Does anyone fancy a "puppy survival" thread part 2

[Soubriquet]

Here we are again

Just jump in and join us

Big girl was sitting on my foot in the garden tonight and oofing. Like a woof but deep and quiet. At the wind.
Bloody wuss. Wolfhound my eye. She's so soft.

Skeleton Whippet would explain the sleek good looks he has

Bluepup is very good with the walking on lead bit. My mum with her arthritic knees and my dad who has no dog experience can walk him easily. They 'borrow' him for walks and cafe visits

The little terror ruined my favourite hoodie today

It was probably my fault too as when he grabbed it I tied to take it off him which is when it ripped. Should have just let him take the hoodie and washed it if he dragged it outside. A few weeks ago when he was smaller it would have been fine but his teeth have left a gaping hole.

I had to pull poo out of Lexa's bum this morning

I could not get Daniel out yesterday to go to the toilet, at one point I saw him trying to climb in the cats litter tray (big clear storage boxes) and give up and poo on the floor. I fear he thinks he is a cat.

Soubriquet you win puppy boak of the day, that would have turned me green!

Soubriquet yes had that experience as well but only when he has been eating non food stuff like pieces of string that won't come out properly. The things we do for our lovely dogs

Yes....long hair is her problem.

I've got long hair and I moult like mad sometimes

I love it when's it windy, DDogs spaniel ears look like they are taking off when he sits in the garden

I think I'm going to have to get some expert help for me and Bluepuppy I got a text from a neighbour saying that Bluepuppy had been crying for a couple of hours while I was out and she was actually worried he was sick or injured. Sob.

I'll be getting him an Adaptil collar on the weekend and will talk the issue through with my vet when he goes for a 16 week booster shot.

My depression has been triggered and I can't stop crying. I'm single, will probably never have children because of my mental health and now it feels like I'm not even capable of having a dog.

I'm all about being responsible for pets and a puppy isn't just fir Christmas but part of me wonders if he's be better off re homed through his breeder. Then again maybe now he has separation anxiety he's not re-homable at all and I'll just have try and fix him.

Sorry for the ramble lovely puppy people but hopefully you all understand that I love the little guy but hope getting him wasn't a terrible mistake for both of us

Deep breath blue. First can you video him when you leave? I have a baby monitor but I know you can get recording devices that record to a sdd card so you can play them back. I think that would be really helpful as I am not disputing what your neighbour is saying but my dog will bark at noises etc I this will give you concrete evidence of whether it is prolonged or intermittent and also whether it is triggered by any external factors. If it is happening consistently then a behaviourist will also be able to use the recording to help both of you.

Also if your neighbour can hear him are they going up to your house/garden etc as that would cause upset to my dog.

Oh blue - I've just come over for a look to see how other people are managing - you may remember from the other thread that I've got a hulking great three-year old greyhound so not a puppy but it's still fairly stressful when it's all new.

How long have you had your pup? How long have you been leaving him home alone? Do you think he'll get used to it? You know well from my "anxiety" post that I'm rumbling along wonder whether the whole thing was a terrible mistake. DH has bonded already with the fliphound but I really don't feel I have and keep stressing that it was a disastrous mistake. I stress also that we're not getting her into a routine - first week we had her was half term, now today is another day off as it's polling day so she's never going to get used to it!

I hope someone with a lot more knowledge and experience comes along soon but just so you know, you are NOT alone in the "worrying you've made a mistake" camp!

Oh yes, I've been recording (sound only) on my laptop to see if our hound cries and barks when we're out. It's fairly tedious to listen back to but needs must!

blue I know very little about your circumstances but perhaps because you are close to the 'problem' (I use that term loosely) you are struggling to see a solution that isn't an extreme one.

Your neighbour is texting about Bluepuppys crying, is your neighbour perhaps in a position to go in and reassure bluepuppy?

How often do you have to be out the house?

Is there anything like a local support group? Perhaps you could ask people for help, or look into something like share my doggy, people who may want a dog but not be in a position to look after one who could help you out?

As for your depression, What has helped you in the past?

I work from home so can be online all day if you want to PM. I know I can't do much, but I can make sure you aren't alone

Flippetydip a lot of people talk about routines but I don't have one for my dog. Sometimes I work from home, sometimes he goes to daycare, we don't walk at the same times, feeding time is +- a few hours, he is left at different times of the day and on different days. What I do have is micro routines so if he is being left he will have a kong and a walk on the lead beforehand, if we want a lie in then he has a toilet break and a small snack so he isn't hungry before breakfast etc.

I have considered videoing him Bitey It's not barking but crying and whining. My neighbour heard him today while home sick in bed so I don't think she's going near him. This is a different neighbour to the one that reported him before and both were genuinely concerned for his welfare

If it wasn't for this issue he would be great. He's very friendly and gentle and I'm happy to let kids pat him. My parents love him too and I think they would really be shattered if I had to give up their 'fur grandchild'.

Problem is, it's just not going to possible to not leave him at all to try and fix this. He has to be able to be by himself for a couple of hours at a time.

blue I can hear a dog barking a few houses away when I am at home. It is intermittent and I think nothing of it but some people might describe that as a 'problem' which is why I think it would be helpful for you to 'hear' it for yourself.

Have you tried the radio yet? Also maybe a white noise machine? I live in a detached house so no noise from next door but if I am in another room to DDog and I say draw the blinds he often barks because he doesn't 'like' the noise and is warning me that someone is in the house . If your neighbour can hear him then perhaps your dog can hear them and whines as he thinks someone is there. White noise machines or a radio could mask that?

Oh and bonding isn't the problem. It's actually a bit ridiculous but I love him and he makes me miserable at the same time. In my dark thoughts I start to think maybe he's 'caught' my mental health issues. Of course giving him up would make me sad too. Sigh. Maybe I just should have stuck to cats.

I will be getting help. It's true that what I need is a detached expert opinion that isn't caught up in the emotion of it all.

Yes I've tried the radio Bitey. I've also tried walking him before I go out ( hard when you can't walk them far at this age), kongs and other toys and have always made leaving and arriving low key and ignore him completely.

Part of the problem at the moment is he has access to the outside while I'm out. It has been suggested I keep him inside while I'm out and I'm going to try that on the weekend.

At least I'm in a detached house so don't have to worry about noise travelling through walls

Thanks for listening and being kind. It's hard to admit you're struggling when you love animals and try to do the best for them.

Exactly like a child then Blue the amount of times when the kids were babies they would make me happy but cry was ridiculous, constantly telling myself I wasnt a good enough Mum....but just the very fact that you love him enough to want the best for him shows you are the best puppy mummy.
Your feelings are normal.

Is there a dog walking group or anything like that nearby? That way you can get help from a professional but also have a support network of other dog owners you can meet up with.

Oh blue :-(

I just wanted to talk you through my pup's journey over the last few weeks. He's just 16 weeks at the mo, and at 13 weeks, I was ready to give him back. He was barking at the end of his lead at every person who came anywhere near, barking in a really aggressive looking way at dogs at a distance, and hiding behind me whimpering at dogs that came close. He was increasingly starting to show other anxious behaviours: avoiding the harness and lead; growling when I picked him up.... I felt like I'd totally mucked up my socialisation, and ruined a perfectly good puppy, and went into a huge downward spiral. I don't think of myself as having anxiety (although my son does, and I suspect the traits come from me!) but I was crying all the time; going to sleep the minute dh came home, really not coping. Three weeks on, and 5 sessions with a doggy behaviouralist, and we can go on a couple of lovely walks a day at a few local parks: he sometimes barks a bit in the first few mins, but after that is happy to meet friendly looking dogs and play, or ignore them, come with me if I think they aren't his type ;-) It's been a bit like magic, but really it's just chicken and a clicker ;-)

Obviously, what you have is a different issue, and chicken isn't the solution - but I did just want to give you a sense of how far they can come really quickly at this age. We still have LOTS to work on: we are only just getting back to doing pavement walking, and I don't think he's solid near little children or runners yet (too exciting!), but I can believe we can get there now.

Can you go out for a short while this eve and do some recording so you know what you are dealing with? (We are doing this every time we leave ours at the mo, although we haven't left him long yet). I would really recommend a good behaviouralist if you have any money to throw at the problem - separation anxiety is SUCH a common thing (1 in 10 dogs apparently) so they'll have lots of good ideas to help you I'm sure.

If it helps, I gave myself a deadline: I'm going to work with him for x weeks, to try and fix this issue. If I haven't seen an improvement by then, I'll look at my options. It just helped me calm down and focus on the now, rather than going into panic mode. Well, it helped a bit anyway!

Sending lots of calming vibes for you and bluepup.

Yes keeping him inside might be worthwhile trying. Effectively he is probably looking for you and whining whereas what you want is for him to think 'god I am bored, best sleep till you get home '.

I know it's hard right now ( seriously was on my knees at times thinking what have I done in the early days regretting taking on the responsibility ). You just need to get through it, as it does get better and I can't describe how different he is now at 8.5 months than when he was 3-5 months of age.

Just seen your update about inside and outside: oooh, yes, I'd defn go inside only: nothing to do, it's all boring here, you might as well go to sleep! If mine had access to outside it would be carnage when we are away!! (iirc you aren't in the UK, so norms are a bit different - or have I remembered you wrong?)

Thanks for the good news story towel. Mine's actually great to take out and doesn't seem scared of anything so I guess if it's not one thing it's another!

I'm more than prepared to throw some money at the issue and I feel it wouldn't be fair to either of us if I didn't explore all the options. Even if the worst happened, and he went back to the breeder I'm pretty sure he'd be fine with other dogs around or people working from home and he bloody loves kids. Not that I want it to come to that. I certainly wouldn't expect any money back and it's not as though I'd just sell him on Gumtree to any old person. Hopefully it doesn't get to that stage.

My vet is lovely so hoping he has some ideas.

I'm in Australia towel. Having dogs outside is the norm here. Some people leave them outside all the time and you hear them barking at night

Being a whippet he needs access to the inside all the time so I got a pet door thinking he could have the best of both worlds. He doesn't need the toilet during the night anymore so hoping he'll be okay inside for an hour or so.