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.

Toby has sneaky cuddles on my lap too when DH isn't looking. I agree that Pigs ears are disagreeable but seriously Toby doesn't know what to do with himself when he gets given one!

You see Sally, now you've told me what I knew in my heart but didn't want to accept - I am actually going to have to get him proper, real, dead animal parts to scoff in my house aren't I?

Honestly, you wouldn't believe I'm a raw feeder would you? But raw feeding is done outside not in a crate in my living room!

Pip is so tired after his long walk (most of which was actually a long sit/lie down ) that he keeps coming and swaying in front of me, which is Pip-ese for pick me up and cuddle me. I am having to resist his big, cute, sleepy eyes though, as I'm trying to work on getting him more settled without me.

Yup I think I'm having more anxiety about my puppy raising skills than my baby rearing skills. (I had to google kongs). Toby's diet sounds yum, I could totally live on mince and parsnips :)

Our DD1 has AS which was one of the main deciding factors in getting the dog. She utterly loves Chloe and seems to be calmed by her presence in her life. Any advice there would be gratefully received.

There seems to be a few of us with dcs who have AS on here.

Ds1 has responded to Pip in a way he never really has with our other dogs. I was just watching him sitting by the crate talking to him and realised that he feels comfortable with him, because he can just chat away without having to read facial expressions or worry about being socially appropriate etc.

DS1 adores Toby - chats away. He has AS. DS4 has Autism and avoids Toby like the plague. Toby just wants to be his friend. Very sad

My youngest DS has ASD too, he adores Finn and will happily take him out and stand around waiting for action on the wee front.

The antler seems to be indestructible atm but he has only got little teeth, its his favourite so give it to him after the 'leave' command when he's chewing/nipping something he shouldn't.

I'm finding it hard to get everyone on board with stopping him mouthing even if it doesn't hurt. I know it's cute now but it won't be in a few months. Same with hanging off trousers etc, it is funny to watch this tiny pup hanging from someones jeans but it won't be soon and it will be more difficult to stop if he is allowed to think it's a suitable game.

Lifeisontheup- we've also had this problem with DS8 who is 8 and not a biddable child, very wilful and has been ignoring the advice and family plan for nipping. I've been quite exasperated with it as it ends in him shrieking when he gets a hard nip or can't get the puppies teeth off a piece of clothing and therefore can't move!

In one (perhaps regrettable) moment when I lost my patience I said that if our dog bit someone because it had been taught that it was all a fun game, and caused someone hurt, it would have to be put down. "Imagine that and imagine how you'd feel knowing you'd ignored all we'd said to you".

I ranted a bit along those lines out of sheer frustration and it helped for a while. Some children just find it really hard to control themselves.

On the chew things - we gave Zebo a pigs ear. Wow he loved it! Fantastic way to keep them engrossed for a few hours but on the down side he was impossible to communicate with - totally ignored us calling him inside, not a flicker of his ears when we said his name, just in his own world. Was like giving an iPhone to a teenager!

They're 99p in our local shop so we will save them as big treats say for a family party when there's lots of excitement and we want him to settle while we eat.

I also bought a bulk bag of vegetable chews which he loves but demolishes in 15 mins

Dh is the worst , Finn will be chewing his shoelaces or nibbling his hand and he'll say 'now don't do that' in the soppiest tone of voice which of course the dog ignores and carries on. I look like the wicked witch in comparison.

I'll get some pigs ears today as we have people round for lunch and it might me a good distraction for during lunch.

We talked to all the dc about the anti-nipping plan - dd does the high-pitched yelp but it's not loud enough, ds2 just says 'ow' in a very flat voice and moves his feet away - refuses to wear anything on his feet in the house and has v long thin toes which appear to be irresistible. Fitz never goes for my feet or ds1's (DH has been away for the last 10 days so jury is out as far as his feet are concerned). I'm trying to drum it into dd's head that any time she's playing with Fitz she needs to have a toy ready so that she can give that to him to chew instead of her fingers

What kind of routine do all your puppies have? Fitz keeps on changing so hard to predict when he's going to be awake or asleep ..,

What I'm aiming for is awake at 6-6:30, in garden for wee/poo, quiet play/pootle, breakfast at 7:30, wee/poo break then he has been falling asleep at about 8 which is great for school run and then rinse and repeat for the rest of the day - if he's been awake for much longer than 2-3 hours he gets horrible, just like an overtired toddler, and has to be put to bed bitterly complaining that he's Not Tired - and then conks out in about 5 mins flat!

However this morning he was up at about 6:30 but took himself off to bed about 15 mins ago without having had breakfast and is now snoring! So I e no idea how my day's going to pan out now ...

I get up at about 5.30 with Finn and straight outside for wee/poo, he is desperate by then as doesn't seem to have accidents overnight, goes to bed at about 10pm. He then plays until 6ish then gets fed, another play for 30 mins then out for more wees/poo. He then sleeps until about 7.30 then outside again when he wakes up. We work on a routine of taking him out the moment he wakes up and about 30 minutes after food.

I do the high pitched yelp when he uses teeth and he now goes to mouth and then changes it to a lick most of the time. The kids (and DH) need to get a bit more consistent and more high pitched but we have only has him for five days so can't complain.

We're on week 4 and I think it all started getting easier last week. I don't feel so overwhelmed this week.

We have a similar routine to you both - first cries of the day are at 6ish, DH gets up at 630 anyway but hasn't time to do anything puppy related so I'm getting up at the first cry - outside for wee/poo (wees on newspaper at night so no poo after first week). Food, play, try and join in with emptying dishwasher till he realised its clean and no fun!

He's asleep around 8 which is good for us and school run.

I'm planning for him to have one hour chunks of time alone/asleep when I go upstairs to work, interspersed with 20 mins play, wee, training throughout the day. So far he's just about doing that though I haven't managed much work as I've been very cognitively challenged!

Bed at 10 - he sometimes cries for 5 mins, but we've started the full bedtime routine followed by one of us standing in kitchen on iPad while he settles in his bed and there's then no crying when we leave.

it sounds like the training is all going ok for alot of you, i seem to have one problem with Henrydog that he needs work on, he doesnt like being seperated from the family when we are home, i.e we have a baby gate across the kitchen as it is tiny, also one across the top of the stairs so that when i go for a bath dd3 can just 'be' without being unsupervised with 23week old junior.
problem is that whenever i shut him on the otherside of the gate he wines like hell, which after 5-10mins escalates to digging at the bottom of the gate. i know it was something i should have worked on earlier, but whenever we had dogs previously they were always part of the family and were taught to behave in an acceptable manner without a gate in sight.
when i go out to work, for 4-5 hours, DS is in college, and he is left alone in the house he doesnt whine, or distruct anything as i walk him before and after.
Also a bit of background, our last dog died in november 2012 and the whole family greatly missed not being out and about with a dog, and not having one arround. Bit of a twist to the story, but my mum who we lived with for alot of that dogs life, was in a head on car crash on 28th june this year and wont be out of hospital until november.....que crazy daughter me gets a puppy, so that it could be well trained and a joy to be arround by the time she comes home, (as we have had to move back in with mum to help her when she returns, as her mobility wont be the same as it was)
so my dilemma is this do i remove the baby gates? as we have never used them before with previous dogs? and are always left open now due to unacceptance or leave them up? In between hospital visits, work, and a 3yo dd, i have managed to achieve a high standard of training with henrydog appart from the gate issue. any suggestions greatfully welcomed, tia

I'd remove the gates personally as he is going to get very frustrated with them and do damage I'd think. We have a bed upstairs and a bed downstairs. Toby comes upstairs when I'm doing bathtime and lies in his bed with a chew. It works reasonably well.

The other thing is to reward quiet behaviour. So when Henry is quiet, you say good quiet and treat him. Do this quickly and keep doing it until they lie down and sort of give up. I did this with Toby in the car as he's not keen and now he doesn't make a peep. Moosemama is a whizz with training though. She may be able to advise you better than me.

So I'm upstairs and can hear a dog barking. Then realise that its my dog. Rush down yelling at DS1 that he's shut Toby out to discover the door wide open and Toby was telling the neighbours cats to get off his fence! Apologised to DS1...

No sure I can advise any better Sally, what with the SA type behaviour we're getting from Pip at the moment - although we have the opposite problem, in that he's fine being left in his crate or kitchen while we're in, but screams the place down when we're out.

I would be tempted to just remove the gates if you're never closing them anyway, but as you say, it is advisable to have some way of leaving him separate to your dcs when you can't be in the same room as them, so I can see your dilemma.

I followed the to get Pip happy to be left in his crate while we're in, as he was frantic before that and actually got his jaws stuck around two bars of the crate in panic.

We also 'captured calmness' by saying 'settle - good boy' every time he was lying quietly, now we can say it when we need him to lie quietly for a while and he has a conditioned response to it. If we say 'settle' now he heads into his crate and lies down.

Another idea would be to sit just the other side of the gate and chuck a treat in every time he stops digging/complaining, even for half a second, gradually building up the time you wait before treating so that he's quieter for longer and longer.

Sorry to hear about your Mum, by the way, hope she's making a good recovery. I'm sure Henry will be great company for her when she can finally come home.

Still haven't come up with anything Pip can safely chew while we're out - looks like we're going to have to try pigs ears then.

We have just had a lovely afternoon at a country park. Pip loved it and I was so proud of him. He walked fantastically on the lead, left the rabbit, sheep and cow poo on cue and after the walk chilled out lying in the grass with Lurcherboy while I had a coffee and the dcs played in the adventure playground.

The best thing is that he has started to tentatively approach other dogs to greet them. He said hello nicely to a JRT pup, an adult Border Collie, a Cocker Spaniel pup and an adult Cocker. I think now he's seen Lurcherboy being keen to say hello and being calm and relaxed around other dogs he's starting to relax and think it's ok.

We put him in the crate in the boot of the car with Lurcherboy, rather than with me in the passenger footwell, for the first time today too. He started off yelling, but quickly shut up and was quiet for the 45 minute drive there. Then on the way home he had a two second whinge, then stopped until we were half-way home, when he starting yelling, but stopped when I told him 'quiet'. We had a couple of grumbles off Lurcherboy though. Don't think he was very impressed at having to share his car-bed!

We have had such a good week, I've been waiting to post to make sure we really had turned that corner.

I am so relieved tbh. The nipping and biting is SO much better. and she is settling so much better in the evening in the front room with us.

I kept reading all your comments about how it gets easier and thinking it bloody hasn't for me! but then suddenly, it has

Pepsi is now 13 weeks and changed so much physically but also personality wise. We still have issues obviously as she is still so young but nothing that I feel we can't handle.

I feel like I am finally starting to connect with her, feel the love. I was too embarrassed to post before that I just didn't love her yet as she was so nippy and it was just so stressful. But I can honestly say that I love her...

For those that are struggling with younger puppies, it really does get better . Seem to be around the magic 12/13 mark from reading other posts (if not before)...

The issue we want to sort out now is the tugging on the lead so have been watching videos and trying to work on that.

So glad things have settled down and you're finally able to enjoy Pepsi Heifer.

It is funny how it can go from feeling chaotic and all too much to suddenly feeling like something's clicked and you are starting to see the dog you dreamed of emerging.

My tip for lead work is to invest in one of those training treat pouches you wear on your belt and place that on your left side. Lots of trainers suggest wearing it on the right, but I've always found my pups are much more interested in walking near my left leg if the treats are just above them and I find it easier to treat them if I can just dip my left hand in and shove a treat in their mouth without faffing around having to reach over for one.

Do lots and lots and lots of repetitions off-lead around the house and garden, treating every single time she's walking close to your left leg and don't put this heelwork on cue until you're absolutely sure she's clearly understanding what she's being treated for. Then, once she's happy to walk nicely by your left leg off lead, add the lead and go back to square one. She should pick it up much more quickly because she already knows what to do and the only difference is the lead itself. Then of course you need to go back to square one with her on the lead in increasingly distracting places to proof the skill. I an still vividly remember hours of troopsing up and down the driveway with Oldgirl when she was a pup. I thought she'd never get the hang of leadwork, but with enough (millions) of repetitions and reinforcements she got it in the end.

thanks Moose, will let you know how I get on... Pepsi has been descriped as wilful and determined by the puppy trainers so I know it may take a while to sort...

I prefer the term 'spirited' myself!

I have just ordered a handmade tag to adorn Pip's new collar. I wanted something that indicated he's microchipped and there wasn't enough room on his tag-slider.

Saw some lovely one's on Etsy, but didn't want to order from abroad, then I saw some on Ebay that were very similar for half the price.

I contacted the guy who makes these and asked if he would make one with Pip's name on the silver disc and 'I'm Chipped' on the copper one and he said yes. It's pricey, but dh said it was ok and to be honest the ones at PAH are nearly as much and the lettering wears of them really quickly.

That's it now though, no more puppy shopping.

Oh heifer, that's good to hear!

Fitz is 10.5 weeks and gorgeous though he is I'm struggling somewhat...

The plus points:

He is ridiculously cute, looks just like a real life teddy bear, he is very chilled when we're out and seems to take all new experiences in his stride, he's mostly peeing and pooing in the garden and seems to respond reasonably well to clicker training (although I look at videos on YouTube of how it should be done and despair ...)

The minus points:

The nipping and biting - nothing seems to work and it's started to really alienate the boys who are not doing anything to encourage it - loud high-pitched yelps don't help (just seems to get him more excited), stopping the game makes no difference, distracting with toys (just spits them out)

The chewing - absolutely everything he can get hold of which isn't a toy - I've tried using an anti-chewing spray which has made zilch difference. I encourage him away from whatever he's demolishing with treats which works for about 2 seconds but then he goes back straight away to whatever he was doing - today he managed to destroy the padding on the trampoline

Humping dd's leg - he's been wired tonight :(

Not settling in the evening - it's gone 11 o'clock and he's been rampaging round the kitchen/playroom/garden like a toddler on speed - I've had enough as I'm really tired and have put him into his crate and he's whinging ...

I really want him to be happy with us - but I also want him to be a dog we can be proud of rather than being embarrassed by his behaviour and at the moment I feel like I must be doing something wrong

Basil, I know exactly what you mean...

I can't say exactly what happened to make her change, but it has. I know we have been working on ensuring she knows she isn't the alpha, as she was getting really nippy when we tried to stop her doing something and didn't seem to except when we tried to hold her back.

We stopped letting her out the door 1st, we were more forceful in our voice for NO when she was biting, worked more on the sit, leave, stay and no. Thinking about it 1 of the best things I did was to stop her "mugging" me when I went to give her a treat. She learnt quickly to back away a little and wait for me to let her have it. I found when she was biting the back of my leg I shouted the command and she sat away a little waiting for a treat. It defused the situation.

It's definitely help that we can take her out for a walk as she can burn of that springer energy (well some of it)...

Also think that she is a little older and more settled generally.

Hang in there, as the others have said, it does get better

Lovely to hear from those of you who's pups are doing so well. Do any of you use no pull harnesses (the chest type, not the "halti" face type) rather than collars? Diplodog's making some progress on lead walking but with her being that bit older (4 months) we really want to get her out and about more (she's very shy with strangers - I had another thread on thos which Moosemama kindly responded to) and walking without pulling would help this. We would obviously continue lead training as well but feel for us time is of the essence and the sooner she can accompany us when we're out and about walking the better.