Tips for taking home your new puppy
Remember these tips to make your transition go well:
* Limit the space in the house where the puppy gets to go. Expand it over the next few weeks.
* Walk the dog (not carry) to the door and show where they should potty.
* Potty the pup after every transition – after eating, drinking, playing, sleeping – potty them!
* Withhold food and water after 8 pm, do the final potty around 11pm, and wake yourself (and the puppy) up around 2am to potty again, and then again at 6am. That should do it! You will need to keep this up until the pup isn’t pottying at the 2am time.
* If there is a potty accident in the house DO NOT correct the puppy unless you see it happening! Pups only relate a consequence to the behavior that happened 3 seconds prior. So if you see a puddle, call the pup to you and scold it, you are in essence, scolding the puppy for coming to you.
* Remember this rule – any talking, comforting, and removing from the crate will reinforce the behavior that happened right before (usually crying, whining or scratching at the crate). If you don’t what those behaviors, don’t reinforce them!
* Keep the energy low for the first two weeks. It will feel like you are ignoring the puppy but it is the nicest thing you can do to give them the time they need to acclimate. If you have kids, limit the amount of time they get to interact with the pup.
* Keep the crate open and accessible during the periods of the day where the pup isn’t confined – that way when she/he needs comfort or respite, she/he can retreat there.
* Try to match the energy of the puppy – when they’re quiet do quiet activities (cuddling) and when they’re active do more active things (playing and not cuddling).
* Remember to give them access to food four times a day for the first two months home. Then move to three until 5 or 6 months old and then to twice a day. Feed amount suggested on bag.
* DO NOT keep a collar on a young pup who is confined to a crate – it is a strangulation hazard.
* DO teach leash manners, inside, after the first few days home – just let the leash drag for a day, then pick it up and encourage the pup to follow you, do not tug or reel them in.
* Do consider signing up for a puppy class anytime after the pup is 2 months old.
AND MOST importantly …
Good luck!! Trust your instincts and you’ll do fine.
Greta’s puppies settling in
I’ve been getting updates on Greta‘s pups! It seems all are doing really well. This is such a relief to me. It seems they are all good with potty training and sleeping in their crates. I am so pleased with what seems to be their easy transition. And I can not tell you enough how much I am enjoying my free time!!! The down stairs has been cleaned, the puppy room sterilized (ready for the next crew when we are – which should be a bit I think), and the tasks I’d put off for the past two months are beginning to get tackled. Thanks to all the families for their hard work with these puppies. Hopefully we’ll have some new photos from our reunion of sorts at the puppy playtime this coming Saturday.
Fare thee well, little family
So today Greta left for her next foster family. As sad as that may sound, all her pups were adopted and she was “left behind,” it is actually my preference. It gives her a chance to get accustomed to being just a dog, not a mama dog. And she gets to go through that transition with a wonderful volunteer, Ruth Ann, who loves all her fosters so much she lets them all pile up in bed with her! Greta will LOVE the attention and the cuddles. I expect her to make a smooth transition to simply being a young dog quite easily at Ruth Ann’s house. Then once that is accomplished, she will be much easier for her new forever family to deal with. So, many thanks to Ruth Ann for giving Greta the time she needs to settle in. I will miss her so much. I get really attached to all the mama dogs but she was especially sweet. She and I cuddled on the couch last night and I really felt sad that I had to say good bye to her. It is for the best. She will be a wonderful loving addition to her family. And I know they will love her just as much as I do.
Tomorrow, her puppies leave for their new homes. The end is near.
A busy day for the puppies
A long day
On Sunday we hosted 4 of the families who are thinking about taking the puppies. It was a L-O-N-G day. But worth it. Most were friends of mine so that was an added bonus – hanging out with puppies and friends is a good way to spend a rainy afternoon. But I am beat after all of it. For me, there is still a certain level of stress until all the puppies are accounted for. And even then I worry until Puppy Take Home Day. And even THEN I worry for the first 3 days, the first 3 weeks, the first 3 months. Once we hit that mark things are usually set. I don’t think I’ve ever had a puppy returned after 3 months. But then I always worry extra long about the mamas. I do so hope that Greta finds her forever home soon. She is such an amazing dog but so funny looking – she will take a special person but she will give that person SO much love and fun.
Puppies are trying to figure out how to relate
The final weeks are upon us. The puppies are no longer little blobs of fuzzy cuteness, but active, demanding creatures with personalities – and very sharp little teeth. I’ve noticed lately that they are in the stage where they begin craving human interaction but don’t quite know what to do with it. I watch them interact with Greta and they clamber around her, clawing and biting and trying desperately to nurse. Once they are satisfied with that, they really don’t know what else to do with her. It is sort of like that with me. When they see me, they swarm around my legs and jump up at me, biting. If I bend down they try desperately to put their mouth on my hands some how. If I let them, they try to crawl up my arms toward my face. If I let them, they arrive at my face with their eyes looking crazy and their mouths open and snapping. Really, I think they have no idea what to do – they just W A N T.
I understand that there are many things they are learning now, how to eat from a bowl, and drink water, how to potty outside and how to relate to one another. I’ve seen every litter go through that learning process. But this is the first time I’ve realized that learning how to relate to people is also something they have to learn. They have to understand and get used to cuddling, being petted, and playing with someone (rather than simply chewing on someone). All this is learned, of course. I just hadn’t realized it until tonight.
Greta is getting ready for adoption
Our current mama foster, Greta, is up on Petfinder, beginning the adoption process:
Greta looks like she is a 1.5 year old Dachshund/Basset Hound mix. Shes about 40 pounds with a honey brown, short haired coat, big floppy ears and a long tail that ends in a tip of white. She is an absolute sweetheart, house broken, quiet in the house, and walks nicely on a leash. She has such a happy disposition and puts her whole heart into what she is doing. She loves to play, loves children, and loves running around and just being outside. She also likes to cuddle up at night or chew a good bone. She is great with other dogs. She would love an active family with children who would love her and play with her. She came to us from Southern Illinois and has been taking care of her 5 puppies for two months. Now it is her turn to be taken care of. She is up to date on all her shots, microchipped, and on preventative heartworm and flea products.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN GRETA, please fill out the H.E.L.P. Adoption Application. This is the first step in meeting the dog. Our web site is updated regularly, so if you see a dog posted here, most likely, he/she is still available. Please fill out an application and submit it as indicated on the app. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN ADOPTING!!!
Link to Greta on Petfinder
