# If you could have done anything different...



## Elegant (Jul 17, 2004)

What would you have done differently with your furbaby in training, feeding, health wise, anything...looking back on things, what are somethings you wish you would have done differently?

I'm trying to learn as much as I can!! I wish, before I had picked up my pup, that I would have bought all of the necessities so I would not have felt so overwhelmed. I've had Chanel for 1 week now, and I am just starting to feel a bit better. I have constant stomach aches, for who knows why...







But, it is a learning process.









Thanks
~Elegant


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## LoveMaltese6820 (Apr 12, 2004)

Not such a big thing, but I wish I would have bought a different kind of shampoo when I first got Casper. It made his hair feel really wierd, but now it's normal again.

I also wish I would have started teaching him basic commands right away. He knows stay, come, and down now, but he will not sit! I've taught all my other dogs lots of tricks, but Casper won't sit!


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)

:lol:


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## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

Brinkley is being trained on wee wee pads in the house...I wish now that I had put the wee pads in a litter box for containment reasons...when I tried to back step on this after the fact...he was NOT cooperative. I hated to mess up the potty progress...so stuck with the pads on the floor. 

I am going to try the pad frames...and if that doesn't work, going to invent something myself. He often aims for the pad, but goes just off the edge....crazy thing....I buy the BIG pads..so he has lots of room....he prefers the edges....


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## LoveMaltese6820 (Apr 12, 2004)

Nichole- I was wondering the same thing about pee pee pads. Casper doesn't pee in the house anymore, but pooping is a problem!


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## Maxismom (Mar 24, 2004)

The wee wee pads are the best because if god forbid you are held up atleast they will go on it Maxi is really good with that 
What i would have done differently is probably taught Maxi to stay
god forbid i am ever out and he gets away from me i probably won't ever see him again he doesnt listen and the time he got out of his harness at my friends house he started to run and the more i ran after him he ran finally he stopped and i didnt know if i wanted to hug and kiss him or kill him ( not serious) but i thought i was going to have a heart attack.....I try to teach him but he doesnt get it right now i mean he is 10 months if i dont get him to do this i will have to get a trainer for him..The thought of ever losing him makes me weak


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## TikisMom (Jul 22, 2003)

I realy wish I would have trained Tiki to go on pads in addition to out of doors. He never has accidents but often it is a fight to get him to go out if it is raining hard.

I also wish I would have worked on basic commands with him more also. He sure knows how to sit, but most anything else is 50%.... We always blame it on his "walnut" brain, but I think he would have learned more if I were more consistant with the training.

Judi


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

im a little different. things i would've changed:

**homecooked food diet from day one

**NO wee wee pads. scrictly going potty outside.

**training from day one on sit stay, downstay

**researched advice given initially 

**SOCIALIZING!!!!

**Finding a good Vet.


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## Mystify79 (Apr 6, 2004)

I wish I had been more consistent with trying to train him not to bite and how to settle down. He's a hyper active biting machine when he's excited and now that he's bigger, it's pretty annoying <_< We are slowly working through it, but now he seems to be confused as to why he's getting in trouble when he didn't used to get in trouble for that stuff.


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## pico's parent (Apr 5, 2004)

If I had it to do over again I would:

* Start brushing his teeth immediately
* Spend more time on the "come" command (he ignores me when a person is in the street, walking by, and goes into the street to greet them)
* Dry kibble only and no human food "treats". Human food treats (veggies & fruits) would be place on his plate only, not given to him ANYWHERE ELSE! (do you hear me, Hubby?)
* Buy more toys! He has one favorite toy since infancy that is raggedy to the point of no redemption and will accept no substitute.

When traveling by air I sometimes wish he was pee-pad trained. It is a bit of a hassle to leave the terminal to take him to pee and then go back through security again when I have connecting flights. 

One thing I am glad I DID do: Crate him at night for sleeping. I love having him in bed when he is sleeping but he wakes up "woofing" at cats in the neighborhood, barking dogs, etc., and I wouldn't get a decent night's sleep otherwise.

But he is sure my Sweetie!


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## Elegant (Jul 17, 2004)

Wow, thanks for the input. I have learned alot.  

Doctorcathy, what difference did you find in a home cooked food diet?

I think I am going to start right away with the name command and sit...is 4 months too early? She is pretty bright, so I think starting early would be fine.

Thanks again all for all of your input...great ideas for new puppy owners!!









~Elegant


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Elegant_@Jul 27 2004, 01:11 AM
> *I think I am going to start right away with the name command and sit...is 4 months too early? She is pretty bright, so I think starting early would be fine.
> 
> 
> ~Elegant*


 Not too early. Brinkley learned "sit" and "bring it to me" the first night we had him...he was just 15 weeks.


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

start training as soon as you get your baby. gruffi learned to sit and stay for 2 seconds at 5 weeks. and he was really good at coming to us when he was a puppy....but i guess since we spoil TOO much---he stopped coming.







we're training still on that with him. he only comes to us when he wants hugs and kisses. lol.







he's a baby.


about the homecooked foods---

when sprite and ellie were on kibble...they wouldnt eat enough, and then they would vomit at least once a week. 

and since homecooked food diet--all three look healthier. like their coat is shiny, sprite and ellie dont get tear stains, they all dont get allergies as bad (gruffi would bite his tail CONSTANTLY), all three are more active, gruffi NEVER gets that dog smell and he doesnt have dandruff, they dont have bad breath....AND---they enjoy it! its really cute because if its something they're dying for (like hamburger) they will wag their tail and look soo happy. and they will gobble it up. its cute.







and i think thats why my mom is willing to cook for them---because she sees how happy they are now. with the kibble, we did free feeding, scheduled feedings--and they never ate. sprite literally ate like 15 pieces of kibble per day. and the vet didnt have a problem with this (my old vet) and told me she was healthy----her ribs were sticking out. it was sad. he was like "shes not going to starve herself" and i honestly think that she was eating the bare minimum to survive. 


but, doing the diet is time consuming and its hard to measure how much your dog needs to eat. thats why people dont do it anymore. and i really really dont like the idea of dog food---the stuff they use and how they cook it, its gross. and it doesnt seem healthy. 

i hope this helps.


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## mee (Jul 17, 2004)

> _Originally posted by tlunn_@Jul 25 2004, 02:01 PM
> *Brinkley is being trained on wee wee pads in the house...I wish now that I had put the wee pads in a litter box for containment reasons...when I tried to back step on this after the fact...he was NOT cooperative. I hated to mess up the potty progress...so stuck with the pads on the floor.
> 
> I am going to try the pad frames...and if that doesn't work, going to invent something myself. He often aims for the pad, but goes just off the edge....crazy thing....I buy the BIG pads..so he has lots of room....he prefers the edges....
> ...


 Brinkleys mom -- my jong would always pee on the edge too ! always on the edge and i always had to clean the carpet..i used a lot of paper towels and the miracle cleaner thingy...i even used TWO pads that is 21inches big EVERYDAY just so she could have more space and not pee on the edge..i used 2 everyday for about 2 months....

i was using too many pads so i tried using one but still she missed a lot and peed on the carpet..so for my last attempt, i bought the frame at petsmart and wow! she doesnt pee on the edge anymore ~ she likes stepping inside the frame and circles around and just pees inside, no more messy cleanup later..

maybe the frame will help you too...i hope you dont have to invent something..

im having trouble with jong coming up to my bed..its 21inches high and she cant jump so i made her steps out of boxes for her to step on..shes good with going up but she cant come down...

i was thinking of buying the doggy steps thats around 100 dollars ! but it seems like a waste of money, so finally i went to school (i go to an artschool) and went to the model shop with all the power machines to cut big pieces of wood and stuff and asked an instructor if he could make me a ramp for my dog...we're not supposed to make "outside projects" in the model shop but the instructor was kind enough to make one for me secretly..it took about an hour for him to make it and it was sooo huge and heavy !! but great ! i was thinking that i should paint this pink ! it'll be so cute!

i also saved 100 dollars ! (he didnt charge me anything! so kind ! )

so yeah i carried the big heavy thing to the parking lot and drove home happily and showed it to my baby at home..

and yeah..shes not using it..

gosh....i feel so bad..its great inventing something imaging how happy ur baby will be, but the space of the little wood sticking out on the ramp for feet grip that the instructor made was too wide and jong;s back legs cant reach it .. her legs arent long enough ... sooo....

anybody in the Los angeles area that needs it? hehe
i would be happy to give it to anybody for free if anybody needs it...


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

Mee: I found something on the internet that might work for you. Here is the siteThe Dog Steps They are steps you make out of styrofoam insulation. I am going to make some for Lexi, but they will have to be taller since my bed is almost 36 high. I had looked at the wooden steps on the internet but they are too heavy and too expensive. I live in a apartment and when my lease is up next Feb I am going to move. I don't think my movers (family and friends) will like me if I have them move some heavy steps (I live on the 3rd floor of a building with no elevator). So I am thinking this fall of making the styrofoam stairs.


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## mee (Jul 17, 2004)




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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

I found that a couple of months ago. Lexi has only slept in bed with me once, that was after a long walk, and we both took a 2 hr nap. I am hoping in the next couple of months she will start to settle done more when it is time for bed. Right now I am afraid she will jump off in the middle of the night and get into stuff. She is not afraid to jump off my bed (which is 36 inches high) and she has already chewed through an electrical cord. So I have not decided if the steps would be a good thing or not. I think I would first have to puppy proof my computer desk more. :lol:

My luck I will get the steps built and she will not even use them. :lol:


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## mee (Jul 17, 2004)




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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

Lexi is not afraid of anything! The first time she jumped off the bed was when she was 12 weeks old. I had put her on the bed so that I could get a toolbox off the shelve in the closet. I did not want to worry about accidental dropping it on her, so I thought she would be fine on the bed. I turn around and there she is wagging her tail at me. I totally ferked out. I was like "oh, my god! Are you ok?" The second time she was about 5 months old, this was also the 2nd time she was allowed on the bed. After the first incident she was not allowed up on it. Sure enough she dropped a toy or something so she just jumped off to get it.







The little ****! 

She jumps up and off the couch all the time (usually in a full run). She runs down the stairs to go outside (3rd floor apartment) dragging me behind her. She can also go up the stairs, again most of the time she runs up them.


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

mee

where in los angeles do you live? i live in valencia. 

we bought pet stairs ($120 including shipping) and its made from styrofoam. i tried to look on ebay again....but it looks like they dont sell them anymore. 

they look just like those dog steps that lexis mom posted. they're light weight and all three of my dogs use it---gruffi feels as though he HAS to use it....eventhough he can just walk up onto the bed. lol. he's cute.


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## Mystify79 (Apr 6, 2004)

Tuffy is kind of a weenie, he seems to be a little scared of heights.. it took forever for him to learn how to jump up onto the couch. I use a old fitness step to help him get up on the bed. I put a pillow on the top and then covered it with an sheet and it looks like an ottoman now. What's weird is that I know the little stinker can jump from the floor to the bed because he did that once and peed up on the bed because he got stuck and couldn't get down







I don't know how tall y'alls beds are, but I saw these great little kid steps at Target that look like they'd be great for dogs.


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## mee (Jul 17, 2004)




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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

thats so cool that you live in pasadena. i've gone to old town pasadena a couple of times because its pet friendly. they have a three dog bakery there. you should buy the pupcakes and the carrot cake if you havent been there. even sprite liked that stuff and she's way picky. 

styrofoam is way expensive. i've gone to joannes to check out the prices---ugh! maybe try glueing thin layers of styrofoam on the wooden stairs. it might feel like there's grip or something. i wish they still sold those petstairs that i have.

did you go to the Nuts for Mutts fair at pierce college? there was a stand there that had petstairs--and they would put a cover on them, like leopard print or pink fur....it was cute.


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## mee (Jul 17, 2004)




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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

Old town is awesome. I really like it there. but it takes like an hour from here---and the dogs dont really know how to behave well. lol. three dog bakery is right next to banana republic---and theres not a lot of people in the back there. its a little hard to find. you should sooo let her walk around there. i know it looks a little scary---but we took all three on a saturday and people didnt walk too close (I think its because gruffi looks so big. lol ). yes...humans can eat it too---i've never tried it though. lol.









Pierce college is near Van Nuys. I think woodland hills. www.nutsformutts.com its a junior college. the fair was totally awesome this year. im planning on going next year and entering gruffi--cuz he's a mutt.









im sure you'll find a perfect petstair.







good luck!


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

Go to a store like Menards/ Lowes / Home Depot. You can get Huge pieces of styrofoam (the kind used for insulation) for like 8 bucks a sheet. They come in all kinds of thickness. That is the kind they say to use to make the steps. I think you would only need 3 sheets. 

FYI: Cut the pieces outside. Cutting styrofoam is EXTREMELY messy. The little styrofoam shavings stick to everything. I know this from personal experience. My mom collects Department 56 Snow Village pieces. We decided a couple of years ago to use styrofoam to make hills and valleys to display the pieces. This was in September/October so we decided to do it outside. Good this it looked like we had walked through a blizzard by the time we were done. We used 3 full size sheets and another 1 or 2 to make hills. We then used butter knives to rough up the all of the surfaces. We had styrofoam all over us. LOL!


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## mee (Jul 17, 2004)

:_


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## kit001 (Jul 6, 2003)

I would have taught Morgan to bark only when it was appropriate instead of laughing and thinking it was funny and not so much people food. I have a really hard time with the word NO, forget the dog having a hard time with it!


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

kit, thats totally a good point. i remember sprite barking like a rooster. it was really funny and cute---she still does it every now and then. and ellie--late at night she'll start with her bark/howl. it was cute at first--but now its annoying when im trying to sleep.


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