Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Pup-date

Hey! Today I'm trying to answer lots of your puppy-related questions.  Looks like LOTS of us have quarantine-puppies or are considering adding new members to our families so here I go!  

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND that I am by no means claiming to be any kind of an expert!  I'll gladly share what's working for us but there are TONS of great resources online from trainers and professionals.  A super sweet couple down the street from us raises puppies that go on to be service dogs and have given us lots of great in-person pointers and tips as well which have been invaluable! 







BAAAAD! hahaha  Dave says they weren't super bad but they were ROUGH.  
She was so incredibly sweet and laid back that first day, I don't think we heard her make a single sound.  THEN, enter the crate.  We took the blanket that we had that had been in with her mom, got her all cozy in the crate, shut the door and BAM.... the crying started.  We had her crate uncovered and right next to our bed and I ended up sleeping with my arm draped off the bed and into the crate just so she could smell me.  It took all of my willpower not to put her in our bed.  Between the crying and taking her out twice to potty I was EXHAUSTED in the morning.  

The second night I ended up pulling a blanket and pillow onto the floor and literally slept next to her crate.  At that point we decided to rip the bandaid off and move her crate out of our room and essentially let her cry it out.  We brought down a sound machine from Mason's room (he hasn't used it in forever) for her not for us, took her to the bathroom, knew she was safe and then settled in for about a solid 45 minutes of awfulness. 

But honestly, that was all it took.  One night of whining and then she was fine.  



We take her out one last time around 11 pm and then put her in her crate for the night and she's TYPICALLY been making it all the way until 7 or later.  Which is totally manageable.  She's had a couple of nights where she whines at 3 or 4 am but goes back in her crate no problem so it's not really a big deal.  Some mornings at 7 she's ready to eat and then she'll run up the stairs and get in bed with Griffin or Luke (Mason's bed is too tall - hahaha) but other mornings she's ready to PLAY.

She does love to sleep with the kids - so afternoon naps and late night snoozes (before the 11 pm potty break) are often with them.

  



We've already moved her food and water bowls to our back hall/laundry room because that floor is tile.  She's a SUPER sloppy drinker and was tracking water ALL over our wood floors.  If/when she starts drooling we'll just wipe it up like everything else :) 




Oh, totally :)  She's pulled on the cord holding the light on top of Gary Patterson's enclosure causing that to fall and the bulb to break, ripped a couple of holes in Mason's shorts, enjoys a good cardboard box, loves nothing more than trying to eat the door stoppers off of our walls and has a penchant for shoes :)




Since she's still so little we know that she's biting because she's teething and playing so we can't really expect her just to stop - so we try to redirect that behavior to a nylabone, toy, etc.  When she's super nippy we sternly say "no bite" and try to only pet her when she stops the biting.  

When she bites we'll also make a really high pitched "yipping" noise just like what would happen if she bit one of her litter mates too hard.  




This goes along with several questions I've had regarding crate/potty training and the answer is that we're trying to get her used to being in the crate during the day and not just at night. 

The general rule at our house is that if nobody's watching Rosie she's in her crate.  That kind of works out right now to an"hour in/hour out"  scenario with flexibility obviously. 

So for example, if she comes out of her crate at 10 a.m., someone will immediately take her outside to go to the bathroom and then we know she's good to play for 30-45 minutes.  We'll play with her, work on some simple commands, etc. and then take her outside to potty again and then she'll chill for a little bit chewing on toys, laying on the kids beds, etc. and then around the hour mark we'll put her back in her crate.  She gets a treat when she goes in and doesn't make a peep when sit's time to be in her crate.

Our plan is to increase her time out and in the crate as summer goes on to help her get used to it.  So far the longest we've left her during the day was about 2.5 hours and she handled it in her crate like a champ.



We're trying to avoid the opportunity for her to have an accident by taking her outside as soon as she comes out of her crate and then again after we've played for a while and then putting her in her crate (see above).  

We also got  these sets of bells to put on our doors and we jingle them every time we take her out and the past few days she's been ringing them on her own when she wants to go out.  It's kind of annoying because we have to take her out every time she rings them... even when she's just playing with them... but she's definitely "getting it" more and more every day. 




A friend loaned us a harness they had and we loved it but she's already outgrown it.  We'll probably pick up another one next month when she's had her third Parvo booster and we can really start taking her out for longer walks and in public so if y'all have a recommendation I'd love to hear it!




I'd say that all the kids pretty much do the same amount.  They all feed her, brush her, take her out on the leash, play with her, and pick up poop from the yard.  

Of course!!!  There's no denying that a new puppy is SO MUCH FUN and SO STINKING CUTE but Jack Bauer will always be the ultimate movie night snuggle buddy and Jelly Bean still makes the rounds and sleeps in their beds at night.  And Gary Patterson is Gary Patterson :)




Aren't they so cute?  I picked them solely based on their sale price but they're SO CUTE in person. 





Rosie really doesn't pull or jump - and I think that's just a product of her size and temperament at the moment.  Our neighbor is a vet and she has RAVED about the gentle leader - it's a collar that goes around their snouts and allows you to control their head and prevent pulling/jumping.






Our plan is to crate her OR leave her in a "safe" sectioned off area of the house while we're gone.  Dave goes in later than we do so he'll be home in the morning and will probably walk her to get her good and tired and then crate her - and then depending on my class schedule one of us should be able to come home and let her out in the afternoon if necessary.  




There are obviously costs with any dog... but because she's going to be so large some of those are going to be bigger... bigger bed, more food, etc.  A 25 lb bag of dog food will yield about 100 cups and she's currently eating between 4 and 6 cups a day and our vet has said that she'll more than likely cap out at around 8 - 10 cups per day (possibly less).  That's a lot of dog food - hahaha

That said, she won't require regular grooming like Jack Bauer so that's a plus!  As far as other monthly expenses go, they'll more than likely be similar to our expenses for Jack Bauer... flea/tick and heartworm medication, etc.


SURE!  When we got her on April 25 she weighed in at 14 lbs.  About a week and a half ago we weighed her and she was a little over 21 lbs and yesterday at the vet she was over 25!  They told me that when they saw her back in June they predict she'll be between 35 and 40 lbs.  CRAZY!!!


Here she was on the day we got her...


... and here she was last week!



I use Particular Paws Pet Stain and Odor Remover for accidents on rugs and carpet and, unfortunately, I can't find it online.  My mom picked it up for me - she works at a flooring store and it's what they recommend - and I'll typically spray it on the spot, wait a few minutes and then use my little carpet cleaner (that has thieves cleaning solution in it) to go over it again.  If it's on hardwood or tile it's just lysol and a paper towel.

We have a BUNCH because we knew that she was going to chew and wanted her to have options that didn't include slippers and notebooks :)  Everything is LARGE for obvious reasons...




Not regret but for sure moments of "this is a lot" - particularly when I'm up at 7:00 a.m. tossing a ball with a puppy instead of sleeping ;)  But she has brought so much joy and fun to our house and we're so excited for years and years of companionship for our family so it's worth it.  And I mean... just look at that face...


PS - this post contains affiliate links.  Thank you so much for reading and supporting my blog!

18 comments :

  1. I love this post!!! So much good information. I have 2 questions, sorry if they sound bossy! 1. Have you heard that it's okay to let mastiffs go upstairs? Our breeder was super strict about that and drilled into us that she couldn't go upstairs at all. She said some breeders even keep them in crates for the whole first year to avoid hip problems. I've been super thankful that our dog hasn't had any problems like that but I'm not sure if that's because we've been careful with stairs or not. Our breeder was kind of extreme, so I'm not sure what to make of some of her advice.
    2. Cesar Milan says that the harnesses actually makes the dog pull against it? Did your vet/neighbor think so as well? I would love to see how you train Rosie to walk. We tried the gentle leader with our first dog and would like to try again, but I wasn't sure if it would work on our current dog's shorter nose. I wonder if we could teach an old dog a new trick. :)

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    1. Our vet told us to be "cautious" but that she's fine to use the stairs, play, etc. We've started her on a joint health supplement as well. And about the harness - no... our neighbor has a HUGE lab and she has hers on a gentle leader and says she recommends it to all of her patients with large dogs.

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    2. Our mastiff has always gone upstairs and she has had no hip issues and she's 10.5 years old. She also gets on couches and chairs. LOL! We've had knee issues but they were slips on the floor while playing.

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  2. MY GOSH she's flipping adorable! Love you Rose Roo!

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  3. I can't EVEN. She is so so cute. That face. And those cute paws. I love dogs and cats and any animal. At one point, we had: a bunny, 4 cats, a dog, and a bird. :) I enjoy your pictures of all of your pets.

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  4. I have a doodle that, even at 7 years old, jumps. I've tried numerous training techniques. I use the gentle leader with her when I know I will be walking her around people or other animals she may want to chase. She does not like it on her nose, but is easily controlled with it. She weighs about 60 lbs for reference.

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  5. We feed our mastiff Blue Buffalo and switched to Fromm's bc she had an allergy. It's super high protein so she only eats 3-4 cups a day. We love it and she loves it. I swear she eats better than we do! LOL! Keep the Rosie updates coming. I'm living vicariously through y'all bc we can't get a new puppy right now.

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  6. I can't wait to watch this cute thing grow up! And the kids are such a great age for a puppy! We got a rescue in February and have enjoyed her so much. Not a puppy, but she is just a perfect fit for us. With the boys, 14 and 10 home all day with her, she has bonded like crazy. SO FUN!!!!

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  7. Andrea!! I CANNOT GET OVER THESE PICTURES!!!! When did you become a dog photographer?! Like AMAZING!! STUNNING! SO ADORABLE! I can't quit with the caps. I'm going to need you to block off this Friday to spend at my house snapping pics of my dogs. Thank you in advance ;) .

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  8. We have a Joyride harness for our 62lb Aussie and love it! Super easy to put on, as you only have to strap it in one spot under their belly. Our friends have a HUGE bloodhound and they use one for him too! They're 50% off right now!

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  9. That face will melt any heart! Oh my goodness! She is precious!

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  10. Reneutiz has a carpet solution for dog accidents that's fantastic. Spray it on,wait a few minutes, wipe up with a dry paper towel and your done. Also a wind up clock works wonders for sleeping at bite in her crate. She's beautiful. Your very lucky.I lost my eskie last year on Christmas eve. Zoey was a behavioral dream.

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  11. We got a second black lab last July, and she is the messiest water drinker (we were using multiple bath towels per day to clean up her messes)! So, we ordered a water bowl called the Slopper Stopper, and it has worked so well...just a few drops here and there after she drinks!

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