[Ladygrey]

Ok thankyou, maybe I could use a kong with food inside?

My last dog was never like an ordinary puppy at all, he didnt chew apart from the first month, he was house trained in 5 days and acted like a grown up dog after 6 months old, he would never ever play with or touch a kong or any "chew" toy and would sleep all night on the end of my bed without stirring,
so I suppose I just must not expect my next puppy to be the same even though the breeds are very similar

[Backinwellies]

Thoroughly recommend a crate ..... put Kong in with puppy to keep it amused.  Leaving it with run of down stairs of house for even a few minutes will probably lead to disaster.................. my one year old is at this moment chewing  a large log by my feet and trying to get me to play too!  She is crated at night  and occasionally in the day if I am to be out for a period (my chairs have many teeth marks!)   My previous dog chewed everything, opened doors got upstairs and trashed my daughters bedroom (curtains included) before I bought a crate ..... he took to it like a new home and as he grew out of having to be confined still 'hid' in it when he had done something he knew he shouldn't!

[doganjo]

Kongs are excellent except for breeds with very strong jaws - they can annihilate them    It should be fine for your pup.

You are right, all pups are different and this one will have it's own personality.  You are putting a lot of thought into this and that is very commendable.

If you have a nice big cage that will give the pup some freedom to move around  - or if you have plenty of space could you perhaps have a kennel and run outside where both dogs can see what is going on.

Was your other dog an older pup when you got him too?  At 5 months soem of his traits will be established, so you will need to work hard on bonding with you.

He's a lucky pup I think  - have fun with him.

[shygirl]

we got our lab at 4 mths old, he bonded instantly.
definitely watch cables, my gsd ate through my pc cable, and my laptop cable is half chewed. even the kitten has chewed through the mobile phone cable...lol.

is there a reason why you didnt want a younger pup? just curious.

[Ladygrey]

Ok well seeing as practically everyone here is recommending a crate then that may be what I end up using

My other dog was about 2 and half months old when I got him at the age of 14, however from the age of 13 we used to have many foster dogs in our house and I have had the experience of breeding 2 litters of puppies with my mum and her dogs, however these were shih tzus and I cant really relate them at all to many other breeds...

I wanted an older puppy as I thought that if would be more unfair to leave a younger puppy for a few hours of the day rather than when puppy is 7 months old.

This puppy will have someone with him constantly from when we pick him up untill mid january, my current dog is left alone for a few hours of the day in my little house, however it was either the way it is now or to be left with my parents and thier dogs.

I worked full time on a dairy farm solid for nearly two years, I came home at night when it wasnt harvest time, but during the day my dog ballooned from 10 to 15 kilos and became obese and started showing symptoms of arthritus, this was due to my parents method of feeding thier dogs, they will fill a massive bowl (maybe 2.5 kilo!) with dog kibble and 3 dogs pick off of this throughout the day!!! (the 3 dogs were my dog, a sheltie cross kelpie and a lurcher)

I could not convince my parents to feed the dogs in a different way at all, so when I moved out I took my dog Laddie with me, since leaving mid september, Laddie has gone from just under 15 kilos to 11.2!!

This has just been from 3 good long walks a day as well as running around the sheep everyday and 2 meals a day of a good dog food and the right amount he has just 1 more kilo to go before he is at a good weight, andddd.... any evidence of arthritis has vanished!!! and he has come off his medicine! he is a completely changed dog! when he is outside he is hyper and runs and runs and runs before needing to pant, he chases squirrels and birds and everything

So I know he is home alone for much of the day, but I believe it is farm better for him healthwise!

[doganjo]

I think you and Laddie and the new pup will do just fine 

[Mammyshaz]

My two dogs are alone 7-8 hours on Monday and Tuesday's. They are given a good run early in the morning and later evening. I've always been out full days for 20 years of keeping dogs. They learn the pattern. Even on days at home the dogs are kept to their morning and evening walk then settle for the rest of the day. They know no different.
Obviously as young pups they cannot be left that long but by 7-8 months they are relaxed during the day and can hold on for the toilet. It is done gradually from getting the pup home and giving morning and afternoon times in the cage to chew toys and settle for a sleep. At night they stay in it. As young pups they  come to work with me but are in the kennel until break times so again are used to not getting contact although people are constantly in the kennel area. By 3 months I'll leave them for an hour or two for shopping etc but they are so used to time out in their cage that they don't care. this time is gradually increased.
The cage becomes their territory and safe haven. Even now the dogs (and cat ) will go to bed in the cage through the day when I'm in.  They take their treats in to eat too.
I don't know how I ever coped without it.  Your Sheltie sounds a little mr Perfect as a pup     

[happygolucky]

WHen I clean out ours cages there are all sorts of treasures, usually sticks and bits of rubbish and teddies....although my dogs/pups are often more destructive if they know I am around and not paying them enough attention!!! today I got a solar panel for my fairy lights

[Ladygrey]

Well thankyou everyone for all of your advice!

Turns out that we brought puppy home with us yesterday this was very unexpected but we had no idea how calm and chilled he was going to be!

Out of the two puppies, the one we chose "Tully" came straight up to us, laid his head on our laps and stayed with us looking into our eyes for around 1 hour, he curled up at our feet and just wanted to be with us!
I prefered the other puppy looks wise as he was slightly smaller, however other puppy didnt pay us any attention whatsover, even when we went to go talk to him he wasnt interested at all.

So 1 hour car journey home and puppy drooled all over him self so that when we arrived home he was in need of a bath!! (as he STUNK)

Tully walks to heel already, is dead quiet, and so very good in the house! He is like a giant bear

He slept all through the night and then wined this morning, I took him out and he made a wee wee

Only problem is that I CANNOT get him to go up and down stairs, so at the moment I am carrying him up and down... :p

Also he is scared to walk in and out of doors!! took me ten mins to convince him to walk in a door and then ten mins to walk back out!!

He is such a sweety though and im sure that Tully and Laddie will soon be as thick as thieves

My crate is too small for him, so when my BF comes here on friday he will bring my bigger crate from home, in the mean time Im not sure if we need it yet but would be nice to use it anyway.

Im trying to up load some photos right now

[Ladygrey]

Laddie and Tully

[Ladygrey]

[happygolucky]

  ,  so cuddly looking and very good looking!!! 
 
We got in later on Sat so I was distracted cooking our tea and our pup did 2 wee's on the cream carpet and took the tub of Bicarb off the table and sprinkled it every where.......she then started chewing the table leg!!!!   

[Ladygrey]

Thankyou he is lovely and so soft

Haha oh dear 

The worst he had done so far has chewed my slipper.... that and he simply cannot go through or around a gate or style, and he is a little heavy for me to be carrying over them!

I want to change his food but I was only given 2-3 days worth of his old food anyway... my local pet shop doesnt stock what he is on, so could I switch him straight away or mix the two feeds together at first??

[happygolucky]

I always recommend mixing both foods, a little bit of new increasing to mostly new food, depending how sensitive the dogs stomach is and if the foods have similar proportions of ingredients,I know soon feed gives ours the runs, so keep to one hat suits, the better quality is more necessary as they are growing rapidly. our pup is too heavy for me as well and she refused to get out the back of outcry yesterday so I had to send my husband in .......Pups are o entertaining and you can see them learning new things daily

[Ladygrey]

Ok thankyou I will mix new food in with old food this evening and see what he thinks

Also his breeder only feeds the puppies one big pile of kibble in the morning and none the rest of the day? so I have split it into two as 400 grams of kibble in one go seems too much!

He has already figured how to open and close the bin lid... and put his paw on and open the bathroom door! Having a puppy's wooly head appear in the shower this morning was a slight shock!

I love having a puppy around again  I think he is the biggest puppy I have ever had! he should mature out at between 25-30kilo, no idea what he weighs at the moment, maybe 14-15, he isnt tooo heavy but his floppiness makes him hard to pick up!!

He is a love though