their goal in life - to please you). But she'll also test you to see what the limits are. Dogs are pack animals and are used to a social order, so always be the pack leader. If you're not, she will - dogs have to know who's in charge. And finally, just try as hard as you can to love her back half as much as she loves you, and you'll both be fine. EDIT LATER: I would highly recommend a book on training - most humans have no idea how a dog's brain works. One I'd recommend is Good Owners, Great Dogs, by Brian Kilcommons. Look here here One more thing - especially since she's a terrier, she'll be a bundle of energy. Plan on devoting an hour a day to getting her enough exercise !! That means a few walks per day plus throwing a ball a couple times a day. Don't forget the old saying - "if a dog is overweight, its owner needs more exercise." As far as toys go, I'd recommend sticking to Kong or Nylabone brands - but then again, I've got a couple of big dogs that will chew anything else to pieces within minutes. I doubt you'll have that problem with a 10-lb dog. But the above two are pretty bulletproof. And if you give her enough toys to play with, she'll be less likely to use your slippers as toys. __________________ If you want to avoid 95% of internet spelling errors: "If your ridiculous pants are too loose, you're definitely going to lose them. Tell your two loser friends over there that they're going to lose theirs, too." It won't hurt your fashion sense, either. Last edited by yournamehere; 02-21-2010 at 09:47 PM.. Reason: to correct an unbelieveable amount of pronouns to the correct gender!