New Puppy Owners

[kid]

I know there are a few of us that have recently picked up new pups.
Were your puppies lovely and calm when you first got them or were they mental straight away?

I can't believe how calm Teddy is being so far. He has slept a lot but even when he is awake, he just nibbles gently on your fingers or rolls his ball with his feet.

He has not had any accidents in the house yet which is a miracle.

I am wondering if this is the calm before the storm?

Just wanted to say how helpful I'm finding this thread (sorry to butt in), as a still-to-be puppy owner. We probably won't get a puppy till next year (golden retriever) or later this year but it's extremely useful to see what day to day life is like for new puppy owners, especially the challenging bits.

I have some friends who say it's all v easy and that they've never actually had to train their dog, as such and can leave it whilst out at work (one person leaving her dachsund for 8 hrs a day) and others who say that it's much more like having a new baby (which is the impression I get here) and you have to be 101% there for the new family member for months to years.

I work - although from home - and will want to alter my daily structure to fit the puppy and take 'puppy-maternity-leave' for the first few weeks. But, after a while, will it work to have a routine like one hour away from puppy, then 30 mins with it and one hr away again for about 5 hours (the away from the puppy hrs total) per day?

Basically, with my normal work structure, I'd have 5 hrs a day unable to be with the puppy but between each hour, could arrange time with the puppy. Is that fair to the puppy and would it work? This would also only be 4 days a week.

Solo2 - pups sleep a lot during the day. (I don't think anyone has complained about that bit on this thread so it hasn't been mentioned! ) You should find enough time to work while he/she is sleeping, as long as you can whisk him/her outside the minute they wake up!

Hi solo look forward to hearing all about your puppy when you get it. Yes it is hard work, harder than you would ever imagine. I'm hoping it gets easier as time goes on. My Storm is only 8 weeks old so I guess I will be going through the challenging bits for a while yet! But I wouldn't change him for the world and love him to pieces.

Yes it is like having another baby. This thread is just like a puppy version of the mummy threads. It's lovely to have friends who are going through the same things as you.
I wouldn't worry about being apart for such a short time, puppies sleep an awful lot so if you kept the awake times for when you were with him, playing etc then he would sleep when you weren't there. {thats if he is obedient!!!!!} Mine sleeps when I am here and spends the whole time crying when I am not here!!
purplefrog I was told he had to have his second injection three weeks after the first.
wats pmsl I am having a behaviourist coming over tomorrow evening so I will share the tips she gives me for everyone so we all benefit! {maybe we could all split the £45 fee?!!!} pmsl only joking

purplefrog pmsl you read my mind, my reply was almost the same!!! must be on the same wavelength!

Teddy is being a pain with his lead. He will start chewing it when we walk along. If I stop walking, so does he but he just carries on chewing it.
If I remove the lead from his mouth, he'll attempt to chew me instead!
He doesn't it all the time but he does it frequently.

I was in such a rush tonight, I had to try and sort out dd's messed up school blazer. Teddy started whinging as I left the house so I took him with us. As it was such a long walk, I carried him most of the way. He is an effalump!

He is asleep now after all the exciting new things he saw and heard. It should be me asleep as I carried the lump! But no, he is going to sleep while I get to sort out dinner, cheers ted lol

Ok, need some advice.
I am sitting here eating my dinner and teddy is under the table eating the shoes I'm wearing. How do I stop this?

take your shoes off! pmsl he he he he he

But then he will either eat my shoes or bite my feet and I can't take them off!

I'm going to email my dog trainer for advice and to enrol him in her next batch if classes.

Teddys friend the bulldog came round tonight. She loved playing with him and teased him by getting up on the settee where he couldn't reach. I was a bit worried about her hurting herself though as she has a bit of a limp at the moment.

Teddy is fast asleep at the moment, hope he sleeps well tonight.

Yay! Teddy is signed up for puppy classes. I contacted the dog trainer and he can start on the 13th. She is also doing them fir half price as she diesn't want me to pay the full price. I had paid for the whole course fir moby but he died and missed the last 2 lessons.

It's acts of kindness like that which bring a tear to my eyes. She didn't have to do it cheaper, I wasn't expecting it, after all, she has a business to run.
I really liked her training and she was always available by phone or email to answer any questions or queries. She even helped me chose teddy

I'm a new puppy owner. I've spent my whole life being scared / terrified of dogs, of all sizes, for no reason that I can recall.

Recently decided to man up and go along with DWs wish to get a GSD. She's 13 weeks now, we got her at 8, from an excellent breeder local to us. She's very good natured, loves walks and was great at her first puppy training class.

I can honestly say that I am so glad we have her and can't imagine not having a dog now. Having her has made me much calmer around other dogs too, including the great big GSD and Dobermann that crashed into me at last week's training class. Having her from a puppy is definately the best way for someone like me to get used to having a dog close at hand.

I have changed my lead to a chain lead - not a choker chain , just the lead- not as tasty as a material lead .

Also a sharp 'NO' and a yank on the lead should stop it.

Great to read your story TechLovingDad

good morning. It seems Storm is enjoying his first ever kid free morning! Uninterrupted sleep for him and peace for me!!!
Last night was fairly quiet only about an hour of crying then sleep till about 1am so I got up,changed the poo infested blankets, and took him for a wee.

Another poo by the morning! The behaviourist is coming tonight so we shall see what she has to say!
Welcome to techlovingdad glad your puppy has changed you views on mans best friend (and womans).

pinkanimal make sure you mention what Storms early diet was like. DO you know how well socialized he was in his early weeks?

I know you say the breeder was inexperienced, but tbh that really isn't an excuse. I think you will find most of his problems relate to his early experiences.

I am so sad for him, especially the way he was weaned, dogs are lactose intolerent so have no ability to digest cows milks so through one of the most important developmental periods for him when their brains and bodies are growning so quickly all he was really getting to eat was bread, and most dogs are allergic to wheat too. No wonder his gut is such a mess.

By four/five weeks old puppies should be eating a top quality complete as well as sardines, scrambled egg, mince etc.

It may be worth discussing this with his vet too.

Teddy now has a vet! I've made an appt for him this Saturday at the friendly little family run vets. It's not the easiest one to get to and I was tempted just to get over moby's death and force myself to go back to the place he died. But I just couldn't do it, so the vet 2 1/2 miles from home it is. Only the best for my baby, even though he keeps chewing me lol

He will have a check up and worming tablet on Saturday.

Hello. Another new puppy owner here.

We have a 16 month old yellow girl lab called Codie who we got last June. I posted shortly afterwards on here saying I was really not enjoying it and I did actively try to get rid of her three times! However we got over the worst bits and we have gotten here through benign neglect in a way! A bit like my parenting! She is a lovely, placid calm dog and very easy to have. I try to walk her for an hour a day. She pulls on the lead so I use a Halti collar thingie. Was too anti the whole dog thing to properly train her and as we are in Hungary puppy classes are not an easy option.

Anyway..... I was worried that she was a bit lonely as I am not great at interacting with her as much as lots of dog lovers are and she is left on her own a bit so we got another one! A black girl lab from same breeder. (They have same father and second pup's mother is first pup's grandmother whcih is a bit liKe DH and my mum having a baby together!!) Her name is Tara and we have her just over 3 weeks. I feel totally differently towards her. But I am glad she wasn't our first or I really would have gotten rid! Her name is Tara but she could have been called Pickle! But she is VERY cute and loveable.

But. Now I have two dogs to train! Codie (older dog) is totally house trained and in fact that was relatively easy. They both sleep in crates but I don't crate Codie during the day now as I can trust her in the house. I think Pickle Tara will be a different kettle of fish though!

So where do I start? Codie will sit when told. Sometimes. But that is as far as we have gotten.

I am loving this thread btw!

Good morning everyone.

Welcome to solo TechLovingDad and Buda (back with another pup! I remember the trials of last year)

Everyone else where are you? Things have gone very quiet, maybe all the pups are behaving perfectly.

kid well done on sorting out a vet, I hope it is the start of a good relationship. When do you start puppy classes? We start on Tuesday. Wrt to the lead chewing, another option is to spray it with bitter apple and put him off that way, that way he learns himself that is non-rewarding rather then telling him off.

wats is Ringo any better? If it carries on you might need to see a vet....

pinkanimal what advice from the behaviourist?

Morning!

How often do you wash your dog's bedding? (Assuming it does not get covered in wee, poo or vomit, of course! ) Rory has had the same vetbed and blanket since we got him. The place doesn't smell too much yet, so maybe I can go a bit longer?

good morning WTWTW the behaviourist said that he hasn't bonded with his crate. It may be due to the crate being next to the fridge/freezer in the utility room. She suggested we move it, cover it and see if he improves if yes then the crate has to be moved permanently or the fridge does!

I did mention the diet and she says to keep up with what I am feeding. Poo's are getting more solid!
I don't think he was socialised but since we have had him we have been taking him out at every oppourtunity. He has been to bootsales, horse shows, farm, pre-school, school, pets @ home and a local pet shop too.
Please don't blame me for his bad start, maybe I shouldn't have had him because the breeder was so crap but to be honest I feel like I have at least saved him. And I will do everything in my power to ensure he gets the very best of whatever he needs for the rest of his life.

He is on puppy dry food only now, no titbits or milk.

Oh forgot to say that after we moved the and covered it he went into it and passed out fast asleep and slept there all night. Didn't even cry all night. or poo either! maybe she was right about the fridge?

Oooh we are back in business.

PurpleFrog funny you should ask that, I did Rudy's this morning. Grown up dogs I usually wash weekly, puppies less as they are not so smelly and familiar smells are comforting to them. We have tons of dog bedding from previous dog, so changing it is easy.

pinkanimal I don't blame you for a second for his start, I hope you didn't read it that way, I just get very cross with people who breed when then don't have a clue what they are doing.

Still there is no point going over that now, you are doing a brilliant job with him and he is very lucky to have you, lets hope that his littermates have such happy endings.

Great news about the crate, I wish I had know it wasn't covered, I just presumed it was iykwim, it makes a big difference to how 'den' like it feels, having it away from the fridge sounds like a good call too.

X-posted wats sorry, I really think a vet trip is in order, let us know how you get on.

Thanks WTWTW - I didn't want to do it too soon because I wanted him to feel the crate smelled like "home". I was also sure that sooner or later he would have an accident overnight, but no, that is one of our few successes! Since he had a touch of the runs 48 hours after his first vaccinations I'll probably leave it a couple more days just in case. Then I think I will do the vetbed, and leave his blanket for another week.