Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Flip

1 2 ··· 12 13 14 ··· 39 40

Original poster

Does anyone fancy a 'puppy survival' thread?

999 replies

SkeletonSkins · 15/02/2017 16:09

Just wondering whether anyone else has got a puppy recently and in the same boat as us? Interested to hear how how others are getting on.

We've had our 8 week old puppy for a few days now and things are okay... he's a complete cross of lots of different breeds so enjoying trying to work out what in him!

House training seems to go great and then at night he just sits there in the middle of the grass not wanting to even walk around! Never mind wee!

Our older dog isn't particularly impressed but has been good with him so far. Just looking forward to him sleeping through the night without needing a wee. Completely forgot how having a puppy completely takes over your life for a little while!

OP posts:

Thread gallery

118

CornflakeHomunculus · 20/03/2017 13:50

I've heard that Whippeys can be little terrors as puppies.

They do indeed tend to be absolute monsters when they're tiny but they do start to calm down at around 6-7 months or so. Pre-empting evening zoomies and doing a little training session can help avoid the whippet puppy wall of death, sometimes anyway.......

Definitely get started with recall training straight away, it's always the first thing I start training them (other than house training) when they come home. Ideally the breeder should already have given them a decent foundation, even if it's only calling the whole litter collectively. Mine all came from the same breeder (three different litters) and they still come running, in the house/garden at least, to the shout of "Puppieeeeeeeeees!!"

It's a good idea to start with some simple impulse control exercises when they're small as well, it can really help with managing prey drive as they get older.

LionSock · 20/03/2017 17:17

Aww skinss! He's got proper puppy dog eyes!

LionSock · 20/03/2017 17:38

Here's my little guy

Does anyone fancy a 'puppy survival' thread?

LionSock · 21/03/2017 11:05

Lion pup is doing so well with house training. Last accident in the house was 6am yesterday! I'm still taking him into the garden every hour but he always has a wee within 2 minutes of being outside. I'm so pleased.

Took him to the vets today for his first vaccinations.

bluetongue · 21/03/2017 13:02

Love the photos. All your pups are gorgeous

I'm totally sure about getting a puppy and that a Whippet is the right breed for me. I am however having some anxiety over choosing a breeder and how I'll know which puppy is the one for me. I suffer from anxiety so the whole emailing and phoning breeders is something I find somewhat intimidating. I'm going to see a litter this Friday and while excited, I'm also worried about how to handle the situation if I decide I don't get a good feeling for the breeder or if none if the puppies is what I want. The worry of it all is literally costing me sleep at the moment

If I don't go with this breeder then the other options are waiting for another puppy near me (and hoping I can get leave from work when it's ready), buying a puppy unseen or travelling over a weekend to see puppies interstate (I'm not in the UK).

bluetongue · 21/03/2017 13:12

Oh, and thanks for the Whippet specific advice Cornflake. Puppy will be going to puppy preschool ASAP and I've already researched trainers in my area for ongoing classes.

I swear I've done more research and worrying before getting this pup than some people do into having an actual human baby .

sleepwhenidie · 21/03/2017 13:16

bluetongue I'd say at the start of the breeder visit that you have to discuss with OH before committing but you will call by the end of the day/next day. Then you have your get out and can either commit if you are convinced, or give yourself a cooling off period away from gorgeous pups! Don't let the thought of travel and time put you off waiting for the right one

CornflakeHomunculus · 21/03/2017 13:28

I would always go through the breed club when looking for a breeder. They're a well established breed in many countries (although rarely as popular as they are in the UK) so it's worth looking to see if there is a club where you are who can put you in touch with breeders planning litters.

Obviously it's a bit UK-centric but this guide to buying a puppy is really worth reading, as is the list of questions to ask a breeder. The AKC has a more in depth guide to responsible breeding which gives you a good idea of what a decent breeder should be doing.

With regards to choosing a puppy then really the breeder should be at the very least giving you a shortlist of puppies to choose from who would suit your family and lifestyle. Many will either steer you very strongly towards a single pup or even do the choosing for you. They will have a much better idea of the puppies' individual personalities than you can possibly get from a few brief meetings.

BiteyShark · 21/03/2017 13:28

bluetongue I went to several breeders before finding the right puppy and each time I just said thank you for letting me visit but I now need to go away and think about whether this puppy is the right one and I will contact you either way tomorrow.

bluetongue · 21/03/2017 14:00

Thanks for the replies everyone. The irony in all this is that part of the reason for getting a dog is to improve my mental health but for now it seems to have exacerbated my anxiety. I'm sure it will all be woth it once I have my puppy though

BiteyShark · 21/03/2017 14:08

bluetongue all the best on getting your puppy and I hope it helps your MH but I will warn you it certainly impacted mine for the first couple of months :( I can honestly say I was on my knees with tiredness and the stress of looking after the puppy.

Original poster

SkeletonSkins · 21/03/2017 20:29

We found it hard to choose which pup to have but in the end just made a decision and stuck to it. At the end of the day you always love the pup you end up with and can't imagine having a different one.

Agreed in terms of mental health though - at times it's really hard. Long term, dogs are brilliant for that but it's definitely hard to begin with and lots to worry about.

OP posts:

Original poster

SkeletonSkins · 21/03/2017 20:29

Lion your pup is absolutely gorgeous and what a fab start with house training! Perhaps you will have the illusive 'house trained in a week' dog!!

OP posts:

Funkymoover · 22/03/2017 15:32

Can I join in? This is Eddie. Came home on Friday. He's 8 weeks old. Westie/schnauzer cross. Very cute but too clever for his own good sometimes!
Getting better at peeing and pooing outside but have to watch him like a hawk in the house as he does still pee where he feels like it! I've given up on puppy pads as I think this was confusing him.
I got a playpen to put him in when I went out and he managed to climb out of it on the first try. Have got a crate but he gets too upset so will leave it a day or so and start crate training again from scratch. Left him in the lounge along this morning when I dropped kids at school and he whined but no accidents (was gone about 20 mins)
Couple of weeks till his last jabs and he can walk to school with us when he is ready. Can't wait

How have all your pups got on with their collars? He doesn't like it at scratches at it when I put it on. Have left it on today and he's been better as time has gone on but I still

Funkymoover · 22/03/2017 15:34

Damn hit post. I catch him doing a weird three legged walk while he tries to scratch and run at the same time

incompetentmayorgoodway · 22/03/2017 21:14

Hi can I join? I have a 14 week old pup, accidentally ended up driving 2 hours to collect her after seeing her face on gumtree whilst browsing ( not for a dog either lol) fell in love with her so I had to go for her. I hadn't even considered adding a dog to our family but it's the best thing I could have done.
She's a cross she has some Pomeranian in her and jack Russel not sure what else. She's almost house trained ( odd accident usually when her and kids are rolling around the floor playing and she gets to excited!) crate training was a disaster and after two weeks was still crying constantly so she goes to dog day care when I go to college.

This is coco...

Original poster

SkeletonSkins · 22/03/2017 21:29

Absolutely gorgeous pups! Soooo cute!

Re the collar - we failed. Pup now wears a harness and seems to prefer that so we'll stick with that for now. He doesn't wear anything in the house - my dogs never do, personal choice.

Our boy is doing well. I'm finding he's a little shy with new people and just jumps up at me instead! So todau we visited Starbucks and they were absolutly great - had treats behind the counter and so gentle with him and encouraging. Definitely going to be visiting again especially as I got a hot chocolate too!

OP posts:

FlibbertigibbetArmadillo · 22/03/2017 21:36

Any one got tips for how to stop the manic zoomies? Floyd seems to like flying at your face open mouthed at the moment and then just bite bite bite!
Tried squealing like we are hurt and that seems to make him worse. Tried to distract with toys but eventually he ignores those and lunges for bare flesh again (be it hands or face).
Tried to distract by training and doing tricks which works for a bit then he starts again. Tried stopping engaging and standing up, walking away but doesn't achieve anything. DP seriously considering showering in tabasco so he tastes bad!

incompetentmayorgoodway · 22/03/2017 21:54

When coco bites we squeal and turn away and ignore her, seems to work ( touch wood) her worst habit is greeding food. The eldest combats this by eating her breakfast at the window using the sill as a table, family tea time isn't to bad because we all eat so it's a united front of NO COCOs but breakfast dd likes to go down herself and make her own cereal and have a bit quiet time before her brothers up lol, having a cuppa is the same she's there trying to get at it constantly. She has got a little better tho. We got her at 11 weeks and the family we got her from had lots of dogs and kids and I think she's been allowed to greed so expected it here to, the first week was horrific trying to eat she was all over crying for whatever we where eating or drinking and jumping up ( tried the crate and she'd howl and cry which was no better whilst trying to eat and talk to the kids about their day)

I have had to replace a lot of plugs tho - she has a thing for biting plugs off wires ( everything is now switched off permanently and where possible things are no longer kept plugged in!) luckily she has never chewed anything else.

BiteyShark · 22/03/2017 22:28

FlibbertigibbetArmadillo with the biting the only thing that worked for my puppy was timeouts. In fact we had one episode tonight where he decided to get bitey because he was overtired. He got wrestled into the kitchen whilst avoiding his teeth and 1 minute later he was allowed back out again and behaved like a totally different dog wanting sleepy strokes instead of trying to bite our ankles.

LionSock · 23/03/2017 08:04

Hello to all the new puppy owners.

Lionpups breeder had collars on the puppys for a few weeks before we collected him so was used to wearing one by the time we collected him.

Lionpup is still doing really well with house training. For the last few days we've had one accident in the house everyday. Which is kind of frustrating but still brilliant. The wind has been replaced by the rain here which he's not keen on. If we had a few nice dry days, I think we could crack the house training completely.

He is very very bitey. Once he gets going, toys are not good enough and only bare skin will do. My DC are 5 and 3 and are abit scared of him because of the biting but I've explained that he's just a baby and will stop soon. Lionpup has started barking at DH and the DC and I have no idea why? He doesn't do bark at me though. I'm definitely his favourite

FlibbertigibbetArmadillo · 23/03/2017 08:13

Thanks biteyshark I will try giving timeouts a proper try. Unfortunately living room and kitchen only separated by a stair gate so I will have to harden my heart and ignore the freak out to be let back in till he settles a bit.
I think it's definitely over tiredness as it's nearly always the evening and he has just started walks

FlibbertigibbetArmadillo · 23/03/2017 08:13

BiteyShark · 23/03/2017 08:36

Yes unfortunately you do have to be consistent and give them a proper timeout. When he was younger I used to put him in his crate and wait for him to settle then back out and repeat if necessary. Now he is older he understands he is doing something wrong even if he can't help it and I just put him behind the baby gate that we have in the kitchen and turned my back on him until he was let back in. When mine gets overtired the only thing I can do to get him to stop is timeouts.

bluetongue · 23/03/2017 12:05

I now have a second litter to look at over the weekend! Both litters are approximately the same age so I'm now pretty sure that one will eventually coming home with me.

I will continue to lurk here and hopefully will be able to talk about my own puppy soon. Excited yet terrified. Let the Whippet craziness begin

Flip

1 2 ··· 12 13 14 ··· 39 40

Swipe left for the next trending thread