Routine for my new puppy

[Husky Mad]

Hi guy's,

My name is Tom, first of all i want to say hello to everyone on the board. I have been reading this site for over a year now while i pondered weather a Husky was the dog for our family. I'm sure you'll be glad to know that it is. We will be bringing home our Puppy boy this Saturday, i've been reading up on all the essentials needed, i.e crate, collars, toys and etc. Would love to thank everyone here for all the hard work and information that every member contributes. This forum is awesome and amazingly helpful.

My question is in regards to the routine i should establish for my pup. He will be 7 weeks old, has been wormed and vetted but i'll be taking him to get his first jab next week. In terms of a routine, what kind of feeding timing and exercise regime should i be looking to get him into? I'm fortunute enough to be not working until May. So I'll have a lot of time to look after him and etc.

As he has not had his jab yet, i wont be taking him for walks outside until a few weeks after his second jab as suggested by members on the forum. His crate is being kept inside our home, as someone will always be around he would only be in the crate when someone can't keep their eye on him and over night.

So any basic daily plan or schedule ideas or tips that you may have would be much appreciated. Although members of my family have had dogs before, it was many years ago when they were a lot younger lol. So it's a fresh new learning curve for our whole family with our beautiful new addition. We haven't decided on a name yet, everyone is bidding for their pick. But I'll post up pictures and etc as soon as he's home.

The first thing i plan on doing is potty training him from an article i've read on this forum and training him to potty outside before walkies each morning/evening. (The breeder did not crate train him, but he has been paper trained) Any other useful tips and information that you feel is relevant would be very appreciated.

Thanks and so nice to be a part of the forum!

Tom

[Sid_Wolf]

sorry we never had a schedual for kira, just played it as and when lol, went with the flow.

few tips tho...

take him out every 15mins/half hour and ask him to 'go wee wees' or whatever you call it, and if he goes praise him LOADS, this will get him used to going outside and going on command. Also take him out as soon as he wakes up from every nap, after every playtime and after every meal/drink, as well as the regular breaks.

dont keep him inside until his jabs are done, take him as many places as possible, friends/relatives houses (if their dogs are up to date on vaccs), take him around town and around any shops you can get into, take him to the park. just dont let him on the floor and he'll be fine. Doing this will really help his socilisation skills.

other than that good luck!!! oh, and we need pics lol

[Sarah]

Hi, welcome to the pack

Glad you've signed up!

The only routine I would settle into is the toileting one - wee wee's after feeding, playing and sleeping - oh and crate training

If you get into too much of a set routine it will hinder you at some point.

Good luck for Saturday, bet you can't wait

Looking forward to seeing you around and of course to seeing the PICS

[siberian_wolf]

great reply Sinead

First of all welcome to the pack and congratulations on your new puppy. You must be so excited Glad you have found information on the site helpful so far and hope it continues to provide you with plenty of information

We didnt have a schedule either really, still don't.

The only part that is really "scheduled" is feeding times and that can vary from time to time also and it is always randomised (One time I may feed Gizmo first, the next time I may Bandit first, then maybe Marley will get fed first, ect etc). They get fed twice a day (once in the morning and once in the evening).

my 3 are adults/teenagers so its easier to randomise things than it would be for a puppy.

Here's some tips:

1) Make sure he get to go outside frequently and when he goes toilet outside give him praise

2) At meal times ensure he understands you control the food. Have something to eat and as soon as you finish, put his bowl down and when he finishes or walks away from his bowl pick it up - dont leave it down all day. Because he is a puppy and his nutrition is very important for his growth and development, if he doesnt eat all his food then pick it up and try again maybe an hour later

3) Set your doggy rules and make sure everyone else in the household understands the rules and will follow them

4) Start training from day one, doesnt need to be command training but just basic training with your doggy rules (i.e. if you are not going to allow him on the couch, make sure he understands that rule)

5) Even though it will be a few weeks until he can go for walks, I would still be doing lead training with him around the house and garden so he gets used to the lead and also it will give you a chance to have him walk on a loose lead

6) When you do training with him, make it fun for him so it helps keep him interested

7) When he can go for walks, remember the 5 minute rule - For every month of the puppies age you add 5 minutes to their walk time so when he is 3 months old he will have 15 minutes walk time. Try not to overwalk him as it can lead to development problems or muscle and/or joint problems when he is older.

8) Have time to play with him also (this can also turn to a fun training session too) and time for affection

That's all I can think of for now Hope this helps

[Mazz]

Hi Tom - Welcome to the Pack! The only schedule we had with Zoya was to take her outside about every 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour. We did feed her at 6:30 each morning, and at 5:30 each night, but other than that, the routine was pretty much established by Zoya. Spending a lot of time with a new pup is good. Please post pics when you get him home.

[Val (Zebedee)]

Hi, Tom, welcome to the pack

Good to see you done a lot of research before just jumping in & getting a husky, I hope you have found everything you're looking for on here, if not, ask away!

The only routine I had with Myshka as a pup was toilet training after sleep, play, meals, etc. It really depends on who is around when as to setting a routine, but huskies are very clever & will learn that routine in a matter of days, so if you regularly feed your pup at 5pm, you'll find it will be looking for tea around that time ... we, like Siberian_wolf (Amy) didn't have a set routine, just played it by ear.

Amy's post is just about everything rolled up in 1 post (added to rep, Amz!)

Hope Saturday comes round quickly & don't forget those all important pics - you must have sussed THAT by now!

[Husky Mad]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all your help and tips will put them into use. I can't wait, the whole family is so excited. There will definitely be lot's of pictures taken, my family love their cameras lol. I'm going shopping tomorrow to pick up a few toys and a crate and to book his Jab's with my vet.

Thanks again, will keep you guys posted.

Tom

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

welcome to the site tom - nuffin else i can add 2 that every1s given u all the best possible advice cnt w8 2 c LOADS ov pics

[Husky Mad]

Thank's alot guys, i went and picked up some bowls, toys, collar and leash earlier today. Going to get the crate tomorrow. Starting off as suggested for about 2 weeks i'm going to stick to the breeder's food.

But does anyone have any suggestions as to if i should stick to that food or try something else that you may recommend?. In particular let me know of brands and etc in the UK that you guy's use and trust.

Thanks

Tom

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

Blaze is on wainwright large breed kibble

[SarahNukka&Shadow]

Hiya Tom!

Great to hear you've really thought about it before getting your pup kudos!!

What everyone else has said is great advise just a couple of things to add it it.... at his age he will only have a really small stomach so you want to look at feeding him about 4 times a day little and often otherwise you will find it will overload his stomach and you will get a very sticky mess coming out the other end! If you do decide to change his food do it slowly over the course of a week so it doesnt shock his system... huskies have notoriously picky stomachs so if hes good and solid on the food hes on think carefully before changing it.

For crate training him you will need earplugs and a cast iron will! He will whine and howl and cry all night for the first couple of nights and if you go to him when hes crying it will only show him he needs to cry louder to get your attention so stick to your guns and only go to him when hes being quiet and relaxed, praise him when he is and treat him loads... also feeding him in his crate and leaving a few chewy toys and maybe a t-shirt or something that smells like you in there for him will make it easier for him to like being in there.

Toy wise you want things that are not easily destroyed, Nylabones and Orbee toys are the most durable and whenever you catch him chewing something hes not sposed to tell him NO NOT URS firmly and then give him one of his toys as a replacement he'll pick it up very quickly!

Uuuum thats all I can think of for now but any other questions theres bound to be a thread on here so search it and if its not there ask us the advantage of having people all around the world is no matter what time you ask a question theres always someone about to answer it!

Good Luck!!

[Sarah]

What food is the breeder feeding at the moment?

I've always fed my boys on Burns food http://www.burnspet.co.uk/ and they've been great wainwrights and james welbeloved are other good brands.

Changing over food should be done gradually, as Sarah said above, they have such finicky tummies and this sets them apart in a big way from other breeds. If he's on a good brand of food, I would consider keeping him on it as long as it's agreeing with him.

If you can find out what brand it is - look up the ingredients, they shouldn't contain fillers or ash - eurgh protein should be fairly high as well - around 38% ish and make sure it's a puppy food, not an adult food

[siberian_wolf]

There will definitely be lot's of pictures taken, my family love their cameras lol.

WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank's alot guys, i went and picked up some bowls, toys, collar and leash earlier today. Going to get the crate tomorrow. Starting off as suggested for about 2 weeks i'm going to stick to the breeder's food.

But does anyone have any suggestions as to if i should stick to that food or try something else that you may recommend?. In particular let me know of brands and etc in the UK that you guy's use and trust.

Thanks

Tom

What is the breeder feeding him? Huskies have a sensitive stomach and can be prone to the "runs" so as Sarah mentioned if he is eating the food well and it comes out the other end solid then I would keep him on that.

When your first bring him home, his stomach may be unsettled for the first few days or more and so he may have the "runs". If he does get the runs then keep an eye on his water intake as he can easily become dehydrated if he doesnt drink enough to replace the lost fluids.

Either way I would keep him on the same diet as the breeder for at least a week whilst he settles into your home and then consider changing his diet but only look at changing his diet if he not passing solids.

I feed my 3 on BARF. Ive tried a few different commercial diets with mine and found they would either not eat it at all or they would have the "runs" all the time. If you ever considered this diet you do need to research it alot before looking at changing over. Some members here will feed a mixture of BARF and kibble to their dogs and others like myself will feed purely BARF and visa versa. If you wanted to have a look here are a few links BARF world UK BARF club

[Husky Mad]

Hi guys,

I'll be bringing home our pup this afternoon. We have named him "Saber". Just wanted to see if my approach to crate training and housebreaking is decent.

When he get's home the first thing i will be doing is putting him on a leash and taking him to the garden to potty and i'll be following the praise/treat suggestions posted here. After that i will introduce him to his crate and get him conferable.

Now i've read many articles on crate training and a lot of them have said keeping the puppy in the crate and letting him out to play/potty/eat every hour or so. But i've also come across some articles that say keep them on a strict plan/schedule like this website here:

Crate Training

What are your opinions on this?

[Sarah]

I let my boys in the crate when i left the house / went to bed. During the day when i was in, the crate was always open but they had free run of the house as well.

Reading your other thread, you're doing great