Hi everyone,

We will be getting a sheltie puppy soon, and I'm wondering about a few things.

1. Puppies aren't supposed to be near other dogs for health reasons (how long
does this go on for), yet they are supposed to be socialized to dogs, noises,
etc. How can these two opposing thoughts be reconciled?

2. What time would a puppy go to bed, if I want him to wake up around 7 a.m.
Also, should I take the puppy outside in the middle of the night to go do his
business, or just wait until morning?

Thanks for your help. Oh, if anyone has any sheltie specific advice, I'd love to
hear it.

Butter

Welcome to the forum Butter :-) Leigh

Hi Butter

Your pup will be perfectly ssfe with dogs that have been vaccinated themselves. What you can't do is out them out on public pathways etc as you've no idea who's been there or if they've been vaccinated. Depending on your vet and the age at which they will vaccinate, then usually by the time your pup is 13/14 weeks old he will be able to go down. As for socializing - as you will have a small dog - take him with you wherever you can and just carry them. It's good for them to be exposed to as much normal life as possible. The age when they can go down does arrive surprisingly quickly :-)

The time your puppy is ready for bed will depend on several factors and also his age. They are no different from babies in that they have different needs while very young and their body clocks will not be influenced by Greenwich Meantime!! Your puppy will decide what time you are woken up the morining and will take time to settle into getting up at a reasonable hour - and some never do!! Put him to bed when you go to bed and hope for the best:D. In the early weeks, I advocate letting the puppy out in the night - IF they wake up. Don't wake him up to take him out - but if he wakes up wimpering - take him out, let him go - praise him for going and then put him straight back to bed. Don't play or fuss as he'll think it is playtime. If he doesn't go - put him back to bed. First job in the morning no matter how long it was since he went out is to put him out for toiletting. He may need to go in the night and at this time of year the getting up at 3.00am can seem endless but they do learn. Your other option is to leave him say in your kitchen with paper down and to clean up in the morning. I don't like this method myself as I think it slows things down and doesn't encourage them to hold on. I got up with both mine and never had any night-time accidents. My older boy got up every night for about four weeks or so, my baby only got up on his first night - he's slept through eversince -little darlin'

Hope this helps

Good luck with your baby - let us know how you get on.

Pam n co