General puppy questions

[AlphaBravoHenryFoxtons]

I thought I'd start a general puppy question topic as otherwise I'm going to have hundreds of threads running.

My pup isn't ever very hungry. She hardly touched her breakfast this morning. (I took her to the vet yesterday for her first injection and the vet said she's full of vim and vigour so nothing is wrong.)

She's 8.5 weeks and I feed her 4 times a day on dry food, softened with a bit of warm water. Would it be OK to try her with it dry to see if she likes it any more than softened with warm water? It's James Wellbeloved Turkey & Rice complete puppy food (dry pellets that come in a small sack).

I've changed her food recently as the breeder was feeding her on adult tinned dog food mashed with a fork.

She shouldn't be in confinement...you just can't put her on the ground, but you should be taking her out and about.

Tabulahrasa - She is in confinement in the sense that we can't take her to puppy classes or the park or on well-trodden dog walks. Where do you suggest we take her out and about?

We spend a lot of time with her outside: we have a big garden. And she has met other dogs and people who've come to the house. But we aren't taking her out and about.

You can and should be taking her everywhere and anywhere...you just carry her.

I took mine on 'carries' to corner shops, on the school run, to friends' houses, to a youth club a couple of times...anywhere that would get him used to the things I expected him to see once he was walking properly.

I know you meant you can't go to classes and things like that, but early socialisation is really important, so I'm just stressing that she really does need to be out and about...just not on the ground.

Even things like prams can be terrifying, so the earlier they see everything the better.

Dogs aren't allowed in our local shops. Nor are they allowed on school premises. We are taking her short trips in the car. And taking her for a walk along the road to the letterbox and back sort of thing, while carrying her.

I'm introducing her to things like the hairdryer, the hoover, the washing machine on fast spin. I do clang about in the kitchen. But maybe I need to extend the carry walks? I must say I didn't know I needed to do that.

Pets at Home is a great place to take a puppy both before and after vaccinations. They allow dogs inside and he can meet lots of people including kids then after his vaccs he can meet other dogs peoples dogs. A lot of people there have their own dogs so will happily come and interact which is good for her.

I think we also took him out to friends' houses to get him used to new environments and we stood outside the shop holding him while the other went in.

MostAmused - Ah OK. I thought PetsAtHome would be unsuitable as there are lots of other dogs there, who aren't any more likely to be vaccinated than dogs in the park.

I must say I'm finding the whole pre-immunisation advice very confusing. Even at the vet they asked for puppies not to be placed on their floors.

I wouldn't take a new puppy to someone else's house. Do people really do that?

Our puppy initially went off her food too (we were continuing the JWB turkey & rice kibble that the breeder had been using). We found that mixing it with some brown rice and a splash of puppy milk worked. We gradually reduced the amount of rice until she was eating just the kibble.

Our puppy was terrified in pets at home - she shivered and shook at first - but now she walks around the store as if she owns it She's also had phases within socialisation of disliking certain things/people - dark haired men, men with beards etc. She's 10 months old now and friendly with everyone. But she's taken a dislike to next door's little outdoor Christmas tree. Apparently that is worth barking at . I'm not sure if it's the tree or the lights. She's fine with our indoor tree though.

No, just carry her at PetsAtHome. Don't put her on the floor anywhere that an unvaccinated dog may have been. I just meant that people who are into pets and dogs will be more comfortable approaching her and she can meet more types of folk that way.

It's up to you about taking her to other peoples' houses but I took the view that their dog was fully vaccinated and so their house was appropriate. I would, however, advise you to check with your vet and/or research it as some people reckon that the diseases can be brought in on peoples' feet and that can then affect the puppy.

Eventually I weighed up the cost of poor socialisation (a fearful adult dog that is unhappy and potentially fear aggressive in unknown situations) and the chance of him catching a disease.
A good vet will be more than happy to advise you about it :)

Waspie I think our puppy is yet to see an Xmas tree. Will have to add that to his I-Spy list!

I took mine to play with vaccinated dogs in their home or ours , also took to the pub , exposed to loud traffic noises , went to school playground , held her the whole time so was allowed . Great app of noises like fireworks you can play , don't know if it works , but my puppy wasn't phased by fireworks this yr at all.
One thing I wish I did more of was leaving her in the car alone for short times , like getting petrol ..she's a really cry baby when I do it now

My friends' houses who were happy to have him visit, either with vaccinated dogs in or just my friends' yes I took him, not just randomly though, I mean only pre-arranged...I didn't just rock up to unsuspecting people's houses, lol.

But just basically as many places as I could.

IMO getting them used to things outside is more important than things in your house...in that, if you forget to Hoover (if that's likely, lol) and you end up with a dog that barks and growls at the Hoover well yes that's a bit of a PITA for you, if you end up with a dog that does that to children on scooters or men with woolly hats - that's a much bigger issue.

NCIS - Ah that's very kind. And what a lovely gentle dog. But we are in Hertfordshire which is some distance. Shame.

Shame. I would love a puppy fix.

Waspie Perhaps your dog's objection to the neighbour's outdoor Christmas tree is on grounds of taste?

Lots of things to think about re the puppy. I must say the thing I was most worried about was the dog messing up my house and yappyness (barking). I hadn't really considered the puppy's emotional development/needs.

I'm reading a lot about dogs.

Those links I posted earlier will help you to weigh up risks regarding socialisation vs vaccination. I echo tabulahrasa's sentiments and explain this to all my puppy clients (I'm a vet). Vaccination is vital but the risks of behavioural problems in inadequately socialised dogs is really high.

perhaps Alpha , although it's a pretty nice little tree really!

I would suggest a Kong toy as a play thing. They are great. Our dog chews squeaky toys until she has extracted the squeaker and then chews this - they just don't last long. You can get Kongs in puppy size too. I'd also suggest a tug-of-war type toy, our dog loves playing tug of war.

An I-Spy list is inspired MostAmused, I wish I'd thought of that!

crapcrapcrapcrap - I agree re socialisation. We are a large family of six. We both work from home. We have a lot of visitors to our house, friends, work related people, children's friends, cleaner, gardener, family members, deliveries, etc. It's a noisy and busy household! But I will make an extra effort to ensure she encounters as much as possible in the next few weeks. I have just ordered this:

www.notonthehighstreet.com/prestigewicker/product/bicycle-wicker-pet-carrier?kpid=328819&gclid=CKiiioTLvcICFYgIwwodRkIAeA

So I can take her on a bike ride every day.