first-time chow owner questions

[annrosaire]

Hi Everybody! I've been on this awesome forum for the past few months, and now is the time that I finally get my baby chow puppy! He was born on August 22nd and my bf and I are going to get him Columbus day weekend (Oct 10th). Not only is this my first chow but it is my first dog ever, so I am nervous and excited and of course, I have a few questions I hope you all can help me with!
First is I plan to crate train him as both my bf and I work full time. I am able to go home at lunch and my bf generally gets home 2-3 hours before me so I think we are ok with taking him to go potty in the first few months. Also, my bf's neighbor who is currently laid off has a schnauzer and said he would help, which is great. This leads me to 2 questions. 1) I have been looking online but I would love your recommendations for crates. I would prefer something that can travel easy because this leads to me more questions....2) my bf and I do not live together. For certain reasons the chow baby is going to stay at his house the majority of the time. I adopted a stray kitten a few months ago, and thanks to this forum, most of my fears of a mixed kitty/chow household have been quelled. However, do you think that the chow should spend a lot more time at my house to get used to the kitty? I plan to introduce them immediately and see how they interact in the first few days.
I appreciate all of your help and can't wait to introduce my little cinnamon fella to you guys!

thanks,
annie

[Victory]

I would have him spend the majority of the time at whoever the primary caretaker's house is. If that is you, he should be in your house or with you most of the time and then he'll get used to the kitten, (and the kitten will get used to him) you want him to do that anyway, or they'll never accept each other. (Cats can dislike dogs too, especially puppies) If your BF is going to be the primary caretaker then the chow should live with him mostly, but if you want your chow and kitten to get along you're going to need him to see the kitten, (and your house) as much as possible.

Most quality crates aren't that light weight, they can't be because then the dog could push their way out of it. This site has many different kinds, (a chow chow in the picture) the wire ones are best for in the home, (unless you have the cash for the wooden ones) The airline ones don't work so well for in the home, they don't have enough places for the dog to see out of.

Here's the link:
http://www.petcratesdirect.com/

[Tsunami22]

I agree w Victory. Whoever is the main caretaker is who the pup should live with. When we first got our chow pup my bf and I lived separate as well, spending weekends at his house, and he saw her almost EVERY NIGHT WITHOUT FAIL. He'd come to my place after work and leave late into the night and we'd spend all weekends together. And now that we live together, I admit, he does most of the heavy lifting. I have chronic hives that are made worse by the cold and so he does her walks 75% of the time. But still, and I think it's cause we're the ones that lived together, she only really listens to me.

She obviously loves him and sees him as her caretaker as well but, for example, at the dog park, if he calls her a couple of times, she'll eventually saunter over. If I call her once, she snaps to attention and comes barreling over. It could have to do with my bf and I having different training attitudes or ways to command her. It could have to do with chows being reputed as "one owner dogs." But honestly? I think it's mostly to do with those months we lived together just the two of us. It bonded us stronger and made clear to her, "This is my person." She's more affectionate towards me, gets more excited to see me, listens more to me, respects rules more with me. And she does all those things with him, just... not as much as with me.

I know living situations with dogs can be sticky to arrange, but if possible, I'd recommend living with your puppy cause even if you see her everyday all evening and all throughout the weekends, you can become more of "the other owner."

ALSO, about crates, I suggest trolling craigslist or seeing if any friends have any that will fit her. Our puppy grew SO FAST that we went through crates like crazy. It's unfair if you crate a dog in a crate too small, and less effective if it's BIG DOG SIZE and it's a tiny pup. They're also, in my opinion, the most expensive dog equipment so, if you're like me and a little pulled with money, I'd rather get a used crate and nice dog food, then have to shell out a hundred bucks for a crate she'll outgrow in a month's time. OR I'd wait until she's pretty much full grown before getting the best quality.

In regards to lite: We had a travel crate that folded up really easily and was made out of a really heavy canvas kind of material. Nylon and canvas... soemthing like that. It was made out of metal poles that clicked in place. It did the job and kept her in but she didn't ever try to CHEW her way out of it, if she had tried, she could have easily gotten out. So maybe wait to see if your dog will try to escape the crate, is a heavy chew-er, or if she's relatively crate docile. A cheaper, lighter, travel friendly option may be the best bet but it could also be a big waste if she gets out of it after 15 mins of munching.

Good luck! And post pictures!!! I was a crazy puppy mom, constantly worried, with a million questions and everyone here was really good at calming my nerves and helping me out. My puppy drove me CRAZY for a little bit, but it was well worth the trouble. Take a LOT of pictures! Everyone told me to when I first had mine and I didn't listen. I wish I had!

[annrosaire]

thank you everyone for your replies. I appreciate your help. I will definitely take a lot of pictures, and post them on here!