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New Shorkie Puppy
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New Shorkie Puppy
Hello! I recently joined the site, and I have 2 dogs… An older 8 year old Goldendoodle, and a 4 month old Shorkie (which prompted me to join this site ). I’ve gone through some of the basic training lessons, and I’m really looking forward to training the new pup (and maybe teaching the old dog new tricks lol).
I have some initial questions that I’m hoping some people can help me with:
1) What length leash should I get for a 5-6ish pound shorkie? I’m thinking 15-20 feet. I was originally going to get a 30 ft lead but is that too long for such a small dog?
2) I have a heck of a time taking the little one outside to potty because he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. It’s fall here in TX and there are tons of leaves and other things on the ground, so I’m often picking things out of his mouth. I know this is to be expected a bit but how do people typically deal with this?
3) We don’t have a crate yet, but we have a dog carrier that we travel with that’s about the size of what the crate will be. We also have a small playpen area for him in the house (it’s a small fence like thing about the dimensions of a baby playpen. I also let him lay in my office with me during the day when I’m working. How often should the puppy be in the crate/carrier vs out in wider spaces?
4) I’m currently working on “Look”, “Come”, and Luring to “Down”… I don’t want to overload him with too much new stuff, but any advice on training cadence would be appreciated as well.
5) We take the dogs out regularly, but we keep this wrap-around diaper on the little one when in the house just in case he randomly pees (which it seems like he does a lot less of nowadays), is this an ok practice for a puppy?
6) Any advice for training the old dog? I’m guessing I should give them separate training sessions at points during the day, but any other “first principles” type advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance! I’m really glad I joined the site and looking forward to sharing more with the community going forward.
– Ryan (and Brownie)
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4 Replies
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Welcome!… cute puppy!…out Malinois used to pick up everything in her mouth on our walk…we had a special chew toy that we would give her only on the walk to carry ..that really curbed the random picking up of objects…and we could toss it to keep her interested in us and it…plus a good indicator when she dropped the toy meant she was about to pick up something…
Have fun with your training!
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1) 15/20ft is plenty for walk around a safe area and training, 6ft when you want the pup closer.
2) There are a few videos on the “Leave It” Command. Three most important commands for puppies are…Come…Stay…Leave It, these are life savers.
3) Puppies sleep an average of 14/16hrs a day so he can spend the majority of his time in the crate. Also, they feel safe there and a puppy that is taken out regularly will not pee in his crate unless there is some kind of underlying issue.
4) Use the crate and lose the diaper.
5) Both the Goldendoodle and the puppy will require patience. Yes, train them separately.
Both the Golden and the puppy will require patience. Just follow the videos and have a good time. Don’t expect too much from the older guy at first as this will be a learning experience for him also. Many times people expect an older dog to learn faster and this is not always the case.
Welcome…WOOF! WOOF!
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Hi Ryan, Lovely pup! “Leave it” has to up there with the top 3 commands every pup should know, just from a safety point of view. With pup on a leash and 2 treats in your hand, put pup in a sit, and give the leave it command and either place a treat on the floor, or toss it on to the floor in front. When pup moves forward to grab the treat, restrain with the leash with a no and pop back into the sit. Pick up the treat, rinse and repeat. Normally a few reps is all it takes for it to click, and your pup will start to take its gaze off the treat, look up at you and make eye contact. Reward with the second treat in your hand and lots of praise but never the treat off the floor. Hope that helps.
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Awesome! Thanks for the replies everyone!
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