Well, the date to pick up Sasha, our new puppy, was quickly approaching. I felt we had everything we needed to bring our newest addition home and we all decided on her name beforehand. Since we had a 3 1/2 hr drive from Philadelphia to Maryland, we decided to leave the night before and stay at a hotel so we could arrive at the breeder's by 10 am. The breeder, Lorene of Liberty Schnauzers and Schnoodles was waiting for our arrival with the 2 female pups already bathed and outside waiting to be picked up. As soon as we approached one pup came right up to us and eagerly greeted us while the other just stayed back and did not approach us at all. We petted the one who came right up to us and then I went to the shy one to see if she would come to me. Well she just sat there and ignored me while the friendlier one just followed me around. At that point it was a No Brainer, the happy friendly pup it was. If you really think about it, Sasha chose us!
Lorene handed me the vet papers on Sasha and a bag of kibble with instructions. While there a few of her dogs came up to meet us, seemingly checking us out to make sure we were a suitable family for this puppy.
So now we were on our way back home with Sasha! I slipped the collar on her having to make several adjustments until it was the right fit (I could place 2 fingers under the collar comfortably). She did not complain at all and just snuggled up to me and my daughter in the back seat as my husband drove home. We brought a couple of toys and some water (don't forget to buy a water carrier with dispenser that you can take along with you, especially for long car rides or walks) and some towels in case of accidents or car sickness. We did make one stop along the way home, to eat lunch and let Sasha relieve herself. It was so cute to see her squat and pee on the grass! Back in the car Sasha spent most of the time sleeping, while occasionally waking up to listen to all the various noises outside.
Finally, around 3:30 pm we arrived at home! I attached the leash to her collar and let her out of the car so she could sniff her new outdoor surroundings and I tried to introduce her to the area where I had planned for her to do her "business". But all she did was sniff and attack the fallen autumn leaves. At this point we brought her inside the house into the kitchen that we had securely closed off with child safety gates. She sniffed all around and promptly squatted and started to poop. Quickly my husband stuck a paper towel under her. I guess the potty training begins immediately.
I placed the crate in the corner of the kitchen for her to get comfortable with it being there. I did not expect for her to sleep in it until she was ready. Right now she had to get used to a new place, a new family and being away from her mom and siblings. I placed a towel on the floor next to the crate and Sasha lay down and napped for a bit. I put fresh water in one bowl and some kibble in the other since she hadn't eaten since early that morning.
Of course, there was a lot of cuddling that first day and a lot of pee to clean up from the floor. We had to get used to her signals, but first we just had to make sure she went out about every 2 hours. Puppy books say that for every month a puppy is they can hold it in for that number + 1 hour. In Sasha's case, she was almost 2 months old, so she should be able to hold it in for about 3 hours. Boy it was going to be a long night!
I had already planned to sleep downstairs with Sasha so she wouldn't be lonely and so I could quickly scoop her up and take her outside to eliminate. At the first sign of a whimper, I picked her up and said "Outside" and once outside I put her down and then said "Go Potty". And when she went potty I said "Good Potty" with lots of praise and happiness in my voice to let her know that she did well. Well, in those first few nights there were a few accidents that I had to promptly clean. Believe me, you want to use a spray to eliminate the smell of urine or they will always gravitate to that spot. Nature's Miracle Stain & Odor Remover is a good one to use. If she went on the floor, I would quickly pick her up and say "Outside" to let her know that is where she has to go without scolding her and then placed her on the ground for her to sniff for a few minutes so that she would get the idea.
The next morning on Sunday, my husband had to leave for a business trip for a few days, so it was just me and my daughter taking care of Sasha. It was this next day that I realized that she could fit between the bars on one of the safety gates. Thinking quickly, I called my husband because he is just a genius when it comes to solving these kinds of problems, so he said to place a couple of the large coolers on the opposite side of the gate so that she can't get through. That was a pain , because we had to weigh the coolers down even though Sasha was only 4 pounds these coolers would not stay in place. Then I got an idea! We had some large pieces of cardboard in the basement so I cut these to fit the size of the gate and place these on the opposite side and kept them in place with the coolers. Once my husband came home he cabled them to the gates in sections so we could open the gate door to get through instead of climbing over it. My husband once broke his foot climbing over a child safety gate when my daughter was less than a year old, but we'll save that one for another day!
To end this long story, I slept downstairs with Sasha for about 3 weeks. After that she slept in her crate and I only had to take her out once during the night for the next month. I used my old baby monitor to hear when she would get up and take her out. She never had an accident in her crate!
Next time I'll talk about how I crate trained her and how long before she would actually let us know that she had to go outside to potty.
Lara
