Need Puppy Help --Help!

I wanted to ask a huge favor of somebody in our TCS family who has raised a dog in a cat household from a puppy. We are having numerous issues with our cute, very spunky Sandy puppy.
We do have a trainer but at $50/hr it gets very expensive and she's already given us some good basic pointers to work on. So why ask here?
We can't go calling her for everything. But I wanted to ask some questions via PM to a member that might bring us some ideas and relief. We have voraciously read materials and it's just nice to supplement our learning curve from the trainer and books amd media with a real person's expertise and experience with this mixed breed or as close to it as possible. Sandy's papa was a big black lab (pure) and her mama was a border collie (pure). If I could ask about 10 questions via PM, I'd be grateful. Here's her latest photos taken Sunday for "vibes" Can anyone help me please? I'd be ever so grateful.

Awww, Sandy is so adorable!
You sound a bit overwhelmed Elizabeth! Hope you find your answers soon!

Eddie,

Our puppies are now ten months old and we got them when they were a few weeks old, and as you know we have cats so I could give the questions a go for you, if you want.

Sandys real cute.

Sam

This is so tough, Eddie. Sure hope you find the answers and this is all worked out soon.

I have a 125 lb pure bred lab who was raised with 2 cats inside. My dog is now outside for the most part (since he was 1 yr old) because he's just way to big to rough play in the house. He still comes in from time to time.

I'm not sure what kind of questions you have but I can try to help. PM me if you think my situation will help you!

Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

Eddie,

Our puppies are now ten months old and we got them when they were a few weeks old, and as you know we have cats so I could give the questions a go for you, if you want.

Sandys real cute.

Sam

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Yep, that's what I'm after, Sam. I will send you my questions, you are a super gal! Diane and Cat, I will also send you my questions....I wasn't seeking an attention overload, but I'll take whatever feedback you guys can give me. We called the trainer this morning and things were much better overnight. I like a calm house. And I kissed so much and told her how much I loved her and how good she had been. And then she got her kong full of cheese.

Wish I could help E! Good luck!!

Eddie, I may be able to help as I raised Cody from 6 weeks old and I think she had every puppy issue there is.

Originally Posted by dicknleah

Eddie, I may be able to help as I raised Cody from 6 weeks old and I think she had every puppy issue there is.

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oh goodness, Leah that would be wonderful. As soon as my office day is done, I will connect w/ya.

Oh Elizabeth, she's precious. I hope all of your questions are answered by someone. Sorry I have no experience.

Originally Posted by Kellyyfaber

Oh Elizabeth, she's precious. I hope all of your questions are answered by someone. Sorry I have no experience.

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Kelly, thank you so much! it's ok!

Do you have a Petsmart near you?

We brought Guido there for some basic training and it was reasonably priced. I think we paid $100 for 6 weeks once a week for an hour. It wasn't one on one, it was a group class but if we were having trouble they did give a little one on one. Then we would work with him for about 30 min. a day on our own. He was a little harder to train because he was 3 yrs old when we enrolled him.

You're doing the right thing, training her while she's young. I understand how expensive it is. My dog eats 100 lbs of food a month. ($50/month). Not to mention medicines, and vet visits and the kitties too!

Look into the Petsmart trainging if you have one near you. The guy who did our class also trained the police dogs here. He was very good!

We also used Petsmart for all of our dogs. As a matter of fact, Cody and Buddy are in classes now and will graduate next Saturday. Then its on to advanced classes.

Eddie, I think Sandy is giving you trouble because you haven't added her to your signature!
I would also suggest dog classes, not only because they're much cheaper than private trainers, but the dogs seem to be better "socialized", meaning they're more likely to get along with other dogs. You really have to practice with her every day (short sessions), and she'll learn. Have you looked for any doggy equivalent of TCS? I did a quick Google search, and this site seemed to be one of the biggest, and organized somewhat like TCS: http://www.prodoggroomingsupplies.com/dog-forums/
There are also dog forums here: http://forums.petlovers.com/vb/index.php?

I am a member of dogomania.com, petoftheday.com and petfinder.com. They all come in handy with my many pet issues. Oh and Eddie, didn't you say she was a Border Collie mix? The Border Collie boards are real good as well.

You should never attempt an introduction until the dog has been through obedience class. You will be unable to control the cat(s) in the situation, the dog is another story. The dog should be obedient and he or she should respect you or this intro can go very bad initially.

Originally Posted by jcat

Eddie, I think Sandy is giving you trouble because you haven't added her to your signature!

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Tricia, very funny! Eric has been the Canine Dept at home and I've been the Feline Dept. ut he's on an 80 hr week to make up for our trip to Utah last week, that's 5 days off w/o pay for him...so he's just plain exhausted when he comes home. I honestly thought he had already found these sites, but I guess not (I just asked him).

Sandy needs to complete her shots in order to be able to play w/other dogs and know "boundaries" and also attend classes here in King County. Saba is fine with her - determined to be her diva self. Sasha is stressed, but getting better. I am devoting myself to him every day for hours of quality, quiet time. Sandy is not home during the day and she is not allowed upstairs (now cat territory only) and today is the first full day of crate training. Eric has her crate in the back of the 4-Runner and she will be there w/him all day and nap in it, in order to make the transition easier. I hate the crate! I hate to see her like that, but every single person says right now, do it, or she will be a handful later and much more expensive.
This morning I handled Sandy while Eric slept the few hrs he could, and she did great. She sat, backed-off, laid down, and not a wimper, yelp, bite, chew, tantrum, bark -good job! - I reinforced her w/tons of praise and cheese, her favorite thing. She was awake for 2 hrs w/me and then conked out at Eric's feet and behaved herself until he woke up, so I learned.

Puppies can be very trying - over-exuberant & destructive -, but they do outgrow it. The main thing you both have to keep in mind is that the two of you "rank" higher than she does, and you can't let her become the "leader of the pack". That's generally not a problem with Labs, and since Border Collies are working dogs, it also shouldn't be the case. Sasha probably simply finds her extremely annoying at this stage, and who can blame him? With all the dogs and cats we and my family have had, we've only encountered one "dog & cat" problem. My husband and I took in a stray cat that showed up on our doorstep in the middle of a snowstorm in the late 80s, and she was determined to "get rid of" the dog we had then, and had to be rehomed because of the injuries she inflicted on him. He was easily 10x her size, but was so used to cats that he didn't defend himself.
If you make sure the cats have places to retreat to, like cat trees, when Sandy stresses them out, and supervise their encounters for the time being, everything will probably work out.
Chewing is natural puppy behavior. I already told you about the kitchen floor tiles, but have an even better story. We dog-sat some friends' 3-month-old German Shepherd puppy between Christmas and New Year's one time, and had to watch him like a hawk, because he chewed everything. I confined him to our kitchen/hallway/powder room one afternoon for a little over an hour so that I could go food shopping. When I got home, I found that Alf had gnawed on the toilet in the powder room, leaving deep gashes! Give Sandy stuffed toys, etc., that she can rip apart.

I could help you out, easily. Go ahead and I'll anwser all I can.