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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

New Puppy Mommies in here *blerk*

1000 replies

Awks · 13/08/2013 16:34

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.

OP posts:
LostInWales · 13/09/2013 11:17

Yay, I know what I am going to do today! I will use lunchtime's kibble to start with as I'm terrified to break our run of lovely firm poos all managed outside (TMI? Wink)

moosemama · 13/09/2013 11:35

That's what I do LIW, just apportion out some of his kibble feed for the day and keep it about my person, then use it to capture and reward desired behaviours.

I do use Fish4Dogs training stars as well, as they're so benign that he was been able to tolerate them almost as soon as he started getting over the campylobacter, but I tend to keep them to a minimum, then their rarity raises their usefulness as a higher grade reward, iyswim.

LostInWales · 13/09/2013 13:43

Fish4Dogs do free delivery too, wonderful, treats ordered Smile. The dogs get lots of oily fish and I know my big dog looks amazingly healthy, he is v slim as befits a whippet but he looks fit with nice muscles rather than scrawny and his coat glows with shine. Little miss still has her fluffy puppy coat at the moment but she's starting to get her slim whippety waist, not got the long nose yet though. No one believes me when I say she's a whippet!

DharmaLovesDraco · 13/09/2013 14:05

Puppy is still suffering from the runs here, but it's intermittent, has solid and sloppy. He's been back to the vets today as was due his first jabs (obviously didn't have them) we have more paste and they are sending off his mucusy poo will cost us £150 altogether Hmm good job we love him!!!. He is however fine in himself and well in general, he's even managed to gain weight :)

Sleeping has gone backwards, he's now waking for a wee about 3/4 am and would quite like to play afterwards, but hopefully this will get better.

I love him, I do but my god it's hard. I knew it would be but I'm amazed by just how tough it all is. He's our first puppy too so we just feel so bloody clueless all the time. Thankfully his breeder is wonderful and is contactable at all hours, we had a lovely chat today and she is so reassuring and knowledgeable.

Off to catch up on the rest of the thread, hope everyone else is ok

mintchocchick · 13/09/2013 14:24

Dharma - it is hard isn't it? I'm so drained in the afternoons, feel like I really need a sleep just as the kids are getting home from school. Hard to be jolly and patient with kids.

I've been up at 5/6am every morning this week, plus awake in night several times, plus have our 8 yr old in bed with us because he's regressed since puppy arrived! Looking very tired.

But none of that seems to matter when I'm having cuddles and watching our puppy leaping around the garden!

I'm sure each week it will ease up a bit.....

happygolucky0 · 13/09/2013 15:41

It does get easier !! Although I was totally stressed about leaving her this time last week for two to three hours. I found weekend crate training on google. Spent last weekend doing that and it has really worked. Jess has slept in the crate for weeks but in my bedroom but I was really starting to think she has separation anxiety. But she managed to be left in the kitchen mon and weds and thurs between an hour and three and was find no noise as got a neighbour to listen in. So would recommend it . Hope she keeps it up!!
Still abit of a struggle to walk her . I have taken treats to try and encourage her to walk but she takes four or five steps then sits down waiting for a treat. Or if I don't give her treats she still pulls back and sits down. When I take her to a park she is abit better but still very slow to get going unless she finds a friend!! Any tips???

Ohalvo · 13/09/2013 16:04

DharmaLovesDraco you're not alone! Floyd is or first pup too and we are also feeling totally clueless! Constantly! Haha. Reading cesar millan and hoping I'm doing the right thing - waiting for someone to knock in the door and tell me in doing something wrong! Bf loves him and is such a softy - think I must be the disciplinarian! He can sit and come now - teaching off to stop biting and down. He does choose to ignore us sometimes though- selective hearing!!!

So looking forward to being able to take him out for little walks!

Going to look at fish4dogs now!!!

moosemama · 13/09/2013 16:26

Dharma Fingers crossed it's something simple that can be sorted with, at worst, a short course of antibiotics.

It is really hard work in the first couple of weeks, but it does get easier.

I had another glimpse of it this week with him waking up cold at night. I'm so relieved - and lucky - that the lovely people on the pointy hound thread knew what it was straight away and were able to put me on the right track.

Mind you, I'm exhausted for other reasons this week, as things have been truly horrendous with regard to ds1 and his secondary transition. In fact things probably couldn't have gone worse if someone had planned the worst possible transition for a child with AS, travelling on LA transport for the first time in his life. Traumatic is not even the right word. Sad

mintchocchick · 13/09/2013 16:41

Oh dear that's awful moose.

You'd think the LEA would have enough experience of SN kids moving to secondary that they'd have lots of support in place and a best practice way of doing things. Hope it hasn't set your DS back in terms of confidence

moosemama · 13/09/2013 16:45

Happy, glad Jess is being so good in the crate. I saw the weekend crate training thing the other day and wondered if I should start again with Pip, but he's nearly there really. He's fine staying in his crate while I'm around and happy enough for about 40 minutes while I'm out, I just need to start gently extending the time he's left for now.

Ohalvo, did someone recommend Cesar Milan to you? He's not a great example of a good dog trainer, he still holds to dominance theory which has been scientifically been proved to be wrong, but that doesn't stop him being pretty brutal with some of the dogs he trains - there are lots of examples of just how brutal on YouTube. He is fundamentally a celebrity trainer who still uses massively outdated and punitive training methods.

I would recommend Grisha Stewart , these guys and Gwen Bailey , in that order, if you want to build a truly solid and positive bond with Floyd.

moosemama · 13/09/2013 16:50

Thanks mintchoc. It's complicated, because he's been sent to an independent, out of area school and is on transport for at least an hour morning and afternoon. The transport company has proven themselves to be unreliable, willing to lie to us, the school and the LEA and the school, whilst generally excellent dropped the ball big-time yesterday which resulted in my vulnerable ds being left on the side of a main A road into the city without supervision for half an hour when his transport failed to turn up.

Obviously we've made a formal complaint, but typical LA cogs turn slowly and procedures have to be followed ....

Just had a call (15 minutes after pick up should have taken place) to tell me the taxi was stuck in traffic so they are likely to be a bit late - implying they're on board but traffic is heavy. Nope, two minutes later - half an hour after pick up time ds phoned me on his mobile (thank heavens we bought him one) to tell me the taxi had failed to turn up - again! Angry

Tempted to refuse to send him back to school until they can sort it out - both the LA and school have admitted failure to safeguard ds, so how they can expect me to keep handing him over to unreliable, lying strangers every day is beyond me. Angry

Anyhoo - this is all for another thread methinks. Sorry for the hijack - I'm just a smidgeon preoccupied at the moment. Blush

basildonbond · 13/09/2013 21:52

Fitz is here!!! Grin

He wasn't very happy on the journey home (traffic was awful and it took much longer than we'd thought) - thankfully dh was with me as he'd poo'd before we'd even got to the main road - another poo, plus vomit plus quite a bit of crying happened before he finally went to sleep :(

He cheered up as soon as we got home though and was gambolling happily around the garden. He couldn't manage to keep himself awake though and a couple of hours ago flaked out on the kitchen floor for 10 mins then roused himself enough to totter into his crate and he's been sparko ever since. We've put an old duvet over the crate to make it more den-like which he seems to like.

He's not eaten much so far and no wee or poo since the car incident though so any minute now I'm going to have to brave the garden in the pouring rain....

I'm sleeping down in the kitchen tonight so wish me luck

LostInWales · 13/09/2013 22:05

Yay, hello Fitz, wishing you many happy snuggles.

I can kiss my smug no messing dog smile goodbye now. She might have slept beautifully every night, she might have never, ever done a poo inside but she has got her feet under the table now and oh my she is naughty. With the insouciance of someone who knows they are beautiful and loved she is chewing up everything she can get her paws on and dancing away at top speed if I try to retrieve them, when she is done with that she comes and sits on whippety boys head so she can have a better view of the TV. Oh no, she is spoilt Wink. She learned to do 'sit' today to a word and hand command and I was so proud but I think now she was just laying the final pieces in place before she showed us who is boss! (and she is right, we love her with all our hearts, someone pinch me in the morning and remind me to take charge again).

sweetkitty · 14/09/2013 00:14

So much to catch up on, we had first jabs today, she was a star, the vet was so pleased with her, she's in excellent condition.

She's still very clean in the house but more because I take her out all the time, shes not keen on the waterlogged garden either.

She's biting everything and anything so trying to deal with that, she's learning her name and we doing crate training think that's enough for now.

Moosemama - I was thinking those ankle wellies would just be the thing, am now looking for decent wellies for walking in the winter too.

basildonbond · 14/09/2013 06:51

Well he's been a star so far - woke up at about 10, had fairly manic playing/chewing session (toes are delish apparently so lots if redirection) then our only accident in the house so far (poo) and I'd just been thinking I wonder if he needs a poo ...

Whined a bit when I put him back in the crate but settled down v quickly - a few little whimpers overnight but he went back to sleep again and woke up for good at 6

I've left DH on puppy duty while I get a bit of undisturbed sleep but all I can hear from the kitchen is no, no, no ...

mintchocchick · 14/09/2013 07:43

How lovely that you've all got your puppies home.

We can't believe it's only been a week since we collected Zebo - seems an age!

Lots of biting here - slippers most popular, toes, dressing gown ropes! I feel we don't have enough toys for distraction so we're going on a bus today for a socialisation trip and will aim for a pet shop then home. I just hope Zebo doesn't need a wee on the bus! How would other people manage that whole issue?

sebastianthesingingaubergine · 14/09/2013 07:50

Basildon, I started off doing that. No, no, no, it was draining. At puppy group the trainer explained that any use of voice is a reward, whether positive or negative. She told me to stop the no's, distract or remove the puppy from whatever I don't want her to be doing and then reward her when she was doing the right/desired thing. So when she is sat quietly, laying down, chewing a toy and not an arm etc etc. Just the removal of the constant no's made me feel so much calmer! Hope he had a good night.

SallyBear · 14/09/2013 09:02

Mint - Toby cried the first few times in the car. Then I rewarded him for being quiet. Every time he stopped whining and was quiet for a minute I said 'good quiet'. After about three miles of this he stopped and hasn't whined since! I give him a treat in the car when I put him in, a couple of times along the journey for good quiet and when we get to our destination.

sweetkitty · 14/09/2013 09:08

Were biting mad here too. I've told the DC to stay still, ignore her, turn their back and walk away. I think it helps telling them that she doesn't want to hurt them, she thinks they are puppies and that's how puppies play we need to teach her that's not how humans play.

Can I give her a rawhide chew? Or is she too little?

SallyBear · 14/09/2013 09:25

Give her one and see if she likes them. Toby loves his cigar rolls now. The nipping does calm down. Honestly!

Ohalvo · 14/09/2013 09:31

moosemama oh really? Yes was recommended to me by a friend with 2 very well behaved dogs! :/ ok, will stop reading and move over to others! He is having a bit of an off day today - a fee little pees inside . Tiny ones but maybe he's feeling a bit hyper! Hope that next week is better for you - on all fronts!

sevastiantheaingingaubergine interesting! I'm going to stop saying no when he jumps on the sofa! He is growing fast and before we know it they'll be able to reach thibgs they couldn't before! We have puppy training starting on 13 oct.

mintchocchick keep us updated on the bus trip! :))

Ohalvo · 14/09/2013 09:32

Could someone post a link to the weekend crate training please? Think he's doing ok but I'm back to work in 3 weeks (freelance but starting to get busy!) and won't be around as much as I am now!

mintchocchick · 14/09/2013 10:17

What are people going to do about potential need for a wee/poo when being carried out for socialisation?

I'm imagining if Zebo is in our arms/lap he will whine if he needs a wee but we shouldn't then put him on the ground as he's not vaccinated. I asked the vet nurse when I phoned to book vacc and she said take newspaper everywhere with you and put that on the ground. Really? Can't imagine that working and my visions of a coffee at the outdoor tables in shopping area are disappearing!

Maybe I'm being too ambitious and the bus journey is enough - think I've got cabin fever though after a week of baby steps!

basildonbond · 14/09/2013 10:52

www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/weekend-crate-training

Weekend crate training - rubbish links on phone!

moosemama · 14/09/2013 11:19

Yay, welcome home Fitz and well done for being such a good boy on your first night. Smile

Mintchoc, as long as he goes just before you go out and you're not out more than a couple of hours he should be ok. You usually find they're too nervous to wee out and about the first few times anyway, but I always take a puppy pad in my bag just in case, so I can put him down if I need to. Can't believe I'm still lugging him around, he weighs a tonne and has discovered this morning that he's no longer small enough to run under Lurcherboy's stomach! Grin Pip has never wanted a wee while we are out - but runs straight outside and produces gallons the minute we get back!

Sebastian's advice about the no's is spot on. Much easier and more pleasant to reward the good behaviour and distract from the bad behaviour and it doesn't teach them to ignore your voice like constantly giving them verbal reprimands that they don't understand anyway. An alternative is to introduce a positive interrupter sound (there's a Kikopup video on this that I used to teach Pip). I use 'Wassis' as in "What's this?" but said quicker. Basically you just say it then shove a treat in their mouth and do lots and lots of repetitions, then whenever they're doing something undesirable you can use it to get their attention in a positive way, reward then redirect. I've never used it before, but it's made a massive different to the way I handle Pip, much more positive.

Ohalvo, Cesar's methods will produce a well behaved dog, but only achieve this by suppressing the dog's natural desires and instincts, which ultimately means they are constantly stressed, but unless you are good at reading canine body language and communication you probably won't see it. I am only just learning about reading canine communication and it's really opened my eyes up. I've never used punitive training methods, but I can clearly see when Lurcherboy is stressed or worried about my tone of voice or body posture now and I feel awful that he's probably always felt like that, been giving me consistent calming signals to let me know how he was feeling and I've effectively been ignoring them because I didn't know what I was looking at. I read a book over the summer call Calming Signals, by Turid Rugaas and have since watched some of her YouTube videos and also some by Dog Communication by a lady named Penel and it's fascinating stuff and so useful if you want to really understand your dog and what it's trying to tell you and other dogs. You don't need to go into it in that detail though, just following someone like Gwen Bailey or Grisha, will ensure you handle your dog positively and have the same positive effect.

Pip is back to sleeping through again now, thank heavens and this morning went straight back to sleep after going outside for a quick toilet break. Unfortunately, ds1 had other ideas and woke the whole house at 7.00 am. Hmm

I have come down with dd's virus today though, so dh sent me back to bed till 10.00 and he and boys are going out for a couple of hours to Pokemon League now, so I am fully intending to veg on the sofa with dd while they're out.

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