New Puppy Mummies Part 2

[SallyBear]

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.

Wow there are some seriously cute puppies on this thread! Sounds like they are all doing fantastically well!!

I would love a bigger dog one day but felt while I was juggling 3 small children and a dog a small one was much easier, as dd can hold the lead if necessary while i hold the hands of ds1 and ds2 which she couldn't do if it was a bigger dog that could pull her/that she couldn't control.

Sorry not been back on here for a while had a very poorly ds2 then dd was poorly and now half term has started so been very busy.

Gizmo is doing very well in a lot of areas but we still haven't got the house training 100% yet I am wondering if small dogs take longer as can do a sneaky wee without you noticing as quick he also doesn't like the rain or the cold which doesn't help!

Other than that he is great and the kids love him to bits, even when he is running off with one of their toys

'capturing the calm'.....I like that idea, thanks mint. I've made him sound like a bit of a terror, which he isn't, he's actually very calm most of the time, but it's just sorting out the other bits and pieces I guess. I don't know why, but I kind of feel pressure to have the perfect dog tomorrow, but of course it takes a lot of work!

Mint - that sounds like a fantastic walk. Hide and seek is perfect for encouraging him to keep his focus on his people. Another good one is for you and dh to both have treats and call him back and forth between you. All my dogs have loved that one.

Vicar - that is one seriously cute fluffball!

Hi Mummy2BI, lovely to hear from you. Great to hear things are going well with Gizmo. House training will come, it varies from dog to dog, just like it does with kids.

My neighbours are away, so - being paranoid such as I am - last night was the first night I braved not having the baby monitor on so I can get to Pip before he's in full voice. Not that he usually does wake up, just the odd occasion. He managed to wake me up yelling at around 4.00 am, but I left him and he resettled himself, which is very reassuring in terms of leaving him when I go out. I think the storm woke him, as the rain was really hammering the kitchen window.

My two are off for their rabies vaccinations this afternoon. Double appointment with two dogs.

Barney is so cute! We had thought about a GSD but my SIL got one and she is so strong (and not trained to walk properly on a lead) that w ewere put off so went for a rough collie as had had them before.
Angus is doing well - house training slightly set back as I left him in the care of dh and the kids on Friday...
He has also started chasing the cats which is a bit annoying as previously he would just sit and watch - and a couple of wallops from the black cat had put him off approaching.

What do you do for constipation in a puppy? He has raw minced chicken (natures menu from PAH) for breakfast with porridge oats mixed in - eats about half of this - and minced raw tripe with veg for tea which he loves. (following breeders instructions). He has been straining for past day or so and not producing anything. Any ideas?

There are some gorgeous puppies on here, we are very lucky. Glad all seems to be going well for us all.

I spent all yesterday planting bulbs in my pots, left Jarvis on the decking for 5 mins and find he has dug them all out. Bloody dog.

Another lovely walk with Finn today, we met 10 month old dog who was happy to play but also told him off when he got a little too enthusiastic. You can almost see Finn's brain working as he thinks 'ok I was a bit too rough, better be a bit more respectful'
He came back when called each time even when he was playing. The only problem was that the other dog also came when she realised I had treats with me!
He's now curled up on my feet asleep after all that excitement.

haggis does the Nature's Menu say if there's minced bone as part of the content of raw minced chicken (shouldn't be in the tripe, surely?).

If yes, might be too much bone for him... Also, they have rice in as well as chicken, could that be bunging him up?

You could add some natural yoghurt to his meal for a day or so, some people on raw feeding UK (facebook) mention pumpkin or sweet potato as great for getting things moving. Good luck

Awks - that why we don't have anything other than lawn in our garden.

NCIS, he's doing really well.

Pip didn't do so well today unfortunately. We had had a great time, just in the local park. Pip and Lurcherboy charging about chasing tennis balls and each other. Then a woman entered the far side of the park with a black Cocker. He shot across the park to us, from one side of the park to the other and ok, he was friendly, but his owner just carried on walking the other way around the other side of the park and didn't even attempt to call him back. He came up, then slowed and stalked us, watching my two and that made Pip really nervous. He started spinning on his lead, then did a couple of little wuffs under his breath at it.

I decided the best thing to do was be jolly and walk off, so we did and he was ok watching it say hello nicely to Lurcherboy, but then the daft thing tried to get to him again and Pip was beside himself trying to get away.

Eventually it gave up and went back to where it had left it's owner, but couldn't find her, as of course she was halfway around the park by then, so started charging about frantically searching for her.

She completely ignored the dog the whole time and just carried on walking.

I was really annoyed. He's only ever barked at another dog once and that was also when it was staring at him intently. He's been so good at saying hello to other dogs recently and so much more relaxed around dogs in general, but I was powerless to control this situation and handle it properly for him as the other dog was loose and miles from it's owner.

Took him to the vets tonight for his rabies jab and passport and he was too scared to walk past a really cute little Norwich Terrier. He was interested in it when it was on the other side of the waiting room and didn't show fear, but then when we had to walk past it into the vet's room he flatly refused.

Sorry Haggis, missed your post.

Pumpkin, sweet potato or butternut squash are all good for getting things going. Some people add it raw and grated, but you could try cooking some up and pureeing it to add extra liquid to the fibre, as that should help as well.

vet info

Often the pre-prepped raw meals have far too high a bone content. LT is right you need to check out the percentage of bone to muscle meat in the packs.

Oh dear Moose that's a bit of a set back for Pip. I can't understand someone walking without any attention on where their dog is or what they're up to. What a tough situation that is, but you did all you could to minimise the problem.

Are you getting your beach trip in this week? Hope so, must be great fun to see a dog playing at the beach for the first time, can't wait for that excitement!

Just trying to catch up with everyone's posts.

Vicar - barney is just gorgeous

Moose - poor Pip and at the owner ignoring her dog

Hi, this is me back again with Meg, border collie. We have a problem and would appreciate some help.

Meg always did puppy chewing and nipping, although it calmed down a lot in first few weeks. However, this last week or two it has come back very badly, and licks very soon develop into sideways snaps, lip curled sometimes, hard and painful. A definite jaw click when she misses.
We have tried screeching, ignoring, time out, stern telling off, nothing seems to work.
The last thing we want is a dog who snaps, or cannot be trusted.
Nothing has changed in Meg's home, same people, pets, walks etc. She is quite quick at learning tricks and commands such as leave, stay, teddy, ball etc. but we cannot crack either house training and now snapping. Sometimes now also she seems to look at us, when we say SIT and decided whether she will do it or not.
We would really appreciate any help/suggestions/advice.

How old is she barbarian? Could it be puberty raising its head?

If it's got to the stage where you're feeling wary of her I think you might need to get a properly accredited behaviourist in to see her.

I had a bit of a wake-up call this morning. I'd gone up for a shower leaving Fitz downstairs on his bed and dd (11) having breakfast. I came down 15 mins later to discover that dd had got Fitz off his bed and put him on her lap and was stroking him, he started getting nippy and he ended up nipping her face near her eye :( she's ok, just a little bruise, but she's obviously a bit shaken and it's made me realise that I can't leave her unsupervised with him. She's normally very good but does have a tendency to treat him like a cuddly toy despite me telling her he's not

Thanks for replying, Basildon. Meg is 18 weeks although very small for age (less than 7kg) owing to being no 11 in litter.
I am going to ask trainer at puppy classes for help too but there seem to be a lot of people with pups the same age here who might have some advice.
She is very bouncy, quite teachable, but gets over excited very quickly.
She also jumps at faces (your poor dd).
How old is Fitz? Sorry, have not had time to follow whole thread.

Hi, Barbarian, I have a Border Collie, Finn who is 13 weeks old. I find he gets over excited and bitey when tired so he goes straight into his crate with a kong the moment I notice the jumping etc. He normally collapses and sleeps for an hour or so then.
We have also found it helps if I get him to sit and tell him to watch me and give him treats.
The nipping has got much better in the last few days as we're able to walk him. Not sure what he will be like when he's older though.

Barbarian, at 18 weeks she should really have developed a softer mouth and I would be worried about a lip curl and snap, especially if actually painful.

First step would be to get her checked out by your vet. It could be teething related, she could be under the weather or perhaps has a sore spot and snaps when it's touched.

If she gets the ok from the vet you really do need to find an APBC accredited behaviourist in your area and get some advice sooner rather than later. A dog trainer isn't really enough, you need a behaviourist. (Make sure you disregard anyone who even mentions pack theory or dominance. Although they shouldn't if they're APBC accredited.)

I would also try to learn some basics of canine body language. The snaps won't be happening out of the blue, it will just be that the signals will be subtle and difficult for humans to detect.

I would highly recommend reading Turid Rugaas' book On Talking Terms with Dogs. It's very slim and a quick read, but great for giving you a head start with learning what different canine calming signals mean. She's on YouTube as well if you google and there are lots of other videos on there about canine communication and calming signals. I think there's a good one about warning signs to a bite as well. (Sorry haven't got time to link right now, but will try and get back later and find some good ones for you.)

Basil, it happens to us all at some point.

Last week Pip was in the garden charging about, when he decided to have a puppy mad 5 minutes. He shot in the house without warning, barrelled into dd (age 4) who was standing in the middle of the living room floor and knocked her flat. She was screaming that he'd bitten her, but when I checked she had two claw marks on her face where he landed on her.

I have now learned to shut the dog gate to the living room if the back door is open.

Barbarian, I would second what Moose has said about learning the body language. We have found that very useful with our now 19 week golden retriever. We had lots of problems with him growling at the kids all the time & things are so much better now that we understand him better & know what he can and cannot tolerate. As well as the body language we have been working on building his tolerance to 'touch'. Your problem sounds a bit different though & the behaviourist route is the best way forward. It isn't cheap though, for us it was £40 for a one off session or £90 for a session plus on going & unlimited advice on the same problem (which is better value I think).

Basildon, sorry your DD had a fright:( My DD sounds the same as she treated Legend like a cuddly toy too & he really didn't like it. He is 19 weeks now and is getting too big for her to do that and its now that I'm glad we went for a big breed! She can't just pick him up anymore. I have had to be so firm with her though, but she has got the message now, though had to be growled at a lot first!

I took Legend for his first time off lead today. He loved it:) He was very good and came back when called (for chicken!). There was none else at the park as I went early, so don't know how he would be with distractions. At our training class they said not to let them off lead until reliable, which I know makes sense but I'm not keen on a long training lead as I'm worried about being pulled over when he's running full pelt!

At what point do you or will you let yours off lead? was I silly to let him off?

barbarian - Fitz is 14 weeks and in general much easier to deal with (apart from the flying leaps onto the sofa when he thinks we're not looking ) so it took me by surprise ...

thanks moose and picnic - dd's absolutely fine but I was kicking myself as it could have been a lot worse - he definitely wouldn't have meant to hurt her as he's just playing but I do have to be very strict with dd about not disturbing him when he's tired

oh and picnic we've been letting Fitz off lead from the very first walk - we go to a safe enclosed area and he has a whale of a time - always comes back even if he's sniffing interesting smells or is talking to other dogs

Hi everyone looking for some advice. Pixie has taken to barking at us when we say no to something. She also barks at us when we are eating, me especially at lunchtime when it is just us. I do take her in the garden to chase a ball with me beforehand to tire her out but she sits and yaps at me!!! . Any ideas? We say NO very loudly and now just ignore her hoping she will stop.....?

Moose / LT - thanks for responses. He is actually better today - I don't know how much bone is in gteh mince as it does not say anywhere either on the packet or on their website. Because teh breeder has weaned onto minced chicken and tripe I am continuing for now - wanted a local supplier rather than PAH but strugglng to find anyone up here. I did give him a chicken wing today and he loved it (but I removed it when it seemed small enough to swallow whole).
He has veg with his tripe at night so will cook some pumpkin / squash and add that instead.

Natures menu came back when I asked for info - composition of teh mince is Chicken Necks 70% Chicken Carcass 30% - maybe not enough info but do you reckon bone content too high?

Hi stirrup, Legend has been very good at being separated when we eat, although on Sunday he did bark and growl from behind the stairgate for the first time. We didn't pay him any attention, not even looking at him and he gave up quite quickly. I don't know what we would do if he becomes more persistent though!

We've let Finn off from the start although I was nervous about it. The total recall book says it's a good idea to capitalize on a puppy's natural instinct to see you as a protector and refuge so they want to come back to you. Also he likes to be able to see us and as we walk in woodland he has to be close to not lose sight but I think that is breed specific so may not work well with other breeds.

Btw Moose I hold you entirely responsible for me failing to get started on my OU essay this afternoon as I had to download the 'On Talking Terms' book and ,of course, once downloaded I had to read it. I have an increasingly expensive dog related Amazon habit

Good to know Finn seems to speak fluent dog as I've seen him doing many of the things she talks about.