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.

Boxer x GSD. He was huge, weighing in at almost 9 stone at his heaviest and daft as a brush with us, our dogs and anyone he knew from a pup, but truly terrified of everyone/thing else. On top of his breeding, he was rescued from a puppy farm, so not the best start on top of the potential breed related issues.

We did a lot of work with him over the years and he improved massively, to the point that other people wouldn't have realised he was fear aggressive, but he took over our life for so many years and it was a really tough time for us while we were going through it.

It was because of him that I ended up going to college to do canine studies and got properly involved in dogs. Everything I know about dogs is as a result of having him. He really was the most beautiful dog, in both body and soul. It used to break my heart that most people never got to meet the real him.

Thank you for the link to the utube training that will be useful. I am over the mood today as Jess has let me leave her indoors for 15 mins without crying while I waited in the garden . That is such progress.
I have been using washing liquid to clean up any wee indoors. It seems to be doing the trick as she goes wherever if she does go indoors. I take her out on waking around 30 mins after eating and every hour. Mostly goes outside now. It's been 6 days.

So DH is off to heathrow at 3.30am and wants an early night. So I've scooped a passed out Toby off the floor and put him his crate, locked the door and snuck out the lounge thinking that because he'd been to the loo 20 minutes earlier it was safe to go upstairs. Where's DH? Downstairs of course - better not be waking up Toby! I'm full anticipating being up with him in the middle of the night, just thought that DH recognised the need to get to bed quickly without waking him up!!

Success! Puppies have started to lap (which means I don't have to get up in the night) and because of that, we're going to bring weaning forward. Hopefully this means no getting up every few hours to feed them, as they'll be able to go all night without food eventually. It's nice to be able to put in the formula, watch them lap it up and be able to relax knowing I don't have to crouch over and fiddle with bottles.

Yay Roasted - enjoy your sleep

Well DH took ages doing his out of office stuff that by the time he got to bed Toby had woken up. He then whined for about five minutes before I pathetically caved and went downstairs to him and let him out. I slept on the sofa with Toby lying on the floor up against the sofa. He woke up at 1.30 for a wee came back to bed and then got up and rushed to the back door to squat to do a poo, I quickly got the door unlocked and popped him outside where he did a poo in the garden! Hooray (celebrating the small stuff!). Then back to sleep next to me (in the floor still) until 4.15 when DH was leaving for Heathrow and did another wee before coming back to his actual bed to sleep. I was woken up at 6.30 by DS3 and Toby looking expectantly for their breakfast. Toby now fast asleep in his bed. He only did one accident overnight. Phew!

I'm now obsessed with toileting and beds.... Can't think why?!

yippeeeeeeeeeee 3 nights of accident free puppiness.

To answer a few questions.

I dont use puppy pads, it confuses the dogs - they learn to go on the pad, then you have to train them to go outside. So, in my experience, its twice the teaching!

I have a crate - it has a piece of vet bed in, a snuggly baby blanket, a chew toy and thats it. I have the crate door open during the day and he can go in and out at his leisure, sometimes he sleeps in there, mostly he sleeps on my German Shepherds enormous bed. Its hilarious to see my big dog sleep on the floor or my sofa whilst Olly is sprawled on this super kingsize bed.

In the evening Olly comes in the lounge and has a cuddle on sofa and lies on a cushion. Then at bedtime he goes in his crate after bedtime wees/poos gets a milky biscuit and door closed and locked.

his crate is in dining room, next to big dogs bed so has company and so far so good.

I have looked into puppy classes and will go investigate later.

Puppy has sneezed a few times over the past few days but is fine in himself, no runny eyes or nose but I know the pollen count is high, so poss hayfever? Any suggestions welcome...

Jax I've had horrendous hay fever the past few days, so Olly has my sympathies!

tanley slept from midnight until 8:30 this morning when we woke him up. He ran straight to the back door, ran out and did a wee and a poo - fingers crossed we might be getting somewhere with toilet training.

Jealous!!! He's only been here since Sunday, and he's only 8 weeks old. Hoping to make some progress, even though he's done 3 wees indoors already. The puppy pads seem to be ignored by him so I'm seriously wondering if they're worth using at all.

Aw, starting to lap on their own. Roasted they're really coming on.

Sally, sounds like an active, but successful night.

Jax, yay for accident free nights. I think the pollen count is most likely to be behind the sneezing. So many people seem to be suffering, it makes sense for it to be affecting dogs as well.

Pip's consistently going from 10.30/11.00 till 5.00 am now, so we really need to start sneaking upstairs, but I'm so worried about him waking the neighbours. They are lovely, but have already been so patient about Lurcherboy's howling with his Separation Anxiety that I don't want them to think we're taking the proverbial P.

I had to wrestle a bonio type dog biscuit from Pip yesterday. He found it at the top of our garden and as we don't buy them and it wasn't there the day before, I can only assume next door's teenagers (neighbours on the other side) or one of their friends must have thrown it over. I'm hoping there was nothing wrong with it and they thought they were being kind, but not great considering he's on an exclusion diet. Odd thing to do though - especially as they don't have a dog themselves, so where did they get a dog biscuit from?

Sally we only used puppy pads for the first weekend, as the foster mum had them and it was one step better than him going on the carpet. As soon as he'd been outside a few times we removed all the pads, except the one right by the back door in case he get's caught short and/or we don't manage to open the door in time.

Toby, is still so new and little. It will come, just keep on taking him outside at every opportunity and reinforcing him when he goes and make sure you have properly cleaned everywhere inside with biological cleaner.

Aw, poor Enzo, but it's not a bad thing, as he survived and you were there to comfort him, so all good socialisation really if you think about it.

We're having fun having to syringe antibiotics into Pip twice a day. Dh did it on his own this morning - I guessed he had by the loud yelp.

It seems worse on a wet day. Currently huddled under patio brolly while he's gallivanting through flower beds.

Agreed - at least we didn't wait until Autumn/Winter to get our pups. It would be so much worse then. Imagine house training in the snow and ice.

My older dog is sneezing because of pollen Jax and yay to the accident free nights!

Moose that's one of the reasons we got a puppy in summer - that and the fact DD is off school to puppy sit

Second feed of the day and it was scoffed quickly. There's a break in the rain so I'm outside while he savages a rubbery squeaky toy. I have not done anything other than trail around after him clearing up, removing exciting and illegal things to chew (including toes) and making sure that he behaves himself. I haven't managed to get upstairs to see how DD us this morning, which is bad so I'm going to make her twin take over from me while I rush upstairs. It's like a baby all over again but in a concentrated version!

It does calm down a bit Sally. The first few days were like that for us too, but now I've got to know him a bit I'm getting used to his little routines and habits and can pretty much predict where he's going to go and what his favourite naughty moves are - although obviously he still manages to catch me out every so often!

Everlong it's rainy and muggy here today.