New puppy survival

[rockybalboa]

Both of the new puppy owner's threads have zombie alerts on them so I thought I'd start my own as I feel a bit overwhelmed!

DPup arrived yesterday, she is a sprocker, 9w today (will upload pic from my mobile in a bit). She is very sweet and quite bright. Can already master stairs no problems. She is very affectionate and particularly likes sleeping on my feet. She is happy to go into her crate for a lie down and slept relatively well in it last night with DH sleeping on the bedroom floor right next to her. Whined until about 1.30am in the crate next to our bed then was taken outside then slept until about 4, whined, outside and then slept til 7ish. So I guess that's going well provided DH is happy to stay sleeping on the bedroom floor...

I'm not sure toilet training is going very well though. The breeder had the pups toileting well on newspaper but we've just had accidents so far and I'm not sure she's peed outside at all. She pooed in her crate earlier when I was having a shower and trod it all over the place so had to be showered down! We have been taking her outside a LOT, probably more like every 30-45 mins rather than an hour and we have a put a piece of newspaper outside but she doesn't seem to be interested. I've read and re-read The Perfect Puppy and a million and one different things online all of which agree that repeatedly taking her outside is the way forward. I just need to give it time right? The weather is decent enough so I guess I could just stay outside with her. We haven't yet had the chance to vociferously praise her for toileting outside because she hadn't done it!

There seems to be a lingering smell of puppy poo too I suspect isn't good. Not sure if there is some on me, some on her still or a hidden poo.

Can anyone offer me any reassurance, advice or calming thoughts please?

[marmaladegranny]

In the early days we put puppy's crate (with door open) in pen with newspaper on floor and that worked pretty well. Mind you we were hard hearted owners and puppy stayed downstairs on hard flooring…

The smell of puppy poo does linger and you need to get rid of it or she will go back to same place next time. Solution of bicarbonate of soda may work or you can buy special animal accident sprays from pet shops or supermarkets.

Training a puppy is just the same as a baby - outside before and after each meal, play or sleep. Having said that my dog was easy to train…..

[Oliversmumsarmy]

My advice given to me by the puppy playgroup trainer from when I had a pup was to go out with them, walk with them for how ever long it takes saying "do the wee wees" every so often then when they wee or poo shower them with praise. Take them home and give them a drink/food then 45 minutes later repeat as above. I found puppy life in those first few weeks during the day harder than having a new born.

[rockybalboa]

I'm cleaning with a solution of bio washing powder, it's what we used to do when our cats peed in the house."

[rockybalboa]

Here she is! I think it's actually her where the poo smell is coming from. Perhaps I didn't wash her well enough...

[Oliversmumsarmy]

She's beautiful.

[Theonewiththreechildren]

Not sure I will be of much help but I have had my cocker pup for just over a week now so feel I can empathise!

Our first night was awful - up every one to two hours, diarrhoea in her crate - which I had to clean up without disturbing the rest of the household. I chose to sleep downstairs with pup which does seem to have worked as I have spent the past two nights in my own bed with no probs.

With regards to the toilet training I would say that it does feel a bit like one step forward three steps back. I bought what I thought was a huge bottle of 'simple solution' I'd used it within 48 hours of having her! As I said, we are now just over a week in and I feel like she's starting to get the hang of it - she's even waited by the back door a couple of times. I'm doing the same as you, I take her out regularly and I don't play with her I just stand still so she doesn't get distracted. The first few times I didn't use my command phrase until she was actually in the act of weeing or pooing. Now though I will say when we first go out and repeat a couple of times if she isn't doing anything but I try not to over use it as I've read that it can lose it's meaning to the pup. When she goes I praise and treat.

Also if she does go in the house - I just ignore and clean up.

Good luck with it all. Despite cleaning up wee and poo I'm so glad I've got her

[Theonewiththreechildren]

Forgot to say - she's gorgeous and my pup has white toes on her back feet too!

[EdwinaLIzzard]

She is so gorgeous, a very pretty girl

She is still a baby and it will take time for her to be toilet trained and in the meantime you have to take her outside very half an hour or so. Lots of very vocal prize when she goes and absolutely ignore any accidents indoors - she will get the hang of it (and spaniels are eager learners!!)

Can I just suggest that you are careful with stairs as pups should not put any pressure on their joints by jumping as this can cause problems in later life.

You have such a lovely little girl - makes me want another pup :-)

[yummumto3girls]

You are only a day or so in!! I think you should be taking her out more often, every 20 mins to start and watch her like her hawk, when she starts sniffing get her outside! We are 3/4weeks into and have just about cracked it, but am shattered!!! At night ours has a bed in a gated pen, with puppy pads down, more often than not he is dry in the morning. Hang in there, it's a it like a stamina test!!

[JoffreyBaratheonFirstofHisName]

Got our 9 week old pup on November 1st and will never have a winter pup again! All that leaving the door open and hanging round literally an hour waiting for a dog to wee, who hated being watched weeing....in sub-zero temperatures/rain! Summer pups are the way to go!

My pup wasn't housetrained til she was over 7 months and now at nearly 10 months still has the odd accident. (New carpet last week so hopefully will have less accidents now). I have had pups come to me housetrained at 8 weeks. So you never know. Usually it takes me a couple of weeks to housetrain a pup... this last pup really excelled all my previous experiences! Also taught me that you can do everything right, but the pup won't get there til /she's ready. Most are ready MUCH earlier than 7 months.

Very early days. I wouldn't worry. As others say, ignore accidents and praise going outside. When my pup went outside, I gave her a sort of cue word, "Wee wee!" - now she knows what that is. We also rewarded her, every time, religiously, with her favourite treat - saving this high value treat only for toileting success. That worked better than anything in the end.

I'd agree with whoever said upthread - having a pup can be harder work than having a newborn. Don't be too hard on yourself. My pup slept overnight in a crate in the kitchen from Day One, but now we let her sleep on the sofa in the living room.

[Adarajames]

I think the only thing you can do is give her to me, far better way of dealing with it (can you tell I'm puppy broody and gave serious spaniel envy?!! )
Stairs - yes, avoid her doing them until far older, same with car / onto things, lift her up and down and help avoid joint issues later in life

[rockybalboa]

Thanks all! She's had a good couple of nights in her crate in our bedroom and last night DH managed to sleep in the bed rather than on the floor!! Tonight her crate is going on the landing and we'll see how that goes... She will nap in her crate during the day but much prefers snuggling up on the sofa (who wouldn't) or at DH's feet (he works from home quite a lot and is here this week). She is probably doing 2/3 of her wees/poos outside (with repetitions of our command word followed by lots of praise). Although actually I'm not sure she's had any accidents at all today yet. She's very playful and a bit nippy so trying to keep that in check. I'm just so paranoid about her turning into a badly behaved dog, I must re-read a section of the Perfect Puppy 4 or 5 times a day! Her and my 2 yo are the perfect match although neither is particularly good about remembering which toy is whose! She farts a lot too, yuck!

[rockybalboa]

Oh and on the stair front, she's not actually allowed up the stairs but likes to demonstrate how she can if she gets the chance...

[jgm]

Hi! We got our whippet pup just under a week ago (she's 9 weeks tomorrow), and - touch wood! - its actually going much better than I'd prepared myself for! She sleeps ALOT - dunno if that is a puppy thing or a whippet thing (they are known to be lazy!) - but when she is awake she has a few mad half hours per day, running around like mad and into everything!

Toilet training seems to be going well, she doesn't ask to go out yet but we take her out as soon as she wakes and she will do a wee immediately. She can go 3 hours or so in the day between wees which I wasn't expecting at all. She is sleeping well at night - wakes once or twice to go out for a wee - but we, erm, are letting her sleep in our bed, which wasn't planned but I love the snuggles and being a whippet I am resigned to her sleeping on our bed when she is bigger anyway.

She's not a fan of being left in the crate when I do the school run, and doesn't pay much attention to the kong I leave in there for her, but she's always calm when I get back so at least she doesn't seem to be crying for the whole 45 mins or so I leave her! Oh - and she appears to be travel sick!

On the whole I am enjoying her much more than I thought I would (I initially wanted to get an older dog to miss out this stage!), the only concern I really have is the cats hate her!

[spikejack]

I'm so glad I found this thread!

I have a 12 week old Beagle puppy. Currently, her cute face is just about the only thing that gets her through a day!

She wee's on the vetbed stuff in her crate without fail every single time it's washed (I can't leave it - it reeks!).

She eats any snails, worms and slugs she can find. Oh, and stones, brickwork and great clumps of dried grass.

She's fussy when it comes to her food - doesn't always like what I give her and isn't always hungry.

The one saving grace at the moment is that, with the exception of last night, she sleeps downstairs in her crate in the kitchen. We started her off there and have only had 3 bad nights.

We've had her for about 2 1/2 weeks now. I have to be really honest. I don't love her yet. Not even nearly. Just to be clear, I would never be unkind to her obviously and I play with her and look after her as anyone would. But she was very definitely my DH's decision and once he managed to get DS1 and DS2 onboard, I was just being a meanie apparently.

So now she's here. I run an Admin business's from home - which is tricky to say the least when she's anything but asleep.

I think I have a way to go before I stop craving the calm and peace of life BB (Before Beagle) ????

[Floralnomad]

spike do ensure that your worming routine includes something for lungworm as snails and slugs are apparently a major carrier .

[rockybalboa]

Well we abandoned the crate. She HATED it. Pooed every single time and then trod in the poo and walked it all up the wire of the crate. She also had to be showered down each time. She is much much happier on an old faux fur throw in a corner of the kitchen floor. Goes through the night and generally doesn't toilet in there. House training is so so and TOTALLY dependent upon how vigilant I am. Take her outside all the time and she's great. Get distracted by the kids etc she goes in the house. It's still early days though.