We're rescuing a puppy tonight! Updated with a pic!!

[jenners26]

I'm on cloud nine! I've been dying for a dog for ages now, but Hubs lost his job before Thanksgiving and financially, we just weren't in a place to do it. But! Now he's a full-time student, and things are so much more stable now, so we started looking, and we found an adorable puppy!

She's a golden retriever/newfoundland adorable mutt! The woman at the shelter said the owner came in drunk and ranting about how she couldn't afford to keep the dogs anymore, and she surrendered the whole litter. The poor babies were only 4 weeks old. So, now they're seven weeks old, and she said they've transitioned okay to puppy food and are doing great. The vet has been keeping an eye on them, and they're all thriving so far.

So, experts...what do you think? Anything we should watch for/do different with her than we would with a puppy that was older and not weaned too early? Should we supplement with anything?

I'm so excited to get her!

[SophieAnn]

Bite inhibition will be hugely important. With less time with mom (mom usually teaches pups manners early on) and with less time with littermates (not too bad in this case), the pup will have even more learning to do wrt bite inhibition. Important also because she will grow up to be a fairly large dog.

Check out Before & After Getting Your Puppy by Ian Dunbar. I always recommend this book (it was recommended to us by our breeder). Someone on this forum even provided links - the whole book (in 2 parts) is available online (PDF).

Before You Get Your Puppy

After You Get Your Puppy

Dunbar's methods are positive and gentle.

Edited to add: I realize now you were asking about food.... sounds like the pup is eating solids well. No need to supplement at 7 weeks, unless of course there are health issues. You might want to add a bit of water to soften kibble if she appears to have any difficulty eating. I remember visiting our pups at the breeders house at that age - they were wolfing down kibble with no troubles.... and still nursing a bit if they could catch mom before she ran away!

[jenners26]

Thank you! I'm going to read those now! I was most worried about food, but I'm looking for any advice I can get...so thanks a lot!

[SophieAnn]

How has your first day been?

[jenners26]

Oh my! It has been busy, but really good. She's only peed on the puppy pad or outside, and hasn't had any accidents yet! Yay!!
I'm trying really hard to follow that book from the links you gave me. My only problem so far is that she HATES her long-term confinement place we set up for her. She whines/barks non-stop when she's in there. The kids keep asking to go in with her, but so far I've made them play with her only in the living room.

Any tips on weaning her into the confinement area? Otherwise, I predict LOTS of whining over lunch time!!

[Pepper44]

If you feed her inside the crate/confinement area then she'll start to love going in there! (Of course just keep in mind a little puppy will need to go out soon after eating...)

[SophieAnn]

At that age we did about a 2 hour cycle.....

Outside (potty?)
Play for 15-30 minutes
Outside (potty?)
Rest (crate)

Repeat.

A stuffed kong is excellent, because it provides reward (in the form of food) for the dog when they are being quiet in their area.

Ours usually slept during that rest time, but there was some whining. We just persisted through the whining, and responded positively to the quiet times. One of the main reasons we persisted through the whining was because we only had 1 week off work and then (at age 9 weeks) they would be alone for 4.5 hour stretches twice daily (I came home from work at lunchtime until they could hold it for the full day).

Maybe you only need a short-term confinement area? It depends on your situation.

We only ever used the crate - we never really set up a long-term confinement area because we were never gone long enough that they would need to go potty while we were gone. That's my understanding of the long-term confinement at least - it has a bed, a "potty" and a food area. If you're home or only going to be gone for a few hours, there's no need - a crate ("short-term confinement") would suit your needs then.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Congrats

I really like the idea of 2-3 kong toys stuffed with food so that she has something to do while confined. I am going to be doing that with my puppy.

[LeahBoo]

Never thought I'd say this on this board, but you gotta let her cry it out.

In her confinement area, leave her alone, if she's whining, ignore her. Don't look at her, talk to her, and don't let her out for whining. She's gonna be a smart pup. She'll learn fast that she gets what she wants when she is quiet. Start out praising (simple, just a "good girl") when she has been quiet for a couple minutes, then for 5 minutes, then 10...she'll get it.

I'm jealous, that sounds like a wonderful mix!

[SophieAnn]

Originally Posted by LeahBoo

Never thought I'd say this on this board, but you gotta let her cry it out.

In her confinement area, leave her alone, if she's whining, ignore her. Don't look at her, talk to her, and don't let her out for whining. She's gonna be a smart pup. She'll learn fast that she gets what she wants when she is quiet. Start out praising (simple, just a "good girl") when she has been quiet for a couple minutes, then for 5 minutes, then 10...she'll get it.

I'm jealous, that sounds like a wonderful mix!

Honestly as awful as it was, that's what we did. We used CIO on our pups (3 yrs apart). One dog was very quiet and settled down really well in his crate - the other dog would whine and cry and carry on and it was awful. We practically had to run to the crate to let him out during a quiet time sometimes because it was sometimes so brief.

Always wait until she's settled and quiet before letting her out and never go to her when she's whining.

I know, it goes against all the parenting instincts we have. =(

[jenners26]

Ugh. The nighttime whining is torturous! She's doing a little better though. We have a section of our entry way (about 4ftx4ft) gated off for her. We have some blankets, her water bowl, her crate, and a puppy pad in there. We've found that if we leave her out to play until she calms down and falls asleep, and then put her in the entry way, she'll lay down and go to sleep, and now she seems to be associating sleep with that area. I hope...The whining is just ear-piercing!!

Overall though, she's doing AWESOME! She hasn't had a single accident in the house, and the kids are loving her! And there is just nothing cuter than watching her little fluffball butt jump around in the snow!

Here's a picture of her
http://twitpic.com/153mps

[GearGirl]

Adorable! Can you just let her sleep with you?

[Pepper44]

She is sooooo incredibly adorable!!!

[SophieAnn]

Oh she's georgeous!

For nightime - is there any way she can sleep with you? We used a crate beside our bed. We would "shush" at night and reach our hands over the side to stick our fingers through the crate wire to comfort at night.

Dogs really are pack animals and want to be with their "pack" at night... so you would probably find that nightimes are much better with her in your room. It is a big adjustment for a puppy who is used to sleeping with her pack of littermates to sleeping alone.

Sounds like she's doing great otherwise though!

[Katie T]

Also, I'm sure the whining is already getting better but if you can find a clock that ticks and put it where she can hear it that can help. As a child we had a puppy who would whine horribly at night and that is what we did. A travel clock that you crank up and we put it in the box with him, he did scratch the plastic on the front up but it did the trick.

Your dog is beautiful by the way I hope you guys are still enjoying her. The puppy stage can be overwhelming but once you are threw it you will find it so worth it.