New puppy parents, come cheer me up!

[Panicmode1]

I was expecting hard work. I was expecting mess. I was expecting the chewing. And the mess. And the poo. But it's way harder than I was expecting and I'm struggling. And we're only two weeks in.

I was at the vet at 2am this morning after she had been straining and straining to poo for over 2 hours and was then violently sick - it seems that she had been eating small stones, even though I thought I was watching like a hawk.....she's still not right this morning so I think I may end up having to go back. DH didn't want a dog and feeling very justified in his "I told you sos" this morning!

I know I am very sleep deprived and grumpy, but puppy parents further along than me, cheer me up and tell me how brilliant it is when they are a bit older - pleeeeaaaaaasseeee!

Not got any new advice to give except to say it does get loads better. I found this forum so useful when punter lab was a puppy and even into his teenager phase. Stopped me tying him to a tree in a field and running away. Would not have worked anyhow as he was microchipped!

Reading this thread gives me a slight bit of hope! We have just got a puppy we've had him for around 10 days now. He's a mad little thing but lovely and I know he'll mAke a lovely family pet when he's older, I'm just at my wits end trying to toilet train him! He does go outside and gets that it's good to go outside but he still pees all over the house. I know it's really early days but I didn't want to get a puppy for this exact reason! Why I let DP talk me into it I don't know! I have an 8 month old DS to look after so it's so difficult to watch puppy like a hawk for toilet signs and look after DS at the same time. I know it'll blow over soon and I'll wonder what I was worrying about but I can't help thinking it's going to take forever to toilet train him!

We went through the night! She went out with dh when he got in from work between 12 and 1 then I got up at 630 and yes, the poop and pee came within 5 minutes of leaving the house rather than 10 but a whole nights sleep for me! Yay

Fabulous news kissesgingers - getting sleep makes everything else bearable!!

I've got a 14 week old lab. I haven't had a puppy since I was 11 when I had a 10 werk old rescue collie. I remember being slightly traumatized by that.
Now I have to say the rawhide put a stop to shoe chewing (I lost two pairs), for now! Fingers crossed he's completely house trained now, as there's been no puddles for the last three weeks (poo I've only ever had a couple in the house) and he's now able to sit, stay, paw and lay down on command. Most of those changes have happened in the last couple of weeks. The mouthing is lesser and licking is starting to replace it. I don't know how old your puppy is but we got ours at 6 weeks. So hold on in there, it will get better.

Why did you get a puppy at six weeks, just out of interest?

Because that's the age that puppies get homed here, can't be before but usually they are six to eight weeks. We asked if they could hang on and they said no, so we took him.

Oh, just wondered. It's usually not the done thing to take them before eight weeks because they're not very socialised or very big, really. Are you not in the UK?

No, but I'm from the UK. It's not common in UK, but from what I understand it's pretty common in other places. It certainly hasn't caused any problems. He's a fab little fella.

No I'm sure he's lovely.

Just wouldn't advocate it in general. From dogtime.com

For many puppies, eight weeks is the right age. Eight weeks of age has long been accepted as the optimal time to acquire a new pup. By eight weeks, sufficient dog-dog socialization has taken place with mother and litter mates to tide the puppy over until he is old enough to safely meet and play with other dogs in puppy class and dog parks. Yet the puppy is still young enough to form a strong bond with the members of his new family.

And from the labradortraininghq.com

Removing a puppy from its mother and litter mates too early causes a range of problems in the puppies development.

Many studies performed have shown a resulting increase in aggression, over-reactivity, learning problems, fearfulness and anxiety in puppies removed too early.

It's very easily googled. I'm glad your dog is fine but I wouldn't recommend it in general, that's all.

MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig I would prefer to have my puppies before 8 weeks of age. 7 Weeks preferably - 8 weeks is a prime time for a fear stage so removing puppies at this age can be quite traumatic for them. 8 Weeks is a relatively new theory and one that I do not totally agree with.

However I am very experienced with socialisation and the puppy will be with other dogs. Many breeders can not get a litter of puppies out and about for socialisation when they have them so many puppies are taken into the outside world, away from their littermates at a time of high anxiety eg the 8 weeks.

It would depend on what is happening at the breeders but usually I am more equipped to socialise an individual puppy than they are a litter.

I'm not quite as experienced as you mutt, so I'll take my next pup a bit later, thanks. I'll let the breeder do a bit of socialisation with the rest of the litter before I let myself loose on it.

Are you the previous poster under a new name? Are we still talking about the six week old puppy?

I was concerned about taking on a 6 week puppy. Being British I am guilty of assuming the British way is best. I have to say though that this is an assumption that previous experience has taught me not to cling to.
The animal welfare standards of the country I'm in puts a lot of developed countries to shame, including the UK, which is good for us, as we're farmers. From what I'm reading of others problems I'm thinking we were experienced enough for the 6 week split not to have any impact. Sometimes what seems wrong is just different and not necessarily wrong.