hey
me and my boyfiend are getting a westy pup in 3wks time
we neeed some advice on how to introduce a puppy and a older dog
the older dog is very good and is very relaxed about most things
please has anyone got any advice or tips for us thankyou
xxx

Hi Laura and Simon

First of all, take all the advice from your breeder, and secondly, buy the book "how to raise the perfect puppy" by Gwen Bailey. Buy it, read it now (before you get the pupply).

Thirdly - ENJOY your puppy!!!

Regards
Margot

Thankyou very much for your advice Margot

I think ill go out on saturday and look for the book, is it a popular book ? will it be easy to find ?

Simon

just logged on,and sorry to sound a bit rude but i looked at your post first because i thought you had a real problem by your topic post. try and relax ! getting over excited will wind up your new pup and your old doggie.To me someone that knows about champdogs is trying to do the best for their dog (and themselves) anyway. There is a wealth of knowledge willing to help you . Perhaps post on general and dont sound so desperate, but you are doing the right thing by asking advice before you get home with new pup and start doing things wrong. x x

Easy now, we're just trying to find the ways to look after our new pup. All we wanted was some advice

Does anyone else swear by this book ? called "how to raise the perfect puppy"

And would I be able to get it from a decent book store ?

Or would I more likely have to search for it on the net ?

Regards

Simon

and thats just what i said you are right in asking for advice. i dont do keyboard bashing so chill out!!! we're all furry friends

No need to get irrate with them! They want the best for their puppy!

Its a sensitive subject bringing a pup into a home where an older dog already exists, back off and give the cuple some helpful, friendly advice rather than telling them off!!!!

i dont do petty argueing, but as i said ,i logged on an saw BREEDING-PLEASE PLEASE HELP

its breeding and rearing puppies actually

twiggy..i don't think that miranda was getting irrate or telling the poster off, she even put some kisses at the end of her post...maybe you should re-read it then apologise for jumping down her throat :)

thanks jacki,at least you read it as i ment it,sorry if it sounded harsh it was not ment to sound that way .x

Sorry if i seemed to be jumping down throats!
It did read to me as though they were bing told off for their concerns. Some people find new dog ownership very daunting, i did!
Twig

thankyou very much
we are just trying to gettin all organised for our puppy
we want to be good parents to it
any more advice on anything to do with pups would be appreciated
x x x

phooey :D --- most say not to go making too much fuss of the pup and pushing the older one out, plus id be careful aroound the food bowls until the older one accepts the pup. most older dogs are ok about pups, some even seem concerned and worried about them, just keep an eye but dont overeact, plus dont leave them alone for a while, until you know theyre well stettled together-good luck,

thanx dizzy

good advice, same sort of thing that twiggy said, its obviously important our older dog doesn't feel like he's been replaced, so will make sure we give him lots of love ???

Do you recommend walking them together ?

Would that help them get on more or ???

'Scuse me butting in, but you won't be taking your pup out walking for some weeks after you get him (injections etc) so you'll have lots of time to keep your oldie feeling special with one-to-one before you start taking pup out as well.
Good luck - try not to worry too much, I'm sure it'll work out fine.
:)

Cheers Twiggy

Like you just said we only want the best for our new pup, so i plan to buy this book to help us raise our puppy.
But has anyone got any advice they can give me now, anyone that might have been in the same position as us ?
Just to recap, we're having a new pup and also have a 13 yr old dog, wanted tips on how best to make them friends.

Regards
Simon and Laura

make sure the golden oldie stays the special one!!!! Keep pup in its place and give oldie time out fromthe little one.
Crate training is a good idea, that way the older dog can get used to puppy's presance without him/her feeling threatened.
Slow and steady wins the race, don't try and force them to get along it will happen naturally x

Thanx Twiggy

I can see what you mean, about giving the older dog lots of attention, to make sure he doesn't feel left out.
I'll make sure we do that, can i ask what you might find as a silly question ?

Sorry if this sounds silly, but whats crate training ?

Regards

Simon and laura

Sorry - 2 glasses of wine & I forget my own name (lets see- who am I again :D) - I would certainly recommend crate training!

A crate is a crate - or cage if you like - but we prefer crate - into which you put your pup's bed, his water bowl and his toys. You leave the door OPEN - and your pup will go into his bed, in his crate - which then becomes his/her room! You can buy a crate from Argos - or type in dog crate on a search engine on the computer & you will find a larger choice - at better prices & beter sizes than Argos.

Basically, it is a pen which you can use to confine your pup - for short periods of time - to keep him/her safe from other members of the family - ie children - other "bouncy" dogs - so that rules out your 13 year old :) - or to keep your home "safe" from your pup when you have to leave him/her unsupervised for a short period of time.

If you type "Crate", then hit the SEARCH button (top rh side of the screen from this post) - you will see that there are a lot of strings on crates - and that most of us think that they are a GOOD THING - of course there are those who dont!

If you want to buy "The Perfect Puppy" - you can get it from Amazon, I think.

And - if no-one else has said it already - welcome to Champdogs!!!

Margot

A crate is a wee cage designed to house a dog while at home, at a show, in the car or staying away.
The crate is not as inhumane as it sounds, it provides the dog with a safe haven, away from the stresses of normal family life. It will be able to retreat there when tired, upset or just needing time out.
They are very good in aiding toilet training, especially through the night or if you go shopping or something. They are helpful if you have visitors, puppy can be put away so as not to be jumping up at children etc.

Hi Laura and Simon

I would agree with Margot and Twiggy on crates. Even if you don't use it long term, it can be very useful in the puppy stage. If you don't feel inclined to use it once the pup has grown up a bit, if ever anything unfortunate happens and the dog is poorly and needing complete rest, you'll have a crate trained dog which will make nursing it so much easier. Our younger dog loved being able to retreat to his crate as a pup and was often found in there, curled up with the cat!

I'd also agree with the advice to keep your older dog feeling special and soon you'll find that they'll fall into their own relationship. Good luck with your new puppy, I bet you can't wait!!!! :)

Lesley

Hi laura and simon,we have 4 dogs of various ages and it takes time to get your dogs adjusted to each other so don't expect miracles,be very patient.What we discovered is that because the pups teeth are like wee needles this is what irritated the big dogs most so just keep an eye that it's not tormenting older dog too much,they will let you know with a wee warning growl to pup that that's enough and pup normally takes a telling from this but please don't leave them unattended at first,accidents can happen and different things can set them off but you'll be fine and the two dogs will probably get on like a house on fire once the initial newness is worn off.We introduced ours gradually letting the pup play with only one dog at a time at first and then as it got bigger it was able to take part in all the rough-housing,good luck and let me know how you get on,sandra

We found Gwen Bailey's 'perfect puppy' in our local bookshop, so I think it's fairly easy to come by, if not, amazon do it. It was very useful for OH (he was a puppy 'virgin') and a good reminder for me (20 years since last pup), I'd definately recommend it! We found that when we introduced our pup (9 weeks) to my mothers 5 year old, he was very nervous of her and didn't really know what to make of her. I think older dogs may not like to be 'bothered' constantly by playful youngsters, so it's important to let the old dog have somewhere to escape to when he's tired of the 'little pest' lol. We also found that when we were transportng a rescue pup for someone else, our pup (then 9 months) was very jealous and was constantly trying to herd the pup away from us. There is some advice on introducing a new pup to an existing dog in the Gwen Bailey book too.

Gwen Bailey "Perfect Puppy" was a bible to us! Champdogs was a God send on that one!

WOW

I knew it was a good idea to join this site, you have all been so helpful. I'd just like to say thankyou to Lokis mum,Twiggy B, Sandaharr,Jenna and Sooz. You have all been very helpful and we feel like we're learning more of what to do already, we are so excited about getting our pup (now named "Jack"). Its 3 weeks untill he will be old enough for us to collect him, and its driving us mad waiting lol he he he.

I finally know what crating is now (thankyou) and it sounds like a good i idea, I can see why it has worked well for so many of you. Its kinda like a safe place for the little one isn't it.

We still have 3 weeks untill we get him, so we're just gonna spend it preparing the best we can. We are gonna buy that book "raising the perfect puppy" tomorrow, and read it back to front. I think we're deffinatly gonna take the advice on the crate too. So we'll be getting one of those before he comes home.

Thankyou all for your advice

Regards Simon & Laura

We will be going through the same thing in January,our new puppy is due anytime,need to think of a South African name for a bitch,plenty of time though.