Introducing Buddy....

[rjohnstone]

They kennel train very well. Just make sure his kennel isn't too big. Too much room and he will use a corner as a toilet.
Milo slept in our room in his kennel for the first month or so.
Then he left a surprise at 3:00 AM that cleared the bedroom for a few hours.
Poor guy had an upset stomach to say the least.

His kennel is now in the laundry room and he can go outside through the doggie door when nature comes calling.

As for the AKC paperwork, if he's been altered (fixed) or you're not going to show him, there is no need to give him a title. I think Milo has one, although he has been neutered. Part of the agreement when we purchased him.
We got him to be a pet, not a show or breeding dog.

Good looking pup you got there. They always look like sad old men... kinda cute I think.

[RacerX]

My aunt and uncle have one... he's crazy!

What about your aunt?

[Thor Von Clemson]

lol.. good one Ron.

We had somewhat of an incident. We took him to the groomer and the groomer discovered a few ADULT FLEAS on him.... I was not too happy about that. He had not been in many areas in our house but he was in both of our cars. Plus those little bastards can get on your clothes and stuff. We took him to the vet to get him some Frontline and we got some spray for our house. We vacuumed, sprayed the house, left, and vaccuumed. I called the breeder about it and he was pretty shocked... at least he said he was.

The vet said that we should be ok as long as he has the Frontline and we spray/vaccuum our house well. We washed our clothes and bedsheets too. The vet said that since he was not really in our house and there were only a few, we should be fine. Those little bastards can multiply faster than some of your guys' guitar collection so ya..

I was not too happy about it. Actually I am pretty stressed out about it. I have the flu and I can not take any more time off work. I just pray that this flea thing goes away quickly because I HATE FLEAS..

Other than that, Buddy is doing pretty well.

[Thor Von Clemson]

I think the fleas thing is a lot better. Its been more than 24 hours and all the fleas on his body should be dead along with the eggs. We sprayed the house yesterday and I am going to spray it again soon so I am thinking we should be ok. The breeders vet said that since we caught it so early and there were so little fleas the precautions we have taken should do the trick and he should be ready to be around dogs in a week or so.

His worm test turned out negative so thats good. I'd say we have a pretty healthy pup. The fact that he is becoming more rowdy also supports that. He has a favorite toy (the little bandana the groomer gave him). I know its not a toy but he chases it around and pounces on it.

We bought him a bed for him to be on when he is not sleeping in his kennel but so far he is not using it... any tips for that?

He has been pretty good about potty training but he pee'd twice in the house today and pooped once. He's been pretty good about waiting every few hours until we can get home to let him outside. What we do is keep him in the kennel, let him out so he goes to the bathroom, and then play with him inside. Its too cold to play outside right now. Any potty training tips?

I am fortunate my wife knows a lot about raising puppies. I don't know that much and I am pretty sick right now so she has been a great help. Buddy follows me everywhere I go and will usually sit/lay down when I am doing something. If he is with my wife and I am in another roomk and I sneeze he will come running towards me.

One thing we have been having a problem with is him yelping at night when he is in his kennel. We have a towel and a Kong rubber toy in there for him. I know would rather sleep by us but we dont want him messing on our bed or something. The yelping contiunes for a while and we leave him alone until he shuts up. He is starting to recognize his name a little so "Buddy Quiet" helps somewhat with his yelping but I am open to suggestions.

This has been a new experience for me. We knew we were ready to get a pup and I knew it was going to be a lot of work. I guess I am just not used to having something rely on my for everything. Its been great and my wife pointed out one thing... we feel like a family now.

[toejam]

What about your aunt?

She's a little out there, too!

[toejam]

As long as the fleas stay on the dog, it's not that big a deal. When I first got my cat, the girl I got him from found him in a bag and kept him about a week or so, put a flea collar on him. I had him for about three weeks before I took him to the vet. The vet combed behind his tail around his ass, he had some fleas. He slept on my bed most of the time, his fleas stayed on him the whole time and didn't get on anything in the house.

[guitarsjb]

I agree with the "not sleeping with you" thing. But IF you let him, he WON'T mess in the bed..he'll wake you up. I don't support letting him be a bed dog..unless that's what you'll allow him to be later. They are like babies..they don't come with instructions. You'll be fine bro!!
I now just have cats. They are cool too..and that's why I don't have KIDS..like animals better LOL..they all take time. And I prefer Advantage for the fleas..but if you catch em early..they will stay on the dog/cat like toejam said. They don't leave unless they get hungry..then you have a problem.

[rjohnstone]

The only tip I can give you on the dog bed thing is to leave it out for him.
My dog Milo just started using one and he just turned 1 not too long ago.
Before that, all he would do is eat them... I'm talking major shredding.
He preferred the floor.
I will not let him sleep in our bed or on the furniture. Even at 1, Milo still "leaks" when he gets excited. I'm told it's a Cocker thing as my Shi-Tzu only did it for a few weeks.

The yelping at night will pass soon enough. He's still getting used to his new home.

[Thor Von Clemson]

The last two nights he yelped for a little while then shuts up as long as everything is quiet; meaning we are in bed and there are no radios or tvs on.

We have noticed that he yelps when he needs to go to the bathroom. He'll be quiet all night then start yelping every 3-4 hours. We'll take him outside and he'll go. Thats good right?

Now we just need to figure out how to get him to let us know when he has to pee when he is not in his kennel.

A lot of people tell me its about repetition and getting into a pattern. He is still getting used to everything and so are we. I am sure that in time we will be able to communicate better.

[rjohnstone]

Letting him out to pee when he needs to is a good thing. He's still young, so he cannot hold it all night. It also lets him know that he should tell you when he needs to go out. If you ignore it, he will stop yelpng and just pee in his kennel. Trust me, you don't want this to happen, because once his does this a time or two, he'll never stop doing it.

As for when he is out of the kennel, start a schedule. Every hour or two, walk him outside just to pee... if he does it right away, reward him with a few "good boy" comments and bring him in. If he doesn't, just bring him back inside.
Eventualy he will just go to the door when he needs to pee and wait for you. Pay attention to this behaviour.

Just hang in there... he's still young and learning. Mistakes will be made and accidents will happen.