Hi Im new here!

[Kelly+Manja]

Hi everyone! im new on this fantastic forum and just wanted to say hi. Im not too sure where i was supposed to post my message so I hope it ends up in the right place. Ive just adopted a beautiful 10 week old brindle frenchie male who ive named Manja! (Manja means pampered in Malay!) Im a bit overwhelmed at the moment and kind of needed to talk to others who have been in the same boat. I absolutely love him but its very intense at the moment, worrying whether im encouraging good behaviour and whether or not i can be a good mum. Each second he's awake i have to entertain him! such exhausting stuff, but i know it will be worth it. I have something I would like advice on and that is how to introduce Manja to being on his own should I have to leave him. How should I do it? I live in an apartment and am worried about barking from lonlyness. Do frenchies tend to do this???????? I met his parents and was impressed that they never even barked once in the 3 hours I was there they were extremely chilled out.

[Kelly+Manja]

Thanks for the replies. I will definitely take your advice and i have another question (already!) Manja has been sleeping in bed with me because I cannot bear to hear him whine when I put him in his own bed on the floor. What can I do???? I know I have to be more 'whine resistant' I have now bought him a crate. Is it true that if I just ignore the whining the first couple of times that he will learn to give up and chill out :confused: Gosh it feels really good to know I have you guys to ask. :D
Thanks heaps
Kelly

[Borgan]

I have recently gone through what you are experiencing...trust me, if you do the right things (mentioned above), your dog will be so well adjusted in no time. We've had Luna for one month and 2 days (she is now 4 months old), and we can go out for up to 3.5 hours with her in the crate. We also put her in the crate at night while we're sleeping. She can "hold it" alll night now.

We live in a house with neighbours up & down - we asked them about the crying in the first little while, and they say it lasted anywhere from 2-20 minutes, but our dog is EXTREMELY vocal. She makes the usual Frenchie snuffles & snorts, but she also grunts, burps and farts like a guy drinking beer. And she cries and pouts like a little baby when she wants something. Did I mention the yodeling?

So all Frenchies are not quiet, and if yours is vocal like ours, let's hope your neighbours are understanding for that first little bit of adjustment :) I introduce our dog to EVERYONE, and once they see how cute she is, they turn to mush and ignore the puppy mischief, as long as they get a cuddle and a kiss (from the dog).

Have fun!
This breed rocks!

~Brooke.

[Borgan]

ps. once they get used to sleeping in your bed, it will be hard to break them of the habbit. If you're okay with always having him there, I guess it's not a problem. But don't give in just because you feel sorry! Like a child, they will do whatever it takes to get attention. The more you give in, the more they will walk all over you. And even though he might be screaming bloody murder, you know he's safe, fed, warm and dry in the crate beside your bed, so life's really not that bad! He'll still love you in the morning;)

[Kelly+Manja]

ok tonights the night! No more sleeping in the bed for Manja, even if he does "scream bloody murder"
Ive enrolled us in puppy skool too!!!! every sunday for 5 weeks at Syndey University Vet Clinic. Wish us luck. Thanks for the advice everyone. I will try to figure out how to put up a picture of him as well. Cant wait to show him off to you guyz :D

[Kelly+Manja]

Hi everyone :) well for the last 2 nights I put Manja in his crate and he did put up a bit of a fuss but i didnt budge :cool: and he stopped after about 5 minutes! :o Only thing is when he sees me get up at night to go to the bathroom and then when i get back in bed it starts all over again but im sure given time he'll just get over it. I took your advice Roosje and take him into bed in the morning. He wakes up first so I get an extra bit of sleep if he gets to snuggle for a while. As for my initial question of how to get him used to being alone, im thinking of setting up a tape recorder so that I can listen to what he gets up to while im away. I want to know if he whines or barks a lot. What do guyz think ????
talk to you soon
Kelly+Manja

[Kelly+Manja]

Hi everyone :)
bedtime is goin great. gettin more and more sleep :o I took Manj out last night to a couple of art exhibition openings in his bag (a big red leather bag with a hole cut out of one end for his head!) He absolutely loved it and so did everyone who saw him. I tried to be discreet but how do you hide a little gremlin head sticking out from under your arm :lol: I want Manj to get as accustomed as possible to going out and being in crowds. I dont think it will be a problem for him at all he is quite a little attention lover.
bye for now
Kelly

[Kelly+Manja]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I have another query. Becuase I live on the 4th floor of an apartment I have been paper training Manja. Has anyone else done this? Im Hoping that when he gets older and can hold for longer that I can switch him to going outside. Does anyone see any problems with this? Im thinking maybe he'll be confused. :confused: Apart from that everythings going great. I introduced Manja to my
friends staffy cross pitbull yesterday. She's 6 years old and just adores Manja I think she thinks he's the baby she could never have (Manja is in love too :p )

[Borgan]

Hi Kelly,

Luna came to us paper trained (it was -30 celsius where she came from!),
and we found that it took a month for her to know to go outside.
This only happened after:
1. Taking her out after she woke up, ate, played
2. Ringing a bell at the front door with her paw
3. Taking her to the same spot everytime
4. Waiting 3 minutes for her to "get busy", standing still

Now she goes to the front door and rings the little bell
when she wants to go, so we don't have to be so diligent
or time everything out.

But I guess my whole point is that if you train them to
go to the bathroom inside, they'll be confused when
you ask them to go outside, which doubles your training
time. If I were you, I would go through the hassle of riding
that elevator after every time she wakes, eats or plays or
every 2.5 hours (which ever comes first). It really sucks
to do that in the middle of the night but it's worth it in the
end!! The bell thing is a really good way for them to "tell you"
they have to go...she doesn't speak English, and you don't
speak dog, so it really bridges that gap.

[April]

Hi everyone! im new on this fantastic forum and just wanted to say hi. Im not too sure where i was supposed to post my message so I hope it ends up in the right place. Ive just adopted a beautiful 10 week old brindle frenchie male who ive named Manja! (Manja means pampered in Malay!) Im a bit overwhelmed at the moment and kind of needed to talk to others who have been in the same boat. I absolutely love him but its very intense at the moment, worrying whether im encouraging good behaviour and whether or not i can be a good mum. Each second he's awake i have to entertain him! such exhausting stuff, but i know it will be worth it. I have something I would like advice on and that is how to introduce Manja to being on his own should I have to leave him. How should I do it? I live in an apartment and am worried about barking from lonlyness. Do frenchies tend to do this???????? I met his parents and was impressed that they never even barked once in the 3 hours I was there they were extremely chilled out.

Hello- My name is April & I just got a 9 week old FB. He is very willful and barks constantly when he doesn't get his way. I have to leave him gated in the kitchen during the day as I work and I go home at lunch to play with him. He chews on everything and I also heard they do not bark but I am hoping it is just a puppy phase. He crys and barks to the point of annoyance so I am hoping to stay sane through this time of adjustment because he is the cutest thing in the world (While he is sleeping, of course!).