Weddingbee boards

YES...THEY ARE SOO SMART... My mom's dog is a Freesy Poo (Bichon Frise & Poodle, Bichon's are reeeally similar to malteses except malteses tend to be calmer).

First of all, breathe. You will be okay =) 

They will overpower you with their smartness and their persistant crying but one piece of advice I got with my dogs was, "Crying won't kill them." And it's true! As long as their needs are met, they are full, they are toileted, she will get it. You can leave her in the crate when she's crying. If it gets excessive at night, put her crate in another room or the garage if it's not too cold.

Another tip that really helped me is begin by taking the dog out every hour, on the hour when you are home for potty training. Reward every time she pees (we reward with love, no treats). And at night (I am a nutty dog owner) I got up to let both of my girls out every two hours at night until they were six months old. It's like having a newborn!!!!

Get her vet appointment scheduled. She needs three sets of shots. Two weeks after her last set, introduce walking to her. The best way to do this is to attach the leash to her collar starting now, just so she starts getting used to seeing it there. Then start pulling it after a month or so. Then she should be ready for a walk =) It's pretty easy with small dogs, but with big dogs you gotta work reeeally hard at walking.

Begin rubbing her ears and paws to get her used to basic grooming stuff. I massage my girls paws and ears nightly and clean/trim them weekly.

Stuff you need:  Toothbrush and toothpaste, two beds, clearly toys (get one of each type, a nyla bone, kong, and a rope toy to start), obviously food (we do wellness for our girls), heartguard, advantix, puppu shampoo, ear wipes/ear solution (I did wipes until one of my dogs got an ear infection, now I do the solution), nail clippers (if you're going to go down that road).

Stuff you need to do:  Vet: To establish, vaccines, and to ask them all your questions. A good vet will give you a good puppy 101 your first visit. Read up on Parvo, it's a horrible disease that my dog got, don't let your puppy go outside until she is fully vaccinated. Obedience Classes: Personally, I never did them for either of my dogs, but both are "easy breeds," and don't require much training. I did the training myself. Poodles, on the other hand, need training. Not that they are bad, but they develop bad habits, and develop them quickly, and don't forget them. Lastly, pick your pet store and become verryyyy close with them. My recommendation is somewhere that is open late, because you will have emergencies that you'll need to go to the pet store for =)

@Mrs. Kitty:  Ummm, for separation anxiety, your best bet is to crate train him. There are a TON of articles on different ways to do this. What works for me is putting them in the crate for 15 minutes at a time every few hours for a week. Reward her if she didn't cry, if she did, wait til she stops for 30-60 seconds, and reward her. Incrementally go up on time =) That way, when you're gone, you won't have to worry about her crying because she will be kennelled. She may be a dog that doesn't like the kennel, one of my two just doesn't. In that case, pens are a great idea. Definitely start introducing alone time (in a room, outside, in the garage) and reward her for not crying. She'll get it.

My mom's dog DID NOT like the crate for the first 1-2 months of having her. Now, she sleeps soundly through the night. Gotta be persistant, it'll happen. I'm sorry you're having post-canine depression =( It's always really really hard the first few months.