richard_ker
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Mar 29, 2006, 8:20 PM
Post #1 of 4
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Tips Needed for Raising My Puppy
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Hello guys! I have a 3 months old female English Cocker Spaniel named Pony. I got her about 10 days ago. It's my first time ever owning a dog. I've read quite a handful of tips on raising a puppy but I would like to post my daily routine with my puppy just to make sure I'm doing things right. I would definitely appreciate if you can correct me for whatever you think I've done something wrong. Let me start off from daybreak: 6AM - Wake up and bring Pony downstairs to my apartment compound. Usually she would pee first and we continue walking around the complex for about 10-15 minutes. - Go back and I would be getting ready for work. I would let her play around with her toys while I'm in the washroom. I let her roam around the kitchen area which is next to the washroom. 7AM - Just before I leave, I would fill up her water tray. When I'm ready to go, then I'll put food into her feeding tray, leave a toy and a chewable bone into her crate. Then I lock the crate. I'm sure most of you would think it's cruel to lock her inside her crate but I would like to avoid her from destructing the furnitures of my rented apartment. I definitely won't mind if it's my own place. - When I leave, she would be eating and too busy to notice me going out. I've read before that it's better to leave quietly as to avoid her being over excited, which in turn can reduce the separation anxiety. 7AM to 4.30PM AT WORK, HOME BY 5.30PM - I know!!! It's soooo bad to leave her alone for such a long period of time. I feel really bad about this already. - When I arrive home, she would start barking as she knows it's me going into the apartment. I don't show my excitement but will smile to her and call her name and ask how is she doing. I would immediately let her out of the crate and carry her downstairs. By the way, I heard it's not really advisable to carry a puppy? - She hasn't peed or pooed in her crate lately, but she did for the first few days when I just got her. - Downstairs, she would definitely poo and pee - I give her a lot of praises for this. Then we'll walk around for about half an hour or so just to let her socialise. The open space is quite big so I don't usually leash her. Most of the time she would walk closely with me. She has no problem coming to me when I call her name. 6.30PM - Feed her while I settle down. She would finish her food within 10 minutes. Then I play, cuddle, talk with her. - For the rest of the evening, she would just accompany me and play while I watch TV and doing other stuff. I also play fetch with her in the house plus a bit of basic obedience training - just started with the "SIT" command. How do I make her look at me when I call her name during training? I usually use one of her favourite toys to attract her attention but it seems she's more attracted to the toy than to my face. 10.30PM - Take her downstairs again to let her pee or poo. She would do both usually. We go up as soon as she's finished doing her business. 11.00PM - Ready for bed: she sleeps next to my bed on a super comfy dog mattress. - I leave the crate door open so she has access to water. 2.00AM - 3.00AM - Most of the time I would assume she would pee inside the crate, but for the past few nights around 2AM or 3AM, I see her going to the crate for water and pee next to the crate! Is there any way to avoid this? Or should I just wait until she has better bladder control? There is no way for me to check her around this time of the night. I get a bit worried when she's started to walk around the apartment in the middle of the night (I live in a studio apartment so the area is not big). I'm a light sleeper too so I'm usually awaken when she starts walking around the house. 6.00AM - WAKE UP TIME AND ANOTHER DAY BEGINS... It would be great to get some tips from you guys... I'm here in China and it's quite difficult to talk to someone with a common background and language about this. Thank you guys!
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