New QI photos, mini update and thanks!!

Charlotte.

Wow. First off Darius' coloring is gorgeous. I love his eyes.

Samson is a total doll.

A few words of advice that you may use or ignore at will. :-)

1. Get him used the rain as SOON as possible. Walk him outside no
matter what. We have a wet and dry season where I live. One rescue
dog REFUSED to go outside when it rained. So I had to find her a new
home, where the people stayed home and could take her out. She is
still going strong and they love her dearly.

2. Water regulation: Samson can drink his fill at the top of every
hour, then put the dish
away. In about 20 minutes take him outside and keep him outside till
he goes.
No water an hour before bedtime, or before he is crated (if you are
using that method) or left alone.

3. Find a command that will work for potty, like Hurry Up. etc. One
of my dogs it was Potty (which my ex hated :-) and the other dog's
Number 2 cue is Hurry Up! You can try Now! as well. When he goes,
lots and lots of praise.

4. Chew Toys: Nothing vinyl, as they tend to chip and can get lodged
(per my dog trainer). I used to take old t-shirts and cut them into
strips and braid them. Really helped Cliff the Mutt and me survive his
chewing stage, and was a LOT cheaper then the rope toys, which he
dearly loves now.

5. Nylabones are your best friend and Samson's. These things are
great.

6. Rotate the toys. Get him a selection. Swap them out every couple
of days. Dogs get bored too. That again is per my dog trainer.
Worked with Cliff. Teach him how to fetch, and tug of war without
being aggressive.

7. Food: Dogs can be taught EARLY to wait for their food. Took Cliff
a couple of days. He's a little guy, but I didn't want to get tripped
on the way to his food dish. Every dog we have waits in a Sit Command,
till I put their food bowl down and release them with "their name, Go
Ahead" (PS this doesn't work with cats. ;-)

8. Crating and or holding it: puppies can only be expected to hold it
according to the following formula:

age in months + 1 = length of time in hours puppy can be expected to
hold before an accident.

With water and food regulation to can extend that somewhat. But still,
cannot be expected to truly hold it for 8 hours till he is about 7
months old.

9. If you like it, don't put it where he can reach it. :-) Cliff
loved everything Mom. Wouldn't go after hubby's stuff, only mine as I
was the one he bonded with.

10. Have lots of fun and post lots of picture. He's gorgeous.

Jenn in CA

Charlotte Hippen wrote:
Photos have now been added to my QI album (webshots link is in sig. line).

I need to add pictures to my projects albums, but the new QI is keeping me
very busy. He really likes the stuffies that we got him and a nylon(?) of
sorts teething bone. So far he doesn't like the plastic squeak toys. Potty
training is rough today. He is not used to the great outdoors so last night
he was too distracted to do anything and today it is raining which he really
doesn't know about!! The boys love him, but need some time to get used to
him. The cat on the other hand does not like him, but is tolerating him
well (much better than expected).

Thank you to those that have expressed concern over him having stuffed
animal like toys. My MIL and FIL have 4 dogs that have these types of toys
(among others) and have not had any issues except the children's stuffed
toys which are simply kept out of reach and carefully monitored when in
play. I think if I do my part as supervising him and the kids we should be
OK. I am planning to go and get some fleece and making him some softies and
some tug of war ropes. Thanks to all who gave input.

--
Charlotte
http://community.webshots.com/user/charh108

See comments with in the post.

--
Charlotte
http://community.webshots.com/user/charh108


"Jenn in CA" wrote in message
ups.com...

Wow. First off Darius' coloring is gorgeous.

I really like his coloring too! He was a kitten of a stray at the camp were
my husband worked when we were first married and was on his way to the
shelter if we didn't take him.

Samson is a total doll.

Ain't he!!!




1. Get him used the rain as SOON as possible.

Thanks. Am planning on it. Grass is even new to him right now so I think
the storm was just too much (was lighting and thunder on top of the heavy
rain). He is going to have no choice about the weather he goes out in -
rain, shine or snow he's going out.




3. Find a command that will work for potty, like Hurry Up. etc. One
of my dogs it was Potty (which my ex hated :-) and the other dog's
Number 2 cue is Hurry Up! You can try Now! as well. When he goes,
lots and lots of praise.


All ready working on, thanks. Hoping that if we do this we can tell him to
go right before car rides etc. and have him acctually go so we don't have to
stop or deal with accidents in the car right after we leave. Then we can
take him on more of our outings and to the in-laws more often. Is this a
realistic expectation?


4. Chew Toys: Nothing vinyl, as they tend to chip and can get lodged
(per my dog trainer).


Didn't know that. Thanks for the heads up!


5. Nylabones are your best friend and Samson's. These things are
great.

He has one and he appears to really love it!!


6. Rotate the toys. Get him a selection. Swap them out every couple
of days. Dogs get bored too. That again is per my dog trainer.
Worked with Cliff. Teach him how to fetch, and tug of war without
being aggressive.

We do this to some extent with the kids too. They have "new toys" more
often and it doen't cost us a thing to pull one out of the closet. This is
kind of why I was hoping for some onling patterns for dog toys, so he can
have a large collection with out all the expense. Alos cheaper to replace
when they wear out. We'll see what we come up with. I've also purchase a
few "stuffies" at salvation army (watching of course for hazards like
buttons, ribbons and cords). Another cheap way to get him going!!



7. Food: Dogs can be taught EARLY to wait for their food. Took Cliff
a couple of days. He's a little guy, but I didn't want to get tripped
on the way to his food dish. Every dog we have waits in a Sit Command,
till I put their food bowl down and release them with "their name, Go
Ahead" (PS this doesn't work with cats. ;-)

So far no problem. We are changing his schedule from what it was at the
store to fit better with our schedule so he hasn't caught on yet to when the
food is coming. May have to do this once he learns we'll just have to see.






With water and food regulation to can extend that somewhat. But still,
cannot be expected to truly hold it for 8 hours till he is about 7
months old.

We were supprised that the pet shop said he should be able to hold it all
night even at 9 weeks. Maybe they are expection too much.



10. Have lots of fun and post lots of picture. He's gorgeous.


Definately will, thanks!!!!