New Puppy Mommies in here *blerk*

[Awks]

Got our new puppy on Saturday. I was in tears this morning and I'm a pretty experienced dog owner. Its just so hard moaning cow that I am He is a 9 week old cocker and is a beautiful, cuddly boy but is a massive shitting machine. And not in the garden either.

So any new puppy owners want to weep in here then please do.

Sally we took Jarvis to the vets yesterday am as we found blood in his stool. I also took a pooh sample and the vet said he thought he could see worm eggs in the sample so it was prolly that. But as the breeded said he's wormd him the day before we picked him up he couldnt worm again as the risk of od was worse than the worm effects. So he's givn me a wormr to give him Friday and some antibiotics as he says their intestines can get infected hence the blood. So it's prob the same for your pup.

Jarvis is doing my head in trying to get on the sofa. He's a trier, that's for certain

Unwell. Glad she/he is on mend.
Little Jess is doing good sleeping through the night next to my bed. Starting to learn things. But...... Still wont be on her own . Are you guys leaving your pup in another room while you are home? Is your pup managing it. She is 11 weeks. I got a crate and have started to put her meals in there. She is ok until I lock it then she will just cry a lot. Am i being too hard expecting her to be alone or too soft for going to her when she isn't settled in there? Gosh it is like when son was little lol!!!! What are you doing ladies?

Sally, I'd hazard a guess the blood could be down to irritation from fried rice and chicken. Keep an eye on it though and if you see any more definitely call the vet for advice.

Pip started out in the second kitchen bed last night, but then chose to go into his crate! He slept from 11.00 pm to 5.00 am. Dh heard me open the back door and came downstairs to say he'd stay with Pip for the rest of the night, so I got two nice big chunks of sleep.

Didn't have the guts to sneak upstairs in the end, given it was the neighbour's first night back and they'd had a really long drive home. I think we're reaching the point where it won't be a problem though, as he's happy to go in the garden without me and will wait by the dog gate in the kitchen while I go upstairs and put washing away etc, without so much as a whimper.

Left him with my Mum and the dcs this morning as I had to pop across the road to the vets to pick up his antibiotics, because they accidentally left them at the main branch yesterday. Apparently he had a ball without me here to supervise and was leaping on and off the sofa biting all the cushions! When I got back he was curled up in his bed looking angelic.

I have a gorgeous photo of Lurcherboy and Pip cuddled up together in Lurcherboy's favourite bed this morning. Dh was with them and said Pip was obviously really tired and sat there swaying with his head drooping, considering whether or not to try it, then just climbed in and curled up around (and atop) Lurcherboy's back. Dh thought Lurcherboy would object, but they both just snuggled down and went to sleep. Aw.

Dh has the usb cable in his work bag though - so can't download the picutres until he gets home.

Lurcherboy has also taken to supervising Pip in the garden. It's so cute, they kind of patrol the perimeter together, with Pip copying every sniff and movement his big brother does.

Birdmomma, she'll probably relax more with each session you attend.

Everlong, not all puppy classes are created equal. The best ones are the ones that involve some instruction, education and handling, rather than a puppy free for all, where the shy ones get battered by the confident ones. At this age they all have pretty gung-ho social skills and they really need interaction with well behaved, sociable adults to teach them the ropes, rather than being bunged into a fracas with a bunch of crazy pups. They definitely need to attend socialisation classes, as they need to be acclimatised to other dogs, noises, handling, etc but the bad ones are worse than none at all.

When I had my Soft Coated Wheaten girl back in the 90s, puppy socialisation classes were fairly new and just becoming popular. We took her to one at our vets an it was dire. There was a mix of everything from a Mastiff and St Bernard to a Chihuahua pup and the Mastiff spent the whole time terrorising and ragging all the smaller pups. My girl was one of the smaller pups, came from a big litter and soon put the Mastiff in his place, for which I got a telling off! We removed her from the class, as did several other owners and took her to a local dog club instead, where we did handling, health checks, basic training, grooming etc and they got to have controlled play and interaction.

Happy, have you had a go at the positive reinforcement on the Kikopup video I linked to upthread? It's worked wonders for Pip. He's now really happy in his crate and doesn't bat an eyelid at me locking the door.

Everlong - the class was worth it as my DDs came too, so although I learned only a couple of things, they got some more ideas too. We need it for Autumn to socialise, she is not great around other dogs. Ours is 4 weeks long too. It was well run, and fairly useful.

Happy - Autumn also struggles to be left alone but I am building her up to a few minutes at a time.

Sounds good everlong.

Pip was booked in for a 6 week course starting the first week in September. I've pr-booked and paid in full, but he's going to miss the first two sessions now, due to his jabs being delayed.

15 weeks I think so just outside the blooming critical socialisation period.

All we can do in the meantime is keep carrying him out and about as much as we can for socialisation. Fortunately, he responds well to new situations and events etc, ie is initially taken aback and nervous but quickly rallies to investigate and then takes it all in his stride. Thank goodness he's not a nervy pup.

I had a large breed dog that missed a good chunk of his critical socialisation period due to illness involving bone problems in his legs and he was already far too big and heavy to carry far. As a result, he developed severe fear aggression that took a lifetime to sort out. He was a breed that was predisposed to those sorts of issues already though, fortunately Pip's predisposition appears to be typical laid back Lurcher.

We took Jarvis to the socialisation class on Monday night and it was good. He was scared at first but at the end had made friends with a little labradoodle pup called Maisie and was playing with her. Ours is run by the vets, is 6 weeks long and £3 per session

We're taking Stanley to an outdoor shopping centre today for more socialisation. I thought it might be good to sit by the play area to get him used to small children - it's probably best if I don't leave OH there by himself lol

No doubt we'll return via PAH to spend another small fortune on toys and treats

Later on DD and I are going to attempt to make some liver cake for him...it sounds utterly revolting.

I'm saving up all the socialising ideas for the future! We're starting to introduce our dog to the pups properly, they seem keen and wobble over to lean against her a bit, and she responds and licks them a bit, but the vet reccomends cat exposure and exposure to children outside the home, but to wait for cats until about 5wks. It all seems a bit early as they aren't vaccinated yet, but he put us in touch with a scout group so they can meet the puppies which should happen when they're 4wks, I'm just a bit nervous because you never know with some children!

Looking for a short trip out for Ollie. Do Pets at Home actually allow you to take pups in?

Do they? I didn't know that might go then!

Thank you. Off we go!

Toby has turned into an indoor weeing and pooing machine! He does them outside and gets loads of cheering and praise, but even with the back door permanently open he is doing them indoors. I've now switched from Anti-bac spray to vinegar and water. Every time he wakes up or has eaten, or has had a huge play I'm taking him out. I know he's only 8 weeks old, but I had hoped that he'd be using the puppy pads which are everywhere!!

Any words of wisdom?

Thanks Everlong. I think I will always worry I'm not doing enough, because of my past experience.

TMB I make liver cake for Lurcherboy. I'm vegetarian and it literally makes me heave and almost lose my lunch. Bleugh! My advice is to add plenty of garlic, as it really stinks when it's cooking without it. Don't give him too many pieces though, as even small amounts of offal can have a less than pleasant effect on their digestion.

Roasted, the more gentle handling they get at this stage the better. If you Google early socialisation you should be able to find some ideas to help guide you. This APBC article is very good.

I took both Lurcherboy and Pip to PAH at the weekend. Lurcherboy is normally really well behaved and totally relaxed, but he was beside himself with joy at being in a shop full of dog food and treats and was really naughty for dh (who was holding his lead while I carried Pip). He was even more excited when he spotted the guinea pigs - from the other side of the store. Fortunately he managed to restrain himself from actually going to visit them, but the way he was looking at them was slightly disconcerting to say the least! Sometimes him being a sighthound isn't so great.

Sally, were you using anti-bax or specific pet accident cleaner?

You need something biological to break down the scent or he will just keep being attracted back there to do it again. The best stuff we've found is called Simple Solution - they sell it a PAH.

The only other alternative is biological washing liquid in very hot water.

Moose - So you don't think vinegar and water then?? I knew bleach was a nono. I've got persil bio washing powder. I can make a solution with that. Would that work we have no carpeting downstairs only laminate.

Thanks moose and liver cake doesn't sound that...nice.

Sally, it needs to be a proper biocide, because dogs' noses are so ridiculously sensitive, they can still smell it weeks after we've cleaned up, unless every tiny scrap of biological material has been broken down. Anything else just dilutes the smell and spreads it around, then if you walk on the floor, you will spread the scent on your feet/shoes/slippers.

Persil bio would do it, but I've always found the specific cleaners much more effective than bio washing stuff myself.

Roasted, we have a friend from waaay back at Uni who tried my garlic liver cake and said it's lovely and would I make some for him. I declined. That said, he iscompletely bonkers.