My God, why did nobody remind me...

[topbannana]

What hard work a puppy is?! :o
We are 2 days in and DH and DS have gone back to work and school today leaving me and GingerDog alone with the spawn of the devil puppy.
In all honesty he is very good, happily caged, pretty good idea of house training, responsive, happy and confident.
However the whirl of constant action is quite exhausting to watch. I have not tied my laces so many times in one day, he keeps taking all the kindling and hiding it under the table and has driven GingerDog to the point of mental breakdown (he has retreated to his cage an is peering out with the most amazingly sour and baleful look on his face :o)
We are off for a walk now, which will involve me wrestling him like a greased eel to stop him making it onto the floor with the big dogs
The only saving grace is that he does sleep like a baby when exhausted which gives me and GingerDog time to muster our reserves :o

[ChickensHaveNoEyebrows]

Oh, yeah. I hear you. It's sort of brilliant and horrific all at once, isn't it?

[Floralnomad]

Are you sure Jas wasn't trying to drown him?

[finickypinickity]

I'm sat here laughing, the up down, indoors outdoors, tie laces again, gently scoop contents of pups mouth, prevent carpet tugging and amuse constantly is all very familiar here atm.

Big dog is sat looking bemused and bewildered at the little rabbit sized bundle of fluff currently running around his house

[VivaLeBeaver]

I wish ours was as easy as yours sounds.

We're two days in with a six month old pup and its a nightmare. Not sleeping, fear aggression towards me and Dh, chases the cats who appear to have moved out. Dh is already saying dog needs to go if he doesn't get better with the cat. I had to remind him he said that years ago with the last dog and they all ended up getting on. However last dog wasn't aggressive to the cats.

We've booked individual training for Thursday.

[Floralnomad]

Hope it improves viva , I thought he was supposed to be used to cats ? Is he house trained at least ?

[VivaLeBeaver]

She said he'd be ok with cats. He isn't even ok with cardboard boxes or plastic bags. He does seem to be house trained at least. He's weed on paper in his crate once but apart from that outside.

[ChickensHaveNoEyebrows]

Nightmare, Viva. I hope the training session helps.

Jasper follows the pup around constantly, and gives a grrrr/snarl/lunge if the pup does something he disapproves of. Things he disapproves of include going near any toys, chewing me, peeing in the house and trying to bark. He is, however, allowed to drink from the water bowl/swim in it, lay on the kitchen bed and bounce around in the garden like Zebedee. Jas quite likes the bouncing

[HousewifeFromHeaven]

I'm getting a rescue pup this week!

Me and the dog are shitting ourselves very excited!

[topbannana]

Gosh viva it sounds awful :(
Currently the puppy is crashed out in his cage in readiness for "the meeting off the school bus" a most important job I have had to faithfully promise I will undertake so that DS can be met off the bus by the hooligan.
He is then off for his first jabs, a situation that I guess my remove a little of the wind from his sails :o

[topbannana]

Ha chickens the list of prohibited activities is quite similar here too. GingerDog has the most fantastic range of disapproving expressions which he is getting to use to their fullest :o

[finickypinickity]

Viva, i hope the one to one helps, it certainly sounds like hard work.

The cat thing is a real worry, its so important everyone gets along. Its been my biggest concern with regards to Big dog and thankfully so far so good. Lets hope they have some answers and solutions for you.

[Allfurcoatandnoknickers]

Our older dog and our puppy get along ok now. It's taken a good few months though.... Her favourite trick is to launch herself from a sofa onto our older dogs head. She also pinches his food, humps him (hmmmm...) and generally is a complete pain.

[pigsDOfly]

I don't understand this 'good with cats thing'. My dog grew up with 2 elderly cats. The male cats grew to love her - after slapping her a few times and establishing his seniority - and while she was still a small puppy would sit and watch her play for ages and they'd sleep together all the time. The female cat didn't and still doesn't want to know and the dog will occasionally chase her, but they generally get on ok.

However, any other cat my dog comes across will either result in her barking like a loon or running in the opposite direction - probably depending on the body language of the cat concerned. She lives comfortably with cats and knows how to behave herself around them but I certainly wouldn't describe her as 'good with cats'.

[topbannana]

I am currently wandering round with my porridge in a jug as the idea of actually sitting down with a bowl at a table is laughable. After the initial good nights I was up 3 times as the combination of his first jab and copious amounts of treats (that the vets fed him I should point out) upset his belly. We were warned he could be "a bit quiet" after the jab- not a hope :o
The only words DH and I have exchanged this morning involve transgressions on the puppy's part, ending with a fervent "good luck" as he scurried out the door to work. I am now left to ponder whether to risk a walk with them both or pop him in his cage and lie down in a darkened room :o