First Lurcher! Your Thoughts On My Current Situation

[matt101 115]

Hello everyone,

 

I will be picking up my first lurcher shortly (collie/greyhound/whippet) and i just wanted your thoughts on whether my current situation is suitable and any areas where i could make changes to improve the way i intend to raise my pup. I am sure there are lots of people who work 9-5 jobs and id like your input on how you delt with raising your (8week) puppy to the best possible standard.

 

Here is the outline of my current situation and the lay out of my day

 

I am currently living at my parents house where we already have 2 adult doberman bitches. My grandparents live with us so at the moment while my parents and i are at work, my grandparents let the dogs out into our secure garden (3/4 acre) and let them wander around and basically have a play and do there business. This will generally range from 1-3 hours depending on the weather.

 

I leave for work at about 7.30am and get back at about 5pm. With our current dogs my dad and i take them out in the morning for about 40 minutes and then they get put back in the house until my grandparents let them out in the garden for a play (about 2 hours later). I then take them for a walk after work.

 

With my new pup i intend to get a good hour of handling / training in before work after which she will be kept in the kitchen with plenty of toys and her crate (i intend to crate train her). I am then going to get my grandparents to take her out in the garden for an excersie/toilet/play break (on the lead) to break up the time that i am away from the house. When im back from work ill obviously have all the time i need to spend with the pup.

 

 

So my main questions are:

 

1. Does this sound suitable?

2. How often will my grandparents need to take her out during the time i am away from the house.

3. With regards to crate training how long is recommended to crate your pup for?

4. As my grandparents will be having regular contact with the pup will this have an effect on the bond between myself and the pup and could this negativley effect our working relationship.

 

 

I am hoping that my work arrangement are going to change in the next couple of months so i will hopefully be able to have much more contact with my pup in the day.

 

Any input would be great as i really want to give this pup the best up bringing that i can.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Matt101

[LaraCroft 863]

Sounds a good way to deal with the situation

 

With a pup, I take them out every hour or so, or after they have done something ( sleep, play, eat etc ). If they wee/poo then praise, bring back in, if not, bring back in anyway and make mental note to try again in an hour. It doesn't take them long to get the idea of being clean in the house - if given the opportunity to empty outside.

 

I leave the crate open for the first few weeks at least - never shut apart from at night - so they get the idea it is nice place. I feed in there, put toys in there etc, and encourage pup to sleep in there voluntarily. Try not to turn it into somewhere they feel " banished" too. I assume the other dogs will be sleeping in the same room at night, as the pup in the crate. Give the pup a bed in there, and paper at the other end for nighttime - so it can go if needs be, and not mess the bed-area of the crate. You can remove the paper section once the pup can go thru the night.

 

The bond will be there with you - you will need to work at it though. IMHO it is good for a dog to get used to being handled by other people, those that will be " 1 person dog's will be that, regardless of how many people they know in their life.

 

Good luck !

[matt101 115]

Thanks for the reply and your tips laracroft .

 

So when you say you take it out every hour, do you mean that you are usually with the pup the whole time? or do you mean WHEN you are with the pup you take it out every hour? Because obviously as im at work i wont be able to get the pup out in the day and i dont really want to ask my grandparents to do it hourly as i might be taking the piss a bit (they do have to go out sometime too), do you think once every 2 hours for a wee/bit of excersie will be ok? And ill do the vast majority of handling/playing/training before work and when i get home in the evening.

 

Basically i was thinking that id get my grandparents to let the dog out for a toilet break and bit of excersise around 4 times while im at work but not really do any training as i dont want them to give the pup any bad habits and then ill do the training/handling in the morning and evening . Does this sound like it might be a a decent system?

 

Thanks

 

Matt101

[nothernlite 18,089]

Think you have it under control well done mate

[jf1970 328]

sounds like you have it well thought out, good luck with your pup

[Gaz_1989 9,539]

Can't you book a week or 2 off work? You could crate train a pup in this time.

 

Expecting an 8 week pup to hold itself for 2-3 hours is adventurous.

 

Apart from that it sounds like you have got everything sorted.

[Country Joe 1,411]

Im at present training a 10 wk pup, to crate and housetrain etc, im retired and its not easy,

because im retired i can spend all my time with the pup, which is good.

that's really good advice, if you can get your two wks or even one wk the pup will benefit.

[Wales1234 5,546]

I work full time aswell mate and my uncle spends alot of time around my dogs as their kennel up his farm and I have a very strong bond with mine it's all about making the most of the time you spend with them

[LaraCroft 863]

The more they can take the pup out so it doesn't mess in the house, the quicker it will learn that outside is the place to go - but I totally accept that full time work gets in the way of such plans ! Have a chat with grandparents about what they can/will do and how this will work with the pup - they may find that more regular letting the pup out means less accidents in the house for them to deal with !

 

With a new pup I can plan it so I am at home for the first 2 weeks, and as I work nights anyway, I am still around after that in the daytime as well. It makes it a lot easier, but isn't something everyone can do. Just do your best, I'm sure the pup will be fine

[echo 24]

I would also be very carefull with the dobermanns playing with the pup.They can get injured very easily

[matt101 115]

Thanks for all your very helpful replies everyone! I feel a lot more prepared and confident about raising my pup now.

 

I will see if time off work is possible but if not ill have to persuade my grandparents to get the pup out as many times as possible throughout the day.

 

With regards to the pup playing with the two Doberman, I think I'll only allow that when she is a fair bit older, so for now it will just be friendly no boisterous contact.

 

Thanks for your input

 

Matt101

[bryson 562]

sounds like youve got a good head on you mate i cant see you having to much hassle with the pup atb and enjoy it

[neems 2,406]

All I'd say is make sure the yard is really secure,pups can get through small gaps and as a adolescent anything less than 6 foot will be easy for any lurcher to escape from.

 

Good luck with the pup.

[Simoman 110]

Sounds like you have put a lot of thought into it, the way it should be, well done..............

[northern lad 2,292]

Man with a plan good luck mate,ATB