New puppy, first months...

[marianna]

Hi, thank god for these forums

I am getting my puppy in jan and have already started to prepare this new arrival. Both me and my hubby work full time and the first week with the puppy I will take a week of work and my hubby is taking the second week of work. My mother doesnt work and has offered to come before noon and take care of the puppy for the first months ( or as long as needed ) since we can not leave the pup alone for such a long period of time. my question is : will it be ok for her to pick the pup up and take it home with her and then I pick him up at around 4 in the day? She has a 2 year old mixed breed and 4 persian cats so I thought maybe it would be bettur for the pup to start socialising with them all from the start rather than her coming over and walking the pup and playing with it and then leaving it again.

Im just really trying to do what is best for my puppy and want to be as well prepared as possible

[2tlc]

I can’t see what would be wrong with that.
I bought Tea-Ka at 7 weeks and for the first 3 weeks I had her go to the local puppy sitter in my town and she puppy sits several dogs at once. I liked it because it helped socialize her with other dogs.
I also have 1 ½ Rotti girl and 2 cats ‘indoor no claws’, Tea-Ka plays with them all the time. Now at almost 13 weeks she’s just as big as the cats and they can’t push her around or dive bomb her as much. Poor Jade-Da still gets her back legs nipped at but she just sits down regardless if the puppy hasn’t removed her head yet, very funny to see.

The days that she has to stay at home I keep her in the kitchen and have a baby gate up so she can’t wonder the house. That way if she has an accident it’s only in that area and on an easy to clean floor.

You could try crate training too.

Tea-Ka freaked out when I tried that, I thought she was going to have a heart attack or rip out all her teeth tiring to get out.
It didn’t work for my pup but it could work for your.

[moondog]

Originally Posted by marianna

Hi, thank god for these forums

I am getting my puppy in jan and have already started to prepare this new arrival. Both me and my hubby work full time and the first week with the puppy I will take a week of work and my hubby is taking the second week of work. My mother doesnt work and has offered to come before noon and take care of the puppy for the first months ( or as long as needed ) since we can not leave the pup alone for such a long period of time. my question is : will it be ok for her to pick the pup up and take it home with her and then I pick him up at around 4 in the day? She has a 2 year old mixed breed and 4 persian cats so I thought maybe it would be bettur for the pup to start socialising with them all from the start rather than her coming over and walking the pup and playing with it and then leaving it again.

Im just really trying to do what is best for my puppy and want to be as well prepared as possible

That sounds fine to me, too. My puppy came to work with me every day until she was 8 months old. Just make sure your Mom's home is puppy proofed, and it would be a good idea to have a crate there, so she can get her naptime in undisturbed.

Originally Posted by 2tlc

......I also have 1 ½ Rotti girl and 2 cats ‘indoor no claws’, Tea-Ka plays with them all the time. Now at almost 13 weeks she’s just as big as the cats and they can’t push her around or dive bomb her as much. Poor Jade-Da still gets her back legs nipped at but she just sits down regardless if the puppy hasn’t removed her head yet, very funny to see.

It's only funny because your puppy is so young......best to start now teaching her to be gentle with the kitties....it won't be so funny later on.

Originally Posted by 2tlc

You could try crate training too.

Tea-Ka freaked out when I tried that, I thought she was going to have a heart attack or rip out all her teeth tiring to get out.
It didn’t work for my pup but it could work for your.

Every puppy should be crate trained...there is simply no good reason not to, and many good reasons for it - trips to the vet, vacations, guests who are not comfortable with dogs, and on and on and on.

Any good breeder will introduce crates to puppies while very young, and this makes it SO much easier when they come home with their new family. My puppy was already familiar with the crate when she came to me at 8 weeks, and has never made a single complaint about being crated.

[2tlc]

Tea-Ka was born and raised out side and when I brought her home she absolutely hated the carte.
I have never seen a dog go crazy like that before. It was like there was a fire in there with her, I though that she would give up and be fine but after a while but it didn’t happen. I couldn’t bring my self to do it any more. I just set out the kitchen for her down time area and she was very happy with that. Tea-Ka will only go in the crate if the front gate is taken off. As for trips in the car she falls asleep in a car in the back seat. She plays nice with the cats and with Jade-Da, I tell her to play nice if I see she’s getting too rough with any of them. But my cat is a little instigator and is learning that he is no longer in winner of the dive bomb and case game.

[marianna]

Thanks so much for the feedback guys.
I have been reading about rotties for over 10 years now and have been so lucky to know a few of this breed, have wanted one since I met my freinds dog years ago. I decided early on that I would not get a pup until I was completely ready and able to do right for the animal, that is be a responsible owner.

My moms house is completely puppyproof and she has been handling dogs since she was a kid so I can completely trust her with my pup. Also after reading these forums for awhile i have decided to do what everyone seems to agree on wich is crate training. And I will keep reading on these forums and educating myself more.

So now we will keep preparing even though the litter is not yet born and hopefully nothing comes up and there will be just the right pup for us.