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?

Oh my god guys, am I having a Shitty week or what? (and I mean literally!0 So Saturday Storm fell off the settee and hurt his leg so we took him to the emergency vets, (£145!) Who said he has Osteoporosis Then he developed Severe Diarrhoea on SUnday (i mean liquid poop!) SO we went to our vets Monday who said he unlikely has osteoporosis. SO he said to put him on fish and rice. Took him back yesterday and he still has diarrhoea so I've got to take him again on Friday! And still cook fish and rice 3 times a day! Poor pup is starving. And I'm exhausted looking after him. Doesn't help I'm not well either. To top it off he tries to get outside all the time and barks, even if hes just been out!

Oh pinkanimal . Hope your puppy recovers soon. My vet usually reccomends boiled chicken and rice for poorly tums if that would be easier/cheaper? Or is there a reason it has to be fish?

Oh and can I join you all? My Whippet puppy (who is definately staying here with us now ) is 11 weeks old. She is off to the vets today for her first vaccination and flea/worm treatment. She's called Poppy.

Yay, you're keeping Poppy!

Right, crate training advice time.... I've been putting it off but time to bite the bullet.

We are taking the pup on his first mini-break in about 2 weeks time, so need him to be in his crate through the night. He's been sleeping in his crate every night since we brought him home but with the door open as we have a very indestructible utility room. Unfortunately I think this has slowed down/confused toilet training a little (although he is good in the house proper ).

So... Some friends of ours who have a pup the same breed & age brought him round a couple of weekends ago when both dogs were 11 weeks, and theirs slept through in the travel crate with no accidents until quite late in the morning. Ours, by contrast, currently greets us with a sea of excrement in/near/smeared around his puppy pads every morning!

So, I guess the question is how do we know how long we can leave him - start with getting up every 3 hours? And how do you know how/when to increase the amount of time to leave it by? If their dog can wait 8-9 hours then theoretically i guess so can ours... or is it very individual..?

I read that they can stay in their crate without a toilet break for an hour for every month of their age, but I guess it goes on the individual dog too.

Yep, me too - but as I say our friends' dog slept through completely fine - I even crept past her crate to let our mutt out earlyish in the morning and didn't hear a wimper, so was wondering how you go about achieving that state! Getting up 2/3 times a night is obviously not ideal but do-able for a short while, but can't be sustainable for a long time.

Do you have bedding in the crate?

Wondering if your pup would soil if he had bedding.

You reckon? My dilemna is it better for him to think it's acceptable to wake me, or to risk him thinking it's ok to soil his crate.

Crate has vetbed and a fleece blanket in it, will 'shrink' his available space with a cardboard box too so he cant make a toilet zone (poor kid, he's used to sleeping spread out like a starfish!).

Wish me luck!

We have a cotbed duvet in Diesel's crate, takes up the whole floor so he cant soil.

How are all doggies today?

His vetbed doesn't quite cover the floor, so we want to don't want him to have any bare plastic - too tempting to wee on !

Teddy is asking for trouble. He bit my jacket and made a hole in it (while I was wearing it)
He is nice and settled tonight so I suppose I can let him off for the damage to my jacket. I guess its a good reason to buy a new one!

He is sleeping well, eating well, pulling me really badly on the lead and generally still being a mental puppy! I was expecting a lovely, cuddly, calm puppy once I changed his food. I guess I was kidding myself lol

Old towels/bedding? They should do to cover what his vetbed doesnt.

Feeling a bit sad tonight. Moby would have been 1 next Thursday, its not fair that he's not here

Dont know the history but for you.

Thanks KnickersOnMyHead
moby was my puppy who I decided to get neutered when he was 7 months old. Despite appearing to be a completely healthy dog, his heart stopped during the operation and he could not be saved. This happened in may and I keep thinking I've come to terms with it, but I clearly haven't got over his death yet.

Teddy is extra special to me, even though he drives me bonkers sometimes, he has helped me through part of the healing process.

Hey kid so sorry to hear that. It's amazing how quickly they become more than 'just an animal' to us isn't it? Give Teddy extra big cuddles this week.

Crate training here went well - he settled in it easily at 1045ish with the door closed, then we were woken by barking/howling at around 1, so came down and took him outside, then back in and he went through until 7 completely dry! YAY!

So now I'm planning to set an alarm for 12.45 ish tonight, and try and gradually bring it forward a little bit by a little bit... fingers crossed!

Oh I think I remember reading your thread, glad you have Teddy to help you through.

Well done on the crate training 30.

Took Diesl on a 40min walk last night with treats in my pocket to try and get him to sit when I ask...I came home with no treats and a dog that still doesn't sit

Knickers the same thing happens to me when I take Scruff (my older terier) out with treats and the hope that he will pay more attention to the treats than to other dogs

One day he will be able to walk past anoter dog without starting a fight. He will!

Poppy has been, erm, energetic today. The cat doesn't appreciate it much, but Sruff is loving it. They have both been sent to bed to chill out a bit now as it was getting a bit rough.

Teddy met a japanese Akita today. He was very brave and cheeky biting poor leo's face! Me, I was a quivering wreck lol. I'm glad they can be friends rather than enemies.

I have always been concerned about over exercising teddy. I spoke to my dog trainer and she has said you only have to worry about big boned dogs.
Also, you need to be realistic in what you can offer your dog exercise wise. There is no point in taking him out for 4 hours a day while I'm not working and then expect him to settle for 20 minute walk while I'm at work. Taking them for a long walk at the weekend is fine though as it's not everyday.

pet corrector?? Anyone used it? Meal times are a nightmare and chewing! Was recommended to use per corrector

the sprays to deter chewing of furniture?? Don't work!

On a more happier note Storm's tummy upset is finally settling down. Poo's much better! yay thank god. Vet says he still has to stay on fish and rice for another week. Poor thing is starving.