Living with a 12 week old Pup

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MarleneK

Forums Regular
My puppy Denali, is now 12 weeks old. I think he is a good pup but I am starting to get those resentful feelings with the time it takes to care for & train him. I want him to grow up to be a happy and balanced dog and realize this takes time and work so i want to get past these feelings and deal with his schedule better. I have a few questions.

The first is I would like to know how much one on one time I should be spending with Denali. I work from home and find myself running around in circles taking him in and out, playing, feeding, cleaning up after him etc that I am challenged to get my work done. I try to give him alone play time in his pen but he gets into barking fits every time I leave the area. I don't want to yell at him for barking but rather distract him which takes even more time. Anyone have any guidance on a reasonable schedule to put him under so he gets what he needs from me without taking all my time?

The second question is in regards to focused training. I will be attending formal training at 16 weeks after he is fully immunized so meanwhile i have been practicing the sit, down, & come type commands but probably not regularly enough. How much time and how frequently each day should i have focused training sessions with him?

The last thing is barking at the cat. He thinks the cat is a game. The cat
still hisses and bats denali so he barks and runs circles around him. How can I get the two animals to respect each other rather than antagonizing each other and driving me crazy.

I have noticed several people have new pups and wonder how they are dealing with these challenges as well.

Thanks so much for your help. I still don't have pics to share as I am a little overwhelmed these days. I wanted pics for our xmas card so i have to get on it.
 
oh boy, puppies are a lot of work...
if you work from home you probably have to be organized so not all your time spend wandering around... anyway, make a schedule and put a timer on if you have to. 5 minutes intervals for training are great for your pup. I think if you schedule yourself to teach this, play games, teach that, run around the block then play tug or fetch total 30 minutes, then in a crate for 2-3 hrs, repeat.
As for barking in the crate- ignore it.
 
I agree--get the puppy on a schedule.

If it is scheduled quiet time and the puppy is barking, too bad. It might make for a couple tough days, but once the puppy figures out that barking won't get him what he wants (you!) he'll stop.
 
corbinam said:
I agree--get the puppy on a schedule.

If it is scheduled quiet time and the puppy is barking, too bad. It might make for a couple tough days, but once the puppy figures out that barking won't get him what he wants (you!) he'll stop.
Click to expand...

I agree. The first couple of days might be rough (and loud)... but once he knows what to expect, he'll settle in.
 
I work from home too, and have raised several Sheltie pups. I found the key is as others have said, keep them on a schedule. One of the most important things to schedule is *crate time*. When you are going to work, put puppy in a crate for a dedicated block of time ... say, three to four hours while you work. Then, take pup out, have some play time and when you return to work, back to the crate.

You will probably find initially that the pup will whine when you do this. Ignore him and leave the room. I would make sure the cat is not in the room to torment him as well. When he realizes you are not going to come back and this is the deal, he'll quiet down. It takes a day or two.

Once the pup begins to adapt to his routine, you can put the crate inside an x-pen and leave the door open. By then, he should be happy to go inside his crate for some nap time on his own.

There's no getting around the fact that when you are around, the puppy is going to want to be with you, follow you, play with you etc. That's what a puppy is and does. They do grow up, and that changes. Enjoy puppyhood while you have it. Like children, they grow up quickly and the time and work you put in is all worthwhile. :yes:
 
I've always worked outside the house and the boys adapted welll to that schedule. But I've been home since April and the boys decided to start their own schedule after that!

Indy has decided that he MUST be let out at least 100 times a morning. Must check squirrels. Must check birds. Must check dog walkers......I'm on it, Mom! Aren't I a good, good boy? :no:

While your pup is still young, I would continue to crate even when you are at home. One, it teaches the dog to be comfortable crating if necessary later on. Two, it gives you peace!

Good luck!
 
Oh it's not all roses and sunshine here, I'm in it only under a week and about the same age however I have 3 small children 5,3,15 months. I find it challenging to protect the puppy from my over the moon children & also trying to make sure all needs are met! We really have not touched on training yet however I have had the classes with another dog so I think I will start with some of those things. Our Holly wants to be with us all the time, but I think she misses the fun of litter mates and her mama.

I'm doing my best, I just hope it's enough and I can raise the dog with a sense of herself with in our family and my children have fond memories of this sweet creature.

It's challenging that's forsure!
 
Thanks so much everyone. I just had to hear that crating him that many hours is o.k. I think it will help with the potty training also as he doesn't have a problem going in his x-pen (which is why i take him out every ten minutes so we don't have an accident that I then have to clean up) I'm feeling better already!
 
And Holly, I can just imagine how busy your house must be with three small children. Hope things improve for you as well!
 
We have a 3 month old tri male (Toby), two year old tri female (megan) AND a 13+ year old cat (Mindy). I am in the heat of attempting training the pup and of course my cat decides to rebel and use the bedroom carpet as her liter box :dead:. Megan our princess likes to have all options all the time around the house so she exhausts me too.

You're NOT alone, we've all been there and it's trial and error on what system works best. I find for us, leaving puppy Toby in his x-pen when we can't diligently watch him is great. He goes in his crate when we leave every now and then and sleeps in it at night.
 
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