That would be me then

Firstly after re -reading your post, I apologize about the 45 mins reference...I thought you said, you left her outside for 45 mins, but my response was not about the amount of time she spent outside, but merely trying to inform you that she will not learn to go potty by how long she is outside, she needs to be "shown" "taught" what you expect of her.

The "whim" comment again was not a direct attack at you (I did say that in my post) it was a made due to the impression you gave in your first couple of posts.

Sadly we see it all the time, people buying puppies/dogs without any thought and then being tottaly overwhelmed by the actual pup and his behaviour, as if they had never given any thought into the implications of what its about.

That is why I asked, to get a clearer picture of your understanding of what taking on a dog means ...BTW, I was not alone in that!

Your initial posts spoke of panic, of being overwhelmed about the puppies behaviour around your baby.

And thats why the whim comment and concerns was raised ,taking on a puppy with a young baby is hard work and many many people do NOT understand what it is going to be involved,

And with respect, you are finding this out now yourself.

And thats why many many breeder will NOT home a puppy to people in your situation ,that is not a criticism of you, its just fact!!

I have just re-read my post, and to be honest did not see anything in it to have gotten your goat, other than asking about a "whim" , I took the time to answer your concerns, and said pretty much the same as everyone else, but hey, if you wish to see my post as an "attack" so be it.

You said your pup chases the baby a, so my response was to make sure he is unable to do so, that was not a attack on your skills as a parent, it was pointing out the obvious ,

Puppies chase, a baby is going to be a very interesting toy for a puppy to chase, the puppy has sharp teeth, and with no intent on the puppies part, he will hurt your baby .

This is not just a temporary thing either, as your baby becomes a toddler, he will be inquisitive, he will poke , and prod the pup, and if pup gets fed up with a toddlers over boisterous behaviour, they will retaliate.

You would be surprised the amount of people who would not understand that, and as we do not know you well, and the content of your first couple of posts, we are not to know , you are not one of those people.

Thankfully its seems you are not, and are aware of the implications of young children and young dogs..

If you take precautions, all will be fine.

I wish you well and am glad you have taken the advice given here, and acting on it.

It is going to be a long road to cover, even those of us who are a little more experienced will know this.

Good luck!

Actually, that wasn't aimed entirely at you

I'd read another post from someone else which annoyed me, simply because of the way it was worded, then read yours straight afterwards, then wrote my reply with an angry head, so I apologise for including your quotes in my rant. ( I obviously got the 2 posts muddled up. I'm a red head and can be far too hot tempered when judgement is passed upon my abilities sometimes.

It sounds like your doing well, I can highly recommend the Karen pryor books they are so easy to understand and straight to the point.
Maybe things to keep her entertained like a Kong that she has to work to get food out of and treat balls that they have to push around to release the treats I swear by these when I need a break, I don't know if you already have these so it's just a suggestion. Just thought i'd share this with you as these things have been a god send to me and cheap too
I Can't wait to see some pic's of her It's hard to imagine Toby ever being that small now

Hi I'm Sue. I just said hello in the introduction section and asked advice before I found this thread. I have a 10 week flat coated retriever and after reading this thread I have lots of ideas to help me in house training and i now don't feel totally inadequate! Thank you.

Hello Sue - a bit off thread, but as another flatcoat owner I just wanted to say welcome to the forum.