# Bringing home our new baby soon...PUPPY QUESTIONS!



## UpstateV (Feb 28, 2013)

Hey everyone, I'm pretty new to this forum but have been lurking the threads for information . My boyfriend and I will be getting our puppy the last week in may or the first week in june. We are super excited!!!!! Neither of us have had dogs in our adult lives and neither of us want kids so this will be an adventure!! We picked a Vizsla because as I was doing research on breeds we found the V was going to best suit what we wanted a dog to do with us. We kayak, hike, mountain bike, go for walks, I run and we both workout and are very active. I wanted a dog not to big not to small and easy on the eyes and then I came across the Vizsla. It didn't take much convincing for my bf to be on board with the breed. I will of course go to training classes and will look into canine good citizen so we can take her as many places as possible.

Anyway I have a few initial questions...

Crate size? our breeder said 24x36. As I have been reading on here it seems like a lot of people went with larger ones. Will 24x36 be big enough?

Teaching them no biting?? Tips????
I've read the spray bottle of water, the ouch really loud ( it seemed like many people didn't have luck with that one), walking away and putting them in their crate or ignoring them until they calm down.

The breeder uses Purina pro-plan select turkey formula does anyone use this brand? I looked it up and I thought it was ok. We give our cats either blue, chicken soup for the soul, or innova brands and to me that seems higher quality then purina. If you do use this do you like it?
I also just emailed the breeder to see if she is going to include a feeding schedule for how much to feed her how many times a day and at what ages as I haven't really found that information with my searching.

It will either be memorial weekend or the weekend after that we bring her home. The breeder said she introduces the pups to water before they come home so I want to take her out in my kayak as soon as possible. I was thinking after her second shot would be a good time so like the beginning of July, or do you think it would be ok to take her out sooner? I have to get her a doggie life vest just in case and until she gets used to the kayak.

Also before she gets her second set of shot if I take her to pet stores I should carry her right?

And as far as outdoor activity is concerned how much is appropriate for what age? I'd like for her to eventually run with me and I want to make sure she won't hurt her joints if I try to do too much too soon with her.

Sorry if that was a bunch of rambling! I just want to make sure we are as best prepared as we can be. I'm worried of doing the wrong things and want her to be the best puppy I can help her be

Thanks for all the input!!


----------



## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

Welcome! Congrats on your little one! 

I recommend a bigger crate if you plan to leave your puppy in a crate beyond the potty training stages. They will be more comfortable if you are away for a few hours. A lot of crates are just built for an average size build, and Vizslas tend to be tall and they won't b able to extend their head up in many medium to large crates. 

There are many threads you can read about feeding schedules and types of food. If you change just make sure to do it gradually. 

I would wait until at least the second shot to take out in a kayak, and probably the third if risk of interacting with dogs that may not be up to date. We did not take ours to a pet store until second round of shots, but if you get your pup at 8 or 9 weeks it's only a short wait. 

To train not to bite, we cupped our hand over the top of the snout, and with our thumb and index finger squeezed his baby teeth gently into his lip, said "no", and gave him an appropriate chew object. We never had shark attacks and no issues with nipping us past the first few days. 

In regards to exercise, off leash is best while the puppy is young (of course after trained to come) so the puppy can regulate his own speed and tell you when tired. We let Miles start "running" with me off leash at 6 months. We stuck to soft surfaces and he was off his leash. If he walked, I walked so our runs were largely dictated by him in the early stages. I began leash running him right before a year old but again, only on soft surfaces. He never stopped, but if he did I would have! Now at 15 months he does 4-5 runs a week. At last 75% of all our miles are on beach or trail and we do as much off his lead as we can. At 18 months I will not stress as much about sticking to trail and maybe switch up our routes a little bit but we will probably always make an effort to make sure my running routine is safe for him. He runs about 25-35 miles a week with me right now on formal runs, but of course much much more if you account for all his dog beach and fetch time, and he probably runs more than I do on a run because he runs out and back the whole time. A big reason why we e collar trained him recently is so he can run safely off his leash to protect his joints from repetitive motion and speed. 

I rambled too.  congrats again!


----------



## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new pup! In case you can't find it, the search bar is just to the right and up. There is great info for all of your questions. 

Regarding kayaking, you may already plan to do this, but I think it's best if you introduce the pup to it long before you plan on taking it out and teach some useful commands. The sooner the better. A good method is to start with the kayak on the floor, stabilizing it so it can't move around. Let her sniff around it and praise her/give treats for doing so. Then introduce a command for getting into the kayak. It can be whatever word you want. You'll also want a release command, so she doesn't get out of the kayak whenever she feels like. Practice sitting in it with her, paddling, all that. Next step is to remove whatever you've stabilized it with, so it moves around, sort of like it will in water. Continue practicing the commands/actions and the first time on the water will go much better. Don't expect perfection, but the training can never start too early.

Good luck!


----------



## LifewithLouie (Jan 11, 2013)

I will comment on a couple things that caught my attention. You will want to socialize your puppy even before the second set of shots. When we took Louie to his puppy socials they said that pups should meet something like 100 people and 50 dogs before 16 weeks. You have to decide if it's more important to have a well socialized dog or keeping her isolated because she may get sick. That being said, try to be mindful of where you are socializing the pup.

The other thing that I wanted to comment on was the running. Our breeder suggested we not take him running until after he turned 1. This allows his bones to develop properly. Louie just turned one at the end of March and he is slowly being introduced to running on leash on the sidewalk.


----------



## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

This has been said in other threads, but I think it depends on what you consider "running". 

If you see running as the dog at a heel on a leash, I would wait 12-18 months for sure. 

But if you think about running off leash on a trail, you are merely following along in the running that they would do naturally. I think it's the best of both worlds. The puppy gets great off leash exercise, joints are safe because he's in control of pace and distance, and you get a nice workout too. 

I wouldn't stop a 6 year old kid from running and their growth plates and muscles are still developing too. I would also not force a 6 year old to come along on a marathon training program with me because their bodies are not ready for it. I see no problem in taking a 6 month old pup on the beach and running behind/ next to the puppy off leash. Once the pup stops or lags behind, run is over.


----------



## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

Crate size - ours is a 42" but our Vs ended up being on the small side so a 36" would be better. So keep in mind size of parents. 

No biting - depends on the dog and you might try a few things to determine what works. Our female is soft so a firm NO works on just about everything with her. Our male is stubborn and you have to follow the NO with ending play and ignoring until he settled. 

Feeding - again depends in the dog and your schedule. Our male did a lunch feeding for awhile but our female just wouldn't eat at lunch after a week or two. The brand of food will also depend on the dog. There's a reason you chose those other brands for your cats so start with those same reasons. But don't change the week you bring pup home. Breeder can probably spot you a few days or week's worth of food. 

Kayaking - I like the other suggestion in regards to training. I don't know where you live but keep in mind extreme heat is not good for a young pup. We couldn't do ANYTHING with Penny last summer because she was as young as yours will be and it was too hot for her. 

Running - I don't think I would run the pup for a year unless only short (15 min or so) times with mostly walking. 

Good luck, take lots of photos and enjoy puppyhood before it slips away!


----------



## UpstateV (Feb 28, 2013)

Thank you so much for responses everyone!!

SteelCityDozer-- You are right I chose those brands for the kitties because it had the best ingredients. Less byproducts and more whole real foods. I will probably switch our furbabies food when she gets a little older and has adjusted to her new home. My cats don't seem to care what food they get, they will eat any brand it seems, I just feel better feeding them the best I can find ;D
Also I live in Binghamton, it doesn't get that hot in the summer, we may have a few days of extreme heat but they don't last.

LifewithLouie-- I have friends whose dogs I know are up to date on shots and there are alot of parks we can walk her at to meet a lot of people at. If we were out I would just ask other dog owners before letting their dog near the pup if they are up to date on shots. I want to make sure I can have her meet as many new people and places as possible so she will be well socialized. As far as the pet store I may carry her though until she has her second set of shots. Just in case.

Einspanner-- I figured I set the kayak in the yard for her to sniff and get used to I didn't think of stabilizing it though so thank you for the tip!! I'm hoping it will be something she really enjoys because i know I love getting to go out. there are TONS of rivers and lakes near me to go in!

Milesmom-- Thank you so much!! I'll be posting some pictures when they are a little bigger. We get to go see them at 4weeks so I will take alot of pictures then as well. Right now they are only just under 2weeks old super cute of course


----------

