Hello to all and nice to meet you!

I have a house full of critters - three cats, six rats and an aged Briard.

Last week I lost my cat of 13 years. He was my heart and soul. I have done little but cry since. In all of this everyone has decided I need someone to capture my heart and keep me on my toes. My in-laws are getting a little female Maltepoo and I am getting her brother.

I have always wanted a little dog but promised my Kapok (my cat) that I wouldn't get one while he was with me. I think this is the right time as he will more than keep me busy and fill my heart that's broken.

The thing is that I feel I am over my head. I have never had a pup before. I have no clue what I am doing and have a lot to learn. I have spent every waking moment doing research and feel a bit more prepared, but still am not sure what I am going to do with Dragonese. Luckily he's a very laid back boy and has a truly chill personality.

This Thursday is the big day and I cannot wait, even though I am very nervous. I have been laughing as well as crying since finding out that this little boy will be mine. My heart is broken, but I know this little wiggling goon is going to help me heal and bring me more love than I can imagine.

Any Maltepoo help will be greatly appreciated!

[jnc_mcguire]

Hi and welcome to the forum. So sorry for your loss. If you need help with anything just let me know and i will try my best to help with your new pup.

[Kingsbridge Cav]

Don't know maltepoo's by breed, but can't be too far off from "dogs". Most have similar tenancies.
I recommend that you hold them when they are afraid, take them out when they whine or scratch at the door, feed them when they are hungry and love them at all times! Overlook the bad behavior, correct it if you can, and never resort to a rolled up newspaper.
This forum will be a god send to you with a lot of great advice from those who love their four footed friends like no other.
Welcome to the forum!

Originally Posted by Kingsbridge Cav

Don't know maltepoo's by breed, but can't be too far off from "dogs". Most have similar tenancies.
I recommend that you hold them when they are afraid, take them out when they whine or scratch at the door, feed them when they are hungry and love them at all times! Overlook the bad behavior, correct it if you can, and never resort to a rolled up newspaper.
This forum will be a god send to you with a lot of great advice from those who love their four footed friends like no other.
Welcome to the forum!

Wonderful advice, I can only reinforce what has been said here.
I have just recently had to euthanase my Great Dane of 8 years old, which in my opinion is way too short a time, and it was the first time I had to make the choice, all my other friends went naturally.
The pain will ease, but you will never forget, and that is how it should be.
Just enjoy every minute, especially with your baby puppy, it goes by so fast!

We'd been preparing the children for the possible loss of our elderly Briard. He's over 12 and has gone down hill quite a bit this past year. Then Suddenly my Kapok got very sick and had a huge tumor on his liver. He was the first pet that I had adopted as a baby and had his entire life and it was just such a shock at how quickly he went. I honestly expected to have another five years or so with him.

As for Brady, the Briard, he's on Prednisone this week and is acting like a puppy! We know Brady does not have a huge amount of time left, but hope that having a puppy around will bring out that younger side of him.

I have always loved Great Danes, but know I physically can not handle them. I can't even walk Brady myself as he is just too strong and set in his ways. He's very neurotic and has some emotional issues. As he's not problematic we're letting him enjoy the end of his life without too much stress of trying to retrain him.

I have already learned so much just from reading this forum. I'm nervous about training Dragonese, but I found a local class that I'm going to try to get into. I want him as socialized as possible as Brady doesn't get along with other dogs that are bigger than cats - one of the reasons for getting a Maltepoo. Also, Brady gets along so well with my brother in-law's Maltese, so it made sense. And all the kids love Oliver - the Maltese. My mother in-law is getting my Dragonese's sister, so we're keeping it in the family. Someone else I can talk to who will be going through similar things at the same time, which will help my morale!

Thanks to everyone here!

[DoggieVogue]

Hi and welcome to the forum. I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. You did a good thing by joining here, though. You will have a lot of support while greiving from people who have been there and feel your pain, as well as extremely knowledgeable people to help you with all your puppy problems. I always had dogs as a child, but my mother was the trainer. My brother and I merely reinforced what she had already taught. This past December I got my first puppy, and I was really nervous, too. It turned out to be not nearly as bad as I thought. Still frustrating, but not as bad.

[wishbone]

Welcome. I'm so sorry for your loss, crossing fingers for your late cat.

That's pretty exciting for you having new addition for your family. You should take him a tour to the entire house and backyard for him to sniff and be familiarized with place and get along fast with the new environment. Remember, treat is so powerful, always give him when he do and behaved well.

Would be nice if I could find a treat he's interested in! I have tried a couple things but all he really seems to care about is his actual food. He does stare intently when I am eating, but he doesn't drool or beg, just sniffs a bit and goes back to what he's doing.

Yes, this means he came home and has stolen our hearts.

The problem is our Briard is nervous and slightly pissed off about the puppy. We know he doesn't get along with big dogs, but he's always ignored little dogs when they visit. I don't know why he's suddenly unhappy about this.

Also one of the cats is having issue with the pup. We knew this would happen and he just has to realize that the puppy doesn't care about taking his dominant spot and only wants to be friends. It will take a bit, but we're not worried about it the way we are with the Briard.

We have not let them alone at all and watch carefully at all times. At night they're completely separated so there won't be an issue there.

Any ideas?

[DoggieVogue]

When I brought my puppy home, my cat was furious. She hid from us, hissed at the puppy, was just a general jerk. It took a while for her to slowly get over it. She wouldn't come out for about a month. Then slowly, she started socializing again, and now she will even play with Luca a little. We were really worried that she wasn't ever going to get over it, but she did. It just took time.

Welcome on the forum