baileychristine0514

So I’ve posted in this board before about my baby Dougie, with some initial questions on puppyhood and this breed, as it was my first time with one. He’s now 4 months old, and just the sweetest dog ever!!!! He’s honestly been a little angel so far. He absolutely loves me, he always wants to be near when I’m home. But he does amazing on his own at home while we work, which continues to amaze me. He’s basically potty trained, minus an accident here or there. But even during the work days he doesn’t potty until the dog walker gets there, and then again when I get home! I’m impressed with this boy! He knows sit, stay, and leave it (though at times he feels it’s much more fun to not listen lol). We also just started obedience classes. He’s gentle and kind. Never growls or acts in any aggressive ways, even with my rambunctious five year old. He also barely barks, which living in the suburbs, that’s really nice. Honestly I can’t think of one real negative thing about this pup! He’s a bit mouthy during play I suppose but I also know this is a puppy behavior and we work on correcting that. He only chews on his toys, although there has been a casualty or two of my sons toys. But I blame my son for that lol, shouldn’t leave them out!!! His energy level isn’t too crazy, although I’m told that really doesn’t peak until 6-18 months so we will see what happens at that time. But for now we are so so happy with the sweet pup we adopted! I see why people love this breed!!!! We are trying to have another baby soon, so I am hopeful he does well with a new baby in the home eventually. Anyway, here is a photo of the star of the show, Dougie!

If your dog ended up having separation anxiety, or just an inability to be alone without being too worked up/getting into trouble, at what age did it start or did you see signs that maybe it would be that way? My little guy is almost 3 months old, and has been home alone while we work since he came home with us at 7 weeks. We hired someone to come midday to play and walk, but he is alone for 8 hours before its all said and done. He does AMAZING with this. I have a camera, and I check in on him frequently throughout my day. He never cries, never whines, has not destroyed anything, and never barks. Is this possibly just his nature to be so laid back and independent, or have we not hit the age where being alone is an issue? I feel really happy with the idea of him just naturally being this laid back because I need a pup who can be home alone, but I also don't want to be lulled into a false sense of security if it is just too early for a lot of those issues/behaviors to hit! Haha Here is a picture of the little fella, not sure why I can't get it to rotate right!

Thank you for this advice! I will certainly give the play before and after potty time a try. I have limited time in the mornings, like maybe just an extra 10 before I have to leave after getting up and getting ready. So it would most definitely be BRIEF play, but I could certainly see how that approach could work. As for during the day, he is gated in our kitchen. So he doesn't have run of the house, but certainly has enough space to relieve himself all day. I considered kenneling all day, but we kennel at night and I just felt awful to have him kenneled all but like 8 hours of the day! I do know a lot of people do it while potty training though. I do have a dog walker coming midday each day, for about an hour or so. So he is alone from about 8:15 when my husband leaves (I leave at 5:30am) and then dog walker comes around 12:30. Then alone again from 1:30-5pm, when I get home from work and getting my kiddo. Also, here is the picture of the sweet little guy!

Is there a time when the pups become more interested in stuffed Kongs? We tried peanut butter and a treat stuffed in one for my 9 week old, and he did not seem to care. Perhaps he is just too young for it to keep his attention?

We are working on potty training our 9, almost 10, week old, Dougie. I understand he is still really young, but it is driving me crazy! Like this morning: I took him out of his kennel and directly outside, like usual, and usually he goes pee right away. But today, instead of peeing, he stood there and stared at me for ten minutes, trying to engage in play. Well I did not encourage this and kept telling him "Go potty Dougie!". Eventually he went just a small amount, and then I had to leave for work, so I brought him in and passed him off to my husband for doggy duty. Then just a couple minutes later he peed in our bed! It's just frustrating because I took him out knowing full well he needed to pee, he refused to do so, and instead does it inside. I guess I am just curious about how long it took you all to completely train your dogs? During the work week it is harder to be consistent because we are gone, so we really only have the evenings and weekends to work on it, so I imagine that is not helping to expedite the situation. Any advice?! FYI, this is my first puppy.

Well my husband and I work full time, and brought our little guy home at 7 weeks old. He has been alone during the week days for 8-9 hours, with just a midday play/walk with the dog walker. He’s done fine. I mean I definitely think it’ll take us longer to potty train, since he gets to roam the kitchen while we are gone and so he just pees whenever he needs to but oh well. I would say that for one day, a 13 week old would be fine for the day. It’s not ideal but it’s life, and it is what it is. She might pee in the kennel or room that she’s in but to me that’s not a huge deal. If you have a friend that can drop in midday that would be great too.

How can I begin to teach my BC his name? Seems to me that would be the first thing all dogs should be taught right? He would need to know that before he can learn to pay attention to commands, as typically you would call a dogs name to get them to initially pay attention? Dougie is 8 weeks and has the attention span of a fly.

So I was wondering, I know with a young pup you should be taking them out to potty frequently. Well we kennel train at night, and so if he starts hollering in the middle of the night, I will go to his kennel and let him out. Of course then having to go back in is another hour hour of crying, but I suppose that's to be expected. However, in my research on kennel training, it is said do not address your pup if he is hollering and crying in the kennel, as this give him the idea that by acting that way, he will get attention. So my question is, how do I potty train and yet still successfully kennel train? Aren't they conflicting? Maybe I am overthinking it.

I do. He has a handful of toys, though nothing for strictly work hours. I have heard a stuffed Kong for only during work hours is great for them, something to look forward to and that will keep them busy. Although Dougie does not seem food motivated so far!

Hi all. This is my first post, as my husband and I have adopted an almost 8 week old BC/Aussie mix just this past weekend, which my son has named Dougie. So Dougie came home on a Saturday, and we began kennel training that evening, strictly for nights. Then Monday came, and my husband and myself work work full time. So that day, we kenneled him from 8:20am until about 12:30pm, when we have hired help to come play. Help left about an hour later, and Dougie was again kenneled from about 1:30pm until I arrived home shortly after 4pm. I was not confident or feeling really good in our choice to crate Dougie all day, in addition to the night crate training. It just seemed like it was too much time in the crate. So we decided to get a baby gate to confine him to the kitchen, and moved his kennel in this space as well. I also hoped that this change would foster a more positive relationship with the kennel, so he has more time to really explore it at his own pace, so his only experience with it is not just being shut in it at night. We still have the help coming for stimulation and interaction. My main question is, for you working families, how long did it take for your pup to feel comfortable being alone while you were at work? And am I doing the right thing by shutting him in the kitchen versus kenneling all day?? Dougie howls and cries for long periods of time, both at night and during the day, which I get is normal. But I think my biggest fear is that perhaps by leaving him alone so much, he will develop separation anxiety. But then other forums I have read seem to indicate that many BC owners work full time and their pups do not have separation anxiety issues. I just want little Dougie to be happy and well adjusted to the home, and hopefully quickly. I understand he is still so so young, but I feel so stressed myself about all the decisions I am making, and if they are right or not!