Does anyone fancy a 'puppy survival' thread?

[SkeletonSkins]

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!

As most boarding kennels have a minimum age of 6 months I was tempted to wait until then to get it but I was worried I would forget then need to board him.

Very cute picture

Jenny70 glad you got the food cracked. Everything ok now with your pups tummy?

Awwww such a gorgeous pic! Adorable!

I think different brands of vac set different requirements... ours seemed pretty standard to give it at 8 and 10 weeks.

I think kennel cough isn't as important as the others as it's a bit like the flu jab - there are so many strains and it only covers some. That said I think KC can be very tough on little pups. We haven't got it done to be honest - I used to work in a kennels and when KC broke out the ones who'd had the vac were no better off at all.

We've just been out for a bite to eat and a little bit more socialisation. Things going a little better with my dad - he'll tentiviely approah him when he's knelt down now. He was happy with my brother and people when out and about so not sure what went wrong with my dad!! Today we were learning all about sitting on the floor when the food comes - not a huge fan at all! But he made good progress.

Bitey you are more than welcome to share your adolescent puppy woes here - we've got it all to come too!!

Thanks Skeleton, glad your making progress with your dad (wonder what it was that spooked him)

I was just thinking a few weeks back how lovely my puppy was now and how I probably had a few months till he hit his teens which has come back to bite me . He just seems to have regressed in his training, not liking his crate anymore, seems spooked and barking at things and generally 'off'. Think I need to make sure rules and boundaries are firmed up so he knows where he stands as I don't want to just 'give in' and create problems down the line (so must make sure he does sit, does come back, doesn't bite etc every single time).

He's a small size so hopefully it won't last too many months although I fear this is just a taster of things to come but I am fully prepared (wine has been ordered). I can totally see why people give up their dogs, especially the larger breeds who mature later when they haven't been expecting it and they suddenly seem so naughty and deaf .

If it's any condolences I've heard that smaller dogs 'grow up' more quickly and big dogs can have a very long adolescence so I have my fingers crossed for you that it will be over with quickly!

Puppy class for us tonight, last week did not go so well... so fingers crossed for tonight!

Good luck at the puppy class. I was always in the metaphorical naughty corner with mine :)

Lion, cute photo - I agree dark dogs are hard to photograph, they blend in the shadows. I did think the other day she'd be hard to find in the dark!

And the vaccine, I think it does vary vet to vet (and area to area), but it was a different "blend" for the early finish, but in reality, I just went with vet advise - they say more risk of poor socialisation than risk of illnesses from improper vac. We did Kennel Cough, very contageous and lots of dogs here go into kennels so risk of getting it from other dog, we're not planning to send her into kennels for a long while.

Skeleton, does your Dad do decorating often, wonder if it was that paint smell that puppy didn't like and has now associated with your Dad. But good she is warming to him - get him to feed her something special each time he sees her, she'll soon be pounding down the door to greet him, LOL.

Yes, tummy seems good - now to experiment with treats (pigs ears etc) to see if that was the culprit.

I'd been boasting about being accident free for a week the other day so of course last night little one doesn't ask to go out just wees in the middle of the floor. He was all out of sorts last night anyway. Zoomies lasted from 6 till after 9. Just could not get him to stop though he was clearly tired. I think I should have just crated him.
New day today so I'll go down soon and give him a nice cuddle and start fresh

Why do puppies love early starts?! My older dog loves a lie in haha.

Yeah could definitely be the paint he's wary off, who knows! Have been doing the food thing but unfortunately he wouldn't even take sausage from him or anything to begin with, just ran away!

Puppy class went better this week - there was a new dog who was much bigger than SkeletonPup and he wasn't nervous to introduce himself. I did get a little bit worried because he growled once at the dog, but the dog was pushing past him and stealing his treats and pup was playing with him again two mins later so I'm not too worried.

Glad the class was better this week Skeleton. I am sure he will be bouncing around with your dad soon as they are fickle creatures at that age.

Flibbert I used to think hmmm must be time for a wee and turn round to see him happily peeing on the floor in front of me. It's so frustrating till they get it.

I am dealing with attention crying at the moment which has come back with a vengeance. Bloody hormones. He is old enough to be neutered but I wanted to wait a few more months. Having to ignore the howling and crying because I know he is ok but god it still tugs at your heart strings. At the moment it has stopped which is about right for him (he will do it for around 30 mins and then if no reward he stops and goes to sleep)

I was thinking about neutering yesterday - our pup is small and already can hump other dogs. I'm wondering about getting him done fairly early - have always left my dogs until much later but as a little dog anyway he'll be finished growing before 1 year. Need to give it some thought.

I was thinking of doing it around 1 year of age then his growing will have pretty much finished. He hasn't showed any sexual behaviour as of yet which is good and no leg cocking either but it seems some dogs do it more than others.

Our vet said they would only do it if there was no behavioural issues so with him acting out now I guess we would have to wait anyway.

The main issue for me is that I will have to take time off work if I have to keep that stupid cone of shame on him for 2 weeks

Wasn't it a full moon last night? Eddie was mental last night too! Full on zooming around the house and garden. Also having been in the garden he prednisone in the house 3 times. Has already peed and pooed in the house this morning. He also threw up last night too. I'm assuming it's the result of some rubbish he has eaten from the garden and it was just watery he has eaten breakfast as usual and been ok so far this morning.

Today is going to be a challenge for him anyway. I have to go to work today tomorrow and Thursday. Today mum Is popping in in the morning and the afternoon and I will be at home for a while at lunchtime but will be left for an hour or so each time he is on his own. Tomorrow is worse as mum can't pop in for the afternoon as she has plans already so will be on his own for a couple of hours till
My meetings at work are done. Hubs is staying home Thursday morning but he will have another couple of hours alone in the afternoon so this week will be stressful to say the least. (Must buy more floor cleaner)

Funkymoover god help our mental health with all this stress. I am on high alert listening for any noises from DDog as I need to nip the whining in the bud as he was perfectly fine being on his own for 3 hours and I fear we may have rewarded the behaviour when he started again as we went to check on him because it was so unusual. My stress levels are now back to where they were when he was very little arghhh

My puppy was metal yesterday too. I had the worst day ever with him. Started horribly with a secret poo around the side of the sofa and just got worse from there. To be fair he didn't have any other accidents in the house after that but that was the only positive. His jaws must ache from the nipping and biting. My arms are absolutely covered with red marks and scratches. My DS is only 3 and has decided that it's actually really fun for the puppy to hang on to his trouser leg while he runs around the room and encouraging him to nip him. Obviously the puppy thinks this is fantastic fun and happily gets dragged around the room. My friend came to visit and she was horrified by him as he was just nipping her constantly. I put him out in the garden so he could ahve a run around but he just kept sprinting at me to get my ankles. Gave him loads of toys and tried distracting him but he would do one lap of the garden and come straight back at my ankles. Hopefully today will be better!

Thanks for all the vac advice. Kept missing calls from the vet yesterday so hopefully they will ring back today.

Skin, has your dad just tried sitting on the floor and completely ignoring your puppy? That seems to work for mine when hes not keen on someone.

Lion the nipping is horrible. Mine used to grab my thigh and I still have jeans that have chunks pulled from them to remind me. He used to also do it in the middle of the garden so I was stuck there with a biting puppy hanging off me.

It really is bitey! Has your puppy stopped nipping yet? I like wearing ripped jeans which have bits of thread hanging down which he absolutely loves. And he has a thing about nipping my boobs while I'm carrying him outside. I'm sure I'll laugh about it one day....

He doesn't nip anymore now but when he is tired at night he will sometimes start biting our shoes if we are sat on the sofa. The only way to stop him doing that is a timeout

I remember the nipping still and how much it actually hurts.

I've tried timeout but before you've even got him back in the room he's trying to nip again. He doesn't seem to care. It's good to hear it stops eventually though. Sorry bitey, I know I've probably already asked before but how old if your pup now? 6 months?

Yes 6 months. I think the nipping really diminished between 4-5 months of age but before then it was a nightmare. I am glad mostly the biting has stopped apart from the odd nighttime clothes biting because his adult teeth are scary

Sounds like there was something in the air last night. Hope you all have better days today

Yeah my dad sitting down has helped :)

We've just taken the pup out and now he's going mad chewing his feet and crying! He seemed to get stung by a nettle so wondering whether it's that? Hoping it settles soon though.

The worrying is awful isn't it. You just are so worried that one wrong move and you're dealing with an issue for the rest of your life.

Just home for lunch. Been home an hour. Leaving again shortly and he's been mental while I have been home. Mum is coming back in about 1/2 hr though. Mum came in to a wee and a poo earlier. I came home to a wee. Not too bad for another an hour or so by himself

Okay I think I can just about deal with another 2/3 months. I can imagine big teeth are scary. It might sound stupid but I'm actually surprised at how small lionpups teeth are. I think he is worn out after the craziness of yesterday as I feel like he's slept all day so far.

Skin I know exactly what you mean. Everyday at least once I'll think oh no I've scarred him for life and I'm going to have a scared aggressive dog it's so hard knowing what to do for the best sometimes. It does sound like a nettle sting. have you tried bathing his foot in warm water if it's still bothering him? Poor thing. Nettle stings are the worst!

Hopefully you don't come home to too many accidents funky.

My naughty dog is in my bad books after pooing in his crate over night and then treading all over it in excitement when he saw me! Started the day at 6:40 showering the little sod and about a million loads of washing to go on anyone want a dog? He's free today!!!!