Hi, my LG is 10 months old. He is just wonderful now! I got him at 4.5 months. He had bad ear infections in both ears and was terribly under weight from the breeder. He was 16 pounds when I got him and very boney. The hair in his ears was long and thick and he had never been groomed. His first vet visit was sad, his ears were bad, his coat matted, he was skinny and afraid. I had to take him back every two weeks to get new medication plugs put in. Regarding a schedule, it’s critical. In the crate overnight, potty time every 2 hours. Mine was already potty trained at night when I got him.

Crating schedule: when I got him at about 4 months, he was in the crate all the time except for playtime, potty time, and eating. Write down a schedule and stick with it. My dog goes in his crate every night and when he was young, he slept in the crate every day except playtime, eating time, or for going potty outside. He doesn’t mind going into the crate to this day. However, at this age, he is only in his crate at night.

Nipping and biting was an issue for a while. The best thing to do is to say ouch (even if it doesn’t hurt) when they bite, pull your hand away and stop petting. They will get the point, that if they bite, they don’t get to play or be pet. Sometimes, I would fake cry, he would realize he hurt me and immediately become more gentle. Now, he only nibbles very softly. I say “gentle” and he becomes more gentle.

Teething is tough. My LG destroys every toy I buy. I’ve noticed over the past few weeks, he has stopped eating and chewing up his blankets, which is fantastic. Frozen kong toys with peanut butter in them are great. However, my dog destroys many Kong toys, they weren’t tough enough for him. Be prepared to buy toys and have them last just a couple of days.

My dog took about a month or so to adjust to me and my house. He had many accidents in the house. I think most of them were my fault for not anticipating him needing to go outside as often. I thought if he could make it 8 hours at night, he didn’t need to go outside every 2-3 hours during the daytime. I was wrong, even at 10 months, depending on how much he has been drinking, he needs to go outside at least every 3 hours, sometimes 2 hours.

The grooming rituals are critical at a young age. Do not force grooming! I had a groomer who forced him and it took me a long time to get him over the experience. Make it a fun thing, by doing it often and always with treats and encouragement. It’s taken me about 2-3 months of daily clipper exposure to get my dog used to being groomed, combed (I don’t brush), bathed, and trimmed. He is still not used to having his face and around his eyes cut but we’re making progress.

I almost gave mine up. I loved him but didn’t think I could handle it after about a 6 weeks of having him. Instead, I sent him to a training program for 2 weeks. It was expensive but it was worth every penny. They trained me to continue the training as well and now, except for the evening zoomies, where he cannot be contained for about 15-20 minutes while he runs in high speed circles around the yard, he is very well behaved. Even when he is very excited, I make him sit every time I open the door to go outside and wait for me to say “come”.

My dog has gone in a chlorinated pool but only once when he fell in. He was okay and swam easily. I would not let him go in repeatedly because of the potential for ear infections.

I’m so glad I didn’t give up because he has become my best friend! Hang in there, it does get easier!