Bailey's thread
Bailey today. 9 weeks old. A little bigger, a little more hair.
A little more attitude and LOTS of stress. I feel like the last 9 days have been 2 months.
Just took this picture. She has peeing and pooping down great as soon as you set her down outside. No going in the cage either. Problem is when you let her out of the cage in the house and take your eyes off her for a split second. Oops. Clean up time!!
Going to need to need some training classes. As much as we would like to take care of that ourselves- it is tough with work and the real world.
Example- I try to take her out in the yard and walk her around- she just constantly runs in front of me from either side, jumping at my shoes or tangling my legs.
It's been a long couple days...
Josh 
htownguy 
Only temporary 
Skippy Just a heads up, it usually gets worse before it gets better but dogs are well worth the investment:). I put hundreds of hours of training, blood, sweat and tears into my dog and it was by far worth it at the end of the day.
There is a good chance that there will be days you end up crying and wanting to give up but puppies were made cute for reason- a little push to get through the rough patches. My dog was 8 months old when I got him and had never been walked on leash. He is deaf and 50 lbs of pure muscle (at least in those days); it was absolute mental and physical torture trying to walk him. 9 years later, I can stroll down any street with any distraction (except cats, he still can't interact with cats) holding his leash with one finger.
My unsolicited advice is that training is important but make sure you train in such a way that fosters a positive relationship with your dog and allows them to keep their personalities that made us fall in love in the first place. Oh yeah, don't forget to have fun too!
Happy Homemaker Just like children, as Bailey gets more familiar with your home and family, she will test both you and your wife. She will see who “defends her “, and actually manipulate you against each other to get her way. Never underestimate their abilities. As for these accidents, just ignore them. When she sees how happy you are, for peeing outside, and ignoring her, for peeing in the house, she’ll pick up on that, quick. They love to be loved! I guess this goes without saying, but, don’t rub her face in it. It’s cruel and doesn’t work. Just turns them into poop eaters. Yuck!
Bailey sure has an innocent face. Could do no wrong. Too cute! You guys will have lots of happiness, together. Like Happy Homemaker said...the first few weeks are difficult. Worth every minute, though, for the love they return. Especially when she’s a little older. Good luck with her, Josh!
Guilty-Remnant What a fun thread!! It took two rounds of training classes and lots of patience for our pup to learn to behave on the leash... She's so adorable
rleaf 
Calico696 
JeffersonRepub Patience is key!!! All dogs are different and are motivated in different ways. Most will respond to treats though:) I have always kept a small treat jatr by the door to reward them when they go outside. I also take them out on a schedule gradually increasing the hours as they improve.
I have house trained quite a few. My females seemed to catch on very quickly. I had one that was fully house trained at 4 monhs having had only 3 accidents total in the house. My males ....not so much. One took literally almost a full year. He just couldn't get it. He was also a rescue so the crate didn't make a difference. He went more in there!
Bailey is just a baby. Just give him time and try not to let him roam through the house without supervision. When he does have an accident be sure to clean it with the proper cleaner or he WILL smell it and continue to go back to that spot.
JRT My dog is 9 months old and not 100% potty trained. It’s annoying but we are working on it.
Jesse132 How is Bailey's hernia? Was it operated on? (was it in a good or bad location?)
Hackresident 
Hadenough Josh, it helps to take the pup directly from its crate to outside to potty. If she's sneaking off while you're indoors...attach a leash to your belt so you can watch her. She'll need to pee after every nap, every meal, or every 2 hours minimum. Praise profusely for outside & it helps to take her to the same spot every time. Pick a word for "potty". I use "hurry up" because it's not embarrassing when I'm in public, lol. She'll learn quickly but consistency is key with any training!
Brenda 
Omg I love her! She’s absolutely beautiful!
Would you make a trade..4 cats for one pup?
Positive She is fun. My wife picked her.
I wanted her brother who is the more traditional black and white- but my wife wanted a girl. The coloring on her is unusual.
Dear Josh
There is a show on CBS on Saturday mornings, I think around 11 or noon. It is called Lucky Dog. The trainer on this show is amazing. Takes dogs from Shelters and trains them to go to new homes.
http://www.cbsdreamteam.com/lucky-dog/training-tips/
Please take time to watch how he does it. Early training is essential.
Good Luck and enjoy your pup.
Mom with kids HackResident- sheepdog
MWK- thank you!! The entire series is on Comcast through Amazon Prime so I am currently watching the first episode. I need to grab a notepad and pen. :)
This is the thread la la la la
Bailey's thread
La la la la, la la la la,
Bailey's thread
La la la la la la la, la
La la la la la la la, la
He loves to bark, la la la la,
Bailey's thread
La la la la, la la la la,
Bailey's thread
He likes to poop
He likes to chew
That's Bailey's thread
ianimal They told us somewhere between 50-70.
She already tugs me along on the leash quite firmly. I need to get that under control before she gets much bigger.
Bailey is so gorgeous! Please continue top post weekly (or daily - lol) photos of her! thanks.
Her coat is beautiful. Looks like she's already getting used to grooming. Thanks for this thread.
hktownie No grooming. That’s just how she looks.
My wife did give her her first bath the other day, and she just looked a little fluffier for a short time. And then back to normal looking.
As her hair grows longer I expect her to be a big fuzzy goofball.
Not going to lie, she is driving me crazy. As mentioned I have never had kids or a dog before.
The constant supervision, taking her house in the yard nonstop, and the extremely disruptive sleep is enough.
But since she can only hold herself for so long in the crate, I also have been going to work in the morning, driving home after lunch and taking her out and feeding her lunch and then driving back to work.
This has caused me to be averaging just over 200 miles a day of driving, and I have not been getting home from work until about 8 PM.
I last take her out for a walk at about 10:30-11 PM. Before trying to get a sleep for a few hours to get back up again at two or 3 AM to walk her again, before getting up again at five or six.
You'll need to hire a dog walker from 7 am to 5 pm. :-) i'm sure you'll have plenty of offers for that darling puppy!
I agree with getting a dog walker to come in mid-day rather than driving home yourself. When she gets older, a doggy daycare might be a great option too because she'll get a good bit of mental and physical exertion so you're not tasked with getting all of that crazy puppy energy out yourself at the end of the day. The bit of extra money is worth not losing your sanity:).
I did a ton of training with my dog but overlooked some basic things like nail trimmings, being boarded, etc. It took me nearly 3 years to have my dog comfortable with dremeling his nails so I could do it myself and he still can't be boarded at a facility (too much stress for him). If I would have made it a point to introduce him to these things much earlier on, I know he would have adapted more quickly and better overall.
As you're interacting with her, ask yourself "Will this be cute when Bailey is 70 lbs"? I find that a lot of people overlook really cute puppy behavior like jumping and using your hands as toys, but when your puppy is nearly full grown and doing the same thing, it's not so cute anymore. Thinking about it ahead of time and making sure you and your wife are on the same page about what is acceptable behavior and what should be redirected will go really far in the long run!
Also, more pictures please:).
Yep, well worth it to find a trusted dog walker to stop by and take her out. Some of the companies have apps, you can track the walk route and even see if she did her business. tmi?
Remember all this is temporary, she will be able to hold herself for 8 hours once she's bigger, and once she's trained she will be a joy to have in the family. Just keep putting in the good work up front.
"Should I take it away and throw it out?"
I would. I wouldn't want her to swallow any of the pieces.
My cats can open up the case on a ball until I see the styrofoam inside. I know it's time to be thrown in the trash before something really bad happens. If I don't about two days later I see little bits of white in the litter box.
You can thank me later for the visual. ;-)
GC I've seen more poop in the last 2 weeks then...well...
I threw the ball out, which is funny because the rope tug toy comes with frayed ends standard!
I'm considering looking into some sort of electronic fence system to give her an area to run around in the yard.
Just seems hard to trust a 'wall' I can't see?
Anyone have experience with those?
I also would be weird with her being unwatched- but I need to get over that- when on the leash she tries to chase or pick up every leaf, stick, deer poop.....
But she needs to run and play- and she can outlast me really quickly- both in stamina and patience.
We used Hidden Fence, great company! I would suggest the rechargeable collar, the batteries are expensive! Our fence with two collars was about $2000 but much cheaper than fencing in the entire yard. I would suggest waiting until she is at least 6 months old to do the invisible fence but you can call them and ask their opinion. Training them on it takes a lot of patience and time but it’s worth it!
We have the PetSafe radio fence. It works great for Daisy. There's no burying wires and it's portable.
I don’t particularly care for hidden fences. In my opinion it gives a false sense of security. It doesn’t keep ANYTHING out of your yard or people who might love your dog too much and just slip the collar off and take your dog.
I have one set up in my yard by the previous owner (except he took the collars). I asked my brother if he wanted me to get a collar and use the fence when his dog was with me and he said not to bother. If the dog sees something she wants she’ll just run across the line and won’t care about a quick zap.
I know lots of people who have hidden fences and love them. I also hate the prongs constantly pressing the dogs throat.
Love Bailey!!!!
Nellejoy I will say, the first few months are really exhausting, but the times between bathroom breaks really does extend pretty quickly - and she will get the hang of the household rules. Our dog is kind of willful, with an almost overwhelming desire to greet other dogs - so I never felt comfortable with the electric fence option - I think that if he really wanted to chase, he wouldn't be deterred by an electric jolt. I've had many dogs, though, and he's the first one that I wouldn't trust with the electric fence. One thing we did with our pup is to hang "jingle bells" on the door knob and any time we took him out to pee, we had him ring the bell - he learned this quickly - he rings the bell when he has to go - works well for us and eliminates the guessing.
https://www.chewy.com/advance-pet-potty-train-dog-bell-red/dp/141614?utm_source=shopzilla&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=Advance%20Pet&utm_campaign=hg
She's adorable, for sure. I have to ask... what's the tone of her bark? Deep and bass-y like a sheepdog or high-pitched like a poodle?
Hey Josh. Better the toys then the furniture. I have seen the legs on a pretty nice table get shredded in no time.
CraftBeerBob Ianimal- I’d say for her age and size she has a decent growl and bark although she doesn’t do it often.
Bob- that’s why she is fenced in. I try to be in control the whole time. :)
Eventually, and probably not long from now she will be capable of, and discover she can jump out of the fence....and then I have a big problem.
I’ve contacted a few training places. Reading books, online, and YouTube videos isn’t cutting the mustard.
I’m still having fun, but yea- a lot of work, stress, disruption, dedication...
Josh, I know it’s probably way to far but there’s a wonderful trainer in Red Bank. His name is Drayton and he runs Urban Dawgs. He has a load of videos you can watch and I’m sure learn a lot. It’s urbandawgs.com
Josh, she's absolutely beautiful!
Round up 25 to 50 photos of her printed, and s end them to Workman's Publishing Company, puppy and dog calendars. look it up on line. they have dog-by-the-day desk calendars and the same for the wall calendars.
there are other puppy calendars too. you can go to the book store in Ledgwood outer mall or Rockaway mall's book store to get the names/publishing companies of the calendars. I bet she gets in there! :-)
Not sure how many people live around you, but a hidden fence won't protect her from people who would take her. And she is so cute, some people might want to! Look at what went on with little Baxter, chased out of his yard and left lost and confused. (not sure if they had a hidden fence tho)
All that chewing really does slow down or stop once the pesky needle puppy teeth fall out. Sometimes we used to let our dog have an empty plastic water bottle, label, ring and cap removed. She loved making it crunch!
Remember this: TTTSSSSSTTTT! Simultaneously with a slight pinch on the neck. Works like a charm, if she gets a little too testy. There’s always locking her in a sweat box with an insurance salesman!
Looks like she’s getting into her “teens”, already. Lanky legs! She’s beautiful, Josh!
A note about hidden fences: I belong to a number of lost pets Facebook groups. A TON of the dogs that are lost and found were wearing e-collars and the battery died or the dog decided the grass was greener and worth the temporary zing. If your dog does go over the boundary, they can be discouraged from coming back into the area because they'll get zapped again. I don't think they are inherently bad in all situations, but as with anything they need to be introduced and handled properly.
Came home for our lunchtime feeding and walks.
She is loving the sunshine!! ...and sticks.
She is lying down and belly up in the sun just chillin!
Tomorrow we go for vet visit #2, which will unfortunately include some shots and nail clipping. I'm excited to see how much she weighs now.
kaci 
Josh - what a treat you are sharing, with all of us dog lovers, with Bailey's thread. I check in occasionally while at work just to put a smile on my face. Thank you so much !
whitney torning 
Courtney1
Janster 
Martha We are thinking about taking her somewhere today for the first time to walk her around.
Going to play it by ear after we see how the vet goes.
Even the car ride might be interesting. Last time she was small and new enough she just sat on my wife's lap.
She's looking so big! I want to reiterate what was said above - sharing her with us is such a treat and brings a bit of sunshine into my day - thank you!
Dana wins.
Although the scale was bouncing around because so was the dog...we settled on 14.8lb
She did great. Met lots of new people with tail wagging, got a shot, had nails clipped.
Then we went to a pet store and she met more new people- happily.
Then we went to a park and walked a LOT. Met a few more people.
I'm tired. ;)
Dana,
We try to get her out somewhere on the weekends. My wife and I are busy with work on the weekdays.
Tomorrow will be 1 month.
Here is day 1 picking her up at the breeder, next post is from today.
Ah, I love her coloring! She's beautiful!! Please keep posting new photos. Thanks.
Does anyone have any experiences with puppy training?
Meaning - how were the classes themselves for you, and how did your dog end up?
I see there are 2 places in Washington and 1 in Flanders.
We have read books, and watched countless YouTube videos, as well as tv shows- but it seems to us that those videos use pre-trained dogs and edditing to make it all seem easy and quick quantifiable results: doesnt seem to be anything like that to us in the real world!!
Classes seem to be 1 hour a week for several weeks, but more of telling us what we are doing wrong or should do, not actually them training the puppy.
So— is it worth the effort and cost to go locally for what just appears to be a real world ‘YouTube video’?
Classes are like that because it is usually the people that need the training! The problem I had with my dogs is that the alpha ranking in my house for the dogs is my husband, the dogs, then me! I had to be trained how to be the alpha so they would behave for me too!
Mel81 Josh, puppy classes are an invaluable tool to socialize your puppy! You won’t get that from a youtube or just a walk in the park. Please take the classes not only for your pup’s sake but so you know how to handle obedience training in the future.
And yes you will be training your puppy in the classes.
3wbdwnj We went to one of the places in Washington. It was worth it to go. And it really has to be you and/or your wife doing the training, because Bailey will learn to obey you and your commands, she will also learn that she is below both of you in the pack hierarchy.
I will have to take some.
Pretty much the same lovable dog, just getting a little bigger and a little more fuzzy every day.
She's so incredibly cute! - pic above from a few days ago - she looks like she's grown a lot!
I don’t have any recent ones because she has been in a cone. Here is one from a road trip end of June.
Ah, I luv her coloring! We all saw her grow up since that first picture. thanks for the updates. :-)
From 3 weeks ago-
Tons of fun, but still a lot of work- although I can sleep through the night now, and haven't had to clean up any messes in months now.
She wants to play all the time, and doesn't realize her size when jumping up on us, or the couch.
I ordered and received an electric collar kit today. I need to watch the dvd to see how to effectively use it before I put it on her.
Hoping to get the jumping under control before Thanksgiving.
She is so beautiful! Still acting like a puppy. I'm sure the dvd will be a great help.
My friend has those collars and would just use them to get her dogs' attention. She would call the dogs name, make sure she was paying attention then give the command. If calling her name didn't work to get her listening, then she gave a tingle from the collar. Before the command.
She used a very low setting and it worked pretty quickly. But for sure more to get them focused on you and waiting for the command than used as consequences for not listening. And always lots of treats and scratches when they do it right!
Good Luck Josh!
She's adorable! Nice blanket, too. Looks like she hasn't gotten around to "modifying" it yet.
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