Our new 7 week old BC

[BarkyBarkandtheFunkyBunch]

Our 1 Y/O BC mix Pandy needed a friend, so we picked this little one a few days ago. She's adjusting very well at this point even though we don't have a name picked out just yet. We have it narrowed down to Kenosha, Baily, Silverheels, Jackie or Shawnee. (Perhaps I'll do a poll?) Little puppy is 4.5 lbs and starting to come out of her shell, very playful and loves attention, Pandy has started to nurture the puppy. At what point should I start potty training? When she goes in her crate, she cries immediately and has been trying to go on her pads. It is rather cold here during winters though. 

[Lawgirl]

She looks more like a Jackie or a Shawnee to me.

Thank you very much, you have paid the puppy tax - for now!  She is a real cutie pie!  I look forward to seeing her grow.

I am afraid I do not have a lot of advice for toilet training in winter with snow.  Not something I see a lot of in Australia.  I suspect letting her out of the crate as soon as she goes in is a bad precedent to be setting though.

[GentleLake]

8 hours ago, BarkyBarkandtheFunkyBunch said:

At what point should I start potty training?

The minute you bring her home.

[ShellyF]

We brought ours home at 8 weeks. It took me some weeks to get him crate trained. I started with popping him in with a treat and the door open while I sat by the open door. After a few days I shut the door for a few moments and opened it again before he made any fuss. I just built it up like this. 

But all this time I was taking him out every hour or so during the day. At night I had a soft crate on a low table next to my side of the bed and had my hand through the zip for him to sniff. I didn’t stroke him when he whimpered but I let him snuggle my hand - which I removed when he nodded off. I carried him outside once in the night but he started to sleep through fairly quickly. He never soiled his bedding.

He was restricted to the two rooms we tend to live in during the day and we had minimal accidents. 

Good luck - he is sweet  

[jami74]

She is SO cute! And looks like Pandy has taken to her well.

Jackie was my initial favourite but then I realised it sounded similar to Pandy and wondered if it might cause a bit of confusion for the dogs, eg in noisy places or if someone is mumbling or if their hearing deteriorates when they are older. I like Shawnee best out of the others.

[Mandy1961]

Our puppy only went in his crate at night to sleep at first. Started trowing toys and balls in the daytime, but he only likes his blanket in there. I do put him in his crate when I go out, but make sure he is tired first. We started potty training on first day, although it was summer here and a lot easier. If you cannot take her outside, do you have a large play pen where you can put crate in, feeding bowls, toys etc and training pads, cover the whole area and reduce the pads one by one over a few weeks.

good luck, for me any easy name is best, especially when you use it hundreds of times a day!!

[Morley's Dad]

Great Pictures...Good Luck!

[D'Elle]

Puppy envy here!!

Start all kinds of training the same day you bring the puppy home. It is never too early to train the basics. I have seen 9 week old puppies who knew sit and down and stay and wait.  Just make sure that the training sessions are very short at first and with lots of play and reward and affection. Potty training is a must from the first day. You don't want her ever to get the idea that it is ok to potty indoors. Prevention is the best potty training method.