My 1st puppy! HELP!

[Zaphirah]

well just know that at lest ONE of those pups is going to get a wonderful home here in Massachusetts. I have 4 dc who LOVE animals. A couple of years ago we got a sweet cat named Georgia and the dc doted on her so much that I felt she was smothered, so we had to get another cat just to offset the love. LOL!
My oldest boys have wanted a dog since they first learned the word. I'm very excited. This may be the week!

[portiz]

crate training is good
toilet them every 3 hours
expect accidents
don't leave them in the crate for more than 3 hours
don't change their diet too drastically, gradually switch them over

So my remaining questions are:
can a pup this young eat raw?
do you have toilet them around the clock?
when can I start w/ obedience training
are electric fences inhumane? (we live on a busy road)
can I get a crate that is large enough for him/her at full grown, or should I get a smaller one for now?

Well even though it didn't pan out this time (there's a reason for it ya know!!) at least you are taking the time to learn what you need before you do get one.

From my experience, crate training helps with the house breaking, depending on the dog. I have two boxers (4 years apart). I bought the largest wire crate available for 50+ pound dogs. There are dividers you can buy to limit the space a puppy uses...and then you can expand the space as the puppy grows. Zeus was pretty comfortable in it as a puppy. He'd usually just go to sleep within minutes and I believe he only had a couple accidents in there becuase there was no way i could leave work at lunch to let him out. Both times, he was at the far corner waiting for me to finally let him out. But Cleo, she just does not like the crate. I had a more difficult time house breaking her. She would "break out" of the crate, and would constantly take a potty break at the far bedroom in the house.
Basically, as a puppy, you want to take them out on a regular basis (like every hour is what I would do), and especially as soon as you wake up in the morning, and right after you feed them. I would praise them and make a big deal out of it (but to each their own) becuase I'd rather they do it when they're supposed to and expect praise instead of somewhere in the house (but that's just me anyway :) )

I've incorporated RAW diets for my two. I mix it up between raw chicken and the wysong archetype buffet and canned foods. They eat (hormone free/organic/free range) chicken, usually one leg quarter a piece per day. Sometimes I skip a day but they'll let me know they're ready for the next day's portion. They also have a constant supply of kibble. As I said I buy wysong for them...it's kind of expensive, but they have not had any health problems whatsoever. They do not overeat as some dogs do when you just let them "graze." I think I refill their (8 lb) canister once every week or week and a half. They are both very active, have shiny beautiful coats (boxers are known for heavy shedding but my two have minimal shedding), and are very loveable.

Obedience training can be taught as early as possible. Zeus knew his first commands and tricks (about 5 of them) before he turned 6 months old.

I hope you find a puppy soon!!!