Well he's here and he's settling in brilliantly.  He came from a breeder who was a lady with a teenage daughter and husband and a biggish litter so he has very closely bonded already with me, my 10yo daughter and my 3yo son (who he thinks is a puppy!), and is gradually bonding with my husband and 6yo daughter.

So....he's chewing a lot.  Which i expected.  I have about 30 chew toys which hold his attention for 10 seconds.  Should i try a calf foot?  Or a raw bone?  What is safe and appropriate and likely to interest an 8 week old?  I have anti chew spray which he LICKS OFF then spends five minutes sneezing and pawing at his mouth, then straight back to chewing.  Shall i try a different one?

House training is going well, he's had a few accidents inside, all my fault for not being fast enough, and the most recent one was actually a partial success - we are using the poochie bells on the door (you ring the bell and then let them out, the idea being they soon ring the bell to ask to go out) and earlier i rang the bells and opened the door before he got to it and he squatted and peed in the kitchen as soon as the fresh air hit his face!  Pavlovian, all over the kitchen floor!  I managed to lift him out (gently and without comment), leaving a trail, and he finished his wee outside, so it was probably an okay lesson.

Also i'm not sure what to do with his boredom.  He is super interested in me and in interacting with me (brilliant!) but he is so young i don't want to swamp him with learning or his little tummy with treats.  I am working on a positive interrupter (kissy noise from me, click and treat when i get eye contact, however brief) and "off" (hold treat in closed hand, click and treat and say "off" as he stops trying to get it - TBH i started this yesterday and he is already able to "off" things he is chewing on that he shouldn't, my treat-holding hand and even the TREAT BAG on command if he's had a few warm-up tries with less tempting things, because he's that clever) but i feel three or four short sessions in a day is enough.

But i keep ending up in a situation where he's been out for a wee/poo, had a good chase and rag about with toys in the garden, had a bit of practice responding to his name, come back in and had a short session of clicker training, and then *I* feel he should settle down and sleep for a bit, whereas HE thinks, "What next mum!?" and is driven to nibbling the sofa/my clothes to try to get more attention if i ignore him.  I have so far been using the opportunity to brush and comb him and fiddle with his ears (he cries if i try to pluck ONE hair so i am not really looking forward to ear-plucking for real! :/ ) but he still seems bored after sometimes and of course a bored poodle = a chewed sofa.  I do notice if i interact minimally he eventually gives up and settles, but it's hard to reward him for it because he takes that as an invitation for more interaction!  It's only day 2, i'm NOT worried, but am interested in thoughts you might have.

*I* feel he should settle down and sleep for a bit,

one point to remember is that puppies are a bit like toddlers in that they can get over tired and do need compulsory naps - if he has had a play and a wee/poo and all the rest then if needed pop him in his crate and stay where he can see you but don't interact with him, you will almost certainly find that he very soon dozes off. Think over tired toddlers and the old saying 'there will be tears before bedtime'

PS well done on the training so far, if TV is on advert breaks are a good way of timing short & often bits of work - and you can still watch your programme

Whoa slow down!

This is DAY TWO. I had both of mine from puppies, and am currently looking after a puppy, so I know all about chewing :)  Puppies are like children, and as you have children (an advantage over me), you should know to strive for balance, not perfection. You say you're not worrying, but it must be hard trying to juggle a home, three kids, and a puppy.

I'm not going to advise you, because you can only learn for yourself, but some handy things I've found:
1. If you don't have a crate already, buy one! In the situation you described, when you think he should rest but his mind is still going, just put him in the crate for 30-60 minutes while you get on with other stuff. Also put him in there whenever you go out, so you can be sure he's not chewing your furniture. But I'm assuming you already have a crate, so...
2. I wouldn't bother with anything as hit-and-miss as the bell system. Now most people say puppies can last a few hours, but I took mine out every hour until 12 weeks, then gradually lengthened from there.
3. If you have other dogs, let him be with them and play. That will wear him out more than you can achieve through playing games. Is he safe to be in the garden with the others? A couple of hours a day outside will give him time to have fun and just be a dog. I would concentrate less on games and more on handling - getting him used to feet & ears touched etc. I didn't do that with my first and, though an angel most of the time, she's a right little madam when it comes to trimming her feet.

Hopefully that helps you, but feel free to tell me off if it doesn't :)

Poodlenoodle (other post)
Hethspaw i have already started something like this - we are filming him running down the garden path towards the camera most days

HP
Oh right yea, forgot his vacs keep him confined for now......anyway....You might find (I'm sure will) these specific tripods of enormous use, Ive used them for years hanging from branches & all sorts of way out things. From china delivery is around just over 3 weeks but very cheap & worth buying 2 or 3, but this UK one is normal....they seem to be complete rip off prices from many Brit sellers, think they are trying to up the market price, 'Gorilla tripods' is search term,

http://ebay.eu/1NUd0DD
.

Can you get him out and about, obviously.not on the ground but carrying him.places, its great experience for them and they will get tired quickly from this. A quiet carry down a high street, a garden centre, a trip to the pet shop etc.
Try him with a collar and lead trailing around the house as well for him to get used to it if not already. Have you got a sounds cd, worth investing in one to play to him. Filled kings to get him to settle, I like to.fill with cream cheese, pate, tuna etc and freeze them so they last longer and give his brain something to work out.

As for chewing this might cause a bit of a debate but I start with lemon juice on things and if that doesn't work I go to Tabasco and normally that's enough.

Frozen carrots and frozen cut up swede is also another option for chewing

I do have Kongs! Freezing is a good idea. Thank you.

We're in the car right now (don't panic, hubby is driving!), I just took him to pets at home to get a car belt converter to go on his harness (he's going in a hammock on the 3rd row eventually, though he's in his crate today). Was so nice, the man on the checkout made a lovely gentle fuss of him.

He is wearing a collar all day and a houseline during night time garden trips and if he's playing with the kids. Lots of hilarious trying-to-run-and-scratch-his-collar-at:the-same-time antics. We had a great session playing in the garden before lunch. I realised when he was chasing the proffered bunny toy that puppies really do have to learn to play with humans, rather than just knowing. I was watching him absorb our behaviour (keen wiggling and happy voices when he pulled on the toy, silent and still if he caught us with his teeth) and modify his own. Dogs are quite amazing when you think about it.

> I have anti chew spray which he LICKS OFF then spends five minutes sneezing and pawing at his mouth, then straight back to chewing.  Shall i try a different one?<br />

The only one I've found that actually works is Grannicks Bitter Apple, most others use a different ingredient (bitrex) which seems to be quite tasty to puppies!

Which bit do i slow down?

When i say i'm not worrying i mean i'm not worrying I imagine from cold it would be very hard to juggle a home, three kids and a puppy but i was used to the three kids and the home Luckily (or not depending on how you look at it) my eldest and youngest both have autism (the eldest asperger's, the youngest "classic"), which means EVERYTHING is done on a routine, and it is surprisingly easy to fit the dog into that routine, and i was able to plan it all well in advance.  The main point of my posts is "i have a puppy and think he's amazing and want to go on and on and on and on about him"

In answer to your suggestions:

1) we have a playpen downstairs for him (a crate upstairs only for overnight sleeping), i was a bit concerned about just putting him in it to calm down/nap because initially he was howling in distress at being separated from me (if i let him out he would come lie on my feet and fall asleep, he just wanted to be with me).  I am feeling for him, having lost his mum, littermates, fellow pups (there were two litters), not to mention his previous beloved humans who must have worked very hard at interacting with him because he is so confident and lovely, all only 2 days ago.  BUT after posting this thread i decided he just had to learn it was okay, so i shut him in, lay on the floor next to the pen with my laptop so he could touch me with his nose, and as soon as he nodded off i moved to the sofa.  Now i can put him in and just sit on the floor next to the sofa for a minute and he settles down.  I do want him to be able to be left alone but i am not a big believer in tough love, and would rather a genuinely confident boy who feels he's okay than one who can tolerate his own distress, if that makes sense.

2) I explained the bells badly, they aren't for him to "get" and use now, they are for the future, when the dog is old enough to ask to go out (currently i am taking him every hour unless he is fast asleep in which case i take him as soon as he wakes).  You teach them from very young but i'm not expecting him to indicate with them for weeks, possibly months.  We decided to use them because our home is noisy, and also our family is out and about a lot, so no matter where we go we can hang the bells on the door and he can ask, and not have to figure out which is the "right" door to ask at or how to communicate the need in an unfamiliar environment (with a non-verbal child i am a ninja when it comes to using transferable communication cues )

3) we have no other dogs.  I am touching him all over and even plucking the odd hair out of his ears all the time.  He is hungry for interaction (he was one of 5) and keen to please me, which seems the perfect circumstance to teach him things to me.  I must stress though that my efforts and expectations are at opposite ends of the scale (I am willing to try hard to do everything i can/should to raise him well right now, but i expect him to be a well behaved, well balanced dog most of the time in about 2 years).

Haha!  I managed it!  There he is in my avatar.  He's so CUTE!

He looks gorgeous, love the colouring.

Try him with some calves hooves off Zooplus, not the filled ones. I found that chewing is soporific to dogs especially puppies and giving him something proper to chew that will hold his attention after playtime, will probably encourage him to nod off. No harm in starting to teach a settle down command at this age, I did it with mine when she was very young. As he goes to lie down and have a snooze, say 'settle down, good boy, settle down' a few times especially at the point where his eyes are closing. He will start to learn what you mean by settle down.

I have 2 medium size dogs who jangle the keys in the back door to let us know they want to go out.  We had a smaller dog (boarder collie cross who we lost last year, still trying to get over it ) who couldn't reach the keys, but if they saw her waiting they would do it for her, so cute.

My GR sits at the door and stares at me. It can strip paint that stare. Very effective

I recognise that stare Jodi, it can also penetrate concrete! They can also wake me up in the morning with the tiniest, politest little whine - please mum, if it's not too much trouble, could you let us out.

> we have a playpen downstairs for him (a crate upstairs only for overnight sleeping), i was a bit concerned about just putting him in it to calm down/nap because initially he was howling in distress at being separated from me (if i let him out he would come lie on my feet and fall asleep, he just wanted to be with me).&nbsp; I am feeling for him, having lost his mum, littermates, fellow pups

Have you got a large cuddly (dog) toy for him?  My pup had three "sibling-size" to snuggle up to, beat up, (and eventually disembowel) - there were 3 of them to allow for the inevitable need to wash them.  Even after they'd had the stuffing knocked out of them he enjoyed tossing their "skins" around.

>Have you got a large cuddly (dog) toy for him?  My pup had three "sibling-size" to snuggle up to, beat up, (and eventually disembowel) - there were 3 of them to allow for the inevitable need to wash them.  Even after they'd had the stuffing knocked out of them he enjoyed tossing their "skins" around.>

We don't!  I did buy him several cuddly toys but he's a big boy and i didn't find any big enough to match his size.  He does have a fleecey baby blanket which i roll into a ball for him and he scrags around until it's unrolled, which seems to do the job.  Unfortunately my kids are just more fun for him to chase and scrag and though the older two are pretty good at freezing and "being a tree" if he gets mouthy, the youngest isn't yet.  Oh well, something to work on.

Oh, he's lovely!  And he has a wonderful home, that's for sure! 

Poodles are soooo intelligent.  I had a poodle once.  Her name was Tuscany, and she was a white standard poodle.  Tuscany died in 2007 of cancer at the age of 9.  I will never get over that.  I loved her so.

The favourite was this "banana" which is 28.2 x 13 x 9 cm https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pet-Love-Fruit-Softee-Benny-Banana/dp/B001QSBSQ0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464467126&sr=8-1&keywords=benny+banana, and the others he had were a "pineapple" and a "strawberry".  They did undergo surgery a couple of times to reattach "limbs" (eat your heart out, Noel Fitzpatrick!), but he thoroughly enjoyed playing with them. 

Old socks rolled into a ball are good, too, you can hide treats in the layers.

>eat your heart out, Noel Fitzpatrick!>

I hope you gave a heartfelt and dramatic commentary to those nearby as you sewed

Poodle,

Ahh that explains it. If you had other dogs he would be worn out playing with them. Remember he is used to litter mates so probably finds it a bit boring not being able to play when he wants to. Good job taking him out every hour, I recommend lengthening it to 1.5hrs once he gets to 12 weeks.

Ah the excitement of your first puppy, I remember it well *sigh* !!

I had to get my son to wear wellies in the house as he was so terrified of the baby crocodile we'd brought home. He felt brave enough to stand like a tree instead of jumping from pieces of furniture to avoid going on the ground, which of course was dangerous and got puppy even more intent on trying to get him