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!

Yes Bitey our first pup. Have done a ton of research on training! Have to say though that there is so much conflicting advice out there! I suppose it must be a bit like when you have a baby, just do what works for you!

Duck yes same here did lots of research but after a few weeks I stopped worrying and just experimented and found the techniques that he responded to.

Dotty jealous that you have a handy dog sitter. I finally managed to get a hair cut this week. The first time since I got him and only because he is now settled.

Funky glad the walks and visitors are tiring him out.

Skeleton I know mine loves being with the person he will be boarded with but yes the bloody guilt and worrying doesn't seem to stop does it .

Oh Chester is adorable.

Bitey, yay for haircuts! Mine needs to have the roots done but I just can't bring myself to leave him for that long! I'm off to see Ed Sheeran in a couple of weeks and staying in London overnight. Poor hubs is going to get so many phone calls about the puppy!

Love Chester [smile{

As much as I love Whippets I do feel slightly cheated of the proper chunky baby stage. Bluepuppy is 9 weeks and already getting very pointy!

Feeling much better now it's morning. Puppy ended up sleeping on my bed all night. No accidents. In fact apart from a poo on the floor when I first let him out of the travel carrier he's done everything outside. Good puppy

Of course not long after I wrote about no accidents I found a puddle of wee. Still not bad though

That's fab blue! A great start to toilet training. Don't worry about accidents, they happen, just focus on every time outside as an achievement! At least the weather isn't as cold these days so the hours waiting outside don't seem quite so bad. And our puppy was never chunky and always very pointy haha but still got loads of people stopping to admire him.

We have well and truly entered the teething stage, bless him. Luckily we have a fair few nylabones etc and got a delivery coming today with lots of carrots which I can pop in the freezer for him. His ears are all over the place

Off to a friends field today - she is a dog walker and has a field with some agility bits in. I know he can't jump as too young but going to have a go with the tunnel and a few other puppy friendly bits as I'd really like to do agility with pup. Might get me a bit fitter too!

Yes, he's still very cute in his own pointy way. He already has a whippet sassy trot down pat

Weather here is warm as well (I'm in Australia) but rain coming in tomorrow. It will be interesting how he goes with toileting in the rain. I do have a verandah and paving so he has options

He does get bitey at times but I just redirect him to a toy and he gets stuck into that instead. So far my only puppy related injury is a cut finger from the stupid dog food can.

I'm not teary tonight so progress there. There are times however where the enormity of the commitment hits me. I'm single with no children so very much used to doing what I want when I want.

blue I found mine had days with no accidents then days with many, thank god we bulked purchased kitchen roll

Enjoy your agility fun Skeleton, even though mine is too young for agility it doesn't stop him using the forest as his training ground. Today he jumped several fallen tree trunks and wooden fences

DDog enjoyed ice cubes during his teething stage although you do end up with small puddles on the floor.

Hi Blue, it is huge and I feel the same sometimes when I realise we can't get up and go out for the day anymore, everything has to be carefully thought out!!!! On the flip side the rewards are big and I am loving getting out for regular walks x

Hi all, loving the new pup pics - makes us feel experienced - snort!

Molly is doing great, toilet training pretty much cracked, odd wee inside in desperate circumstances.

Only thing is we are still on the hunt for the right food, apparently the one I thought we'd cracked for taste and tummy is affecting her wee (high pH) which has given her urea crystals and then a urinary tract infection, sigh. So antibiotics and a diet change is on the cards... fortunately she takes the tablets well.

Molly loves agility stuff, our dog park has one, she has taken to climbing the tallest tower thing, and jumping off it (giving me a heart attack).

And a photo that sums up our crazy puppy moment when she is completely hyper, LOL.

Ah Jenny, Molly is a cutie!!!! Sounds like she is doing great :)

Just wondered what people say when they want to discourage negative behaviour from their puppy, we have been using no bit now reading a few things that don't recommend this and could be confusing for a dog? Any advice?

Dotty I do use negative commands as I was finding all the distraction positive stuff was actually making some of his behaviour worse so I think it depends on the behaviour and the dog.

We use no and also a strong 'ah ah'. For example when he sits and starts to move we do an 'ah' to know it's wrong. When he bites we use a deep 'no' and if continues a time out. I tend to use other stuff like 'leave it' and 'drop it' rather than 'no' to try and save 'no' for the worse stuff like biting. I do however all ways reinforce with a 'good boy' if he stops doing what I wanted so 'no firmly and deeply' for him mouthing and if he sniffs and licks after he gets a 'good boy'

Big day today. I left Bluepuppy home alone for the first time. Plan A was not a success. He was shut out of the lounge room so restricted to the tiled area of the house. Sounds great in theory but he hated it and cried and whined. Not surprising really as he spends most of his time there apart from when he's in my bedroom at night. Second time I went out I let him have access to the lounge and he was much quiter. It has wooden flooring so hopefully he can't cause too much damage.

blue I take it you are not using a crate? Could you build him something like a den so he can snuggle down inside it? Might make him feel more secure when you leave him.

Thanks Bitey, that's really helpful. I think it's a bit of trial and error and then hopefully find what works :)
He does respond to a sharp no and goes a bit sheepish (for about 2 seconds lol) so will see how it goes!

Hi everyone I have been so busy recently so just checking back in. Lionpup is 13 weeks old now! He had his final vaccinations on Wednesday and I'm so tempted to take him out today for his first walk (2 days early) wouldi be stupid to Risk it?

Skins, are you pup and your dad friends again yet? Any progress with the fear of coats?

Bitey, hows the teenage stage going?

Funky, hows your pup getting on? Hows house-training going?

Blue, I'm pleased you finally got your pup! Totally normal to feel teary. Just keep telling yourself it will get easier and thus is just a stage. Keep posting.

Yay another schnauzer pup

Lionpup is doing good! He's 99% house-trained. When he does have the odd accident, it's always my fault. He's now sleeping in until we wake up and sleeps 12 hours a night sometimes longer.

He escaped the garden yesterday and got stuck in a big pile of branches in the field at the back of our house. DH eventually got him out after about 20 mins and lionpup was shaking like mad he seems fine now but I'm so angry with DH for not watching him properly. The fence is now fixed and he definitely can't get out again!

Dotty I do say no in a firm voice. I 99% use positive reinforcement but sometimes you need to let them know not to do something.

Lion don't know whether I would risk it or not with the vaccinations but we have lots of foxes and other wildlife so possibly more of a risk but I do understand the temptation.

Wow glad you pup sleeps so long through the night. The are such escape artists aren't they. We had to reinforce our front gate with extra wood and netting otherwise he would be off.

Things are relatively good here. Most of the time he is calm in the house but sometimes he can get a bit excited/bitey at night which we are working on. The walks off lead are hit and miss but I am trying to keep reinforcing the basic obedience training so if he decides he can't be bothered to keep sitting until I release him he gets to come back and do it again until he behaves

Positive reinforcement does not preclude teaching 'don't do that' type commands...you just reward as soon as the dog stops doing whatever it I say you want him to stop. 'Leave it' is a good example of this, you reward as the dog moves away from the food.

I don't use the word 'no' as it is too commonly in use and it is very easy to desensitize the dog to it. I use 'ah uh' to mean 'stop what you are doing or I will stop it for you'. For me, the trick for this to work is consistency and follow through - once you say it either the dog obeys or you get up and deal with the issue.

Almost all positive reinforcement involves a negative, e.g. you ask the dog to sit, it does not sit, you withhold the treat. This is, in principle, a negative punishment as you are removing the reward to decrease the behavior (the ignoring). I've never met anyone who objects to this. Positive punishment may also be useful if mild, e.g. a mild noise.

Lion you are one week away from the closing of the socialisation window, ideally you need to be out today. Ideally you also need to practice recall before the fear period sets in as many pups start running away at this stage if not well trained to recall.

Hey. Eddie is doing well. 13 weeks old today too 😀
He had his jabs nearly 2 weeks ago. I waited 6 days and started taking him round the block for a walk (20-25 mins) not let him off lead yet. Too scared to do that. His recall is getting better in the garden. He is a wannabe escapologist as he keeps eyeing up the netting on the gate that he could fit through the gaps on a few weeks back. Have managed to call him away every time he has tried the last week or so and he does get lots of attention and fuss if he comes when his name is called.
House training is going pretty well. Most accidents now are out fault for not watching him or leaving the back door shut and not keeping an eye on him. Has been a godsend having nice weather the last week or so!
Was off work with kids last week so did some work on leaving him alone in the house for an short while every day. Have left him for 2.5 hours this morning and about the same this afternoon while I am at work and just popped home for an hour at lunchtime to give him lunch and a run round the garden. He had a 45 min walk this morning before I went out and I came home to just a wee on the floor (expected) and a puppy who had managed to jump on the sofa so I think he had been asleep as he has been sleeping on me on the sofa in the evenings. (Pic attached) no damage though he did whine and bark a little as I left to come back to work. Hoping DS will not get home to a nightmare after school as he will be home first!

Awwww gorgeous picture of Eddie! We let our guy off as early as possible as we heard that when they're little they're too frightened to go very far and so learn to stay near you. We took some treats out with us and went to a nice quiet place, took a deep breath and went for it. He just followed me around despite the fact he zooms around the garden!

Jenny lovely to have an update of your pup, seems like things are going really well! Wish we had dog parks like that, they look like good fun.

Dotty we use 'no' if he's caught right in the middle of doing something he shouldn't but then immediately get him to do the preferred behaviour. We try and distract him where possible, call him over and give a toy etc but sometimes they're just doing something they shouldn't! E.g. He's been chewing a wicker basket we have so when I've seen him do it I say 'no' and then immediately offer something he can chew.

Lion I think I'd go for it. We weren't told to keep ours in after the second lot so I think you'll be fine.

Blue congrats on two successful stays alone at home! It's so hard when they're little - they definitely get more confident being alone as part of getting older. Sounds like your pup managed okay in the living room - plans can get changed so easily with a puppy! I had this great plan that our guy would stay in a puppy pen in the kitchen but that lasted a day as he hated it. He likes being comfy and cosy and he stays in the living room now with our older dog. I expected damage but it's been okay.

Back to puppy class tonight for us after a bit of a break. Hoping for focus but we shall see! Our first little go of agility was fab fun and even without any jumping etc he was worn out!

Hello :-) can I join? We have recently added a new family member called Daphne. She is a total joy so far but still very little st 8 weeks. She is in a crate with a run attached ( puppy play pen ) at night and is still a bit yowly after 3 nights but that's to be expected I think. Her big sister our Labradoodle ( 1 year old ) is in the same room as her ( she sleeps on the sofa at night ) and I think hey are becoming fast friends. We have a little Yorkie cross too who is nine but a bit unimpressed with the younger ones, he's pretty tolerant though.

We are getting up once in the middle of the night for toileting so she is only left about 4 hours each side of that and so far so good, only one accident on the newspaper so far. Loving all the photos of your gorgeous puppies, I'll check in every day on this thread as it's been a year since we had a puppy and I forgot how knackered I'd be! pics of Daphne and Rhubarb.

Oh Daphne is absolutely gorgeous! And Rhubarb is a fabulous name for a dog - I love it!

All puppies welcome, big and small, 8 weeks and 8 months!

Funky I would try and take him somewhere safe to do off lead as soon as you can. We waited until a trainer said if we don't do it when young when they are so attached to you he will most likely bolt when older and they were so right. As Skeleton said take lots treats and reward every time he comes to you which you will find is lots. I trained mine to a whistle from the start which is so useful now he is older and more independent.

Mortified they look so cute together. Hope your older Yorkie dog forgives the youngsters

Skeleton enjoy the puppy class. How many more are you signed up to?