Golden Retrievers in Cyberspace / Goldentown Forum

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Golden Retrievers in Cyberspace / Goldentown Forum
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It's Macie...

So we've decided on her name; it's going to be Macie. She's doing great, but I'm pooped ! I forgot how much work this is. Woke me up at 1 to go potty then again at 6. I'm tired this morning. She has her first vet appt tonight at 6. We have her gated at night in the master bath for now, which is two arm lengths from the side of my bed. Plenty big enough for her. This is how we trained Haley, (didn't get her till 13 months, but she wasn't trained when we got her) She slept in there until she could be trusted to sleep out in living room or where ever she wanted.

She's doing everything I pretty much imagine a pup her age should be doing. One thing that alarms me is that she keeps picking up small rocks. We've had to take several out of her mouth. Also, we've never crate trained before. She doesn't mind going in the crate but after a bit, she cries. I read that you should make it an appealing place for her. Even put food and water in there. Is that right? I'd appreciate any tips from you guys, since I know you all have a lot of experience with this.

Open for any and all advice

Carol

Re: It's Macie...

We never put anything in the crate except water. Bedding was always chewed to smitherines. Rubber toys maybe. You have to ignore her protests or she will have you trained in no time :)
Never put her in the crate with a collar on, it could get caught and strangle her.
Good luck and have fun with that pretty bundle of white gold.
Leann in RI

Re: It's Macie...

Ah Carol, the joys of babyhood Macie's a darling name for an adorable pup. You can absolutely feed her in her crate so she associates it with good things. Periodically throw in a couple of treats during the day, close the door for a minute or two and then open it and walk away. Some puppies will destroy the bedding at her age; some are snugglers and want a bed, old quilt, towels, whatever. If it's a large crate, you may want to use the divider until she's reliably toilet trained, since the smaller the space, the less likely she is to soil where she sleeps. Do not ever open the door if she's whining and crying. Wait until a few seconds of quiet before letting her out, otherwise you are fully trained to respond to hissy fits
If you're home during the day, put her in the crate for ten or fifteen minutes with the door closed and leave the room. Go vacuum or something. Let her out after a short period of time of no crying and don't make a big fuss about greeting her. That will teach her that you will always return and that the crate doesn't mean you're leaving, an important aspect of preventing separation anxiety. Hope you get loads of sleep tonight!!!

Re: It's Macie...

I love the name Macie...sooo cute!
I did not use a crate with my first golden, Mollie but I did with my current golden, Lucy. It was GReat. We never left her home alone in it but did use it in the beginning for night sleeping and off and on for "rest" time during the day. The very first night she cried when we put her in but I tapped on the top of the crate (which was right by the side of my bed) and said "quiet". That was first and last time she cried when going in the crate. It was perfect and kept her safe during the night (sounds like your setup in the bathroom is similar to that of a crate). Now at a year and a half, she is "free" at night. The crate is now in the garage and not used any longer but for the first few months, it made life much easier.

Have fun with Macie and enjoy the puppy times because they fly by too quickly.

Linda

Re: It's Macie...

I love the name Macie. It sounds like she is doing really well! I emailed you some info. One thing that will be helpful is to teach her very early to let you take things out of her mouth, and even drop them on command, in exchange for a treat. Trapper was 5 when I got him and to this day, if he gets something he really wants, it's almost impossible to get him to release it. I wish he had learned this.

We are anxious to see some recent pictures. Please send some when you can.
Debbie

Re: It's Macie...

We love using the crate especially for nighttime. Both RB Honey and Minnie were crate trained and except for a few isolated incidents, they slept through the night. They always get a treat when they go in for the night. Minnie still complains, but I ignore her, and I really think it's about getting comfortable as mic has wanting to get out. The only time she really carried on was when she had a bladder infection.. Good reason, I think!


Would love to see more pictures of Miss Macie!

Trish, Abby and Minnie

Re: It's Macie...

It's been so long since Molly was a pup that I forgot some of the crate training tips. She was the only pup we crate trained and it made life easier, for sure. We put a light wt cover over the crate at night, which Molly seemed to like. In fact, once she got bigger and we no longer covered it, Molly wouldn't go in it if there wasn't something on the top. The crate was in our office so we put a book on top to satisfy her. During the day, when we were home, we'd leave the crate door open and we'd often find her napping in it. We never used the crate for punishment and she wasn't closed in it for long periods of time--the longest was at night. When I worked p.t., and Molly was still small, my mom would come over mid-morning and take her outside for a few minutes, and play with her.
We always thought crate training was abusing the dog. Actually, most seem to feel it's their cave, or safe spot.
Looking forward to seeing more pictures of Macie and hearing about her adventures.

Marcy

Re: It's Macie...

Love the name Macie!!!

I don't think I could go through puppyhood again so good luck with that!!! It's a trying six months or so but its remarkable how it all settles out in the end, particularly if you're doing the "right" things consistently through puppyhood.

Sounds like everyone has given you good advice above.

Best wishes.

Rick C
www.goldentales.ca

Re: It's Macie...

Thanks so much for all the excellent advice. I've taken bits and pieces of all of it and will work more diligently on the crate training. Having had goldens for 18 years, you learn from mistakes you've made and there certainly are a few things we want to avoid with Miss Macie ! (Did I tell you all that it's really that Macy's is my favorite department store, LOL it's the truth)

She had her first vet visit last night, which went well. She weighs in at 13.2 lbs. The doc said she looked good! And she's really starting to become comfortable in our home now. She's loves the yard and she loves laying on the patio. And she really loves her toys, it's so funny to watch her. Taking tons of pictures. I'll send some to Deb and hopefully she'll post them for me.
Thanks again everyone. Ahhhh, a golden in the house again, and suddenly all seems well

Re: It's Macie...

Carol, you summed it up with "a golden in the house again and all seems well"! So good to hear that Macie (funny about Macy's) is settling in nicely and enjoying her new lot in life Finn says you should make lots of treats for her. It's his only advice other than to remember 100 belly rubs a day is a requirement!

Re: It's Macie...

She is definitely a keeper! It's cute to read how much she likes her toys. Love seeing her pictures.

Cheers,
Phyllis L.
Ralphie & Hannah-the Corgi

Re: It's Macie...

I love the name!! I don't have any crating advice as I didn't crate train Faith, but really wish I had, so I think you are wise to be doing so. Sounds like you have alot of good advice above.

It's the weekend so hopefully you can catch up on some sleep!

Looking forward to seeing more pictures of the little one!

Sandra, Faith & Gemma