New puppy thread, where new puppy owners can come for help and advice and hopefully clever people like minimu, midori et al will check regularly (please) to help us...

[Happymm]

Exactly what it says on the tin really. Kings idea, that we have a thread where we can all come and ask for help, advice, support or just to vent and that the much more experienced people will come and help us out :)

Glad things are seeming better We must all stick together to get through the puppy time

oh and i wasnt bragging just showing you what the future holds

Cross post Dita! You have described just what I am hoping for Just need to get through this hard part first

LOL, thanks dita and early It's good to hear, even though I know it, there are just moments of oh boy, what did I do especially when DC is having a wobble.

On the plus side only one more week before pup can go out for a walk and his upset tum seems to have settled so I can take DC for a wander to the park tomorow for an hour, gives us some one on one time and helps the pup get accustomed to some alone time. This ironically he seems to cope with perfectly happily, just a small whine as I come through the door.

Can I ask all you current/former puppy owners how you keep/kept them entertained.

Our eleven week old pup wants constant attention. And the start of school looms and the DC won't be around to play with her as much as they have been.

I'm home most of the time but I have to work, shower, eat (MN).

wordfactory, with eric I do bits of training and a little bit of ball throwing but mainly he wants to play with cherry. With cherry I would make sure she had had plenty of play and a bit of training and then I would just get on with stuff, she often followed around behind me, ir sat at the bottom of the stairs but she soon got used to it. I would be careful giving them constant attention as i would think that may mean they get overly attached to you so you cant ever leave them for a couple of hours. also filled kong and chewy toys are great. things they dont need your interaction to play with, I have been looking at those puzzle balls they look really good.
So can you guess what happened in this house last night, I'll tell you, sleep!!!!!!!! eric slept from being put down at 10 until dd1 got up at 6.30. then gone outside and done a teeny non smelly poo. I wasnt 100% sure i had done the right thing changing him onto raw but I am now, he was doing about 6 poos the day before, yesterday he had 2 and none at night. of course it could be pure coincidence. He has however decided that under the trampoline is the best place for it, which is a little bit tricky to clean up.

Congratulations on the sleep dita things are going well on that front here too, as we had to wake Monty up at 7.30 this morning (sweet revenge).

The toilet training is getting slowly better, only one accident yesterday, and one accident already this morning.

word I too am a bit worried about next week and what I'm going to do with Monty. I'm very lucky in that I work from home, but my office is upstairs and Monty is downstairs. I think I'm going to just sit at my desk for 20 min bursts and then spend 10 mins entertaining Monty. Fortunately he has a walk on a morning now and that tires him out for a couple of hours, so I can easily put him in his cage and let him sleep while I get stuck into the work. I think I'm lucky in that I do actually have quite a placid and calm puppy - he has a mad hour at about 8.00 at night with the kitten where they literally tear around the living room like maniacs but that tires them both out for the rest of the night.

Thank you both.

I work from home too, but a. I will have to actually work and b. I will need to leave the pup sometimes.

We ahve trained her quite well with her toilet (dry at night and nearly all outside during the day) and she will sit and come when called. But I'm gonna have to train her to do her own thing a bit.

Hi Word

Are you using a crate at all? We've failed miserably with the crate (big wire pen) at night but it's really usefull during the day and our Pup is generally happy in it. We feed him in there, seeded it with treats to start of with, give him stuffed kongs in there and other chew toys. There are also puppy play pens.

We got him used to it gradually and I do go out most days for 1/2 an hour to 1 hour and then occasionally for two, he's always been fine. I also put him in there for at least one of his naps every day, usually in the am while I get housework done, he winges a bit as I trot back and forth but in the end goes to sleep. However his breeder used one of these crates so if your pup has no experience of them at all it may take longer, entirely up to you but it is another suggestion.

I am jealous of you all with your sleeping pups! 4am wake up call for me again today On the brightside though, 3 days and nights with a wee and poop free house Yay!

I took Jake and the kids to a local country park yesterday, and he was absolutely fantastic! I had him on the lead at first, but another dog owner whose dog he was playing with convinced me to take him off so they could play more (and promised to help catch him if he bolted). I was really worried but he had a whale of a time. he played for ages with the other dog, without running off, and then another 3 dogs came and joined in
Even with all this going on, he came back as soon as I called him

I ended up leaving him off lead most of the time, and he stayed close to me, coming back straight away when I called. Even when walking through a wooded part, by the side of a pond with ducks,with other dogs about, and birds walking in front of him The only time he went a bit further and wouldn't come back was when my 3 year old daughter wandered a way ahead of us when I wasn't watching her. The dog ran after her, and when I called him, ignored me until he caught up with her, and sat at her feet until I got there. He then sat still for me to put his lead on I really really couldn't beleive how good he was, much better than I could have hoped for! >

We are going to try a different park later which has pigs, sheep chicken, ponies etc, so I am hoping it continues

wrd thnks for your post. We do have a crate and it's been successful at night and for some naps.

I guess I'm just a bit nervous about puttimg her in their awake...but I'm going to have to sometimes so that I can go out without her.

Good to read everyone's updates. We're beginning to have a bit if an easier time now. Pup is great at night and fully (touch wood!) housetrained. Well, nothing inside for four weeks anyway. The only times he's been difficult is in the evenings, but for the last few he's settled on his mat at our feet and chewed a toy for an hour or so. Same earlier today when I had to do some work - he settled with a chew toy again.

Great excitement and new challenges today though, as it was our first time out after the vaccs! I am very lucky as DD is at the childminders' and I'm not back at work till tomorrow, so we've had a day on our own. Two little walks so far. Didn't get anywhere much (end of the road in each direction) as I'm standing still everytime he pulls. That is, every step! Second walk was an improvement. Hoping DH will take him again later. He did well meeting some people though and was afraid of a small cement mixer and was encouraged past it by a friendly man. I was really surprised at how nervous he seemed actually as he's ultra confident at home. He was frightened of digs barking etc. Now exhausted and asleep in his crate!

Have to leave him much longer tomorrow than we have previously as I'm back at work (only do two days). I have a friend coming in to see him during the day, so we'll see how it goes. Anyone else working outside the home?

Wow Belinda what chew toy was it?

Hi belindarose

I'm working outside the home but only 2 x 2hr shifts, I'm a referee mealtime supervisory assistant at the local school, I don't want to get over confident but so far I'm sure this will be find as I've left him for two hours three times already out of necessity, I've got a plan for longer absences that I'm going to work up to which involves the hall and a stairgate. Good luck!

Anyone else getting Dog owners telling you horror stories? Rather like mums who like to recount dreadful birth stories. I've just been with two otherwise good friends who happily told me that our dog will be a horror for two years and assorted other tales of misery to come. I've actually been quite glad to get away from them and they're two I'd normally spend a lot of time with. Grrrrrr.

Here's a thought, should we have a thread where dog owners can post their possitive experiences of dog ownership, funny stories, whatever. Something to help as out when there is puddles and poo on the rug and shredded socks upstairs, downstairs and in your bloomin' bedroom?

I will start on here if you like. I got cherry when I was suffering from depression on the advice of my councellor. she is the best dog in the world and I love the bones of her. we go out for a couple fo hours every day together, she makes me get out of the house, since we got her I have never felt lonely and if I am bored I pop her lead on and off we go. all the walking gives me fabulous head space and I have not been on ad's since we got her. I have met some fantastic friends who i see every day and it took me months to know them as anything other than dogs mum.

We go to 2 different training clubs, one we are in teh advanced class of (with a terrier proud me, not much) and the other we are in the glod class, although we did fail the gold test last week. I love training, we also do agility although not as often as I have struggled to get into a routine.
One of the reasons we got eric is because I love the training so much i wanted a breed that is easier to train, it is quite difficult to motivate a terrier without treats. in the training classes we now do most of the work off lead and we both have real fun.
She gives me something to do that isnt for dh or the kids, she repays me 10fold for any time and affection I give her. she fulfills my broody instinct, I no longer want more children that I cant have in fact if i had discovered dogs 8 years ago I may not have the children I have now (only joking).
We can tke her anywhere, and she is always invited back, she clears up under the table saves me hoovering.
that do for a start?

Yes! That's lovely! Perfect antedote to the misery guts I just spent time with, god the negativity!

I am so looking forward to the walking part, I know it's not necessarily plain sailing but I know I'll enjoy it, he'll enjoy it, it'll be good for us both.

Thanks!

oh ans she is only 18months old and has definatly been this lovely for a long time.

I had the most wonderful springer spaniel for 16 years, she was an absolute joy and brought so much happiness to all our lives. I'm thinking of her a lot at the moment with a new puppy in the house and she's been gone for 2 years but I doubt any of us will ever forget her.

She used to do some crazy things but I think one of the most memorable ones was she chased a squirrel up a tree and got herself stuck in the branches more than 6ft above my head. The fire brigade had to come and rescue her and no-one believed me when I was late for work because my dog got stuck up a tree!

She was the most intelligent, empathic, obedient dog and my constant shadow, I really miss her, I'm hoping the puppy will fill the doggy shaped gap in our lives - he's making a pretty good job of it so far.

I agree that dog walking is just a great way of clearing a space in your head.

How are you all getting on with walking? We've only been allowed out for four days, but aren't getting on well at all. Haven't made it past the end of the road yet as he pulls so badly and we're standing still with each pull (Ian Dunbar advice). We're trying the Gwen Bailey (Perfect Puppy) exercises too, but finding them very hard. Puppy class starts tomorrow so hopefully there'll be some advice there we can work on. Might have tried somewhere off lead today but DH and I are both ill and were already struggling with crazy toddler! Anyone with good news stories of learning to walk nicely on the lead??

My puppy doesn't really like walking on the lead, so I kind of drag him to wherever we're going and then let him off. He stays very close and doesn't like us to be too far away and he usually gets very upset because DS1 likes to march off in front and DS2 is a dawdler and the puppy likes us all to be together.

His recall on our walks is absolutely excellent, but that's because when he comes and sits at my feet he gets a nice little square of cooked liver, so he's like a little rocket coming back when I call him. I'm planning on taking him into town for a little walk in the next couple of weeks just to get him used to being on the lead and also other people, at the moment we're walking through the woods every day and don't meet anyone, so perfect for us at the moment but ideally he needs to be able to walk nicely on the lead in town too.

We are the same as Alicia. He either pulls, or lays down and wont move when on the lead, but if off lead he stays right by us, and comes when called. I am trying to alternate the type of walk we do, for example, last night we walked through the streets on lead, then 10 minutes off lead on the beach. Today we drove to a country park, then planned to have him off lead all the time we were there. He does seem to be improving a bit.
We start training classes tomorrow too Belinda, whereabouts are you? It would be funny if it was the same one

South Devon. You do mention the beach...!

Belinda we are South ...........Wales! So not the same one lol! Hope the class goes well

Hello all

Been icommunicardo for a couple of days thanks to Pup's ongoing digestive problems. Vet gave us some promax based on an over the phone consult last Wednesday (no appointments available) and told us to give it to him for five days. That improved things a bit until 6am Sunday when he had big squits about midnight, threw up under the bed at 6 am and finished of with more squits at 7am.

We rang the oncall vet who listened to his symptoms and said not to worry, starve until 5pm, continue with bland diet. By 2pm my DH fed him some plain scrambled egg because he was so miserable, he then turned back into a happy spring lamb and ate well until the next afternoon where he refused all food and offers of entertainment until late that night when he finally (for the first time in 24 hrs), did a poo (soggy) and then nagged and nagged until we fed him some more chicken and rice.

They didn't have an appointment yesterday so we saw the Vet today at 10am, the Vet believes that Pup does not have your classic round or tape worm, but does have some encysted internal parasites, which he would have picked up from his mother and which would not have been dealt with by the Drontal the breeder used for worming but would have begun to be by the Panacur the Vet gaves us and which we used last on Saturday before last.

So now we are looking at Panacur every two weeks starting tommorow for a lot longer than would normally be the case for a Puppy and a course of anti biotocs which he's started today to prevent secondary infection.

Otherwise he's lovely! Just worrying us silly!