Tips for a first time dog owner

[pinkpanther99]

Hi

As of this coming Sunday, we'll be welcoming a puppy into our our family home. We're all excited but I've never actually owned a puppy before and was looking for some tips on owning a dog for the first time. Of course, I researched on Google already and watched plenty of videos on YouTube but as part of my research I would be interested in hearing first hand from other dog owners on Thaivisa.

The dog concerned is female, 3 months old and is a Shih Tzu crossed with some kind of small soi dog (apologies that's all the info I have!)

I'm specifically looking for tips on toilet training, although any info regardless of how obvious you think it might be - I'd be interested to hear it.

Like I said, I've never owned a dog before but what our family might lack in dog owning experience, we certainly make up for it in offering our newbie puppy lots of love, cuddles and a nice place to live.

Look forward to hearing your tips.

Thanks in advance

[krisb]

Love dogs, had a bull mastiff and a lovely golden retriever.

Toilet training and puppy training start that straight away.

Don't overfeed them, regular brushing.

Lots of love and walks, good for the owners too that is.

Get them vaccinated.

[thailampang2012]

Toilet training depends if your house have a garden or not. Given food in a exactly time, 2 times a day for puppies, one time a day for adult, you can control when your dog is in need to go out to pup and pi. Dogs like to pu and pi on grounds and grass if available, and very soon will demonstrate its intention barking or crying by the door to go outside. Inside the house toilet training is a little more complicated, but dogs never do things inside its cage, and it is better to keep it inside it during the night to avoid "accidents". If those happen, needs to clean the area with a strong disinfectant. If inadvertently, a pi spot inside the house is not cleaned properly, the smell will attract the dog to do it on the same area again.

If it is necessary to have the dog inside all day for any reason, keep paper on the floor around its cage, and shows to it after correction, if its doing on other places...Many videos on youtube shows methods to do it.

NEVER mention your dog name when you are correcting, only when you are calling it to treat or pet it. Gain its love before respect.

[wayned]

If she is three months old what enviornment did she live in? In a house, outside or in a cage in a puppy farm?

Immediately after you feed her and she finsishes eating take her to the area where you want her to relieve herself and keep her there until she goes. Praise her when she does it. If she does it in the house you have to catch her in the act, taking her back and "rubbing her nose in it" doesn't work. If you catch her scould her, don't hit her, and take her to the area where you want her to go and priase her when she goes.

I raised Golden retreivers and they were easy to train. My wife brought home a miniture poodle and until the day that she died at 9.5 years old she would still occasionally pee on the rug in front of the bathroom door! The little runt would go out with the other dogs and walk down the road while they went and then she would come back in and pee on the rug!

Good luck!

[thhMan]

A good dog owner respects the peace and privacy of their neighbors... Thats all you need to know...

[mamypoko]

Visit your 3 closest vets. Have a quick interview with each. Check their facilities for order and cleanliness. Get their hours of operation and contact phone numbers. Ask the very same question to your vet of choice.

Did I read you correctly? You're getting a soi dog/rescue dog...if so, then you are a great person!

Enjoy the new member of your family!

[maswov]

Keep her in a kennel most of the time. As soon as she wakes up take her outside to pee, dogs won't relieve themselves where they sleep. Reward her so she know that outside is the place to do that. My great dane only took a couple weeks to train.

[daveology]

i suggest you understand that dog needs a pack leader, after a quick search on you tube you will find many video's of The Dog Whisperer, he is a genius with dogs, watch and learn

[hgv driver]

i suggest you understand that dog needs a pack leader, after a quick search on you tube you will find many video's of The Dog Whisperer, he is a genius with dogs, watch and learn

It only took two weeks to train my dog six weeks to train the wife i will keep the dog sorry my sense of humor.

[ghworker2010]

A puppy must learn all things whilst its young. if you want your future dog to sit on a moped with you, do dog tricks, whatever it is.... teach it whilst its a puppy and it will do it as an adult. PM me if you want me to send you detailed written instructions about puppy training as Im experienced with this.

[nonthaburial]

Some rather upsetting answers here, OP states he is getting a dog for home to love and enjoy being with, then we get more than enough suggestions about cages. Wrong, wrong and wrong again, in all my years with dogs it's always the owners who don't have the patience or love to give a dog that locks them in cages. Except of course working guard dogs.

The OP states this dog is part shitzhu , which is great as they are fun loving intelligent dogs, the worry is the mix!! It has been said in this thread that dogs need a pack leader, very very true and it's up to you to become that leader, discipline, kindness and love the dog will accept you as such. Major problem is if anyone else in your family over rules you and trust me it happens,the dog gets the feeling that the grass is greener or easier on the other side I.e wife or kids then it becomes difficult. You as the pack leader will be ignored.

Never ever beat a dog, use discipline, trust me dogs can tell by your attitude and voice if they have upset you or not. There is absolutely no need to get physical, and in my opinion it's only a coward who would. You have not stated what type of environment you are living, but I would advise against allowing a dog to sleep inside. They like you have natural functions to perform at night, and by keeping them inside is asking for a mess in the morning,and usually on your most expensive Persian rug or whatever.

If you live in a condo with a verandah, then a basket with a blanket outside with a big bowl of water and food is great. Inside day time with verandah door open and night time out on the verandah with door closed.

If the dog should relieve itself in the house or whatever, I know rubbing its nose in it then picking it up gently and putting it in its basket outside with the body language the dog does relate to I.e angry, then it does learn, but as has been stated, if things should be slow to learn you will find the dog will use the same place every time as that is it's territory, simple, sprinkle pepper down and believe me that will do the trick. She may find another location, but just do the same again. She will soon learn.

As stated I have had dogs all my life,in Africa, when younger I had German shepherds , Rhodesian Ridgebacks, , whilst in Thailand I had Goldens and Labs, these are all Working dogs and great to own, loving protective and loyal. Here in China, her indoors has selected a Pomeranian, like all small dogs same as yours they are handbag dogs, and can be very possessive but trained and treated well they are great companions. Enjoy, love, treat well and you are made.

[GuyL]

Important: NO CHOCOLATE for your dog! http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/dogs-and-chocolate-get-the-facts

[unanimosity]

Toilet training depends if your house have a garden or not. Given food in a exactly time, 2 times a day for puppies, one time a day for adult, you can control when your dog is in need to go out to pup and pi. Dogs like to pu and pi on grounds and grass if available, and very soon will demonstrate its intention barking or crying by the door to go outside. Inside the house toilet training is a little more complicated, but dogs never do things inside its cage, and it is better to keep it inside it during the night to avoid "accidents". If those happen, needs to clean the area with a strong disinfectant. If inadvertently, a pi spot inside the house is not cleaned properly, the smell will attract the dog to do it on the same area again.

If it is necessary to have the dog inside all day for any reason, keep paper on the floor around its cage, and shows to it after correction, if its doing on other places...Many videos on youtube shows methods to do it.

NEVER mention your dog name when you are correcting, only when you are calling it to treat or pet it. Gain its love before respect.

"Either you train the dog or the dog will train you because somebody is definitely getting trained." An old slogan from an old dog trainer and owner of a canine security agency.

There are a few good tips in the post above, but to elaborate a little, not only should you not say the dog's name when disciplining, you should not call the dog to you and discipline it. You go calmly to the dog to discipline it. Never strike the dog with your hand. It is okay to use a loosely rolled newspaper on its rump because the sound of the whack is what drives home your disappointment, but the dog must be made to understand why you are disappointed and that means taking the dog to the chewed furniture or poop on the floor, holding its nose to the mistake so it gets a scent of what the issue is, saying no 2-3 times slowly, sternly, and clearly, then whack it once with the rolled up paper. It is important that you and your kids do not go immediately and cuddle the dog after discipline. Wait 30 minutes or more.

What motivates the dog to change behavior is its desire to please and respect you as its alpha pack leader, so it is important to reward the puppy for doing things right, like using a newspaper spread on the floor as its toilet until it is big enough to go outside. Take the puppy to what it did right, make sure it understands what you are doing and give it a small morsel of meat. Showing it what is wrong without showing it what is right is not fair and increases the time to get the puppy trained. As for the potty training, when it goes in the wrong place (not on the newspaper), scoop the poop onto the spread out newspaper where you want it to go. It helps if the dog sees you move the poop onto the paper after you whacked it for going in the wrong place. Sometimes this is easier for beginners if you as its alpha pack leader make it watch while another person in the family moves the poop to the newspaper.

A good tip is to get a cardboard box and line the bottom with some rags or shredded newspaper and put the puppy in the box overnight with one of your socks. This is preferable to a cage and the limitations of the box are security for the pet. The sock keeps your scent with the puppy all night so it does not feel punished or abandoned.

Set ground rules and make sure everybody obeys them or they get punished like the puppy, well, no whacking of course. And when you train the puppy, once you begin to teach it a trick or behavior, which tricks and behaviors should not be aggressively introduced until after 4 months, never stop until it responds with what you have ordered it to do. What you can do subliminally, is begin teaching it to come by saying come as it is walking toward you, saying sit as it is about to sit, and lay down just as it is doing that, and with each of these commands use a distinct and obvious hand signal and never vary the hand signal. For example, every time you say come, pat your heart with your right hand; every time you say sit point your right index finger at the sky; and every time you say lay down lift your right fist into the air.

You will be surprised how quickly the dog will learn with zero stress. This kind of indoctrination can begin at about two months and eventually you can use only hand signals, which has saved more than one dog's life.

It is a good idea to teach your dog food refusal so that it is difficult for it to be poisoned by anybody because, properly done, the dog will only eat if fed by you according to a set routine. Don't worry, it won't starve, but casual feeding by strangers will be off limits to the dog. You must make sure the family never feeds the dog snacks, other than a morsel of meat for doing something correctly until it assimilates the behavior. The dog should eat in the same exact place at the same exact time daily, which should be in the morning, not only for the pooping issues but if you feed it at night you will not have as competent a watch dog while you are sleeping. Since families and neighborhoods often have kids, it is a good idea while the puppy is young to ease your hand up by its food dish just after making the dog sit, placing the food in the specific spot, making the dog wait for your command of OK, then it can eat. Moving your hand gradually up close, even tickling its chin while it is eating conditions the dog so that it will be highly unlikely that it will bite any of the kids if they pester it while it is eating. You can even move the food dish away or pick it up for a moment and then slide it back to the spot while petting the dog for reassurance.

Just one more thing or you are going to get an invoice, haha.

Teach the dog from early on that when you say OW! it must release its bite and drop whatever is in its mouth. It might have somebody's pet gerbil or some childs ankle between its jaws and if properly trained you will only need to say OW once and it will release it.

Here is a tidbit that surprises a lot of folks. It is very likely that you will win a bet that somebody'd dog will eat an avocado, especially if you put small slice in the outer peel. Most dog owners think they know their animal so well that they'll bet it won't eat it.

A dog that is well trained is a secure and relaxed dog (if you don't get too agressive with the training at an early age), and a loyal dog. Give the dog rules and limits and enforce them and you and the dog will be much happier, guaranteed.

[Stupi]

Dogs are dogs NOT birds, they should NEVER EVER be kept in cages.

First duty is to have dog neutered (spayed) so no trouble-some male dogs sniffing around and unwanted puppies. Enough dogs here

Dogs respond very well to love and tender care and rewards but do not respond well to aggression.

Never beat a dog, a harsh word is enough.

Some of the above house training tips are very good.

Enjoy your dog and remember only one pack leader for your dog.

[F4UCorsair]

It's probably been posted already, but have it neutered, wormed, inoculated, microchipped if appropriate in Thailand, then train, train, and train some more.

I have just helped train a friend's dog, and over the past year or so, have trained a parrot, a South American Conure. The principles are the same.

My friend put her dog through Puppy Pre School, and that's a real confidence builder, but the same info is available from DVD's and forums online.

Food is the link between the dog/bird/animal doing what is commanded, and the critter complying.

Find something snacky she really loves (not just normal dog food), and use that exclusively for training and rewarding occasionally when she does the right thing in the future. Schmackos are great here in Australia, and also dried liver treats. I dry liver for a friend with a similar little dog, Maltese/Shi Tzu cross I think it is. Break whatever you use into pieces about 5 mm square, and give as many as you need for good performance.

Toilet training is relatively easy, provided the dog is rewarded, both with praise and a treat.

Dogs don't understand words, but they do understand tone, so soft tones for commands, and harsher tones, but never yell, when they're doing the wrong thing. Never beat them.

There are plenty of DVD's available that will give you all the info you want, the tricks to make them sit, drop, come, fetch, etc., and the sooner you start training, the better for you and the dog.

Good luck, and hope that the other part of the cross isn't a Staffordshire Bull Terrier or similar temperamentally unstable dog.

[Keesters]

Some good, some bad advice in the posts so far. I would however like to add that your dog should be kept safe on your side of a closed gate. When out on public land please use a leash and go with it and don't forget to clean up its poop.

Best wishes to you and your new puppy.

[WaatWang]

Hello PInkPanther,

Congrats on your new fur baby! I have had dogs my entire life and also ran a rescue when I was in the US. Seems you have lots of advice already, but I just wanted to add one important bit: please have proper expectations about potty training.

Puppies have very small bladders, and a good way to estimate how often they'll need to toilet is by their age - one hour per month. So if your new little one is three months old, her little bladder will need to be emptied every three hours. Most people don't realize this and get very frustrated when a puppy has an accident overnight or just a couple hours after they did their business outside. So please remember that it is just not physically possible for her to hold it longer than this.

From the day you get her home, show her where you want her to toilet and bring her there every three hours, especially after meals, heavy play sessions, and when she first wakes up from naps. As others have mentioned, praise - praise - praise when she pees or poos in that spot. If she has a poo accident in the house, take the poo outside and put it in that spot so she will smell where it supposed to go. Leave at least one poo there for her to smell and remember where her potty is.

If you can't take turns getting up with your wife or other family members to take her out overnight, don't be upset to find several accidents in the morning. The first few months of doing this are very tiresome, but believe me, she will understand where she's expected to go. All your hard work will pay off, and she won't have accidents in the house when she is older. By the time she's six to eight months old, she will be able to hold her urine six to eight hours overnight, and everything will be easy peasy from that point on.

Good luck (and don't forget to post some pictures when she comes home - who doesn't love puppy pictures?! )!

Kind regards,
WaatWang

[Dogbreath]

The idea of rubbing a dog's nose in a puddle of urine or excrement is complete and utter rubbish. It's animal abuse at best. I have toilet trained hundreds of dogs and never needed to resort to being physical with the dog. Get the book "Training Dogs the Aussie Way" by Sylvia Wilson. Loaded with info and it works.

Some rather upsetting answers here, OP states he is getting a dog for home to love and enjoy being with, then we get more than enough suggestions about cages. Wrong, wrong and wrong again, in all my years with dogs it's always the owners who don't have the patience or love to give a dog that locks them in cages. Except of course working guard dogs.
The OP states this dog is part shitzhu , which is great as they are fun loving intelligent dogs, the worry is the mix!! It has been said in this thread that dogs need a pack leader, very very true and it's up to you to become that leader, discipline, kindness and love the dog will accept you as such. Major problem is if anyone else in your family over rules you and trust me it happens,the dog gets the feeling that the grass is greener or easier on the other side I.e wife or kids then it becomes difficult. You as the pack leader will be ignored.

Never ever beat a dog, use discipline, trust me dogs can tell by your attitude and voice if they have upset you or not. There is absolutely no need to get physical, and in my opinion it's only a coward who would. You have not stated what type of environment you are living, but I would advise against allowing a dog to sleep inside. They like you have natural functions to perform at night, and by keeping them inside is asking for a mess in the morning,and usually on your most expensive Persian rug or whatever.

If you live in a condo with a verandah, then a basket with a blanket outside with a big bowl of water and food is great. Inside day time with verandah door open and night time out on the verandah with door closed.

If the dog should relieve itself in the house or whatever, I know rubbing its nose in it then picking it up gently and putting it in its basket outside with the body language the dog does relate to I.e angry, then it does learn, but as has been stated, if things should be slow to learn you will find the dog will use the same place every time as that is it's territory, simple, sprinkle pepper down and believe me that will do the trick. She may find another location, but just do the same again. She will soon learn.

As stated I have had dogs all my life,in Africa, when younger I had German shepherds , Rhodesian Ridgebacks, , whilst in Thailand I had Goldens and Labs, these are all Working dogs and great to own, loving protective and loyal. Here in China, her indoors has selected a Pomeranian, like all small dogs same as yours they are handbag dogs, and can be very possessive but trained and treated well they are great companions. Enjoy, love, treat well and you are made.

[F4UCorsair]

If the dog should relieve itself in the house or whatever, I know rubbing its nose in it then picking it up gently and putting it in its basket outside with the body language the dog does relate to I.e angry, then it does learn, but as has been stated, if things should be slow to learn you will find the dog will use the same place every time as that is it's territory, simple, sprinkle pepper down and believe me that will do the trick. She may find another location, but just do the same again. She will soon learn.

BAD ADVICE!!! NEVER DO THIS....EVER.

The picking up and putting the dog outside is sound advice. If you rub the dog's nose in it, all that teaches it to do is take a toilet break behind furniture, etc., where you can't see.

I can't comment with any knowledge on the use of pepper, but I think it unwise.

thhMan, post # 5, that's not ALL you need to know, but it is important that a dog owner respect the peace and privacy of neighbors.

[Sheryl]

Well for what it's worth, my two satangs:

Give the dog plenty of love and be alert to its signals. The more responsive you are to the dog, the more responsive the dog will be to you. If the dog loves you, it will want to please you.

Works with all animals. And people.

Of course, take the puppy to a good vet for vaccination and, when he is of age, neutering. As for toilet training, be gentle, patient and (when the time is right) persistant. Trust your own instincts as to whether the dog is ready or not, i.e. whether or not he is able to control himself. As with children, it does no good and creates stress to demand control before the animal is physically capable of it. This seems to vary with breeds and individual dogs and is sometimes much later than the books would indicate.

Lots of praise when he does the right thing.

When he does something wrong, ignore it if you think it was inadvertant, otherwise nothing stronger than a "bad dog!" in a loud low voice and maybe a clap your hands or hit a newspaper on the floor (not on the dog) when you say it, reserve that for serious offenses and the less often you do it the more impact it will have. I almost never use a harsh voice with my dog, so when I do, he really takes note.

[john fogerty]

We have 4 dogs, and unlike 'nonthaburial" we DO keep ours indoors at night as it's not fair on them to be at the mercy of mosquitoes all night. At about 3 am they let us know that they want to go out for a pee so we let them out but bring them back in when they've finished. They do all tend to use the same part of the garden to do their "no 2's." I know your puppy is still very young, but you might want to think about neutering, unless you want a lot of puppies running around. Whatever way you choose to train, enjoy your puppy.

[pinkpanther99]

Wow!

First of all thanks for all of your responses, so much info here, I'm going to spend the next hour or reading through everyones posts

Thanks again!

[pinkpanther99]

If she is three months old what enviornment did she live in? In a house, outside or in a cage in a puppy farm?

Immediately after you feed her and she finsishes eating take her to the area where you want her to relieve herself and keep her there until she goes. Praise her when she does it. If she does it in the house you have to catch her in the act, taking her back and "rubbing her nose in it" doesn't work. If you catch her scould her, don't hit her, and take her to the area where you want her to go and priase her when she goes.

I raised Golden retreivers and they were easy to train. My wife brought home a miniture poodle and until the day that she died at 9.5 years old she would still occasionally pee on the rug in front of the bathroom door! The little runt would go out with the other dogs and walk down the road while they went and then she would come back in and pee on the rug!

Good luck!

She is currently living in the yard of my wifes parents house so I can't imagine she will be toilet trained at all.

[pinkpanther99]

Important: NO CHOCOLATE for your dog! http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/dogs-and-chocolate-get-the-facts

Yes I already know about this. When I was a kid my Grandma's dog ate a whole box of chocolates and had to be taken to the vet to have his stomach pumped! Luckily he survived

[pinkpanther99]

We have 4 dogs, and unlike 'nonthaburial" we DO keep ours indoors at night as it's not fair on them to be at the mercy of mosquitoes all night. At about 3 am they let us know that they want to go out for a pee so we let them out but bring them back in when they've finished. They do all tend to use the same part of the garden to do their "no 2's." I know your puppy is still very young, but you might want to think about neutering, unless you want a lot of puppies running around. Whatever way you choose to train, enjoy your puppy.

Yes, it was my intention to let the dog sleep inside at night. Like I said, I don't know too much about dogs but everyone I know with a dog be it in Thailand or in the UK always lets their dog sleep inside.

[pinkpanther99]

Visit your 3 closest vets. Have a quick interview with each. Check their facilities for order and cleanliness. Get their hours of operation and contact phone numbers. Ask the very same question to your vet of choice.

Did I read you correctly? You're getting a soi dog/rescue dog...if so, then you are a great person!

Enjoy the new member of your family!

It's not a Soi dog as such, it's just living in the yard of my wifes parents house and I'm worried that it could well end up a Soi dog in the future if we don't take care of it now.

In fact, there are 4 other puppies I think, probably also looking for good homes.....

[meatboy]

We have 4 dogs, and unlike 'nonthaburial" we DO keep ours indoors at night as it's not fair on them to be at the mercy of mosquitoes all night. At about 3 am they let us know that they want to go out for a pee so we let them out but bring them back in when they've finished. They do all tend to use the same part of the garden to do their "no 2's." I know your puppy is still very young, but you might want to think about neutering, unless you want a lot of puppies running around. Whatever way you choose to train, enjoy your puppy.

Yes, it was my intention to let the dog sleep inside at night. Like I said, I don't know too much about dogs but everyone I know with a dog be it in Thailand or in the UK always lets their dog sleep inside.

don't forget to keep her well protected from the unknown,when you take her out don't let her off the leash where other dogs have been as you don't know if they are carrying anything,as its been mentioned regarding her protection not forgetting

the dreaded heartworm caught from mosquitoes,jabs every 2months or what we give ours heartguard every month.

we keep ours indoors as much as he wants with him finding the coolest place and the use of a fan and at night between

me and the wife on our bed with the aircon on,safe from any nasties and thieves.loves to go out in the car and the odd knap in the garden.he gets lots of love and kisses and behave's impeccable,but lately he has been trying to shaft the local katoey.

[bina]

Good advice nd some bad here.

1.be consistent

2.be realistic

3.be patient

4.choose among the various methods of training to what suits u: basic toilet training and politeness are the main points at that age..

Using a kennel/cage is great if u have one.dogs live having their own private area and helps with the potty training.

Training to walk on a leash is omportant and easy

No biting is an other important rule and easy for a dhitxu to learn even if a pup.

Mske rules for your kids:no teasing the dog

No hassling the dog when she is in her bed or box

Teach them to call her and reward her with small tasty snack and Not to chase her

Remember that she does have feet and teeth and is not furry toy.

What works on a golden doesnt alwsys work with a shitzu...each dog has his own genetic snd environmental makeup.

Keep to schedule in feding and outings

Introduce her to as nsny nrew situations as possible after fully vaccinate

no hitting smacking or screaming. Its enough to use NO. !

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[bina]

Calmness consistency and caring..also weekly brushing or a good clip

Some doggy toys

Keep electric cords exoensive shoes and small toys out of reach until she learns whose possessions are hers and yours.

Flea tick drops a must

Ear cleaning also for a shitzu

Sense of humour

Pic of one bored teenager lhasa poo age 6months and one roll of toiletpaper

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[pinkpanther99]

Hi thanks again for all the great advice so far.

I'd thought I'd give you all a little update.

So we picked the dog up on Saturday, she's very cute, very friendly and very playful!

Toilet training, although it is very early days is going well, a few mishaps of course, but so far so good.

We've setup a little play pen area for her in the front room. It's quite large, bed at one side, food, play space and then toilet mats at the other end. When she's not sleeping we let he play around the front room and just put her in her play pen at night. As I said, a few mishaps but generally the toilet training is going well. Add to that that we are also putting her outside in the garden for 5 minutes every hour so that she can relieve herself, maybe a bit over the top but since we keep on doing this she hasn't pooped in the house and seems to have already found a spot she likes in the garden to go and do her business.

Anyway, say hello to Kanoon