New Jack Russell Pup

DArcy

Getting an 8 week old Jack Russell next week. Havent had a new puppy around the house in years. Just wondering if anyone has any practical advice which I may have forgotten about?

We dont plan on keeping it as a house dog, but at 8 weeks, I imagine it'll be kept in the house until it gets a bit bigger. Any suggestions as to bedding for such a young dog? I'd appreciate any advice.

Baffled

When we got our yorkie (11 years ago) he was tiny so he slept indoors for the first few months. We got him a plastic carry kennel thingy and just lined it with some newspapers. In the night time we locked him into the kitchen and put some newspapers at the back door for him to go to the toilet on. Remember dont leave anything lying around that you dont want chewed. Plug out anything electrical within his reach out or at least hang the lead high so he cant reach.

It was funny when we got our little fella. During the night the pup was after finding a tiny piece of wallpaper jutting out from the wall. When we got up the next morning there was wallpaper all over the floor and a huge section of the wallpaper was torn down.

Anyways, after a couple of months we moved him outside during the night. And a couple of months after that we got him a new playmate. So now we have two.

I would recommend having two dogs if you are going to be away all day and the dogs will be out the back on their own. Dogs dont like being on their own.

Sigma Force

Why won't you keep the dog in the house?
JRs are not very big dogs and it will have to be house trained anyway (from the minute you get the pup training needs to start) Crate training works well.
If the dog is going to be put outside when it's bigger don't you think that will make the dog very lonley and bored after being in a house with people? Even with regular walks, pet dogs are supposed to be part of the family not chucked outside when they outgrow the cute delicate puppy stage.
Puppy classes once the pup has all the vaccinations done is a good place to start, a well trained puppy is a pleasure to have in the house.

DArcy

Thanks for that advice Baffled. I'll remember to check for any loose wallpaper edges!!!! No plans to get a 2nd dog though...there's almost always someone in the house, so he shouldn't be lonely at all.

Guineapigrescue, I've chosen not to keep the dog in the house because of hygiene reasons. It's just something I don't feel comfortable doing. He will still be part of the family & will most certainly not just be "chucked outside when they outgrow the cute delicate puppy stage" :mad: It's typical - I came here looking for advice and already the judgemental rubbish is starting.

Sigma Force

Sorry you feel that way but a puppy is more unhygenic than an adult dog, even the best looked after pup usually has worms and worming only begins at 8 weeks once on a regular worming and de-fleaing regime as the dog grows they will less likley to carry worms or fleas.

SuzyS1972

I wouldn't call it judgemental rubbish - I'm sure GPR only has the dogs interests at heart - I can't imagine why someone would keep dogs kept outside for hygiene reasons ?

Do you simply mean sleep out at night - or not allowed in the house at all ?

Oh and just coz you have 2 dogs doesn't neccesarily mean it's ok to leave them on their own endlessly - it just means 2 understimulated bored dog instead of one :mad:

Doper Than U

Hmm.. well, I've got two Jack Russells, about a year and a half old now. They are quite a handful. JR's are little livewires, and ours have gone through way too many beds :rolleye: The best thing so far is a vetbed and a fleece blanket, although, to be honest, in the initial stages the pup will eat through whatever you give him. Best to choose something without foam inside, as he may swallow it and it'll swell inside his tummy. Best stick with a small fleece throw from Penney's (around a fiver I think), or the vetbed (a kind of grey fake sheepskin rug with a green base.. we used them all the time for beds when I worked in the local vets, they're really easy to wash Vetbed ).. you should be able to pick some up in a pet shop.

Depending on where you're putting the pup in the house, I would consider a crate (and please people, no anthropomorphic "but it's a cage.. it's cruel". No, it's not.) for overnight. If you are worried about toilet training, then save the crate for when he's a little older, and use that to train him. Dogs tend not to go if they only have a small space around them. It would be unfair to expect your dog not to go in his crate at only 8 weeks old. I would wait a few months more. In the meantime, be prepared for lots of wee and poo cleaning, ours weren't fully trained 'til they were about a year old. I've cleaned a LOT of sh*t over the last year.

As for the house dog thing... well.. to be totally honest, I wouldn't keep a JR outside all year round. Ours freeze in the winter, their coats really are quite thin, and smaller dogs do tend to suffer a little more with the cold. Outside at night during the summer and autumn would be fine, but I'd have him in at night from October to March. Just my opinion. I'd also never have just one dog again (I had one dog for 14 years), and having got the two pups together I can see how much happier they are having each other as company.

Good luck with your new pup! They are so much fun, you'll wonder how you ever got by without a JR.

Baffled

Our dogs wont sleep inside. Even on the coldest night of Winter they will look to go outside to sleep. Our back yard is very sheltered and their kennels are warm and cosy.

I didnt mean it was OK to have 2 dogs on their own all day. I simply meant that having two dogs is better than one for social reasons. They are company for each other. Our dogs are not on their own all day. They are inside from 7.30 in the morning until 12 at night. The back door is left open for them to go in and out as they please.

DArcy

I had a JR for 18 years - she wasn't kept inside. We let her into the kitchen now and again but she stayed outside. It was actually really difficult to keep her INSIDE because of her adventurous nose!!! Anyway, she slept in a shed, all year round.

SuzyS1972, why cant you imagine why someone would keep dogs out of the house for hygiene reasons? Dog hairs and smell are the first two things that spring to mind for me. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with keeping a dog in the house, it's just not my own preference.

I had no plans to get a second dog, but reading some of the advice here, I'm starting to consider it.

Doper Than U

Well, see, there you go. You have to treat each dog as an individual. My dogs would freeze outside, other dogs would be absolutely fine. You gotta judge for yourself at the end of the day.

Two dogs is really so much easier... I can't recommend it highly enough. I will never, ever go back to just one. If I have to go out for the day (yes, shock horror, I sometimes have to leave my dogs for a day ), they just amuse themselves in the back garden without being *too* destructive. There's very little pining or whining, they just get on with it. Either that or they just sleep on the couch (which is what they're doing right now) beside each other.

SuzyS1972

I sincerely hope u mean that the dog will just SLEEP out the back and not be out there all the time ?????
Maybe I'm reading it worng but it sounds from your post that your previous jrt spent her entire life outside and was only let in occasionally.
I mean will the dog not be in with you when you are watching tv etc as
I can understand if you have to put a dog out at night then fair enough - but what life is it for a dog to be kept in a garden and allowed in occasionally.
**** life for any animal to be isolated and lonely .

peasant

DArcy

Whatever about the dog sleeping inside or out ...why would you want a dog, if you are going to exclude it from the main part of your life?

Wouldn't you be better off with a garden ornament?

DArcy

Peasant, the dog will not be excluded from the main part of my life. I spend plenty of time outside and the dog will spend some time in around the house. I was asking for practical advice with regard to the dog, such as bedding or any other obvious things which I may have overlooked. Thank you for your completely worthless contribution. I have enough garden ornaments thanks.

Doper Than U, thanks for the tip about getting two dogs. As I said, I'm strongly considering it. At least some folk can give advice instead of useless berating.

peasant

DArcy wrote:

Peasant ... Thank you for your completely worthless contribution

You're most welcome !

Lamia

DArcy,
You seem to have everything covered. I have a 6 year old jrt-cross and she hates being inside unless its really cold out at night. She gets lots of attension in the garden everyday and is too active to be kept inside so i cant see a problem tbh.

The vet beds are a good idea, but mine chewed hers up 2 weeks after we got her! Id recommend an edible chew toy to discourage it.

As for the cruelty aspect of having a dog outside, imo since they originated outdoors...it speaks for itself. A girl i know thinks of her dog as human,its indoors all the time, very loved (its a big thoroughbred) but now at the first sign of cold weather it gets sick-just a thought.

Good luck with your puppy and decision on the second!!! Im in the same boat.

SuzyS1972

My jrt's are always inside - get 2 walks a day which knocks the " active " aspect out of them.
They go everywhere within reason with me.
They hardly ever have to go to the vet other than routine vaccinations.
I couldn't bear the thought of them being outside while I'm in watching the telly.
We train - agility - obedience with them and they are very much part of our lives. I wouldn't have it any other way - I think when you take on a dog you should look further that just providing a nice bed / kennell and food.
Dogs need so much more than that.

Again I wouldn't put my dogs out at night but it's not the end of the workld for a dog IF and only IF they are part of everything else you do.
I just don't see the point in having a dog otherwise.
Bit like buying a car and never driving it.

Lamia

I wasnt attacking indoor dogs just merely pointing out that outdoor dogs have just as good a life. Its really up to personal choice.

SuzyS1972, by the sound of it my dog gets as much attention as yours and is very happy. Instead of being in our company she gets direct attention on her by kids and adults outside. I also bring her in when im watching TV etc but she scratches at the door to get out before long. Both indoors and out have their advantages/disadvantages. My dog prefers to be outdoors.

Victor

Eh, the usual advice of providing puppies with some night-time comfort, hot water bottle and ticking clock.

SuzyS1972

Yeah just mind an 8 week old puppy doesn't bite it and scauld themselves.
ticking clock

Victor

"Warm water bottle"

peasant

Victor wrote:

Eh, the usual advice of providing puppies with some night-time comfort, hot water bottle and ticking clock.

Hmm ...well ... and how exactly is that less cruel than just chucking it out on its own? Warmer maybe (in centigrades) but still very cold hearted, don't you think?

At eight weeks old, a puppy has just been plucked from its mother and siblings, its frightened and lonely and desperately trying to fit into its new environment, trying to find its place and looking for guidance.

Yeah, sure ...a hot water bottle and a ticking clock ..that'll do the trick alright.

Where's the smiley that bangs its head against the wall?

SuzyS1972

Pass the wall on when you're finished banging yer head against it peasant :mad:

DArcy

I agree with Lux...our last dog wouldn't stay indoors. If this pup is different, we'll have to rethink things. He will be kept inside for now as he is so young and untrained and is obviously going to be missing his mother.

Suzy & Peasant, I dont understand why you feel as though you're banging your heads against a brick wall. I didnt say the pup wouldn't be cared for. I didn't say I would just chuck him outside and leave him to wander around the garden, out onto the road, away up the hills. I just asked for some advice. Your opinions differ from mine. But this dog will be loved and cared for and he will be part of the family. We've taken a huge amount of time in deciding to get another dog due to the tremendous loss we suffered as a result of the death of our previous Jack Russell

peasant

DArcy

The "headbanging" was in response to the ticking clock suggestion, not directly to you.

I don't particularly mind, whether a dog sleeps indoors or outside, as long as it isn't forced to to sleep outside (and allowed inside if it absolutely is not happy outside)

The only issue I have is "time spent with / for dog". There are people (too many) out there who are away all day, keep the dog outside all the time and graciously allow it access to people for about an hour or so in the evening (before they chuck it out again) ...that is not enough. From your initial postings I was under the (seemingly wrong) impression that you might be one of them.

DArcy

Picked the pup up yesterday. He had a good first night. He cried for a little while from his basket but soon stopped. He's gonna stay inside for now. He seems to be very well behaved for such a young dog. Very placid. And there's someone here almost all day everyday so he'll be in and out plenty.

He has some bite marks on his back from his brothers and sisters fighting with him. Some of them are fairly big and he has lost his hair on the bite marks. Some of them are also beginning to scab. Any ideas as to what I should put on them? I've just been trying to keep them from getting infected, using a diluted savlon. I'm not sure what I should do?

peasant

Your vet should have some ointment, specially for dogs' and cats' cuts and bruises. You might as well invest in a tube ...you'll need it again

Congrats on the new pup by the way !

One more hint from someone who just raised two pups in quick succesion:

What he isn't supposed to be doing once he's grown up he also isn't allowed as a pup ...no matter how sweet he looks while doing it ...makes it sooo much easier later on, when he comes into his "stroppy" phase

Doper Than U

If the cuts are only small things I would just use the savlon once, and then use warm salted water to clean them, letting the air at them. I'm not a great fan of ointments and so on for very small wounds, a quick clean with salted water or iodine should do the trick grand.

What he isn't supposed to be doing once he's grown up he also isn't allowed as a pup ...no matter how sweet he looks while doing it ...makes it sooo much easier later on, when he comes into his "stroppy" phase

Agree totally with that. Decide how you want your adult dog to be, then train your puppy to be like that.. don't compromise or go soft! If he's not going to be allowed on the couch when he's older, don't start lifting him up now just because he's a puppy. Bring his bed in the sitting room, and let him sleep in it instead. If you don't want a nippy, yappy dog, don't encourage those behaviours by playing tug of war games and stuff like that. Also, meant to say, if you do get another.. they will play fight. A LOT. Leave them to it, they'll sort themselves out. Keep an eye to see how bad it gets of course, but generally they know when to stop. This type of behaviour lets them sort out dominance issues, interference from you will only confuse things. (Btw, I'm not saying let your dogs rip each other apart! Just let them play fight without panicking that they'll kill each other).

(Sorry... you'll get loads of well-meaning people like me trying to tell you everything you need to know :rolleyes: .. all you asked for was advice on treating cuts )