Questions about neutering and how to potty train

[Herd Fan]

Hello all! This is my first time posting here, so I'll start off with a little information about myself. My name is Belle and I live in southern Ohio. I am 22, a college student (Marshall University), and live with my parents when I'm not at school.

Long story short, we went to the local non-kill shelter looking for a dog and the two we had liked didn't really work out for us. As we were getting ready to leave, a couple, their daughter, and their granddaughter came in with a puppy they found in a Wal-Mart parking lot. They tried to find the owner or anyone who saw him being dropped off but had no luck. They were unable to keep him and they called everyone they knew to see if they would take him, but no one showed any interest. They decided to take him to the shelter, and from there it's history! The shelter offered to have him neutered, vaccinated, and micro-chipped as a member of the shelter so we wouldn't have to pay the vet fees to have it done (we ended up having to pay $30 for all of it).

Anyway, I was wonder just what to expect once he comes home (I'll be able to pick him up the afternoon of the surgery). I know the vet will go over all of it when I pick him up, but a little extra info and advice is always nice to have!

Also, I was wondering what would be the best way to go about potty training him. We don't have a crate (and most likely would want to avoid having to us one if possible but would be open minded if we had to), but we do have a large half-bath with linoleum flooring that would be suitable for him to stay in when no one can be home with him, so we were thinking puppy pads in that room until he's able to hold his bladder while every one's at work/school.

Any help and/or suggestion on ANYTHING would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!

Belle

[momto6tails]

Hi and welcome to PL

When he gets home he’s probably going to be alittle scared. Just make sure you and your family make him feel welcomed. Try taking him outside every 1 hr or when you get a chance also try using words like potty or outside while taking him to the door. He will soon learn that he needs to go potty outside!

[_Lisa_]

Welcome to PL! You're a kind person to adopt this dog! :)

When he gets home from being neutered he may be a bit sore & groggy, but otherwise will be fine. Just make sure to ask the vet what signs to look for that would require a visit back to the vet's office, or would require an emergency vet visit. There are two ways for neutering these days, so I'm not sure what to recommend you watch for-hopefully someone else around here will! :)

As for potty training, how old is this puppy? If he is very young he will need to go outside every hour or so, but the older he is the longer he can hold it. You should set a schedule for him to go out in regards to when he has eaten/had water. He will most likely need to potty within 15 minutes of eating/drinking, and if he does potty in your house by accident the best thing you can do is to catch him at it. Give a firm "no" and then instantly take him outside to finish up. Praise him verbally (or with a treat every now & then) when he potties outside so he knows that its good for him to pee out there.

I know you'd rather not crate him, but pups LOVE their crates when they are crate trained properly. Crates to dogs are their own little homes, a space that they don't have to share with anyone else. Both of my dogs were crate trained using this site:

www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html

Crate training should be as consistent as possible, and if done correctly the puppy will not potty in his crate & he will love to spend time in there (even when you are home!) Just be aware not to crate your pup for too long, or put him in a crate that is too small or too large. He should be able to stand up & turn around, no smaller or bigger.

I hope all goes well with your new pup & I hope our advice here helps. :)

[Herd Fan]

Sounds great so far! Thanks for the advice. We're estimating he's only about 12 weeks (but since he was a rescue they wanted to go ahead and neuter him before we brought him home, which was fine with us!), so we know we're going to have a long road ahead of us as far as potty training goes, but we want to do it right no matter how long it takes so that he has good habits from the start (but accidents will always happen...that's life!). Thanks again and keep the advice coming if you have more!

[wishbone]

You can start out good routine like schedules of eating meal, going outside, walk and play. Make happy events and yummy treats for him so he will feel safe and happy.

[DachshundDuo]

I had to check out this post when I saw your user name; I was hoping you'd put your location... We are VERY close neighbors! I also live in Southern Ohio (Gallipolis) and know exactly where Marshall University is!! WOW!

Congrats on your new puppy, by the way, and welcome to Petlovers!!

[Julia423]

Welcome.

In addition to what has already been said, there is some good advice regarding getting started with the potty training on this recent thread:

http://forums.petlovers.com/vb/showthread.php?t=36557

I particularly like the advice that Becky provided (Macawpower58)

Good luck and enjoy your new little addition!

What have you named him? Don't forget to come back with photos!

[Macawpower58]

Crates are a godsend! They keep the human sane, the house unsoiled and unchewes, give the pup a safe den, I can't say enough good about them. Just remember, they are never used for punishment. I always toss in a treat, and tell them good, when they crate up.

the advice is sound that the above posters offered.

If pup cries at first, buy ear plugs! Going to sooth him will teach him that he can train you to come. Tough it out.

Decide ahead of time what house rules you want. Ex: furniture, if as a grown dog, you don't want him getting it all hairy, start now be gently keeping him off. A good start, will stop problems down the road.

Congrats on your new baby, and welcome to petlovers.

Neutering is a simple procedure, and most likely by the next day, he'll be like nothing happened. Just follow any instructions the vet gives you.

A 12 week old pup will potty often, learn his signs of having to go, circling, sniffing, hunching, etc... An accident is a pup that is not watched closely enough, owner error, not pup error. That's a good rule to folllow. Never get angry, just vow to watch better.

12 week old pups will need to go out every 20 to 30 minutes (aprox.).
upon awakening
after play
after eating
before bed
and often inbetween!

It'll keep you on your toes.

[Kkye]

you can neuter a male pup at 12 weeks? maybe it's just me, but is that not too young? i was told at the shelter i got kye from that i have to wait until she's 6 months or older but she is a female so maybe things are different?

[theresa92841]

you can neuter a male pup at 12 weeks? maybe it's just me, but is that not too young? i was told at the shelter i got kye from that i have to wait until she's 6 months or older but she is a female so maybe things are different?

You can spay earlier than that. Different vets will give you different advice. Based on experience of development and growth and the type of breed. I spayed my Brussels Griffon at 4 months. She was only 5 lbs.

There are pros and cons for doing it earlier and for doing it later. I prefer to spay or neuter as early as possible.