Thinking of getting a puppy. Advice please.

[Beth&Cleo]

Hi,
After a pretty terrible experience with a puppy (he was PTS about a year ago due to mental health problems, he couldn't go for walks, he couldn't leave the house, he'd try to kill my other dog regularly, he'd often go for my face or throat randomly.. it was no life for him, you could tell he was horribly unhappy, it was no life for a dog )

Anyway, I'd love to get another puppy but want to avoid the trauma we had last time so this time I'm going in with my eyes open.
Obviously I will need to go to a reputable breeder, I would love a terrier type to come down to the stables with me etc. (Almost every horse and dog owner I know has a terrier lol )

Once it was fully vaccinated I'd start socialising him with horses (to be on the safe side) both my horses are excellent with dogs, so what would be the best way of going about it?

Also I am thinking of attending puppy training classes to socialise him and get professional help (not that that would have made our last situation any different )

Was thinking of crating him overnight, downstairs, does that sound ok? If I did that he wouldn't need the crate for the rest of his life would he? (Sorry if I sound dumb, just I don't know much about crate training)

Also would clicker training him be ok? I have done it with my rabbits and I know people do it with other animals.

Also, regarding the rabbits, I know terriers are usually bred to kill small animals, they are kept in very secure cages so it shouldn't be a problem but if brought up correctly would it lessen it's instinct to kill them?

sorry for the potentially dumb sounding questions

x

 

[CorvusCorax]

Sorry to hear about your pup but sounds like you did the right thing.

You could consider a pup out of a rescue (Cayla has two terriers in! And is also a good person to ask about crate training) or if you have an idea of breed/type/mix in your head, then people could better advise on what to look out for as regards upbringing, health testing etc.

Classes are great, clicker training works for a lot of people and dogs brought up with small pets usually have no inclination to kill them

With horses, on lead introductions, lots of rewards for passive behaviour and ignoring or admonishing chasing and excitable behaviour but just watch they don't get trodden on!

All good sensible questions and you sound like a good owner.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Bumping this up for Beth. She is a very caring owner of another dog already-post some pics, girl!

 

[threeponies]

This is my first post in dogs section, so hello! We recently got a Patterdale terrier puppy and have a house rabbit and three cats, puppy was very interested in rabbit as a form of transport, actually sitting on her back (is quite a big rabbit) but now she ignores rabbit even when rabbit is running around. We took her to puppy classes and do clicker training with her and she is coming along nicely, she does occassionally chase the cats if they run but does leave them when told. She doesn't mind the horses unless they come towards her quickly but she is only little so that's understandable!

 

[Booboos]

So sorry to hear about your puppy, what a terrible story!

Horses: introduce the puppy to the horses early on, in a controlled manner, e.g. when everyone is calm and making sure neither animal can get hurt. As you teach commands like recall and heel, you can then re-inforce them around the horses. It's also useful to teach a dog never to cross the fence boundary into the horse fields.

Puppy classes are great fun and very useful! I am a big fan of clicker training, but there are many different approaches out there. Speak to a couple of trainers local to you about their training techniques and go watch a class before you decide, but if you have used clicker before with the rabbits, the principles are exactly the same and you should be able to transfer them to the puppy.

Crates are a godsend! There are quite a few threads on them here, but the basics are that the crate is not a punishment so allow the puppy to explore and take possession of the crate, introduce slowly, don't leave the puppy in the crate for too long. Crates make house training a lot simpler. Older dogs can easily be trained away from the crate, but it's always worth keeping it for house moves, going on holiday, in the car, etc.

Rabbits: I have had a house rabbit with dogs and cats and everyone got on fine. They were all introduced to each other as youngsters and the dogs accepted the rabbit as part of the family. Having said that I had dogs with very low hunting instincts, terriers are, unfortunately, naturally very focused on hunting. It might be safer to make sure the dog is never allowed access to the rabbits unsupervised and you may need to keep this up long term.

Just one thought: if you possibly can, put off getting the puppy till spring, house training in the middle of the winter is a nightmare!

 

[CAYLA]

I need to add a "meeting horses" to me puppy guide esp for HHO
I have a puppy guide if you would like a copy jsut PM me your e.mail addy, I also have terrier puppies they are finding the cats pretty exciting at the moment