From: srlee@beta.lanl.gov (Stephen R Lee)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
Subject: Re: New Puppy - Need Advice!!
Date: 2 Sep 92 22:25:10 GMT
Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory

In article <12710@almond.rl.ac.uk> ines@inf.rl.ac.uk (Ines Day) writes:
>In article <1992Aug26.224604.13772@gateway.ssf-sys.DHL.COM> cmoussav@ssf-sys.DHL.COM (Carla Moussavi) writes:
>
>>  I just got a puppy, 12 weeks old, female, shepard/lab mix. My husband
>> and I work all day, and I need advice about the following things:
>

[Ines' nasty remark deleted]

>>1. Is it necessary to get another puppy to keep her from being lonely?
>>

[nasty, inflamatory remark deleted]

No, another puppy is not necessary.  All of us have, at one time or another,
had single dogs that had to spend time alone.  While the dog is this young,
it is best if you try and spend as much time with it during the day as possible.
For example, can you or your husband come home at lunch and play with the pup?
Perhaps one of you can take a little time off of work and spend some time
with the pup, and help it settle in.  Your dog will eventually settle in to
your routine, but it takes time.  With a pup this young, it is particularly
important to bond with it.  Failure to do this will cause lots of problems
later on.

>>   If not, what can I do to keep her happy during the day? She's outside
>>   during the day - any good toys I should buy her?
>

[yet another un-useful, spiteful remark deleted]

There are a lot of things you can do.  Some of them are mentioned in the
FAQ (see below), and some are mentioned in the excellent book _How to Be
Your Dogs Best Friend_, by the Monks of New Skete.  I recomend that you
buy and read this book.  If you prefer, your local library should have
a copy.  This book covers a great many details that you will undoubtedly
have questions about (in addition to the things you have mentioned thus
far).  This book mentions, among other things, setting up a playground
for your pooch.  Most dogs love toys, and for a pup, I would recomend
some puppy nylabones and nylafloss.

>
>>
>>2. How can I train her to go to the bathroom in a specific area of the
>>  backyard? 
>

[still another nasty moronic remark deleted]

No short answer to this, as I do not fully understand your situation.
The FAQ describes crate training, and one can use this method to train
a dog to go in a specific area.  However, I need more details as to
how and where you keep the dog, your schedule, and what you had in mind.

Remember that at this stage, your pup is very impressionable and needs to
bond with you and your husband well.  Therefore, it is imperetive that
you spend as much time as you can with the dog.  Lots of play.  Start
looking around in your area for a Kindergarten Puppy Training class so
that you can enroll once your pup is old enough.  This will help your pooch 
learn some manners, and will help socialize it to other dogs.

>-- 
>Ines Day                        JANET: ines@uk.ac.rl.inf
>Informatics Department          ARPA:  ines%inf.rl.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk
>Rutherford Appleton Laboratory  
>Chilton, Didcot, Oxon.          Tel: 0235-821900 ext 6190
>OX11 0QX, UK

Special remark to Ines.  Lighten up.  Insults and inflamatory remarks will
not help the situation.  The original poster asked for help, not for rude
remarks.  Your indignant insults will not alter the facts.  This poster has
a dog, and needs our help.  In my opinion, that is what this group is all
about.

To the original poster, I'm sorry you were flamed.  I hope mine, and other
remarks will help.  Feel free to post with additional questions or e-mail
me privately with some if you like.  All of us on r.p.d are not this mean-
spirited.  If you do e-mail me, include details as to what you would like
to do with the dog, where the dog spends the majority of its time, where 
the dog spends its time when you are home, and so on.  Not trying to be
nosey, but it really helps when one is trying to give advise or asses a
problem.

There is an FAQ for this group which I think you would find invaluable.
You can get it via anonymous FTP from pit-manager.mit.edu.  Under the directory
"/pub/usenet/news.answers/dogs-faq" you will find the FAQ, split into eight
parts.  If you can get them, let me know and I will e-mail them to you.  Reading
this plus the Monks book would really be a big help to you I think.

Hope this helps.

-- 
============================================================
Stephen R. Lee                 | 
OooWoo Racing Kennel           | I'd rather be driving sled
E-Mail: srlee@beta.lanl.gov    | dogs.