# New to the forum and naming first v puppy



## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

So my wife has finally given me the go ahead ( after about 3 years of wanting a V ) to get our first V puppy! After a lot of breeder searching we found a great breeder and put a deposit down. Our little man will come home on the 26th this month. The next three weeks can't go by soon enough! So I have a short list of names that my wife has been adding to, any suggestions, comments or ideas are appreciated. And yes we'll wait till he's home for a while to get a sense of his personality 
So here is the short list in somewhat of a particular order. 
Django
Emit 
Whistler
Henry
Wallace
Zsiga
Mosbey ( the wife's fav. )
Gunner
Copper
Can't wait to meet all of you on here and start posting pics. Thanks all,


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## aliciavp (Mar 14, 2014)

we went Hungarian with ours, and named him Lazlo  

http://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/hungarian


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

We like lazlo! What does it mean?


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## tknafox2 (Apr 2, 2013)

WELCOME Daul77... I am so excited for you and your new baby!! Great names you are considering, ALL!
Some times it is good to get your pup home and see what name he chooses for himself... they are very good at that!
Keep your list and just throw out names at him and see which one sticks!

Please attach pictures... Lots of pictures... We here in the Forum all need a puppy fix!!


Oh PS... Remember that they have a tendency to grow into a name...


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

NO - Down - Stop - will hear that A lot - LOL !!!!!!!!!!!


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## aliciavp (Mar 14, 2014)

It's properly spelt Laszlo - but that was too much for our Australian brains, so we went with Lazlo - but it means "one who commands glory".. pretty accurate i think hahaha!!


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## Becky68 (Feb 4, 2014)

Welcome to the forum and your first Vizsla, we picked ours up 3 weeks ago and she's our first V too previously we've had Golden Retrievers and she's Fab!!!!!!! we're from South Wales ,UK so we had to choose a welsh girls name Anwen ( Annie for short) but i must admit i love your wife's choice Mosby! x


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## Becky68 (Feb 4, 2014)

Sorry spelled it wrong  Mosbey


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

Becky68 said:


> Welcome to the forum and your first Vizsla, we picked ours up 3 weeks ago and she's our first V too previously we've had Golden Retrievers and she's Fab!!!!!!! we're from South Wales ,UK so we had to choose a welsh girls name Anwen ( Annie for short) but i must admit i love your wife's choice Mosby! x


Thanks Becky! Anwen is a beautiful name. Sounds very majestic. And the wife will love that someone agrees with her choice! How is your little girl doing?


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

tknafox2 said:


> WELCOME Daul77... I am so excited for you and your new baby!! Great names you are considering, ALL!
> Some times it is good to get your pup home and see what name he chooses for himself... they are very good at that!
> Keep your list and just throw out names at him and see which one sticks!
> 
> ...


Thanks tknafox! So Calling him Django might be asking for trouble huh! We are over the moon right now! ;D 
That's a good idea, hopefully calling him 8 different names for a few days won't be to confusing for the little guy 
We have some pictures of the whole litter. We get second male and first male hasn't chosen yet. I've got my eye on one little handsome man in particular, hopefully he's still available when we go to pick him up.


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

Ahhhh @Daul77 - I recognize the background of those puppy pics! That red floor, green siding and cement brick look awfully familiar. Can you tell how much time I spent poring over our own puppy pics, lol?! Let me guess... your breeder is in Iowa? Wondering if we have half-siblings! So excited for you!


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

dextersmom said:


> Ahhhh @Daul77 - I recognize the background of those puppy pics! That red floor, green siding and cement brick look awfully familiar. Can you tell how much time I spent poring over our own puppy pics, lol?! Let me guess... your breeder is in Iowa? Wondering if we have half-siblings! So excited for you!


Wow! Nail on the head Dextersmom!
Who were Dexters parents? Awfully small world 
Even smaller in the V world! 
Were you in Kentucky when you got Dexter?


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

I knew it!!  Dexter is out of Lilly and Rex. I know Rex was retired after last year's litters, as he had just been neutered when we met him! We met Lilly as well (of course) and she was just the sweetest mom. Who are your pup's parents?!

Yes, we drove all the way from Lexington! It was quite a haul but well worth it! We had a friend that had used and recommended the breeder (so we know a full sister to Dexter). Otherwise I don't know that we would have gone so far, but this way we knew that the pups were kept in good conditions, etc. even though we hadn't been there until pick up day.

I think you'll be very happy with your boy! Dexter is pretty much everything we wanted in a V - very velcro, smart, affectionate, goofy, etc. Definitely less sensitive and more spunky than some of the other Vizslas we know though (maybe b/c of the strong hunting lines?). Overall, I was SUPER thrilled with how well he was socialized by the breeder. He's obsessed with kids, loves strangers, hasn't met a scary noise yet (helped me vacuum last night), etc. He'll be a year in May and no health problems yet either (knock on wood!). 

Good luck naming him!!


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

@dextersmom, our boys parents are Brandy ( from Schaben's )
And Duke from vezito Vizslas. Haven't met Duke, but I guess he's already got some titles and is the VCA #6 V puppy. Brandy is a sweet heart, gentle & affectionate and a good field dog. I hope our boys will have some of the same personality traits, the schabens are great. I'll let them know I met someone with a great little guy from one of there litters last year. I can't beleive that I already meet someone with a dog from there. To bad there not half brothers. Maybe cousins though? 😃


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

Daul77 said:


> I'll let them know I met someone with a great little guy from one of there litters last year. I can't beleive that I already meet someone with a dog from there. To bad there not half brothers. Maybe cousins though? 😃


Please do! I really need to send them an update. We couldn't be happier with him!

Brandy is a half-sister to Dex (they share the same dad), so your pup will be his half-sister's son! I've heard awesome things about Vezeto Vizslas too. You will have quite the little hunter on your hands!! We also had the second pick of the males of the litter  Too cool.


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## olofsonb (Dec 15, 2013)

I'm personally a fan of Copper, but I'm biased since I'm naming my boy Copper. To me the name was dual proposed: their color and the fact that I'm going forward law enforcement. I get my boy in 4 weeks myself so I'm pretty excited as well. Good luck in your decision. This is my boy in red.


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## LokiV (Jan 27, 2014)

Sean says he likes Whistler - does that help your cause any?

I like Henry. It's regal and they are too. Especially when they sit back and hold their heads up high.

Our V is Loki. It's easy to call and its meaning sums up a V quite nicely - well, the good bits do!


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

dextersmom said:


> Daul77 said:
> 
> 
> > I'll let them know I met someone with a great little guy from one of there litters last year. I can't beleive that I already meet someone with a dog from there. To bad there not half brothers. Maybe cousins though? 😃
> ...


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

dextersmom said:


> Daul77 said:
> 
> 
> > I'll let them know I met someone with a great little guy from one of there litters last year. I can't beleive that I already meet someone with a dog from there. To bad there not half brothers. Maybe cousins though? 😃
> ...


Very cool indeed. Your puppy's now an uncle. 😉


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

LokiV said:


> Sean says he likes Whistler - does that help your cause any?
> 
> I like Henry. It's regal and they are too. Especially when they sit back and hold their heads up high.
> 
> Our V is Loki. It's easy to call and its meaning sums up a V quite nicely - well, the good bits do!


On the drive back from the breeders Sat. my wife was like ohh what about Thor!
I was kinda a about that name, looked at her and said how about Loki. 
Considering there penchant for mischief and all I thought it would be a match 
Turns out you beet me to it! 😄


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## samkins (Apr 15, 2013)

I LOVE the name Thor! It was definitely in the running, but we decided on Moose.


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

samkins said:


> I LOVE the name Thor! It was definitely in the running, but we decided on Moose.


I love moose. I thought there was a member on hear with a pup with that name😄


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## tknafox2 (Apr 2, 2013)

I was just looking at "Vikings" and saw this one that struck me...
" Floki" he is the eccentric jokester friend of Ragnar, but an inventive and creative boat builder. Believed to be a decedent of 
the Norse God Loki.

Might be interesting to see him grow into THAT name!


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## rkbetz (Apr 4, 2014)

We also tried to go with a Hungarian word. We had a list of the top 5 but our family couldn't come with a unanimous vote so we took the list with us when we went to pick her up. It took us to the second day of having her to see that she was Kutya (pronounced coot-ya) which means dog in Hungarian. 

We just typed in different English words to the google translator and had them translate to Hungarian. Then we listened to what they sounded like and whether or not we liked them. We had so many English words that had meaning to us. Sweetheart since she was born on Valentine's Day, hunter because of the breed, little girl . . . you get the idea. It's funny how some of the words actually had more of a masculine sound than feminine so that helped in narrowing it down to the top 5. Good luck! Names are always hard because you want to have the right one.


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## MCD (May 4, 2013)

In our case we ended up with 3 girls names and 3 boys names. We were hoping to get a girl and we did. Eventually one name just stuck from each list- but Dharma it was and she suits it!(Dharma and Greg- TV sitcom). We also tried to find an uncommon name for our puppy. Believe me it took forever for our family to pick a name. Will be interested to learn which name the puppy got.


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

I like Dharma, I've never heard that name for a dog before, so you did good picking something uncommon but still a pretty name.


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

rkbetz said:


> We also tried to go with a Hungarian word. We had a list of the top 5 but our family couldn't come with a unanimous vote so we took the list with us when we went to pick her up. It took us to the second day of having her to see that she was Kutya (pronounced coot-ya) which means dog in Hungarian.
> 
> We just typed in different English words to the google translator and had them translate to Hungarian. Then we listened to what they sounded like and whether or not we liked them. We had so many English words that had meaning to us. Sweetheart since she was born on Valentine's Day, hunter because of the breed, little girl . . . you get the idea. It's funny how some of the words actually had more of a masculine sound than feminine so that helped in narrowing it down to the top 5. Good luck! Names are always hard because you want to have the right one.


We have been going the Hungarian route as of late. We like zsiga, Bence and Baka. I'm also still considering Henry, Django, Emmet & Puck. We still have 2 weeks till he comes home so lots of time to go back and forth!


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

We rescued a male Vizsla whose name is Argo. We get compliments on it all the time. It's a masculine, manly name.

Argo was a Greek ship (he was named before the movie!)


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

That is a good name. Even though you named him before the movie donyoubstill have people ask?


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

For Hungarian names I like Csoda, pronounced cho-DUH or Cseles, CHE-lesh.


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## MCD (May 4, 2013)

I think I have heard of Zsiga or something very close before in a thread on the forum. It was pronounced Chiga, meaning Snail. This was quite some time ago in 2013 when I was just a junior member. Try the search bar for this if at all curious.


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

Thanks MCD I will. When we were looking up names last night 
The website said it meant victory/protector. I've checked a couple different sites and came up with the same. Not sure on the pronunciation either, though I think it's Zi ga ? ???


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## MCD (May 4, 2013)

the post was dated July 13, 2013. Ironically the day we brought Dharma home. The spelling is Csiga. I was pretty sure I had seen something similar and the person who wrote this also said that they had trouble finding a name that was suitable and didn't have an awkward Hungarian translation to English.


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

Well were down to 5 days to go! 
This Saturday is the big day. I've got towels and more towels and some carpet cleaner ready to go on my way with his food and water and chew toy for the trip home. Can't wait ;D


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## aliciavp (Mar 14, 2014)

can't wait for pics!


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

Had a big day today that started at 5:30. Loaded the fam up and drove to the breeders 4 hours away. Our pup did great on the way back home. We stopped at a rural gas station before we hit the highway and played in the open field for a while, went potty and hit the road. He slept almost the whole way home except for a couple quick stops to see if he had to potty. He's doing good at home so far, doesn't seem to effected to have left the litter but were with him all the time making sure we get the potty training routine down. Put him down a couple times for a nap in the crate but left the door open and he was fine. Hoping tonight goes just as good 
Oh he's taking to making little humping motions at times too. Isn't that a bit odd at 7 weeks?


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## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

sooooooo cute. get ready to move that crate divider back... I had to give Lua more room within the first week!


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

It's amazing how fast they grow! It shouldn't be with how much he eats! What was her sleep schedule like the first week you had her?


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## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

I don't remember much about it, except that the first night she was home, I set an alarm to get her up to go outside every 2 or 3 hours, and found that it was totally unnecessary. During the day she'd play really hard for an hour, and then sleep for an hour -- that's mostly when I caught up on sleep. I remember she got me up to go outside at 5:30 or so one morning and that was it for her - she was ready to play and eat breakfast! (She learned very quickly to get used to the sound of the coffee maker). I think she was about 10.5 or 11 weeks old when she started sleeping through the night and waking up around 7 or 7:30 for a pee. I've let Lua sleep in bed with me on occasion, and every time, she has to get up around 3:30 to pee. If she's in her crate, she'll sleep through the night and whine gently to let me know she's awake if i'm not up by 9:40 or so (no judgement! I'm a grad student, which means I get very few luxuries in life. sleeping in is one of them). 

The best advice I can give is to try to be flexible (within reason, of course) --- your pup will let you know when it's bed time and when it's potty time. in time, you guys will learn how to read each other and will fall into a routine that feels natural for your family. 

The second-best advice I can give is be optimistic. and when that fails, consult the forum. and then go drink a pot of coffee.


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## aliciavp (Mar 14, 2014)

So adorable!!!


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

During the day she'd play really hard for an hour, and then sleep for an hour -- that's mostly when I caught up on sleep. I remember she got me up to go outside at 5:30 or so one morning and that was it for her - she was ready to play and eat breakfast! (She learned very quickly to get used to the sound of the coffee maker). I think she was about 10.5 or 11 weeks old when she started sleeping through the night and waking up around 7 or 7:30 for a pee. 

The best advice I can give is to try to be flexible (within reason, of course) --- your pup will let you know when it's bed time and when it's potty time. in time, you guys will learn how to read each other and will fall into a routine that feels natural for your family. 

The second-best advice I can give is be optimistic. and when that fails, consult the forum. and then go drink a pot of coffee. 
[/quote]

Haha. Ours does the same thing plays all out then bam fast asleep. 5:30 would have been great this morning. He did good last night, I set my alarm for about 3 hours and got him up. once he did have to go the other not so much, that was at 4 :-[ and yes it was time to play and eat breakfast. But he did crash early last night, about 9:00 I think I might try and keep him up till 10 and hope he sleeps till 5 or so. when my wife got up I high fived her. She looked at me puzzled and I said tag your in. He's been better than expected at letting me know it's time to go. I did miss one this morning though but that was my fault. I will have to be vigilant with the crate tonight, last night he just slept curled up next to my nightstand. And just one pot? ???


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## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

it's hard to be mad at them for getting you up to play --- they're just too stinking cute for humans' own good. His eyes are gorgeous right now! Try to get some good photos of them before they darken up.

I love that your wife got tagged in --- sometimes when they're little you _really_ just need a break. every morning my cereal would get soggy before I could even get to it because lua needed so much attention.


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

Oh, he is the cutest! Take sooo many pictures as they grow so fast those first couple of months! It's hard to remember when you're so sleep deprived but make yourself do it!



emilycn said:


> I remember she got me up to go outside at 5:30 or so one morning and that was it for her - she was ready to play and eat breakfast!
> 
> If she's in her crate, she'll sleep through the night and whine gently to let me know she's awake if i'm not up by 9:40 or so (no judgement! I'm a grad student, which means I get very few luxuries in life. sleeping in is one of them).


emilycn - You lucky girl! I remember being thrilled if Dexter slept until at least 4 am for those first few weeks. I was thrilled for a 5:00 wake up! I can't get Dexter to sleep in past 6:30 most days even now!



Daul77 said:


> Oh he's taking to making little humping motions at times too. Isn't that a bit odd at 7 weeks?


Humping is normal in young puppies. It's more of a dominance thing than a sexual thing until they hit adolescence. Just try to distract or correct him as much as you can and it will pass.


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

emilycn said:


> it's hard to be mad at them for getting you up to play --- they're just too stinking cute for humans' own good. His eyes are gorgeous right now! Try to get some good photos of them before they darken up.
> 
> I love that your wife got tagged in --- sometimes when they're little you _really_ just need a break. every morning my cereal would get soggy before I could even get to it because lua needed so much attention.


Thanks Emily, I call him my handsome devil. With his wrinkles, blue green eyes and his funny moaning talking voice he uses he has sneaked his way into our hearts. He does need lots of Attention. I actually forgot to even eat breakfast today till my wife said something to me. I did ignore him this morning while I made a rather large pot of coffee. When he was calm and stoped whining I would reward with a treat and some kisses. Pictures have not been a problem. Every time I turn around he is being cute :


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

Dexters mom, I was wondering if it was a dominance thing. I have been distracting him or moving him from my lap or giving a new toy to snap him out of it. Is it him showing that he thinks he is alpha or trying to establish? Should I be doing anything different to make sure he knows his people at alpha? Or is this a normal puppy thing and carry on as I have been


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

Daul77 said:


> I have been distracting him or moving him from my lap or giving a new toy to snap him out of it.


I think it's just a normal puppy thing, I would do exactly what you're doing. Dexter didn't discover humping until about 4 months, but we would always just make our sound of disapproval "eh eh" and try to distract him so he'd doing something else. He never humped us though, always his bed or stuffed animals, which we didn't encourage. He grew out of it easily.



Daul77 said:


> emilycn said:
> 
> 
> > it's hard to be mad at them for getting you up to play --- they're just too stinking cute for humans' own good. His eyes are gorgeous right now! Try to get some good photos of them before they darken up.
> ...


Clearly, I am doing something wrong  I hardly ever get dinner these days b/c Dexter keeps me too busy!


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## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

[/quote]
I actually forgot to even eat breakfast today till my wife said something to me.
[/quote]
[/quote]
Clearly, I am doing something wrong  I hardly ever get dinner these days b/c Dexter keeps me too busy!
[/quote]

Lua's attention hogging mostly took it's toll on my research and writing productivity. Since she's been crated more often in the last couple weeks she's been in heat, I was able to bang out most of my prelim exam. That paper was a monstrous project---82 pages and 182 citations. It really made me realize how much of a time-sink she is!

But for the most part, I think I just got lucky with the right litter and my breeder's good advice---when it came time to pick a puppy, I told him that I just wanted a good pal, and he suggested the puppy that came to be Lua. He was spot-on. 

I'm curious... How did you guys pick your pups? If your breeder made the choice for you, what qualities did you say you were looking for? Do you think the breeder was right? 

Also, what is your one, puppy-free, uninterrupted me-time? It's interesting how that changes as they grow---when Lua was around your pup's age Daul77, my me-time was when one of Lua's Aunties (my two roommates) would take over play time so that I could take a shower. Now at 10.5 months, the only me-time I get is when Lua's crated so that I can get some work done. Otherwise, she does this whenever we're home:


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

@emilycn - since you asked...I love sharing the story of how we picked Bristol. My mom had passed away the end of November. Two days after her funeral, my grandpa was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer and was living on borrowed time. A month after that, we ended up putting our old dog to sleep due to dementia. Life was a little crazy and a lot of sad in our world. I happened to be browsing the "for sale" part of the paper and came across an ad for vizlas. I knew if I was going to bring another dog into the house, she had to be a hunter. I called the lady right away and went to look at the pups that night. This is how I chose her - when I got there, she had owls on her collar. My mom used to collect owls so I took that as a sign. Then I stood there all teary eyed in front of a bunch of strangers. My husband was less than thrilled about the whole thing. When he got home that weekend, we drove out to see the pups again. He liked a different one better. I held firm with the little owl-collared girl. It turns out the pup he wanted had an umbilical hernia that they found at her puppy wellness check.


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

@emilycn - I think Dexter is such a handful for us because he's crated for a good portion of the day (both my husband and I work full time, and my husband is a surgical resident so "full time" is more like "all the time"). We have a dog walker, but that hardly takes care of his energy. So we miss pretty much all his "down time" during the week and it's "go, go, go" when we're home. On weekends or if my husband is home in the evenings so we can trade off, it's so much easier. We also don't have a fenced yard at the moment, so exercising = being outside and on the go. Now, if only Dexter could grasp the whole we-can-sleep-in-because-it's-the-weekend thing 

@Daul77 - So did you pick a name yet?!


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## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

dextersmom said:


> both my husband and I work full time, and my husband is a surgical resident so "full time" is more like "all the time"


Oy vey! Major kudos to you guys for keeping a healthy and happy V with that schedule! I'm not sure I could do it... Y'all ought to train Dexter to give you guys a pat on the back --- you certainly deserve it!


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

LOL thank you. He does go to daycare at least once a week which is essential for our sanity


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

We had second male in the litter. There was only 3 males so when we went to choose there were only 2. One was less rambunctious, more sweet and calm. When we held him or when I flipped him on his back in my lap he would just be very calm. He wasn't shy or skittish, more shore of the world maybe. The other male was very jumpy in your face and all over. I want a dog that's not alpha and not a wallflower and he is right in the middle which is nice. Dextersmom, we did name him! I had a dream a couple days before he was called Tucker. We added that name to the list. It wasn't my first choice, but the girls ( my wife and daughter ) really like it. We have been calling him Tucker and it fits him very nicely! So we settled on Tucker or Tuck for short. 
I couldn't imagine having that schedule with our dog! I'm already scared of how it's going to go with him by himself in the kennel for 3:30 - 4:00hrs at a time when we go back to work Wednesday. He has been excellent so far. Spent all night last night in the bedroom kennel. A little whiny for about 5 min or so then laid down in protest and slept. I did get him up once for potty, I woke him up I think he might have slept through though. It was nice to sleep till 5 am this morning. ???
Meandmy3, that's a great story. So glad you got the pup you are supposed to have ;D


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

Daul77 said:


> We have been calling him Tucker and it fits him very nicely! So we settled on Tucker or Tuck for short.
> I couldn't imagine having that schedule with our dog! I'm already scared of how it's going to go with him by himself in the kennel for 3:30 - 4:00hrs at a time when we go back to work Wednesday. He has been excellent so far. Spent all night last night in the bedroom kennel. A little whiny for about 5 min or so then laid down in protest and slept.


I love the name Tucker! Great name for such a cute pup!

I did take off work for the first week or two we had our pup and my husband was actually on nights for about 6 weeks then. So he was never home alone... but that also meant neither of us got any sleep! You're a lot farther ahead with the crate training than we were if he didn't throw a fit and slept most of the night for you. Sound like you picked a wonderful little guy


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

I love the name Tucker! Great name for such a cute pup!

I did take off work for the first week or two we had our pup and my husband was actually on nights for about 6 weeks then. So he was never home alone... but that also meant neither of us got any sleep! You're a lot farther ahead with the crate training than we were if he didn't throw a fit and slept most of the night for you. Sound like you picked a wonderful little guy 
[/quote]
Thanks dextersmom. I have been wanting to post about how amazed we are with this little guy. Potty training no problem. He even sits and waits for me to go through the doorway first! Crate training is going pretty good. We have been doing lots of work there though. He knows if I say sit he gets treats and comes almost all the time. Unless he sees a really interesting stick or leaf. Which he will point on. It's so cute. Really it makes me love him so much more because I really think he just wants to make us happy so he does the stuff he doesn't really like to do, like sleep in the crate with the door closed. Our mantra is must be strong, as we look at each other with the awl look on our faces when he cries to come out cause he just wants to snuggle.


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

Thought you might find this interesting!

http://dogcare.dailypuppy.com/mean-...s&utm_content=Humping&utm_campaign=Photoshare

I would say Dexter's humping was from being "simultaneously happy and bewildered" =)


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

I was wondering that myself. The more I watch for this the more I see he only does it when he gets the crazies from being really tired. Usually the last 10 or 15 min before he crashes he gets kinda crazy really chewing, running around from toy to toy and climbing all over my lap is when I notice the humping.


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## rkbetz (Apr 4, 2014)

Our pup is now 11 weeks old and it has definitely been an adjustment to say the least. She was a pretty rockstar crate trainer. Most days we only have her in her crate for 2 to 3 hours in the morning and about 2 to 3 hours in the afternoon. Once my husband is done with his substitute bus driving stint she won't be in there but at night or when we leave the house. She seems to have gotten into a napping routine when she goes in the crate (that and a bit of peanut butter in the kong toy). 

When she goes to sleep at night we are still setting the alarm for about 4 hours after bedtime to wake up and take her potty. There were a few times that we tried to not set the alarm but she went potty in her crate and we don't want to encourage that habit. Not sure at what age they can make it through the night without a potty break.

Our biggest issues right now are the wild shark attacks, chewing on everything, and potty training during the day. I thought we were starting to see the glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel for potty training but it isn't looking like it yet.


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

I hear you RK. Our guy was doing good with potty training. Went to the door today and whimpered so I took him out. He just proceeded to run everywhere so I brought him back in. Big mistake. He did have to pee afterall, right on the carpet. Then about 3 min later he goes back to the door and whimpered I was so angry but I took him out anyway. He sniffed around a bit then 
Pooed. So he was giving me the signal I just didn't give him the time since he just was running around before peeing. Crate is going ok. He slept through last night but he had a huge day. He went to the farmers market the pet store then we had companie then we went to a friends house and he and their 1 year old lab played for about 2 hours in the yard. We got back and took him to potty at 11 and slept till 6. If he is in the crate with the door closed with us home he does get a little whiney, not howling or barking though. After a bit he will settle down and lay down. Sometimes he will stur a little and start whining quietly for a little bit. We have been giving him treats when he is in there and quiet and sometimes I throw food or treats in there and he will go and look for food in there. He is only 8 weeks so I think he is doing good so far. It has been a real big adjustment fore me too. I am so worried all the time about when he gets older because whenever he is awake he demands almost all of your attention. I don't want that to sound bad or like no duh, just that it's so different from before. I'm sure once he gets a little older and we get the routine down it'll get back to more normal. As right now it's hard to even get ready for work. He's been good with not chewing on stuff besides his toys. The shark attacks really haven't happened either. So that might come in a few weeks though.


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## rkbetz (Apr 4, 2014)

I completely understand! I felt like we had a newborn baby again. Takes longer to get ready and out of the house. It is exhausting. In the evenings she can go potty every 5 minutes. Go out, go potty, come back in and squat right on the floor. I swear she will probably be jumpy in that every time she even starts smelling around (just because that's what she does) we are picking her up or asking her to come out and go potty.


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## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

Daul, the neediness will get better with time. Lua finally stopped being a Super Needy Time-Sink around 10 months. Another friend noticed her V getting progressively calmer starting around 8 months. You've got a while until then, though  If no one is around to entertain Tucker, I found that devoting an hour or so to Lua in the morning and then crating her while I got ready or did some work worked well for us.


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## aliciavp (Mar 14, 2014)

Hi guys,

Better days are on the horizon... but then, there's other things to deal with instead. Lazlo is now 4 months old, he's got potty training pretty good - except when I take too long to carry him downstairs, or if he tries to go downstairs himself and can't quite hold his bladder on the way down, he ends up either peeing on the floorboards or peeing on most of the carpeted steps on the way down. Funny now but not so funny when cleaning it...

Shark attacks are better, much, much better. BUT not yet gone completely. Same with zoomies. 

He still pulls on the lead, and at 12kg now, and due to triple in size, I expect controlling him to be a huge effort.

Crate training really well. Laz goes in without much of a peep, and will sleep about 10 hours if we let him, but we've had to put the crate in a small room (toilet) overnight because he's chewed through the zipper of his soft crate.

He's used to being at home alone whilst we both work full time, and enjoys his two walks plus off-leash time on the ovals/dog park.

He still demands attention, he eats up so much of my time (and my stockings) when I get ready in the mornings. I've taken to cycling to work and getting ready there... I spend more training time with him instead of getting ready at home, and then can quickly organise myself at work... i think we both win here! 

To give you a nice idea... last night I fed him and proceeded to make my own dinner. He didn't bother eating all of his food and in the time span of two minutes: followed me around the kitchen to see if i would give up chicken necks, when he realised I wouldn't, he decided to pace around the living area, jumped on the couch a couple times before peeing under the dining table. Then my dinner burnt whilst I was cleaning his pee. 

However, then he calmly cuddled on the couch with us for a couple hours before bed time.


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

Glad to hear Alicia! I would love to get 10 hours of sleep!
Glad were not the only ones cleaning pee either 
Granted Tucker is only 8 weeks. He has good moments where he will go to the door or get your attention but he has bad moments too. Usually when he has the zoomies or when he is pulling his crate blanket all over the floor he will just stop all the sudden and realize he has to pee. Then proceeds to squat 
We bought a gentle leader that we tried out today. It worked pretty well when he wasn't trying to remove it from his muzzle. About halfway through our walk ( which was just around the block) he started to settle in and walk beside me. Have you looked into the gentle leader? I bought one after other members here have recommended them and some friends of ours have recommended it as well.


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

Ah, Dexter used to pee every time he got the zoomies. He'd run laps and always end up stopping and peeing on our leather ottoman  It was like clockwork. We were never able to catch him quickly enough to stop him - until we discovered that opening the freezer door got him to run over there for an ice cube! Thankfully it was a lot easier to clean than the couch, but it's probably the one piece of furniture that will go after we're done with puppies. 

@aliciavp - Check out the Easy Walk harness. It's a no-pull design and it works wonders. We started Dexter in it at about 4 months. But if you start using it, really be ready to work on "heel." Otherwise they can get used to pulling in the harness too. I think there's another one called the Freedom Harness that some people prefer. The gentle leader is great as well if your dog will tolerate it on his face. I think that works well to correct jumping too, whereas the harnesses aren't quite as helpful for that.


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## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

I started slow with the gentle leader. Just having him stick his nose through for a treat then worked up to leaving on his muzzle till he finished his treat. This helped a little but it took some walk time to settle him into it.


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## aliciavp (Mar 14, 2014)

Thanks guys, we do have a problem with jumping, he loves humans so much - but i'm sure they all don't love him, especially children. I think i'll order the gentle leader and see how i go with that


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## Stigeweard (Apr 30, 2014)

stockings? wut.. who wears stockings? 

Also. Vi best puppy name ever


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## aliciavp (Mar 14, 2014)

Stigeweard said:


> stockings? wut.. who wears stockings?
> 
> Also. Vi best puppy name ever


HAHA, I work in a corporate environment, so one must do the necessary. Getting them on with Lazlo in the room though = ripped stockings. At $13 AUD each it's better just to get ready at work!


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## Stigeweard (Apr 30, 2014)

aliciavp said:


> Stigeweard said:
> 
> 
> > stockings? wut.. who wears stockings?
> ...


Ouch, fair enough.

I haven't gotten my pup yet (so feel free to completely ignore everything I write after this point --> . ) but from what I've been reading/watching it seems that when they're in the bitey mood that offering a game of tug or food stuffed chew toy will help to reinforce the proper chewing outlets. 

As for the pulling on the lead; what techniques have you tried to curb this behavior? 
I have heard of: 
1 - Changing direction every time there's tension
2 - Keeping treats at your side so that they want to stay by you and occasionally rewarding them until you can cut them out altogether

Wondering if you or anyone else has tried these or anything different and whether or not they were effective.


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