Hi Corinna welcome aboard! To post a new topic, look on the left hand side of your screen for the post new topic link. You must be so excited about getting your new Saint. I have three children similar in age to you (3, 2 and 1) and our Saint pup Gershwin is 15 weeks old. He is our second Saint and although personalities differ, there are some traits that are common for all well-bred Saints - they are wonderful with children, even temperment, sensitive to the tone of your voice and very affectionate. If you have a crate for your pup I would suggest that you train him/her to use it right away. Although the kids will be dying to hold and play with your little one, he will need a lot of sleep the first few weeks (18 hours a day) because they do a lot of growing while they sleep. The morning routine I used for my pups from eight weeks until 100% housebroken (four - five months) is as follows:
- up at 6am and let the pup out to pee and poop (pick a phrase like "do your job" or "do your business" and chant it over and over again while they are doing it - they catch on very quick that when you say the phrase they are to do a pee or poop).
Back inside, I let the pup play in the kitchen while I prepare breakfast. I keep the little one in a puppy station, meaning they are on a leash tied to the patio door. This way, when I have to run in and out of the kitchen I can contain the little one.
6:30 - back out for a pee and then I pop the pup into his crate where he takes a nap while my little ones eat and play.
7:30 - back out for a pee and then inside for the pups breakfast. If it is hectic with the kids I feed the pup in his crate. I find my Saints will immediately go to sleep after eating.
8:30 - out for a pee and then the pup accompanies me with taking the kids to nursery school.
The rest of the day is spent playing sleeping and peeing. I find the mornings to be the most hectic with an unhousebroken puppy because of the chaos of getting the kids off to nurseryschool. Another suggestion I would make is cutting off the puppy's water by 8pm in the evening - they can sleep through the night easily if you do that. I do find that Saints drink a tonne of water during the day and this can be a challenge for housebreaking since what goes in must go out!
Best of luck with your new addition!