Tips for a first time dog owner

[pinkpanther99]

Oh and just one more thing.

Any tips for the nighttime?

As mentioned, we put Kanoon in her play pen downstairs at night and we obviously go and sleep upstairs. Now for the past two nights she has been crying and barking in the early hours of the morning.

Is this just one of those things that will subside once she fully gets used to her new environment? Or could it be something more?

Of course, she could be letting us know she wants to go to the toilet and this morning at 3am I let her outside after she had been barking and she did relieve herself.

I know she might be a bit lonely at night but I'm reluctant to let her come into our bedroom at night - at least until she is fully house trained.

[Sheryl]

She is adorable!!

The barking could be either needing to go out to relieve herself or being lonely, though in my experience if dogs are upset about being alone and wanting to sleep with you they will usually make that fact known as soon as you retire for the night, not wait until 3 AM. So the bathroom need may be it, especially since she seems to understand well that she shouldn't do it in the house (and certainly wouldn't want to in a small pen she is kept in).

Being a puppy, her bladder capacity is small and sphincter control less than full grown dog, both things will naturally improve with time.

[AyG]

As mentioned, we put Kanoon in her play pen downstairs at night and we obviously go and sleep upstairs. Now for the past two nights she has been crying and barking in the early hours of the morning.

Is this just one of those things that will subside once she fully gets used to her new environment? Or could it be something more?

Of course, she could be letting us know she wants to go to the toilet and this morning at 3am I let her outside after she had been barking and she did relieve herself.

What was the weather like at the time? Our street dog, Whisky, is terrified of thunder and doesn't like heavy rain. He'll come upstairs andpaw at the bedroom door and cry outside until we let him in when the weather's like that.

And if it is a "toilet issue", are you taking away your dog's water? Since he was a small puppy we took Whisky's water away at 8 p.m.. He might then pee around 10 p.m., but after that he's good for the night.

I'm also curious about the phrase "she had been barking". What kind of barking was it? Barking is actually surprisingly expressive. You might want to have a look at http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/interpreting-your-dogs-barking.navId-380874.html which is the best summary of dog barks that I know of.

[AyG]

Not just for first-time dog owners, but someone sent me this link earlier today. It's very moving.

http://www.reshareworthy.com/20-facts-for-dog-lovers/

[AyG]

Just one more thought on the night time situation: what bedding does she have? It's been quite cold over the last few weeks. Is it a nice thick pillow to keep her warm?

[bina]

sounds like bathroom barking... also, most dogs wont pee or poo near their food so u put her bed at one end , her food at the other, and a place to poo so actually she doesnt have a place to poo... so we also had the 3 am pee issue with puma, so he just learned to go in the bathroom which is our toilet area for them when we arent home and non of my kids can get to the house to let them out... its also the bathroom for bad weather days (lilee refuses to get feet wet. the other two dont care).

taking water away doesn always work. mostly a late night pee (we do around midnite since hubby comes home then so we snack ourselves and put out for a quick pee. even if they were out two hours before hand. they are just used to is. and at 7:00 morning no matter what day, puma bangs on the door to go out. if not, by 7:30 he's used the human bathroom. with age the times expand. also ive noticed that in cold weather, like humans, they pee more.

for sure dont feed her late at night.

the other reason she might bark at that hour is if chickens/birds/people start to move around/wake up/make noise in the area. here at 5:00 my chickens start to make a racket, and the factory starts its shift so , although my older dogs ignore the noise, puma has been barking an 'alert' bark at that hour. i wake, tell him good boy, its ok, sleep... and thats it. he'll get used to the noise shcedule just like the others. he's saved our chickens (as have the other dogs) more then once by barking to unusual sounds- of foxes in the coop ...

just because your pup is a shitzu doesnt mean she doesn have the dog guarding instinct.

[meatboy]

Just one more thought on the night time situation: what bedding does she have? It's been quite cold over the last few weeks. Is it a nice thick pillow to keep her warm?

and not forgetting a teddy bear,although ours is 4yrs.old he has a small monkey that he takes to bed every night.

another info please remember those celebration nights that people let fireworks off they seem to get a kick out of who can set off the loudest bang.already she/he knows how to pose for the camera.

[pinkpanther99]

Just one more thought on the night time situation: what bedding does she have? It's been quite cold over the last few weeks. Is it a nice thick pillow to keep her warm?

and not forgetting a teddy bear,although ours is 4yrs.old he has a small monkey that he takes to bed every night.

another info please remember those celebration nights that people let fireworks off they seem to get a kick out of who can set off the loudest bang.already she/he knows how to pose for the camera.

She has a couple of towels in the corner of her pen and we have already put a little teddy in there

[pinkpanther99]

As mentioned, we put Kanoon in her play pen downstairs at night and we obviously go and sleep upstairs. Now for the past two nights she has been crying and barking in the early hours of the morning.

Is this just one of those things that will subside once she fully gets used to her new environment? Or could it be something more?

Of course, she could be letting us know she wants to go to the toilet and this morning at 3am I let her outside after she had been barking and she did relieve herself.

What was the weather like at the time? Our street dog, Whisky, is terrified of thunder and doesn't like heavy rain. He'll come upstairs andpaw at the bedroom door and cry outside until we let him in when the weather's like that.

And if it is a "toilet issue", are you taking away your dog's water? Since he was a small puppy we took Whisky's water away at 8 p.m.. He might then pee around 10 p.m., but after that he's good for the night.

I'm also curious about the phrase "she had been barking". What kind of barking was it? Barking is actually surprisingly expressive. You might want to have a look at http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/interpreting-your-dogs-barking.navId-380874.html which is the best summary of dog barks that I know of.

We haven't been taking her water away, I will try that tonight.

I'll take a look at the link you posted too - thanks

[pokoal2000]

I always had German Shepherds and never had to teach them. They know, even if we leave them inside for most of the day, never done anything in the house, even as a pupies

[topt]

I always had German Shepherds and never had to teach them. They know, even if we leave them inside for most of the day, never done anything in the house, even as a pupies

Your point being?

As an owner of a GS I think you have been very lucky. They have never had a dicky stomach........