New Puppy!

[organic_smallhome]

Yep, Duane, vet confirmed what you said: neutering at 6 months, not before.

[bubbaonline]

I took over care of my mother's poodle when she went into the nursing home... 10 years old.. serious separation anxiety..

I didn't want to cage the dog, either, so penned it in the laundry room, leaving door open to the kitchen (with a gate up). Dog scratched up the doors, cabinets, urinated on everything...

So, decided to cage instead... Don't think the separation anxiety was lessened any, but never tore up bedding... very few accidents, and our laundry room wasn't being torn up.. Now, at 4 months old, your dog may not be able to hold it all day... but, I disagree with your vet about the cage.... I think it affords the dog some security, and probably allows it to sleep away more of the day..

It worked for us... We had the dog for 4.5 years... and, enjoyed him to the very end, this summer..

[aluebcke]

We were against keeping our puppy in the crate all day, too. But both the breeder we got our dog from and the vet convinced us that it's for the puppy's safety, and they see the crate as their "den". It also helped immensely with potty training.

For the first six months, I went home at lunch every day to take the puppy out and play with him. At first, he couldn't hold it for 4 hours, so we got him a crate with grating....if he had to go, he did and the mess was kept away from him. It didn't take him long to learn to hold it for 1/2 day though, as they don't like to go in their crate.

We always left him with a chew toy so he had something to do. We felt a little guilty about the crate, but found that he slept most of the day on weekends when we were home anyway. He'd gotten used to sleeping part of the day, and was always full of energy in the mornings and when we got home.

You can also find a "doggy daycare" a day or two a week, if you want him to get some exercise during the day.

Good luck!

[Jane A]

Uh oh! I'd suggest that you continue to keep him in his crate while you're gone. Not only does it prevent damage, but it prevents any bad habits from forming - such as chewing on baby gates. It also helps immensely with potty training. There's a solution there somewhere! A couple of ideas, beyond taking him to work with you, maybe some of these would be helpful:

- Get a neighbor to come let the little guy out in the middle of the day.
- As Amanda suggested, come home in the middle of the day.
- Take him to a doggie day care until he grows up a bit. You could combine this option with either of the above two during the week. A good doggie day care should give them downtime in crates so his crate training will continue with them.
- When you leave him in his crate give him something really fun to chew on, like a kong toy filled with peanut butter and dog treats.
- I'm sure your puppy class will give you some good ideas to help figure out what to do.

Having them learn to be comfortable in their crate is a godsend and will make things easier for you their whole life. Even if you don't need to use it much when he grows up he'll still use it as a den and you can easily put him in it if the situation warrants without having him get upset.

Edited to add: Just saw Amanda mentioned doggie day care, also! Guess it's a good idea.

[aluebcke]

I second Jane's comment on the crate being a godsend. It makes it easier for everyone involved (even the puppy).

Our dog actually likes to spend time in his crate when we're home. We leave the door open for him, and he goes in when he needs a break. We've taught the kids to leave him alone when he's in his crate.

[organic_smallhome]

We left him in the crate today and when we arrived home he had torn up the blanket and was chewing on the bars (we peeked through the window). I think what we need to do is acclimate him to the crate in view of his separation anxiety. We both teach, and next week is the last week of classes for the semester, so we'll have a month or so to work consistently on training.

A puppy. I can't imagine what I was thinking.

Thanks so much for the advice.

[johnstonamerica]

My folks have a Scottish terrier who, at 11 years old, chased a black bear out of the yard at top speed. My Dad couldn't believe it, watching him nip at the hind legs as the bear ran as fast as he could into the woods. All heart

[drcollie]

Terriers are borderline insane. They don't 'get' that they're a small dog. 18 lb of fury. Wish there was video of the Scotty getting the bear!

[johnstonamerica]

I wish I saw it too, my Dad just couldn't believe it! lol

[Monique]

I know what you mean when you say "I can't imagine what I was thinking." We lost our precious pet, a toy poodle, last December. By Sept. we thought we were ready for another puppy. We looked really hard and found a wonderful breeder of miniature poodles. We decided on a larger dog this time because we are aging and thought we might not trip over a larger dog. We brought her home and the nightmare began. She was a sweet puppy but had so much energy-more than our toy poodle had ever had. She ran through the house continually, rarely stopping to rest. The trainer suggested an indoor play yard about 3 feet high. Well, we got one and the little thing jumped out, cleared the whole fence within 2 minutes. Even the trainer couldn't believe it. We are retired so we were with her 24-7. She was getting up 2-3 times a night with no let up. Our trainer advised that we needed to run with her. Well, neither of us are capable of running. We were just sick. We never wanted to be "those people" who get a pet and take them back but we became one of those people. Our trainer agreed, saying that our pet needed an "active" family. We are now gun-shy but missing having a pet so much plus feeling terribly guilty. The breeder had a policy that if the pet did not work out that you had to bring the pet back to her. The only consolation was that the puppy was back with her mother. We miss her but we did not have the stamina for her. We think now that we will wait until we are older and home an older dog for someone else...one who is older like us.