new puppy blues?

Question
If we move the the country this summer I am getting a female lab retriever puppy and need help I am worried about....

How can I stop the puppy from barking when I leave the house for work? I am concerned because I don't want to agitate my parents.

How long would it take for the puppy to sleep through the night without needing a potty break?(at what age would this be?)

How do I get the puppy to go to sleep when we go to bed?...I Don't want to play with the puppy at 1-3-5 in the morning, But would like the puppy to sleep in or near my bed(I cant stand leaving a puppy whining all night in a crate)

At what age do I start basic obedience? would I do a class or at home?

How many times a day does my new girl need to eat?

And lastly do you know how much exercise to give a puppy? Walking/fetching ect ect? when will she be old enough to swim and do agility?

THANKS a mullion!

Answer
Some puppies sleep through the night from the beginning, but it could take up to three months to get to that stage. You should expect to at least get up ridiculously early for awhile. I suggest getting your puppy in the spring or early summer so you can get past this stage while it's reasonably warm outside because messing with boots & such at 5am in the winter is a pain! However, you can expect to have some minor housebreaking problems again the first time the snow falls because it can confuse dogs who are used to going on grass.

If your pup wakes you up in the night, take him out to potty (and give him a treat when he does) and put him right back in his crate and go back to bed. (Keep the puppy in the crate at night until she is reliably potty trained. After that you can let her still sleep in it- she may want to- but you don't have to close the door.) He may whine for awhile but unless it becomes panicky or he starts to harm himself you can ignore him and it should stop after a few days. Having a new puppy is like having a new baby in many ways! You can buy stuffed animals that have heartbeats and even heaters in them to give your puppy some comfort and you can also get DAP (Dog Appeasing Pheromone) from your vet (you can find it online for cheaper though) which smells like a mom dog to make your puppy feel more comfortable too. But just get it if you need to.

You can start basic obedience the day you bring your puppy home. Make sure that she has been with her mother until she was at least 8 weeks old so that she has learned what her mother can teach her about being a dog. It's a good idea to get your dog in a puppy class or to get her involved in puppy play groups so that she can continue to interact with other dogs and doesn't develop anxiety or aggression toward other dogs in the future. You can look on meetup.com for puppy play groups and also check out things like Camp BowWow where you can leave her for the day or just a few hours. If there are behavior problems or you're having trouble with housebreaking, it's best to have a trainer come to your house so they can assess the situation in the environment your puppy is in. I work for Dog Training in Your Home and we have locations all over the country. Check out http://www.betterdog.com to see if we have a trainer near you.

Most vets recommend feeding a puppy three times a day until they are 4-6 months old, and then twice a day to a year. Adult dogs can usually be fed once a day depending on the breed. Talk to your vet about this when you take her for her puppy checkups.

I suggest walking any dog at least once a day for 30 minutes. Working breeds like shepherds, collies and beagles need more. Walks are also a good opportunity to practice obedience. You should train your puppy to walk nicely on a leash, to sit when you stop and to leave it and all of this can be practiced on your daily walks. Once you're pup has learned to come when called every time and to sit and stay reliably for 5 minutes, you can start taking her out to play ball or Frisbee, to go swimming, and agility. It's good to start a dog early on the agility equipment so that they're used to it. The tunnel and the teeter totter often give dogs problems, especially older dogs. You can start teaching fetch right away with a small ball in your living room or back yard. Commands associated with fetch like "Wait", "Go Get it" and "Drop it" will prove very useful in many aspects of your dog's life. For swimming, you may want to start with a kiddie pool to get the pup used to the water- and you can do this from day one- many dogs appreciate a kiddie pool in the hot summer months anyway. Just make sure you start out with shallower water and gradually get deeper based on the pup's comfort level. Most dogs instinctively know how to swim, it's just a matter of whether they want to.