Big Paws Only Dog Forums

  well, yesterday was coopers first day of puppy school. we are just taking him to Petsmart so we didnt really have super high expectations. mostly we were hoping for socialization with other pups on a regular basis. so, the class starts and we find out there are only 2 other dogs in the class other than cooper. one is a boston terrier (which shook the entire class, i dont know whether it was cold or scared?), the other is a daschund. both owners of those dogs seemed to think that cooper, my 12 wk old golden retriever) was too big to play with their dogs. so for most of the class, the other 2 dogs played and poor cooper was left out. other than that though, the class went pretty well. the trainer gave us a "clicker" to use for training. i have heard (read)some good things about clickers. she also reccommended bell training for potty training. so we got a bell and have started using that.
  anybody here have any good/bad experiences with clicker and bell training? or any suggestions?
  next week are going to work on 'sit' and 'leave it'. cooper already knows how to sit but sometimes chooses not to! so, overall, puppy school is going well so far and we are excited about next week.
  has anybody else gone to the petsmart puppy/obedience training? if so, what do you think?

   hello everyone. i recently got a golden retriever puppy. he is 11 wks old now and adorable. my husband and i are already thinking about what kind of second dog we would like to add to our family once our golden pup, cooper is older.  we are considering several different kinds of breeds but my husband has always loved german shepherds. i am fairly new to them and am trying to learn some info about them. do you  guys think that a german shepherd would be a good choice of dog to go with our golden retriever? or are they too different? any info or advice would be great. thanks!

  hello everyone. i have a question that i am hoping that some of you might be able to give me some advice on. i have just recently gotten a golden retriever puppy. he is 9 weeks old today. my neighbors have 2 pit bulls. a 6 year old and a 4 month old. i admit that i have never been around pits before and know not much about them. i have heard all the stories about pits attacking other animals though. (i know there are countless pits that Never attack but you dont hear about those). my neighbors let their dogs run free in their yard. they dont have a fence and they dont chain up their dogs. so, whenever i try to put my dog, cooper, outside in our front yard (which is not fenced in) the neighbors pit comes running over. their 4 month old pit loves playing with cooper and cooper loves it also. so far they have played nicely...my concern however, is that something may one day happen. should i be worried or should i just let them play together? i have had some ppl tell me that i shouldnt let cooper play with pit bulls. i would rather my neighbor keep their dogs out of my yard, unless i invite the dogs over but i have yet to tell them that. i kind of assume since the young pit, monster, is only 4 months old (only 2 months older than cooper and not a lot larger)if they grow up playing together then there probably shouldnt be any problems but i am just not sure. anyone have any advice or suggestions? i do not want to offend pit bull owners i am just trying to protect my puppy and also educate myself more before i make any decisions about whether or not to let cooper play with him. i know i dont want him to play with their 6 year old pit because he seems to play too rough with the little pit bull and i think he would hurt cooper. i dont trust him. but the puppy pit bull is really cute and i would love cooper to have a friend to play with.
  thanks for any advice

  okay, i just got my 6 week old golden retriever. the breeder we got him from suggested we feed him iams, which is what she was feeding him. im not a big fan of iams, and know there is a lot better dog food than that. so, i got one bag of iams puppy food and when it is almost finished, i am going to start switching him to something else. i'd prefer solid gold but i cant find it where i live. so, my second choice is natural choice. what i am wondering though, is should i feed him puppy food for a while or go right to the large breed adult food? what are the pros and cons of feeding pup food and the pros and cons of feeding adult food, if there are any? i know that all the protein in pup food isnt good for large breed dogs but it my pup going to miss out on any needed nutrition if i skip the pup food?
  any advice would be appreciated. thanks.

okay, so i just talked to the breeder on the phone for the first time (we had been communicating via email). everything she said sounded good. she doesnt even require a deposit to reserve the pup i want. i just have to pay by the time the pup is 7 weeks old. i picked one out that i want but she said as the weeks go by and i see all the pics that i can switch to a different pup if i want to and if another one is available. which is good even though i am pretty sure i will stick with the one i already picked. she has a one year guarantee on the hips. and the parents have health clearances. and the pups will come with AKC papers. the only thing she did say which made me wonder is that she doesnt x-ray the puppys hips. does that sound right to you all? i dont really know much about it, this is my first time buying from a breeder so i want to be careful. i figure it is okay since the pups come with the 1 year hip guarantee but i want to be sure. everything else sounded great and i am all kinds of excited about bringing my pup home in 7 weeks!!! she also said that if at anytime i decide i dont want the dog anymore that instead of taking it to a shelter i can bring it back to her. which sounded good to me bcos she apparently really cares about the dogs and isnt just trying to make a quick buck. so thats good to know.

  i was wondering how long did it take you all to potty train your saints? i am getting a saint pup soon and am planning on crate training. are saints generally fast or slow to housetrain?
  THANKS,
 

   hello, i am currently wanting to get 2 saints. i was thinking 2 puppies but now i am thinking about a puppy and also a rescue saint who is older.  i am wondering which one should i get first, the pup or the rescue or does it matter?
   my only worry about getting an adult saint is if it isnt already obedience trained how hard is it going to be to train him when i get him? anybody have any experience with that?
   also, for a crate, what size should i get for the pup? all the ones i have seen a saint would outgrow in 6 months.
   thanks for any and all suggestions!