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We have been thinking of adopting a dog and Danny wants to get a puppy since he thinks it will be easier to train. He says its easier to mold a puppy then it is an adult dog. We had a puppy play date with a dog that is in foster care and he did very well with Alyssa and our cat. He did want to play with Alyssa and I know that she will get pounced so I’m looking for advice on how to deal with that. What should I train the puppy to do/not do? I plan on taking whatever dog we get to obedience training and get their canine good citizen but I’m looking for advice from others who have raised both puppies and young children together. I’ve raised two puppies before so I have some experience just not with puppies and kids at the same time lol.
I don’t know, puppies (depending on the pup) can either be hard to train, or easy to train. The puppies have exceptionally sharp nails and teeth, and I know your expecting a puppy to pounce on Alyssa, but I don’t know about those sharp claws and such. As for training, you really need to establish Alyssa as the “alpha” of your pack, and you might want to research how, but I follow Caesar Millan’s advice from the Dog Whisperer show. Puppies just want to chew and pounce and play, so be careful because I don’t want something to happen to Alyssa, and then she becomes afraid of dogs.
We had one of our dogs (passed on now) that was around from the time I was in third grade, plus we’ve had either a child my mom used to babysit during the day and my nephews. Depends on what you want out of the dog. For a just all around companion/pet, basic obedience :
– sit
– lay down
– stay/halt
– roll over (maybe not completely, but at least so you can pet/rub belly… it’s a dominance thing)
– heel and stay at your side
– how to walk on a leash
– not to jump (very important around young ones and those who are more fragile or easily frightened by any type of dog)
– not to bark obsessively (some breeds have move voice than others, so this may or may not be an issue … depends on what they were used for… shelties, while small, have a surprisingly LARGE dog voice for the uninitiated because they were bred to be heard over the seas and wind on the coast in Scotland and they bark to alert you of ANY change in the environment :D. Not something that everyone can deal with … some breeds are much quieter)
– the all important potty training!
– any tricks that you might want to teach your new pup, but that would be up to you and your family. I would do the basic obedience stuff first and work in the tricks as you go, after 🙂Some older dogs, depending on the dog can be very trainable. Just depends on the dog. 🙂
What size of dog?
I dont know about getting a puppy being easier, after getting Gage at 7 or so months, and having him come home being house broken, trained to sit, lay down, shake a paw, not to jump, walk on a leash, and dont bite I think I will stay away from small puppies, LOL.
I can’t imagine having both a pup and a baby. Both always want to chew on something and don’t know enough not to share. Babies carry around cups and food and puppies like to steal cups and food. Puppies like to jump and chew and babies have really soft skin. Puppies grow fast and will soon be bigger then a baby… Personally, I would recomend a lab or a golden 2 or 3 or maybe even 4 years old. They are both very smart breeds and great with kids, but are puppies until they are 2 or 3. 2 excellent rescues are:
http://www.gulfsouthgoldens.com
They are great to work with. We adopted from them.http://www.almosthomerescue.net/
They are mostly in Maine, but adopt out to many areas. My parents started fostering for them and now Mom is thier VP.One other is http://www.labs4rescue.com
They are all over the place on the east coast and have TONS of labs.It may be a better idea to go with a rescue instead of a shelter because a rescue has typically fostered a dog and can give you a better picture of thier personality. Just my 2 cents…
I would recommend rescuing/adopting a mature dog all the way. There are so many out there that you are bound to find one that will fit your expectations and family! “Molding” a puppy into an adult dog the way you want is a very romantic idea, but it takes a lot of time, dedication, and probably most importantly consistency! I by no means am suggesting you couldn’t do it, but think on it very carefully … most dogs that once had families but now are sitting in shelters (or worse..) were puppies that didn’t ‘turn out’ the way the owners expected. Sad and cruel? Yes… but very true. :/ With an adult dog you KNOW the personality and know what it already knows in terms of training. There is sometimes regression when they have to adjust to a new household, but again if you take your time and look for the right one at a rescue, you might have an awesome experience. 🙂
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My art: featherdust.comWe are looking at a pit bull (OMG but it will eat your baby Nom Nom Nom). We tried to rescue an adult from a local shelter but she turned out to be very animal aggressive and just didn’t get along with Hobo so we had to return her. After that we decided whatever dog we get will be from a foster home rescue. I’ve been talking with two people from a local rescue and thats how we met the puppy we had over the house for a play date yesterday. He was half starved when brought into the rescue and has been with his foster mom for two months. She is very knowledgeable about the breed and her foster pup. She was very upfront with us about him that he will need alot of socialization and training to be a well rounded adult. I know that now isn’t the best time to get a new pet with all the time that Alyssa takes up but ever since we had to rehome our two dogs when Danny got sick both of us have wanted to get another one. Since the economy is doing so poor and lots of people are being forced to take their dogs to the shelter I just feel that since we have the resources that maybe we should give one of those dogs a second chance. I had told the rescue that we were looking for an adult dog (even though danny wants a puppy) and the lady suggested meeting this puppy since he is so laid back which surprisingly for a puppy he is. I know if we do get a dog its going to be ALOT of work. I’m just trying to educate myself on how to handle puppy toddler interaction before we make any decision on what we are going to do.
I have had 4 chow chows and the first two were puppies around 7 or 8 weeks old and the last two were adults – one was five and the other was nine months – thae last one is Tristen. I have found from experience puppies and kittens are cute but dogs and cats are easier to live with from the get go. If you can’t find one at a shelter or foster home decide what breed you would like and find a rescue group or even better a breeder who shows dogs and get one a few years old that is no longer being shown or bred.
I am glad you are looking at a pitty, I love them, some day, perhaps when Gage is 5ish i will rescue one as well. Is Hobo a cat? If he is a male dog I would not get a male pitty, just because they tend to be pretty same sex aggressive, if he is a cat then I would totally consider the pup, LOL. The number of dogs that are being turned over due to the economy is very sad, I agree!!
No advice about training or if you should get a puppy vs an adult, but I wanted to say that I am so glad my mom always had pets in the house when I was growing up. I’m glad I learned to appreciate them and treat them well when I was little! I’m sure Alyssa will love ‘her’ pet!
I would recommend getting an older dog. A puppy is not easier to train. I take in all tyoes of dogs for the rescue I work with and it is usually asier to work with the adults than the pups. Pups take a lot of time. A dog from a rescue will be temperament tested and usually will be lining in a house so his/her foster parents will know a lot about him/her.
For example: I currently have a 5 y/o German Shepard who I found in the parking lot at work(about 2 weeks ago), and he is a fabulous dog so far, but we’re still in the learning phase. He is house broken good with other dogs, calm, friendly alert, listens well and does not jump or shred things things. In a week or so we will begin working with the cats (he got neutered on sat so he needs time to heal) to see if he does okay with them. He lets me tug on his ears and pull is tail feet, he let the vet shave his injured foreleg down and drain pus for the wound all with out sedation. Overall his temperment so far has been excellent.
Another thing to keep in mind is that a rescue dog will be vaccinated and parasite and disease free. This will help with the start up costs of adding a new dog to your home. But most of my fosters originally came for shelters and they can be in pretty rough shape at first. 😥
These are the kinds of thing you’ll need to know, particularly if you have a young child or a baby. Puppies take time. :yes:
Of course if anyone here knows someone who would offer my Sage a good home, he is looking. 😀
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