# Getting our Vizsla in 6 Days! Also a quick question!



## VizslaNewbies (Jun 10, 2011)

Hello Everyone! Sorry we haven't posted anything or replied to anyones messages lately. We've been super busy for the month of July and things are starting to simmer down. Anyways, we just a call from out a Breeder that our Puppy, is ready for pick up this Sunday. We've also decided to name him Dax...

Once we got the news, we went on a shopping craze and bought all the necessities for him... ofcourse we have all of you to thank us for helping us along the way of what we should purchase, etc etc.

Anyways, my girlfriend Marissa was wondering about one particular thing:

When Marissa & I are out working... we calculated that Dax will be home alone for 3-4 hours a day and she would like to know, if we should leave him food and water inside his crate, or just leave him water and feed him when either of us get home.

Thanks in advance for the advice and help yet again! 

Marissa & Omar... Vizsla Newbies... Soon to be OWNERS!


----------



## Macaroni (Jan 19, 2011)

Congrats...very exciting. 

In my opinion, when he's older yes you can leave food/water for him. However don't do so until 6-8 months, when he can hold his bladder sufficiently. You want to help him control his bladder and learn to not go in his crate. At his age they process everything (food/drink) very quickly, so he'lll need to go 20-30 minutes after eating/drinking. For the first few months, even w/o food/drink he'll have accidents in the 3-4 hour range so do all you can to help him learn.

They are picky eaters so don't feel sorry if he doens't eat all/any of his food sometimes before you leave. You can just add more to his next serving to compensate. That and he learns he needs to eat at schedued times, or he'll become a bit of a freelance eater. 

There's lots to it w/ puppies, but you'll figure it out as you go along. Enjoy!


----------



## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

I agree with the above post--at such a young age, you don't really need to leave food and water in his crate.

With Jasper, as long as I was going to be coming home at least once during the day, I restricted his water. I made sure it wasn't hot or anything at home, so it's not as though he was dying of thirst when I got there. I would just pull up his water about 30 minutes before leaving, take him out, and then crate him. When I would come home, I planned on being there for at least half an hour. Gave him access to water right away, potty before taking off, and then crate. Rinse and repeat!

Starting at about 5 months he could easily hold his bladder for about 7 hours, so I stopped coming home in the middle of the day and just left for work later and came home earlier. After a couple of weeks of this, I started leaving water in the crate with him (plus it was getting hot as summer was coming on). Now he can stay in there for just over 8 hours with access to water and no accidents.

But going for 3 hours without water isn't going to break him. Congrats on bring your boy home!


----------



## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Please don't take this the wrong way. You need to spent allot more time reading up on crate training. Raising this pup is a major commitment and getting it right the first time will help the pup and you both significantly. One thing I can tell you. I have raised many pups but never read enough about proper training. I still don't know half of what I should, and have read several books on training dogs and gun dogs in particular. To answer the question at hand specifically. Never leave a pup with food in the crate. Pickup the food 2 hours prior to crating and take the pup out just prior to crating. This routine is something all of us should do with our dogs throughout their life.


----------



## jaylena (Jun 13, 2011)

Congrats Marissa and Omar! From what I recall, you guys are getting an Onpoint pup right? Just curious as to who the parents are of your pup, as Gator might have the same dad 

Very good advice from the posts above. We restricted Gator's water and food when crating him and he hasn't had an accident in it at all. Mind you I do work fro home and do have the luxury of taking him out often, but he was able to hold for around 6hrs or so after the first 3 nights. We now have him trained to ring his "bell" which we hang next to the door if he wants to go out and potty! Not bad for a 14 week old!


----------



## Mischa (Feb 17, 2010)

Glad to hear you'll be picking him up soon!


As many have said, no food/water while crated, but something we found that helped Mischa like her crate more was feeding her in it while we were home. 
You put the food bowl in the crate and leave the door open to tell him that good things happen in there. ;D


----------



## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Mischa said:


> Glad to hear you'll be picking him up soon!
> 
> 
> As many have said, no food/water while crated, but something we found that helped Mischa like her crate more was feeding her in it while we were home.
> You put the food bowl in the crate and leave the door open to tell him that good things happen in there. ;D


Better to hide treats in rolled up and knotted towels in the crate and leave the actual food in the bowl on the other side of the room.


----------



## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

I hope y'all won't be leaving such a young pup crated for 4 hrs right away. Just my humble opinion, but I think that is too long regardless of whether or not Dax can physically hold his bladder.


----------



## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Congrats and good luck. 
First thing when U arrive home don't take the dog inside like we did. It will pee/poo the moment all four feet touch the ground. 
Take it into the back yard and place him/her on the spot you choose and always take dog to same spot until house trained.

Good times ahead.


----------



## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

The knotted towels are a popular recommendation on this forum, but use some vigilance with them. Savannah chewed the towel around the knot and then swallowed one of the knots whole when she was a puppy.


----------



## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

jld640 said:


> The knotted towels are a popular recommendation on this forum, but use some vigilance with them. Savannah chewed the towel around the knot and then swallowed one of the knots whole when she was a puppy.


A bath towel?  That must be one big pup!


----------



## VizslaNewbies (Jun 10, 2011)

kellygh said:


> I hope y'all won't be leaving such a young pup crated for 4 hrs right away. Just my humble opinion, but I think that is too long regardless of whether or not Dax can physically hold his bladder.


Hi there!  We've decided to take a couple days off to spend some time with him, when we get him this Sunday... however, like everyone else... bills need to be paid, and unfortunately the luxury of taking time off work for long periods of time isn't in our interest at the momment. But we can certainly assure you, that with the time we've taken off we'll make good use off it  



datacan said:


> Congrats and good luck.
> First thing when U arrive home don't take the dog inside like we did. It will pee/poo the moment all four feet touch the ground.
> Take it into the back yard and place him/her on the spot you choose and always take dog to same spot until house trained.
> 
> Good times ahead.


Hahaha. Thank you got the great advice  I'll make sure to remind Marissa abotu that as well because she has a better memory then I do. 



jaylena said:


> Congrats Marissa and Omar! From what I recall, you guys are getting an Onpoint pup right? Just curious as to who the parents are of your pup, as Gator might have the same dad
> 
> Very good advice from the posts above. We restricted Gator's water and food when crating him and he hasn't had an accident in it at all. Mind you I do work fro home and do have the luxury of taking him out often, but he was able to hold for around 6hrs or so after the first 3 nights. We now have him trained to ring his "bell" which we hang next to the door if he wants to go out and potty! Not bad for a 14 week old!


Hi JayLena  Yes, we're getting our Pup from OnPoint. The mother is Sweet Georgia Peach and the dad is Sammie aka Boner, haha. We should certainly schedule for a puppy date if you're around our area or if we happen to be travelling by. We reside in Ottawa. 

I believe you may have to tell me about how you got him to ring his 'bell'. Marissa has the same idea and she has experience with raising dogs more then I do... but any advice would be much appreciated. 



Linescreamer said:


> Please don't take this the wrong way. You need to spent allot more time reading up on crate training. Raising this pup is a major commitment and getting it right the first time will help the pup and you both significantly. One thing I can tell you. I have raised many pups but never read enough about proper training. I still don't know half of what I should, and have read several books on training dogs and gun dogs in particular. To answer the question at hand specifically. Never leave a pup with food in the crate. Pickup the food 2 hours prior to crating and take the pup out just prior to crating. This routine is something all of us should do with our dogs throughout their life.


I definitely agree that there's still a lot to learn, particularily for me as Marissa has had past experiences raising up dogs growing up so she certainly has more experience then me. I do realise it is a huge commitment, and for some reason Marissa seems to be reminding me off that as the days get closer which isn't helping my anxiety any better haha, but my mindset is still 100% there with being committed to having this new addition to the family.

-------

Thank you everyone for all the help and advice you've shared. I haven't posted pictures up lately, but once we get the camera connected to the PC we'll upload them in the Picture Thread of this forum.


----------

