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.

I was firework phobic as a child. Used to faint every single bonfire night. Apparently it was triggered when my Dad's friend set off a jumping jack at a bonfire in our garden and no matter where I ran in appeared to chase me. I think I was about 3 or 4 years old at the time.

I have vivid and rather embarrassing memories of having to be carried into the lobby of a hotel we were at for a display one year. The first firework went up and down I went. I was about 11 I think and had to be stretchered into the hotel and laid down.

I'm a lot better these days. I promised myself I wouldn't pass my fear onto my dcs so have worked hard to get over it as best I can, but I've done 11 years of standing in the cold controlling my panic now and I reckon that's my duty done. Especially as dh loves fireworks, so he can take dd and ds1. I'll stay at home and get the hot chocolates ready for when they get back!

Ds2 doesn't really like the bangs and was only ever happy when he was young enough to get away with wearing ear defenders. He also struggles to look up to watch the display due to the hypermobility in his neck/spine. He's going to watch them from his bedroom window this year. We did that when they were both tiny. Bought them glow-sticks, cooked veggie burgers and sausages and had a picnic in their bedroom whilst watching the display - much more civilised way of doing it I reckon.

Halloween was up eventful for us, Nala is so friendly we kept her away from the door or fear of flattening children with kisses.

She's 15 weeks now and still play biting a lot

Yesterday I was petting her and it's no warning she jumped and bit my nose. Of course I immediately pushed her off stood up and walked away from her like we've been doing for 7 weeks but still she bites. I'm hoping that she calms down once she loses her baby teeth.

On a good note she had a fab play with a Doberman puppy a week older than her (but a bit chunkier) she was getting pinned a lot but she had a great time.

Poo seems to be returning to normal too

Oh dear, I have just been speaking to the dog trainers and our 1 on 1 session was not done by the behaviourist. For the behaviourist to come for a 3 hour session, it will cost £220!!!! I am so shocked! However because of her qualifications we should be able to claim on our insurance. Just spoken to DH, he said fine if the insurance covers it, otherwise no. He reakons it will all just sort itself out over time and he's a lovely puppy and I'm being neurotic!

On the plus side, we just had a lovely off lead walk & he came back every time when called, even when he was chasing birds! Very impressed!

As for fireworks, we've had a few going off locally already and he didn't bat an eyelid, so I'm hoping that will be ok.

Picnic, check if you need a veterinary referral for your insurance to cover you - most insurance companies insist on it.

Pleased you had a good walk today and he's doing so well with his recall.

He could just be going through a fear period, which hopefully will pass and he'll start to settle down again, but best to get some professional advice, as without seeing him in the situations when he reacts it's impossible (and would be irresponsible) for me to advise.

We've had a lazy day today. We've walked so much this week that we're all exhausted, including Lurcherboy. Pip was still full of beans though.

This evening I filled two small water bottles with kibble and gave them to the dogs to try and work out how to get it out again. The results were hilarious! Lurcherboy eventually sussed that he needed to jolt his bottle to get the kibble to fall out, but Pip was stalwartly convinced that he just needed to try and get his tongue as far in there as possible.

Sounds a good walk picnic. We did a great off lead walk today with less hyper jumping when lead went back on - think it must have been because I'd used your suggestion moose of treat for trick to break association.

Loving the food in boxes etc here! We are having such fun with this - kibble been in contact lens box, egg box, loo roll holder and other boxes and we've played hide and seek with each box placed under a towel. Minty trying to get towel off is hilarious, his tail is up wagging and he seems really excited, not at all cross/frustrated so that's good. I'll try water bottles next. The kids love this so much, it's given them something they can really enjoy doing themselves without too much supervision from me.

I love fireworks but not being out in the dark around Halloween as I get scared!! So I'm quietly glad to have an excuse to stay home and skip the bonfires! Sorry about your firework phobia moose, you've done amazingly well not to pass that on though

Glad your walk went better Mint:) I have also been calling him back and putting him on the lead and then letting him off again. I have just started reading 'Total Recall' which you recommended Moose.

Yes Moose we do need a vets referral, but we have a slight problem. DH was meant to renew the insurance and he hasn't! I can't believe it. He's been so busy at work, he thought he'd done it. We are doing it today, but not sure how that will pan out with covering the behaviourist.

DH took the kids to their Beavers firework party last night and we could see it from the garden. Again, Legend did not bat an eyelid when I took him into the garden, so it seems he is not afraid of loud noises anyway. Unlike the kids who came back saying it was too loud for them! I stayed in with Legend and he went and sat at the door, on and off crying until the kids came home! He was happy to see them when they came back, so cute:)

Being firework phobic and not passing that onto your kids is very brave of you Moose! I had good intentions of not passing my fear of spiders and confined spaces on to my kids but sadly they are terrified of spiders too! I did better with the confined spaces things but that is only cos I've managed to avoid it with them anyway.

Dh is taking Legend to puppy training on his own today. We think it was too distracting for him having us all there last week.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Picnic. What breed is Legend? I wonder if we shouldn't add what their breed is after their names now. So many puppies on the thread that I struggle to remember them all!!
Awks has a cocker?
Sweet kitty has a ridgeback
Moose has a lurcher
I have a Labrador.
There are I think a golden retriever, collies, cockers and a German shepherd. Anything else? My memory!

you forgot Fitz (Toller), Sally

Eek about the insurance picnic - have you already asked the vet for a referral ? If not then it shouldn't count as a pre-existing condition?

That's what I mean BB. So many breeds to remember, though how I could have forgotten Fitz?!!! Eek!

Just been for the wettest walk I think I've ever had with my dogs. We went across the fields near our house and it was like having a hosepipe turned on us continually.

Dogs had a fantastic time leaping around though. Pip was doing that cute thing where they leap over the long grass then disappear - hilarious!

He was really wussy on the way there, being a proper princess and picking his way around the mud, then whimpering because he was getting wet. He also had a bit of a freak out at the echo in the railway tunnel, but he completely forgot it all as soon as Lurcherboy started running and he had someone to chase.

He looks like a very muddy drowned rat now though and poor thing was shivering all the way home. Have just towelled him off and he's dried all fluffy - he looks like a pom-pom on stilts!

Hoping he'll sleep better tonight. Little so and so has had us up at 4.00 am two nights in a row now.

Minty sports the muddy drowned rat look after a wet walk too!

Mintys an old English sheepdog, but I shall put OES down after his name whenever I remember and just hope people know what it stands for! Good idea Sally as I forget too what everyone has.

We have fireworks across the road from us tonight - only just found out so a bit late to do any desensitisation. We will just have to turn TV up and play with toys.

I know I'm always in trouble for encouraging you lot to spend ££s on your pups, but if anyone is looking for a coat for their dog I can highly recommend this seller on Ebay.

She made a little coat for Pip when he was younger in the bright blue with a rainbow fleece lining. She makes each coat specifically to order and usually despatches next day, yet still comes in much cheaper than anyone else I've found. All her Ebay listings are for hounds, but she does coats for other breeds as well if you contact her.

I'm just about to order him a new one, but dh and I are having artistic differences regarding colours of waterproof fabric and linings.

The only downside is that her coats don't come with a hole for a harness D-ring. We get around that by using the front ring on Pip's coat. She might put a hole in if you ask, but if not, I reckon it would be a fairly easy thing to do yourself just by unpicking a few stitches in the top seam and oversewing the ends.

I am sitting here listening to a ridiculously loud firework simulation CD. Neither dog has batted an eyelid, but I can feel my own stress levels rising.

Moosemama - thanks for the link will definitely be checking it out. Nalas only 3 months as you know but she's single coated like a whippet and very whippet like just now maybe a bit chunkier. She'll need a coat but she's still growing so fast, what to do? Small dog coats aren't long enough in the back for her.

Haven't even managed out for a walk today it's been pouring all day she hates the rain do much too.

SallyBear that's a good idea as I keep wondering what breed everyone has. Legend is a golden retriever, so I will put GR after his name from now on:)

basildonbond I haven't been to the vets yet for the referral so that is a good point.

Coats for pups........surely not for a fluffy golden retriever? The kids keep asking if they can buy him a coat for his Christmas present, but I have never seen a golden in a coat! However I did see a very hairy dog out the other day wearing a high vis jacket and I thought that was kind of useful.

I think I'm fairly safe in thinking that Fitz will never need a coat! He seems completely impervious to wind and rain and I'm assuming that even the worst British winter will be pretty tame compared to Canada ...

It's ok Sally, I forgive you

Pip (Lurcher ) is the only dog I've had that has needed to have a coat. Well that's not strictly true. Lurcherboy had one just for his first winter as a pup, but he was born in November so still very young and skinny and my when Wheaten girl was very elderly and clipped short to keep her comfortable she had a little sherpa fleece and suede number that made really made her look like the archetypal old lady's dog.

Pip has absolutely zero body fat and a very fine coat that offers no protection at all. I suppose, when you think about it, his Saluki ancestors had to worry more about keeping cool than staying warm, given the climate they originated from.

I have ordered him a purple coat with rainbow fleece lining, but can see us having to get a sherpa lined one for when it gets really cold and icy.

I've ordered one two inches too big for him in the hope it might last a couple of months before he grows out of it.

Toby (Labrador ) won't be needing a coat as his fur already seems quite waxy like (built in Barbour jacket for a coat!) and he doesn't seem to get really wet. But I see the Border Collie across the road with a coat, which always confuses me as my N Irish family always had BC on their dairy farm. I definitely think for single coated dogs that a coat is good for them. Toby had a good yomp in between showers today. Autumn is definitely here!

He's been really good as I know his teeth are giving him gyp, as he's only been chewing his toys and chews - not anybody else's belongings. He will happily let me look at his teeth and rub his gums. Obviously if DH does this then Toby would happily chew DH's hand

Hi all Jessie us a shih tzu. I have played some of the fireworks on utube over the last few weeks. It has helped. She was fine going in the garden a couple of hours ago. But then close by neighbours had a display which worried her but she has settled again now.

Gosh having the same issues with the mud look!! A walk each day has been ending with a shower too. I haven't wanted to have her fur cut but am wondering if I can cope the winter at this rate with it long.

Picnic what is your dog doing that you are having a problem with?
Hope all your little pups get through bonfire time without too much stress.

Oh yuck ... Got downstairs this morning to find that Fitz (Toller) had had his first ever bout of diarrhoea oh joy - all over the crate, his bed and of course as soon as I let him out he stepped in it and spread it all over the kitchen floor

I've used a gallon of simple solution but there's still a faint whiff of eau de poo in the air ....

Not sure if he picked up something he shouldn't have in the park yesterday or if his system was out of sorts cos of the fireworks - every time he went out to go to the loo last night someone let off fireworks in one of the neighbouring gardens. He's fine with fairly distant bangs and even with the very close ones he wasn't showing signs of stress but he couldn't concentrate on doing a poo with fireworks going off next to him ...

How's everyone managing with restricting exercise? I'm struggling to keep walks as short as they're meant to be - yesterday it was about 35-40 mins with about half of that zooming around wildly with a 5 month old border collie. I'm worried he's overdoing it and will end up with arthritis but if we go somewhere, walk a few minutes, then he meets a puppy, then we've still got to get back to the car - it's hard timing it right! He's not doing very much pavement walking at the moment - to my shame we are driving to the common which is ten mins walk from my house but in my defence if we walked there we'd have to turn around again as soon as we got there plus the safe enclosed bit is on the other side which is too far for him to walk just yet

BB how many walks a day is he getting? Toby (lab) gets one 30 minute one a day. Longer if he meets nice playful dogs. I have yet to increase it to two walks a day. He's enjoying the exercise and having a post walk snooze and then is ready for fun with the dc when he wakes up.

Meant to add. Hope his tummy gets better soon. Poor Fitz.

Sally - just one a day here too but he's only 3.5 months so that's plenty. He loves going for walks especially if he meets another puppy to play with. His breeder was very strict about restricting exercise when he's little and only gradually increasing amounts - she said when he's a year old he'll be able to keep going all day but we mustn't overdo it to start off with. My sister's dog already has dodgy elbows at 4 but they took her out for two walks a day from the start so I'm very conscious of what can happen! (Although my mum told me off for not giving him enough exercise the other day!)

No more diarrhoea so far this morning but he's a bit dehydrated and quite sleepy so will keep an eye on him

Toby is 19 weeks old today. He looks like a young naughty dog now. All legs and ears that are too big for his face. He gets a glint in his eye and then its "mad five minutes" time. Nothing or no one is safe from The Tobster!

Happygolucky, our pup Legend (GR) has been growling when the kids hug him and also growling at strangers when they try to stroke him or come too close. I find it quite upsetting & rather stressful tbh! We have completely stopped the kids hugging him, it was really my daughter I was having problems with as she so wanted a pet which she could cuddle. I have been told now not to let him practise his growling, which means ensuring no strangers unexpectedly go up to him. We need help with how to change how he feels about these things though, so hope a behaviourist will be able to give us ideas to boost his confidence. He has been like this from the start and I don't think he was properly socialised before we got him now that I look back on it all. He is 20 weeks now, but he has improved a lot because to start with he growled at absolutely everything!

basildonbond, we are just doing the 30 mins exercise a day as well. He is pretty calm most of the day and sleeps after his walk. The only prob I have is the evening when he is hyperactive. I would quite like to be able to whizz him around the block to calm him a bit but I don't because of fear of over exercise. Last night he was still loopy at 11pm when I went to bed and left DH to it!!

So on a similar theme, we all do around 30 mins exercise a day......but added to that, how much time do you spend playing with or training at home?