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!

I'm not sticking to the 5mins rule either really. 15min total a day would leave my pup with total cabin fever. We do off lead in a park and I let him bimble about at his own pace. No chasing balls. He's more likely to hurt himself when he gets extreme evening zoomies after a lazy day.

bluetongue we weren't going to bother with a crate initially but soon discovered that we needed an area where he was safe and could not eat everything including window blinds etc. Plus it was handy having somewhere to put him when he was very bitey and needed to calm himself down. Thank god for amazon next day deliveries as we could not leave the puppy at that stage and we were desperate for a crate.

If you have a smallish secure area then you may not need a crate as I agree they take up a big area and aren't the most asthetic thing to have in your house . Do you have a baby gate? They are very useful.

Biteyshark I will be buying two baby gates to set up pup's restricted area. He won't be getting to run free in the house!

If it becomes apparent that a crate will be necessary I'm happy to get one.

Out of interest, how long was puppy not able to be left for? My parents will be helping out but I'm still planning on getting a fair amount of dog and human supplies for the first few days.

Another stupid question. Apart from puppy pre school and my parent's place (they don't have dogs) will I be able to take pup out and about at all in the first couple of weeks? I've read on here about some puppy owners carrying their pups around to start with to get them socialised before being vaccinated but I'm dubious as to how tolerant a squirmy whippet puppy will be of being carried around like a baby.

I can't remember exactly how long it was before I left him completely alone as mine is now over 6 months old and I was in the new puppy sleep deprived fog at the time . Certainly the first few weeks I hardly left the house due to puppy needing to pee and poo all the time and when I did leave him it was to get him used to being on his own but I stayed close and spied on him to check he was ok. Saying that after 5 weeks I was back at work and was leaving him 2-3 hours each day until he went to day care. I think getting supplies for a few days and then seeing how you go sounds like a good plan.

I didn't go out much prior to vaccinations other than puppy parties because he was wriggly in my arms and by 11 weeks old we were able to walk on the road after the second vaccination. If yours isn't too wriggly you might find it easier than I did to carry them.

Baby gates are good . I still have mine up for timeouts as occasionally he can still be quite naughty (likes to bite trousers and shoes when overtired).

Flibbert why only once a day? Conservative advice is two limited walks a day, more permissive advice is up to four limited walks per day. A three month old puppy doing three 15 minute walks a day, at least one in a new environment, plus training 2-3 times a day should be getting enough physical and mental exercise.

Blue socialization is absolutely crucial, especially before the 14 week cut off point. Your puppy is at risk from sick dogs and foxes (including the faeces of sick dogs and foxes) so you can take a calculated risk and socialize but avoid areas with unknown dogs. You can also carry the puppy, a rucksack worn in front rather than on your back can work really well as a carrier for small and medium sized puppies. I've taken all my puppies out after first vaccinations at 8 weeks but everyone makes different choices - I am rather jaded by seeing people arrive at dog training classes with 8 month old dogs and announce that they feel it's about time they did some socialization and training!

Sleep deprived fog. You make it sound like having a newborn human

I'm expecting the sleep deprivation which is why I've taken some time off work to settle the little guy in.

Remember everything is new, so even standing outside your house getting used to cars, motorbikes etc is a new experience! If you're walking they tend to stay pretty still as it is quite overwhelming.

I took mine to friends houses and also invited people round for more socialisation too. My advice would be don't let them get frightened - if it's overwhelming, remove them from the situation and don't try to just make them get over it.

Also speak to a few different vets - ours let us do second set of vaccinations earlier so we could get out and about.

boo I've done lots of research on socialisation which is why he's booked into puppy pre school straight away. I'll give the puppy carrying a go.

He'll be continuing training after puppy pre school too. I fostered an ex racing greyhound that was 37 kilos of adult dog with no real basic training which emphasised to me how vital training from an early age is.

No foxes where I am which is one less thing to worry about.

And breathe

Honestly with getting up every few hours to let him out at night to pee then not sleeping in between because I was hyper alert listening for any issues, followed by watching him like a hawk in the day for toileting accidents coupled with manic biting phases I was completely in a hazy fog .

Fortunately that phase didn't last long otherwise I think I might have cracked. I am totally jealous of other people's puppies that were a dream at that age.

Rucksack idea for walks is great. Will try that out.

I think for about three weeks I felt quite limited by the puppy in terms of not wanting to leave him much at all. We started off with nipping out to the shops for 5 mins and built up from there. Our puppy cried and cried when we first left the room for a second!! But he's fine now.

My main advice would be that nothing is permanent at this stage so don't get worried about behaviours. Here's a list of 'issues' I've worried about with our puppy that have disappeared:

• when we first got him he constantly cried if not picked up
• weeing inside with absolutely no warning
• crying constantly if wearing a collar/harness
• first time we walked him we got to next doors house, he was petrified
• tail tucked right under when meeting other dogs
• overly obsessed with other dogs
• growled/barked at people who scared him
• cried if it rained
• terrified of my dad (yes we have overcome this!!)

All of these things (and probably more) I was convinced were going to become worse and worse and I'd have this impossible dog I couldn't take anywhere. All of these behaviours have gone, and not really because I did anything about them! My main advice was they gain confidence all the time, so what they are like today is not necessarily how they'll be tomorrow.

Be mindful of the puppy socialisation class - if it's a bit of a free for all with all the puppies playing all the time it can lead your puppy to think other dogs are more fun than you! How do you want your dog to behave with other dogs when an adult? For me, I want a bit of a hello and then back to me, so this is all I allowed at puppy class too.

Walking him with friends who have calm bit friendly adult dogs has been the best form of socialisation for our pup I think. I think lots of pups together, well none of them know the 'rules' of being a polite dog so they can be all over each other and learn bad habits.

I wouldn't count on normal height baby gates containing a whippet puppy for long

It's definitely worth carrying them out and about before they've had their vaccinations. There's lots of good information about effective socialisation on this site and in this article. The breeder should have been doing a lot before the puppy comes home as well, including introducing them to different objects, surfaces, sounds, everything they might normally expect in encounter in the average home, etc. They should also have made a start on toilet training and getting the pups used to being apart from each other. It makes such a difference bringing home a pup when they already have positive experiences of being on their own away from the litter.

Totally agree with Skeleton about puppy classes as well, the free for all ones can do more harm than good whether you're pup is one of the super confident ones or shy ones. You want them to learn that other puppies/dogs aren't there purely for their entertainment. Some carefully controlled play time in small groups of well matched individuals but a total free for all can lead to confident puppies becoming bullies and shy ones becoming fearful. If you can, go along to the classes you intend to use before your pup comes home so you can get a good idea of how they're run.

One thing you might want to consider for when he's fully vaccinated is ringcraft classes. They're for teaching you and your dog how to compete in shows but a really beneficial side effect is your pup being exposed to loads of different people and loads of dogs (who are also used to spending a lot of time around, and not necessarily interacting with, other dogs) of all shapes, sizes and ages. Even if you're not remotely interested in showing it can be a brilliant opportunity for socialisation and many are more like social events, run on a pay as you go basis so you don't have to sign up for a series of formal classes. The one I go to is £1 per dog and 50p per person per class and you don't even need to join in with the showing stuff if you don't want.

Thanks for that website Cornflake lots of good tips.

The good thing about the foster caring I did is that they placed a big emphasis on socialisation of the greyhounds and getting them used to the 'real world.' We had to email reports in and send photos of the socialisation work we were doing. It was actually quite the responsibility! I took my foster hound to as many different places as possible

Love your post about puppy worries Skeleton. I'm on meds for anxiety so one of the things I'm concerned about is getting too worried.

Obviously not the same as a puppy but I've had some practice at least.

Last two paragraphs are in the wrong order. Whoops!

Blue it sounds like you are getting sorted.

We have had Eddie for 4 weeks now. He just had his final jabs on Thursday so yay for being able to go out and about a bit more next week. House training is slowly getting there. Majority of wee and poo is now outside unless we take our attention off him at the wrong time (after food esp, and early evening he is a mass of zombie biting peeing dog!) hoping being able to get out for a walk in the evening will help this as he will get some exercise
We can leave him for about an hour or 2 with no accidents now (up till now we have had one of us working from home around the dog or my mum has popped in to dog sit while I am out at work. I have next week off so will be leaving him a little longer each day so he can get used to it before I go back to work on the 24th and will just be popping home at lunchtime
It was very reassuring talking to the puppy trainer last week so I'd totally reccomend that to anyone who hasn't had dogs before or just wants a few tips for reassurance they are doing the right thing
We have the crate still in the lounge and he will go in there for a treat (primula filled Kong is a winner) but hates being shut in so only use it with the door shut if I have to take him in the car which he hates at the moment (only been to visit mother in law and the vet!)
Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend xx

Funkymoover long weekend is good but wish the weather was as nice as last weekend.

Apparently I have just committed with worse crime ever according to my dog. He ate something smelly on his duvet bed in the lounge so I replaced his smelly cover with a new clean one. He is now trying to destroy the clean cover grrrr

I've been shopping for puppy supplies

Plus got my hair cut while I can still swan out the house at leisure.

Oh bitey you are the worst puppy mum ever for washing his bed! 😂

Blue get all the beauty treatments in now while you can! Did you buy fun stuff or practical?

Toys, bed and food so some of both. Oh and some food for me and new shoes

Oh puppy shopping SO exciting!!

Right now DDog has stopped trying to destroy his bed I can catch up properly

Funky I bet you are on a count down to being able to take your puppy out after the vaccinations. Being able to walk them and let them sniff to tire them out makes such a difference.

blue I haven't had a hair cut since getting my puppy so good move. Not long to wait now till your puppy comes home

Luckily I have a mobile hairdresser who comes to do mine and my mates hair at the same time in an evening so pup can come along or stay home with hubby.

Can't wait to get out and about. I've been putting the lead on him every few days and taking him up to the end of the drive at the front of the house (not massive but enough to be away from the front door) and stand by the pavement to get him used to the cars going past. So far he is petrified of the cars so I don't think we will get very far for a while 😂

Another one here checking in on puppy shopping duty! We're bringing Nelson home in 3 weeks, and I'm excited and petrified in equal measures!!