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The doghouse

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New Puppy Mummies Part 2

991 replies

SallyBear · 24/09/2013 13:16

Just thought I'd start the new thread!

Toby (foxy coloured yellow Labrador) is now 13 weeks old. Long, lean and lanky. Still wonderfully tempered and is sleeping through and no longer messing in the house.

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moosemama · 09/10/2013 15:02

That seems to fit in with the ones I've met - excluding the first one I mentioned - he was a yellow. Obviously not typical of his breed - although to be honest, he'd been ruined by his owners!

Choc labs were very much in fashion when I had my Wheaten girl (late 90s) and seemed to be everywhere. Watching that RSPCA dog rescue programme last night and seeing litter after litter of chocolate labs in puppy farms, you can see how they end up with that rep. Sad

SallyBear · 09/10/2013 17:10

Obviously foxy red labs like Toby Red are practically perfect in every way!!!WinkWink yeah right!

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sweetkitty · 09/10/2013 21:45

Trying to catch up I keep writing posts and they don't get posted probably my fault.

Sallybear - Toby is lovely, lovely colour Nala is darker than that a reddish brown.

We have an antler but she's not that interested in it, that and the Nylabone, she likes the flat rawhides and of course the smelly pigs ears.

I think we've had a little breakthrough in toilet training as she started sniffing around the back door. Still very very bitey though am hoping she will start to calm down a bit. Loving walking her though.

FrightRider · 09/10/2013 22:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BunInMyOven93 · 10/10/2013 08:32

ughhh!!!! guys im at the end of my tether now. im almost 33 weeks pregnant and need sleeeeeep!!! i wouldnt give him up for the world now i have him. But wilson is 9 weeks old now and is SO naughty!! He was absolutely fab up until yesterday. He was doin all his wees on his puppy pad and poos outside, he was playing nicely and just chewing on his toys. Now hes like a devil dog lol. He wees and poos everywhere then rolls around in it/Eats it! he chews everything he can get his paws on! He bites (harder everyday) and if i tell him no he bears his teeth and growls at me. i know hes just a baby and hes learning but he was so good! :( he doesnt really.cry (much) in the night anymore, just at 6:30-7am. Then dp goes to.work so i have to get up with him and have him bite my feet. He.drew blood this morning. I dont know how to punish him so that he will start to learn that biting is bad. I dont want to 'tap him on the nose'. Ive just been getting close to his face and firmly saying "no!". I dont know what to dooo im sooo stressed out!!

Lifeisontheup · 10/10/2013 09:04

Poor you Bun. It is really hard work having a puppy when you're pregnant. I did it with my first puppy years ago and it was hard.

My pup Finn is coming up to 10 weeks and we're gradually getting somewhere with the biting at least with me. I first of all yelp really loudly. a high pitched squeal and then if he carries on say 'no' in a really deep, growly, scary voice. The moment he backs off I praise him and give him a toy that he can chew. He's not so good with DD and I think that's because she doesn't have such an effective scary voice as me. Mine has been honed with years of practice on the DC's Grin

I have also found that he bites more when he's tired so have instigated a strict routine of garden, play, garden and into his crate for a sleep. The play can be varying lengths of time but if he gets overexcited and bitey I take him out into the garden and then into his crate for sleep.

moosemama · 10/10/2013 09:20

It must be very hard, given you're pregnant at well, but he's very young Bun. For biting a very loud 'Ow' - loud enough to surprise him, then turn your back on him or if that does'nt work, scoop him up and put him behind a dog gate or even a door for a few seconds until he calms down. Message being - biting = end of game. The growling and biting harder is probably him responding to your challenging body language and tone, as he would to a challenge from a litter sibling. He things you want to play harder.

If he's just play biting but not too hard, try saying ow and shoving something he can bite in his mouth then telling him he's a good boy - so he learns what he can and can't bite. With dogs you can't just tell them what they shouldn't do you need to show/teach them what they should/can do.

House training. I'd ditch the puppy pads and take him outside every 15 minutes to start with, gradually increasing until you get a feel for how long he's going between wees. You need to wait out there with him until he goes and ignore any invitations to play until he has gone. Then when he does go make a huge song and dance about it, tonnes of praise and a really tasty treat. If he goes indoors, don't react at all, just interrupt him and take him outside - even if he's pretty much finished. Then clean up without saying anything. Are you using a biological pet accident cleaner, like Simple Solution? If not, he will still be able to smell where he's gone before, even if you can't and using anything other than bio cleaner will actually spread the scent out and encourage him to go there again. If you haven't got any pet accident cleaner, biological washing liquid or powder in very hot water will do the job until you can get some and you need to thoroughly clean all the areas he's been.

Are you taking him out and about much? Carrying him to all sorts of different places is exactly what he needs at the moment. It will make him aware of the big wide world and wear him out trying to process the enormity of it all.

He should be having periods of manic puppy behaviour interspersed by long naps. If he's not napping, that could explain why he's getting so manic and you probably need to enforce some quiet time to encourage him to sleep. If he doesn't have a crate, perhaps a well wrapped hot water bottle and blanket in his bed?

moosemama · 10/10/2013 09:21

Crossposted with Lifeisontheup - took ages to type due to my puppy being a pita! Grin

Lifeisontheup · 10/10/2013 09:30

I've also instigated a ball throwing time when I take him out and after wee/poo I throw the ball for him about 20 times. He loves it ,and in the process, I'm teaching him to 'drop it' on command and hopefully registering the ball as a high value toy which I'm hoping will be useful when I start walking him. I think some structured play helps to tire them as they have to think.
We also take him out for a carry to the station to meet DS, it's rush hour so huge amounts of stimulation and he comes back shattered and ready for a nap which carries us over supper time.

basildonbond · 10/10/2013 09:40

bun 9-10 weeks is really hard! Fitz is now 12 weeks old and the biting is definitely getting better - not perfect, but better ...

It is at its worst when he's tired (just like a toddler, they get completely wired) and although he has a bed out of his crate that he likes to flop in he only really sleeps deeply in his crate. Right now he looks like he's sparko in his non-crate bed but I know that as soon as I move from the table he'll be up like a shot so in a minute he's going to go into the garden and be popped into his crate for an hour or so to make sure he sleeps deeply enough to cope with the rest of the day. You're lucky in that Winston is nice and small - we've got another 10 days of lugging 7kg of leggy puppy around but we have to do it as there's a huge difference with the days when he's had enough socialisation and the days (like the other day when he was hideous) when circumstances have conspired against getting him out enough. Yesterday he went to watch dd play netball and had a trip to a dog-friendly cafe and he was beautifully calm in the evening

moose don't think the restlessness was caused by the wormer as it's Drontal puppy wormer which he was on at the breeder .. However we are going to have to change it as he needs tick protection as well when he starts going to Richmond Park

sally our first ever dog was a fox red lab - and she was practically perfect in every way Wink

Ps - I keep writing posts which then disappear ....

BunInMyOven93 · 10/10/2013 09:52

Oh thanks for your replies. I will try the loud OUCH and cold shoulder today. He has a few toys he likes for about 3 minutes at a time. Then he gets bored and starts biting my feet, hands, jumping up to try and bite my face etc. And i use dettol antibacterial spray and kitchen towels for his accidents. We went through 3 full rolls yesterday 8). He seems to wee literally every 5 minutes. Almost as though hes done a little, then goes to finish it somewhere else and so on so forth. I ignore when he goes inside and praise outside. He knows that outside is good because when hes.finished he comes running up as if it say "look what i did". Hes asleep in his crate atm, unfortunately, im not! lol.

SallyBear · 10/10/2013 10:07

Bun, Toby peed constantly inside and out. I rang my breeder in desperation and she told me to take the water bowl out side. Do all the feeding outside and also to take up the puppy pads. I did all of that and within a day he'd stopped peeing in the house. Buy a bottle of the simple solution to use as floor cleaning and also buy it in the spray. Go outside with him. Praise as soon as he's done a pee. Take this opportunity to call it something that you can then use as a command. We use "tiddle" here. So say "good tiddle" just after the deed and give a treat, which quickly then becomes "good tiddle" after a time. He gets used to the tiddle word and then you can say "go do a tiddle" followed by "good tiddle" But the important thing is you have to be outside with him. If he's struggling doing poos outside, a good tip I heard about is to walk him round and round in circles and then he will do a poo. Not needed to do that one as Toby is pretty good.

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moosemama · 10/10/2013 10:17

Dettol won't work, you need a biological cleaner that will actually break down the biological matter - if you don't he will still be able to smell it even if you can't and keep going back to the same places to go again. I really recommend Simple Solution - you can buy it in Pets at Home.

BunInMyOven93 · 10/10/2013 10:22

I.say "good boy! Wee wee". He knows that one. We go outside a lot too. He does a lot of wees out there and most of.his poos, but he doesnt seem to have a 'poo.routine' so its hard knowing when he needs one. I take him out every half.hour-ish and give him 10mins to try. Hes just a monkey lol.x

BunInMyOven93 · 10/10/2013 10:23

His vets is inside pets at hoke and we're going tomorrow so will have to wait until then. Thanks.for the tip. You seem.right because he does seem.to go in.the same places xx

Lifeisontheup · 10/10/2013 10:31

I don't think putting the water bowl outside would work for us as Finn hardly drinks anything, I fill his bowl up in the morning and it's hardly gone down at all by the evening.

We've been trying to extend the time Finn goes between wees. It seems strange but he seems to wee in the house when he's bored so if he starts to wander around in his favourite wee area we call him and play with him for a bit, then take him out. Otherwise it seemed like he was doing a wee outside then coming in and doing another one. I know he can last as he goes all night without any accidents and has done since 8 weeks.

diplodocus · 10/10/2013 11:31

Gosh - some of your posts make me feel glad we got Diplodog after the 8-10 wk period now despite her, um, quirks. Must be really difficult when pregnant - my hat is off to you Bun.
Well the bad news is Diplodog managed to dig her way out of the garden into the field behind where she romped off into the middle distance, but the good news is when DH noticed and called her she came back instantly! Her recall has been good in the garden but we didn't dare try in an open space. Guess it's time to start letting her off the lead (gulp!) - and obivously block up her escape route. It's worse than with a child - I keep getting visions of her trekking across two miles of open country to the main road. Oh, and the other thing was she managed to get hold of and chew the strap off DD's nearly new startrite school shoe - it's pretty much the only thing she's chewed so we were too complacent - lesson learnt.

moosemama · 10/10/2013 13:32

Just gave my two their fallow deer antlers. Bought the easy, split ones and Pip doesn't know what to do with his. He's watching Lurcherboy through the gate, but just keeps carrying his around by the string looking a bit like ... Confused

Grin
Lifeisontheup · 10/10/2013 14:53

Finn is tucking into his pigs ear after a long sleep in his crate and a good run around in the garden.

SallyBear · 10/10/2013 16:01

I'm going to pop into Costco and buy a box of them tomorrow. One pigs ear left. Rationing Toby....Confused

Crates - any ideas on what size to recommend for a Labrador? Toby is in a friend's cocker spaniel sized crate, and I think that he is now getting too big for it. Size and price ideas would be great please! Smile

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SallyBear · 10/10/2013 16:10

I looked at this one in Argos. [[Extra Large Pet Cage and Mat - Black.
www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/8706313.htm?cmpid=APPSOCIAL01 XL crate]]

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SallyBear · 10/10/2013 16:11

www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/8706313.htm?cmpid=APPSOCIAL01

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moosemama · 10/10/2013 16:53

I got Pip's from Doggie Solution's budget range. It's much lighterweight than my old dogs' crates but I find that better, as it makes it easier to move for floor cleaning etc.

I thought I'd bought him an extra-large, but checking back it seems I went for intermediate. I know I spent a lot of time deciding and measuring the space we had available etc. Pip still has plenty of room to run around in there - his bed only takes up half at them moment and Lurcherboy fits fine for standing up, turning round and lying down.

The only criticism I have of them is that the door opening isn't as tall as the crate, so Lurcherboy has to stoop a bit to get in, but it doesn't seem to bother him. Here - they have 20% off at the moment. I like the fact it has two doors as well, as the side one suits our kitchen set-up much better than the end one.

moosemama · 10/10/2013 16:58

Forgot to say. I think Pip may end up needing an extra large eventually, purely for height - although heaven knows how we're going to fit it in!

SallyBear · 10/10/2013 17:03

I measured up and it takes up the entire area I'd earmarked initially in DHs study. I think size wise that it's ok. The crate will never go in the car, as tbh we wouldn't have the room to take him and it plus luggage and oh yes, the kids with us on holiday!

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