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?

Thanks for the advice, I have previously just bought the most convenient food but I do want my baby to be healthy and happy. The food he is on now is very cheap so whatever I get him will seem very expensive in comparison!

I've had a look at page 6 and I'm considering switching to Wainwrights, pets at home own brand. Any comments on this?

Its actually cheaper than what I am currently feeding which shocks me tbh. But, its not because its cheaper that I am considering it.

I am still looking at other options, the F4D have different options of what to feed so straight away, that put me off, too confusing lol
I can see one that would be suitable for him which is a bit more expensive than I have been paying, but it would be worth every penny if it made him healthier.

Why does everything have to be so complicated? Why can't I just cook more food and let him eat at the table with us? PMSL - I am joking obviously!

Lab puppy is lovely, very good - but we are being told so many ways of how to house train her - we dont know what to do, and obviously we wont get instant results so its hard to know whats right

She has a crate, recommended by vet, which she loves - and snuggles down in of her own accord - and we take her out straight away and she wee's and poos outside - but if she comes back in, she wees on the floor, and cant be left out of her crate?

Have asked on a different thread but was advised to come here

Mornin' all .

kid Do you mean the Wainwrights complete? All in all not a bad food though iirc the meat content is 'meat meal' (mechanically recovered) but otherwise pretty good. The wet tray food is of a much higher quality but is more expensive.

I know I keep banging on about F4D but I do think it is a great food and is working out so cheaply for me, there is only one option for Teddy which is Fish for Puppies, then Fish for Dogs once he is about one. The other options are for fussy/sensitive or working dogs, if that makes any difference.

wats big yay, fingers crossed so tightly it hurts, that all this is going to be put behind you now. Did you join the forum?

Welcome to OnlyWantsOne I see you have been given some excellent advice on your other thread. Patience, patience, patience I'm afraid, expect accidents for at least another month if you are lucky, much longer if you are not. If you look back towards the beginning of this thread you can read others experiences.

With the f4d, do they deliver or is there an option of buying it somewhere yourself. I think I'll go with it seeing as you seem to highly recommend it. I'll use up my not so good complete food and them treY teddy to some decent dog food.

He is getting more and more hyper, I'm not sure if it's a puppy thing or a rubbish diet full of addictives which is making him hyper!

You can order it from other places kid but their postage is free.

While you are using up the other food why don't you order this from them. You will get a sample of the food which you can use as treats to see if he likes it (I'm willing to bet he will) samples of some of their other stuff and a discount card so when you buy it will be much cheaper.

What are you feeding him atm? [nosey emoticon] and you are right it may well be the food making him hyper, especially all the nipping.

I'm feeding him pedigree complete puppy food purely because that was the only dry puppy food I could buy locally. He is a real nipper. We have a bulldog here at the moment and he is biting all over her face. She has told him off briefly, but he isn't bothered!

Thanks for the link. I'm assuming it's the puppy starter pack or something, I'll have a look shortly.

Just placed an order for the puppy club

Hope he likes it! Though at that price it's worth a try. The Salmon Mousse is really good for freezing in a Kong, it says use it all on opening, but I keep the packet in the fridge for a few days with no problems. Rudy adores the sea jerky stuff.

Their delivery is usually really quick, let me know how you get on.

I know teddy will love it. He got a taste of pilchards tonight and I have never seen him so excited about food!

Hi guys, Storm had his 2nd injection today, and a microchip too. He had to be muzzled as he tried to bite the vet and the nurse! Don't really blame him as it was a big needle! We start puppy classes next week. He has just been playing with the pinger (door stop) he loves it!!! and it's so funny! Nighttimes are great now he's doing well. Not much pooping in the crate. Mind you not much pooping in the garden either! The other day DH went to get a coat from the hook in the hall and stepped in a "present" ! I was in hysterics! DH didn't find it as funny!!
Still having the biting, I know hes trying to play but sometimes he really hurts me or has my whole arm in his mouth. Have been ignoring him and moving away as he seems to be egged on if we shout "ouch". Doesn't help that DD squeals and runs around and winds him up.

Hey all, can I just ask how old all your pups are and what breed?

This crate training seems to work ... what am I meant to do, been out side for 25 mins, she wee'd twice we played and came in, and she wees on the floor within minutes of being in - so does she just have to live in her crate in the house??

Even though I noticed this morning she has wee'd in there too at least once, dont know how DP didnt notice this morning.,.. plonker

onlywantsone here is a list of us puppy owners. The pups are all 2 weeks older than listed and there might be one or 2 new ones to be added to the list.

wtwtw whippet -Rudy - 13 weeks - midlands
kid - springer spaniel- Teddy - 12 weeks - east London
iloverhubarbcrumble -springer spaniel - Lola - 11 weeks - SW London
Purplefrog - Labrador - Rory - 11 weeks - Fife
musicposy - ? - Poppy - 4 months
Avantia - Labrador - Mally - 10 weeks
Lou33 - Patterdale/jack russell cross- Eddie - 9 weeks, english springer spaniel - dora, 8m, and part time we have Boris - miniature sausage dog - 3.5 yrs
Watsthestory - Shih Tzu - Ringo - 11 weeks
assumpta - cockerpoo - yet to bring home
booyhoo - Golden Retriever - Wonderbear - 8 weeks
pinkanimal - Siberian husky - Storm - weeks - Northamptonshire
Minimu1 - resident expert(LOL) - 16 week border collie ,2 labs 5 and 12, 4 year old border collie, foster dog that doesn't count only been here 3 years staffy type cross! - Hants
Curlylox - Labrador - 16 weeks - Lucy - Hertfordshire
CheeseandGherkins - Staffie cross Lab - 10 weeks - Rolo and Staffie cross shar pei - 1 year - Cambs

Hi, I know that some of your lovely puppies have a mad phase in the evening, as does my cockapoo, belle. The thing I am worried about is that she gets a bit too worked, even a bit aggressive, showing the white of her eyes, which we all hate. She snaps and pulls at whatever, or whoever is near her. This only haopens in the evening and I have been showing her that I am not happy with a very firm 'enough' and 'no' and time out in her crate, if needed. Does anyone else have their pups show the white of their eyes, it's actually a bit scary, especially for dd.

Onlywantsone I think you are a bit confused re crate training or I have misunderstood your post.

Basically you put the dog in the crate a night and when you leave the puppy for a short while only. When the puppy is in the crate most puppies do not wee in their crate so the minute you let them out of the crate take them outside and they should wee. Then praise them and treat them for weeing outside.

The rest of the time the puppy will not be in the crate but you will need to take the puppy out every hour at least and after each sleep and meal to let them wee outside.

If the dog does wee inside just clean it up and say nothing to the puppy - just be more vigilant to the puppy and take out more often.

HTH

assumpta it sounds like your puppy is "overtired" I would pop the puppy in a quiet place and let him chill out a bit. Then bring her back in when she is less hyper

I have been carrying out steps that I was taught at puppy class to stop undesireable behaviour.
Basically, you force the dog to sit in front of you between your legs (you might need to kneel on the floor behind them) you place one hand downwards in the back of their collar with your palm facing you. This means the dog can not bite you.
You keep them there until they stop wriggling and yapping.
As soon as they are calm, rub their chest between their front legs as that is a massaging point fir dogs.

It's really working with teddy, but it is early days so I don't know for sure if it will sort him out!

Minimu1 - that is what I am trying, but how long for. I put her in this evening and she had a nap for about 15 minutes or so, I waited till she was nice and calm, and she started the same thing again. I put her back in for 5 mins and she was thinking of going at it again, but with constant attention she calmed and then I just sat and stroked her for a long time while she slept on me. She is now asleep on her blanket on the floor.

Kid - can you please explain, are you facing each other , so you are looking her in the eye? Does it feel really awkward having the back of your hand pressing down in that position? Sorry, I didn't get it. Thankyou.

its ok, i probably didn't explain it very well and was typing on my ipod so couldn't be bothered to check what I had wrote!

Right, you sit behind them, so you are looking at the back of their head. You put your hand (or your fingers) inside their collar behind their head making it impossible for them to turn and bite you. They will yelp, twist and struggle, not because you are hurting them, but because they want to get free to do what they want. But you are teaching them that biting or whatever they were doing will result in them being restricted.

The dog trainer demonstrated on one of the fussing dogs and it worked a treat. Within a couple of minutes, the dog just laid down and stopped barking and stopped trying to get away.

Not sure if thats any clearer, let me know if you still aren't sure!

Kid - that is better. Would that be too much for a 9.5 week old pup, or suitable for any age. Is it 'normal' for this 'white eye' behaviour?, and if so how long does it last for?

assumpta yes just the same, lola loses it and barks at us in a slightly crazed way at certain times of the day. When tired, or over excited, or someone who's been out all day walks through the door.

We haven't got it completely sussed, but definitely getting less frequent. We are way beyond the just ignore - from time to time she launches at my DD's torso and clings on with teeth. We distract (swinging rope which we hang on to), calm with a kong, crate. We try very hard to remain calm and quiet, not always successfully...

Sometimes now see her about to go for someone's leg, then thinking hmm, no, I'm not supposed to do that..

kid interested to hear advice given to you, I may try at next demented moment. So glad it is not just us.

Strangely I am beginning to feel quite fond of the little thing. Won't even mention her ridiculously over confident approach to adult dogs, who put up with boxing, leaping and weeing. Marvellous.