Life with a Puppy

[tulpe]

So we have had Ruby at home with us now for almost 4 weeks and I cannot believe how much she has changed.

The first week was hell with sleep deprivation. Week two, I often felt like sending her back to the breeder because the biting of hands, feet and clothing of me and DCs just became unbearable and the 3 of us were regularly in tears .

She had her last vaccination on Saturday and on Monday went for her first walk. I can't believe the difference it is making to her mood. We are only doing 10-15 minutes twice a day (feel free to correct me if I am doing too much/not enough......she is 10.5 weeks old). She gets walked around either the street we live on or around the field next to DCs school. The second option is definitely her favourite as many other mums also take their dogs there so she has others to play with . However, yesterday I couldn't believe how much poop had been left around the field. It makes me so angry - my DCs have run around that field so many times in the past few years and I have always been happy to let them do so. Not now though. It is vile . In terms of walking on her leash, she pulled and pulled initially but we now stop every time she does so until she comes back in-line with me, give her lots of praise and off we go again

She still gets nippy but I can now see a pattern. She is either bored and wants to play or she is overtired and doesn't know what to do with herself. Pretty much like toddlerhood, it seems you need to reign her in and tell her she needs a rest - even if she doesn't initially agree

I am so happy that we have her here with us . She is such a joy. I have never been a morning person and generally operate under a system of organised chaos. However, I now have to be a morning person and it is such a pleasure to be up, dressed and feeling in control of the day by 7am. It reminds me of having a newborn. Those first few weeks, you feel like life will never be normal again. Then suddenly you have a breakthrough and you feel on top of it all once more. Until the next phase

She starts training on Saturday. We have a one-to-one session to assess our needs and then 5 group sessions thereafter. It is treat-based training so follows on from the work I have been trying to do using Gwen Bailey's book.

how nice! Get 'the Culture Clash' as well. I'm finding it unputdownable.

My pup is also a delight, though he still jumps up - it's possibly getting worse, and I wasn't too delighted when I found him on top of the kitchen worksurface this morning.

Yes, another vote for 'The Culture Clash', I'm also reading 'Bones would rain from the sky' a lovely book written by a true dog lover.
I'm really enjoying my puppy atm too. When my last dog died, aged 14, she left such a big hole in our lives, I even missed the dog hair! I did wonder if we would constantly compare this naughty time consuming stranger of a puppy with our perfect hairy friend. I do miss the long walks, but that'll come...

tulpe congrats I feel the same way about our pup! Can I ask if yours wakes you barking? We're trying to get ours to sleep in until 7am not with much success at the moment...

hi honeymoo, how old is your pup and where does she sleep?

Hi, I'm glad you are finding it so rewarding. My dog is now 9 mths (hpr breed) and I still do not feel positive about her all the time, but I felt smug at gundog class yesterday when everyone was complaining about how cold they all were and I was toasty - warmed by the glow of my embarrasment

With a larger dog like a V I would be inclined to follow the 5 mins per day per month of age - of course this is not always poss and I freely admit to taking mine out more when she was younger as it was the only time she didn't bite me!

Once she became more able to play games (like hide and seek, hunt the biscuit, and basic dummy work and recalling to her whistle from the garden etc) I reduced it right down as mental stimulation is just as exhausting.

Also 10 mins concentrating on heel/lead work id just as mentally tiring as a long walk.

Big ups for those who recommend The Culture Clash. It should be compulsory for dog/puppy owners I think. Jean Donaldson is legendary and rightly so.

It's so good isn't it? It's illuminating about the way your dog sees the world, and it's full of practical advice on how to train him. The training works in a flash with my pooch. Brilliant.

aww great post Tulpe. I'm still 5 weeks off from getting our puppy and am SO exited. It's good to hear that you are enjoying her such a lot.

Buy Culture clash now and read it all before you get your pup, Slubber

I HAVE read ir Romanarama. I am actually diving in for a second time whilst on loo trips. It's very good I agree with you, and funny too. i liked the list of human objects and how dogs see them

cello = chew toy

I LOLed at rock = food (labradors)

Hi all Thanks for your replies

honeymoo - Ruby does wake up howling usually between 6.15 and 6.30am. When she first wakes it is just a bit of whimpering. She has on occasion settled back down to sleep but as it gets louder we get up and take her to the loo. She doesn't mess in her crate and would hold it for as long as possible, bless her . TBH, I would prefer her to sleep later but I am working on the premise that she will sleep later as she gets older. Her sleep patterns have improved dramatically since she arrived - she would howl for an hour after going to bed, on the worst nights during that first week at home. But now she is quite happy to snuggle down and doesn't make a sound when we say good night

Romanarama - she has been eyeing up the worksurfaces in the kitchen today too. She made one attempt at jumping up and failed. I don't think it will be too long before I catch her up there!

Luckyblackcat - what breed HPR do you have? Thanks for the advice re: walking. Today she only had one walk for 10 minutes and although it felt too short - for both of us! - I was very strict about walking to heel so she was pretty tired when we came home.

Slubber - how exciting for you What breed are you getting? The day we brought Ruby home made me feel like a 5 year old on Christmas morning As I said, it is hard work but I wouldn't be without her

A black lab. I'm going to meet her on friday

I have a Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer, several existing owners tried to talk me out of it tbh but I've had dogs all my life (my parents and I bred and showed Afghan Hounds - I even did obedience and agility with one - and had greyhounds after leaving home) and was a little "How hard can it be?"

It is way, way, way harder than that I could have ever imagined.

agility and obedience with an Afghan Hound [deeply impressed emoticon]

I did agility and obedience with my Irish Setter.
All dogs are trainable, it's just some of the owners who aren't!