I Know Nothing About Dogs

Oisinjm

Basically, I have never had a dog before and I finally persuaded my parents to let me get one. I've already organised everything and I'm getting a Chocolate Labrador next week. The only problem is it's a puppy and I don't know the first thing about house training puppies. Are there any websites for training puppies that are good? I did try google but most of the hits were pretty dire.

Sorry if something like this has been posted before

pokerkingsni

I found "The Dog Whisperer" to be a great help on dog behaviour and training. Its on sky or go to his website. You can buy books and dvds in most good petstores specific to your breed.

Best advice is to be patient with the pup and remain focused. Its easy just to walk away when he/she wont listen, but stick with it and in the long run you'll have a well balanced happy dog.

Glowing

Oisinjm wrote: »

Basically, I have never had a dog before and I finally persuaded my parents to let me get one. I've already organised everything and I'm getting a Chocolate Labrador next week. The only problem is it's a puppy and I don't know the first thing about house training puppies. Are there any websites for training puppies that are good? I did try google but most of the hits were pretty dire.

Sorry if something like this has been posted before

Just in case you didn't know, the most responsible thing you can do for your dog is to have him or her neutered or spayed - do your research on the dogs health/papers/vaccinations before taking him too.

Labs are highly intelligent and will need LOTS of excersise and stimulation. Be sure to see the labs parents and ensure you're getting him from a responsible breeder, and not a puppy farm!

Edit: Your lab will need GOOD QUALITY puppy food - steer clear of supermarket brands, and try to get a good quality dry food from the local vets. It'll be more expensive but better for the dog in the long run. There is a thread in Pets/Animals at the moment on good quality foods......

animalcrazy

Maybe try googling books in Ireland on how to care for and train puppies. I'm sure you could order one online.

kerrysgold

I hope you realise how much responsibility a dog is! If you're going to be at school and your parents are going to be at work all day come September, you'd better rethink you're puppy plans, it is not possible to have a puppy if there isn't somebody at home 99% of the time to take care of him.

with a Labrador, you'll need to have at least an hour a day for exercising him, preferably 2 hours. you also need plenty of spare time each day to work on training him and socializing him. I recommend signing up for dog training classes as that will help with his training (obviously) and will also be a good opportunity to get him socializing with other dogs and people (so he won't be aggressive or fearful of them when he is older!)

personally I think for a first time dog owner you'd have been better off with an older dog that didn't require as much training etc.

cute_cow

Glowing wrote: »

Just in case you didn't know, the most responsible thing you can do for your dog is to have him or her neutered or spayed.

+1

We have a beautiful 10 year old Jack Russel and when she came into heat for the first time was have her spayed.

animalcrazy

www.dogtrainingireland.ie you buy anything and everything to do with dogs on this site. Good luck!

Sigma Force

Start off with a basic book like teh RSPCA puppy book, it's cheap it's basic and just a handy all round book to get started with. Then once you have the basics down, go for other books like what was mentioned. Best place though is when you go to the vets for the pups check up or vaccinations if the pup hasn't had them and the vet will show you how to worm the dog, how to de flea the dog and answer any questions you have. Just tell them you are new to it and you want to be shown the basics.

There's a lovely dvd out by Joe Inglis you can get it on ebay it gives you the basics on dog training, diet etc.

With labs a good diet is important they get podgy fairly quickly.

Oisinjm

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/dogs/815540

Thats who I'm buying it from, it says its wormed and everything. As for my school problem, only one of my parents work so there should be someone there nearly all the time. Also I'll be in Transition Year so should be grand . Is the RSPCA book available in most bookshops or would I be better off buying it online?

I was told before that Dry food is better for dogs, but is the Vet the only place its available? Theres also Urban Foxes around my area which sometimes come into my garden, would that be a problem?

Sorry for all the questions, just dont wanna mess this up

luckat

Are you sure you want to buy there? Search boards.ie for threads mentioning donedeal.ie before you decide.

http://www.clickertraining.com is a good site to start with for training information.

You're great to be so responsible and want to learn how to deal with your new puppy well!

As others have said, neutering is essential. So are good daily walks - at least one 40-minute walk every day, which will be fun for both you and your dog. And you'll meet other people walking dogs, who will give you lots of (mostly good) advice.

pokerkingsni

Oisinjm wrote: »

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/dogs/815540

Thats who I'm buying it from, it says its wormed and everything. As for my school problem, only one of my parents work so there should be someone there nearly all the time. Also I'll be in Transition Year so should be grand . Is the RSPCA book available in most bookshops or would I be better off buying it online?

I was told before that Dry food is better for dogs, but is the Vet the only place its available? Theres also Urban Foxes around my area which sometimes come into my garden, would that be a problem?

Sorry for all the questions, just dont wanna mess this up

When we got our dog the pound and the vet told us that dry food had everything he needed. ProPlan puppy was the best we were told, bit more expensive than most but its what he was on when we got him. I'm no expert on the foxes but i'd say they'd probably give your garden a miss if there's a dog in it. Well hopefully anyway...:)

pokerkingsni

Oisinjm wrote: »

Sorry for all the questions, just dont wanna mess this up

Dont apologise for asking questions, as mentioned before this is a really big responsibilty and a lot of hard work and hours need to be put in. Ask all the questions you want an dog owners will be happy to help and advise in any way they can.

The fact that you are on here asking for advice shows you are trying to do this right. Fair play....:)

Glowing

Yeah ask as many questions as you need - but as said above, this is going to be a HUGE responsibility for you. Not only now, but for the next 14 years approx!!!

The first thing you should do when you go to pick up the dogs is see it as an interview. Don't assume you're going to walk away with the dog. You need to be responsible and ask questions, to ensure the dog is healthy, and that the transaction is above board. There are a lot of dodgy dealers on donedeal.ie

- Ask to look at BOTH parents, if not possible, at least the mother. Make sure she looks healthy and happy.
- Ask for the IKC papers.
- Ask to see vaccination certs
- Ask to see microchipping cert.

If you're happy with the above, bring the pup straight to the vet for a checkup. While you're there, make an appointment to have him or her spayed or neutered. VERY IMPORTANT!

I'm sure others will add to the above list because I've surely missed something!

The other alternative is to head to your local shelter or rescue centre and choose a dog there. That way, you can be certain that you're not supporting a puppy farm, and you'll save a dogs life in the process. All dogs you'll get from a shelter will be neutered, vaccinated, wormed, flead and microchipped! (and they won't cost 400 quid!)

Phsyche

Glowing wrote: »

The other alternative is to head to your local shelter or rescue centre and choose a dog there. That way, you can be certain that you're not supporting a puppy farm, and you'll save a dogs life in the process. All dogs you'll get from a shelter will be neutered, vaccinated, wormed, flead and microchipped! (and they won't cost 400 quid!)

So true!
Do you need to buy the pup with papers and all? Are you planning to breed him/her?
We adopted 2 purebred dogs as we were not planning to breed and they are lovely, healthy pets.
Found them online in different Irish pounds.

Glowing

yeah, you'd be spoilt for choice (unfortunately!)

http://www.irishanimals.ie/homes.html

boomerang

Just to clarify, the recommended exercise outlined above by previous posters (40 minute walks every day/two hours exercise every day) applies to an ADULT Labrador, and not a growing puppy. If you walk a puppy for that length of time, you'll exhaust the poor thing and strain its joints - as a young puppy, the exercise from pottering about the house and playing with you in the garden is more than sufficient.