Does anyone fancy a "puppy survival" thread part 2

[Soubriquet]

Here we are again

Just jump in and join us

[bluetongue]

Hello puppy people old and new

After my down day yesterday I'm feeling much better about pup today.
Think my blues yesterday were more about work than puppy issues.

He is very happy and tail waggy when I get home which I love.

How long has everyone else had to wait to take their puppies out? Bluepuppy is getting his 12 week jabs on Saturday and my vet advises to wait for 2 weeks after that to take them out. I honestly don't know how we will make it to 14.5 weeks!

[PetraDelphiki]

Ah found you all! Beautifully groomed puppy from yesterday back to grey and bedraggled after a long walk today...oh well!

[bluetongue]

Petra you should have got a whippet. Mine still has properly white socks after nearly four weeks with me

[BiteyShark]

Glad your feeling better blue. My DDog is in day care today so I get a rest and he comes back tired and happy so I will have a sleepy dog

[BiteyShark]

Oh the other good thing about day care is that I don't have to take him out today in the torrential rain

[bluetongue]

Daycare is Friday for Bluepuppy. He LOVES it and has even been recruited to help a shy puppy this week.

I've also joined a local whippet group on facebook that does a walk every month.

[towelpintpeanuts]

Hi all: hope everyone is enjoying the rain!!

We had such a lovely time today: went for a socialisation session with a lovely older lab: pup has been really shy with dogs, and is barking at any dog he sees on the lead like a mad thing, so I was a bit nervous. But it was great: the lab ignored him so he could come over when he was ready, and by the end of half an hour or so he was tearing after him across the grass.

BUT the walk through the carpark was awful: he barked and barked at a dad and her daughter as they suddenly came out of the car as we went past. It was horrid :-( I think we are going to get a behaviouralist in, as his barking on lead feels like an issue I probably can't sort on my own, sadly...

He was SO soggy at the end of the walk: but had a lovely game with the towel at the end of it!!

[SkeletonSkins]

Ahhhh here we are, I'm one day away and we have a lovely new thread! Thank you Soubriquet for sorting us out :)

Funny the discussion about food - only today I was wondering whether it was worth the battle to try and persuade him to eat in the morning. He's just not keen at all, it's like hes not a breakfast person!!

Wolfie lovely to see your gorgeous pup, I think all puppy ages are welcome here, even grown up ones!

Wine glad the house training is going so much better. As for the rain, no idea but if
You find a way can you let me know as I'm having the same issue!!

Bitey any progress with the recall? Must admit we have been lucky with recall but I feel it's just a matter of time... we let Toby off as a tiny 10 week old pup and used lots of sausages so at the minute I have no issue BUT I've definitely seen that glint in his eye a couple of times while he considers his options so I think it's just a matter of time. Our pup trainer said she really reinforced the whistle by blowing it and then running off in the other direction. Her dog now knows it needs to get a move on or mum is off!!

Glad today feels better blue, sometimes it can all feel overwhelming but it seems like blue pup is doing brilliantly.

towel how old is your pup? I have an older dog that was really really hard work with people and im the end the thing that worked was me stopping pushing other dogs and people on him and did loads of work rewarding him for focusing on me. Every time we saw someone(dog or human) I started shoving food in his mouth so in the end when he saw someone he looked to me instead of them. I also would walk away from them if I thought it was too much for pup and worked really hard to avoid that situation where he's overwhelmed. I would then treat and reward for a calm sit a bit further away. It's really hard when people pop up out of nowhere but it is fixable especially in a puppy so please don't feel too downhearted - it's not a life sentence.

[SkeletonSkins]

And very sorry to anyone I've missed but welcome to all new puppies, pics are required. My puppy is very long these days (and looking very pointy blue, don't you think?!)

[totallyliterally]

Today is collect new puppy day!

The weather is freaking me out as not intending using pads and it is meant to rain for the next week. I am envisaging a lot of time in the garden with my coat and am umbrella!

[Soubriquet]

Ooo good luck!

Stay firm about the puppy pads. Honestly it makes toilet training so much easier

[BiteyShark]

Skeleton recall is still a problem. My trainers said to try and keep him close and you cannot do too many recalls (I was worried you could over do them). I have two open ish areas which we are sticking to at the moment because he tends to be fine then spots a bird to chase and he is gone. It's only for a few mins and I suspect he knows where I am but in the forest I can't see him. My greatest fear is he runs off and injures himself and he can't get back to me but I don't know where he is. I asked about a tracker on another thread which is currently in the postal system on its way. I am hoping that it calms those fears as I would hate him to be injured and I can't find him.

(On a side topic when I asked about a tracker you can see from a couple of comments on why this board has a reputation for being unfriendly which is why I try and stick to these survival threads as everyone is friendly and non judgmental grin)

Hope everyone is enjoying the better weather today although it doesn't sound like it's going to be better where you are totally

[totallyliterally]

I read your thread bitey about the tracker. I think they're a great idea and have been looking but all seemed to be huge collars.

I am a tech lover so anything like that you can use I think is great. We got a wifi camera from Amazon for the kitchen to puppy watch. It was £40 and I am seriously impressed.

Think today is going to be dryer but then rain tomorrow again.

Was glad to see the guinea pigs (who were well covered up! Haven't shrunk over night in all the rain).

[BiteyShark]

totally I have a baby monitor that does sound and video pointed on the crate in the kitchen as well. It's so nice to be able to see if he is ok at night. Once he was sick in the early hours and it woke me which meant I could clean it up quickly and yes mine wasn't that dear either but gives you such peace of mind when you don't want them to sleep in the bedroom but you do want reassurance.

The tracker does look large but he is now almost adult size so I think he will tolerate it ok. As a puppy he always came back straight away so it's only now he is being a teenager I need it.

[Wisteriainwhite]

I found you, I have name changed since the last thread. I am on my knees with sleep deprivation, he is still going out at midnight, 3am, 5am and 7am for the loo.

11 weeks old now, it's killing me.

[Soubriquet]

One of my old dogs, another chihuahua called Disney, she ran off one day.

She used to come back all the time on the river bank but something frightened her and she legged it.

Had my other dog, a jackchi called Lexi at the time and I quickly got her on her lead and went off in search for Dis.

As I came round the corner, I saw a car pulled over and a man was looking under his car. He told me had clipped her but she ran off.

He pointed a road where he saw her run off to.

So off I went.

Went down this road and asked a couple of people who hadn't seen her.

So I went down a different road and a couple of people pointed her direction.

I then knew instantly where she had gone. She had ran back home!

Went chasing off calling her as I did and as I got to my house, she came round from the back garden. A bit shaken but no harm done

The man who had clipped her, had followed me home. Devsastated because he loves dogs. He was so glad she was alright.

Never let her off her lead again after that

[BiteyShark]

Wisteriainwhite mine needed frequent night trips to the loo (was always jealous of those puppies that didn't ). If you are setting an alarm rather than letting your puppy wake you could slowly extend the interval times by 10-15 minutes each week which soon makes a difference with your sleep.

[BiteyShark]

Soubriquet it's a horrible feeling when they bolt isn't it. Fortunately where we walk there aren't many roads but if he decides to leg it I am concerned about the wire fences that they use to segregate fields.

[Wisteriainwhite]

He sleeps with us and starts fidgeting when he needs the loo. I met someone yesterday while walking old dog and she said that her puppy slept through from 8 weeks, I wanted to throttle her in jealousy.

[BiteyShark]

Wisteriainwhite haha yes I know that feeling

[Soubriquet]

Yeah my heart was definitely in my mouth

Unfortunately we are rural so lots of riverbanks (good) but lots of roads too.

No real fields to run on though. More riverbanks but it's a good 10 mile walk if you do the whole bank. And it regularly turns off so you can cut it shorter

Wow Lexa puppy must have a bladder of steel. She goes all night without having a wee and still doesn't go rushing out first thing for a pee. She wants her breakfast and a play first

[bluetongue]

Wisteria what breed is your puppy? Apparently some can take longer than others to sleep through.

Well I came home from work today to realise that Bluepuppy has worked out how to get to the dining room table using the chairs. Guess where I'd put the library books to take refuge after the book eating the other day? Luckily only one was damaged and I think it's fixable. He also helped himself to dried kangaroo treat that was meant to be for when he was older.

Sooo glad he's in daycare all day tomorrow.

[vikjul]

Thought I'd join this thread (I have read every single post in the first puppy survival thread in anticipation of getting our puppy!) and introduce vikpup who is a mini schnauzer and turned 13 weeks yesterday (exactly the same age as your pup I think towelpintpeanuts!). He has been with us a month and is such a wonderful little family member. He has learned some basic commands very quickly and is playful but calm and relaxed inside when he needs to be (I work from home), and full of energy outside! Toilet training has been easier than I expected, only a couple of accidents over the last two weeks, and he is sleeping through the night in his bed outside our bedrooms. Play biting was a big problem for a few weeks, but he now gives up within a few seconds if we stand completely still, and goes off to find himself a toy instead. I walk him off leash in the small wood next to our house and recall is going really well - haven't faced any major distractions yet though, so not sure how that would go!

However. Over the past week (since just before 12 weeks) he has gone from being completely quiet to barking and growling at other dogs (and sometimes people) when on leash, I am not sure if it is out of frustration or insecurity/fear. I try to distract him with treats but can't really interrupt him when he starts growling/barking/howling and straining to get to the other dog. I think he just wants to get closer or play, but at the same time I don't want him to greet each and every dog as that seems to make for quite stressful walks. I hope he will eventually calm down with more treats. I'm feeling slightly more hopeful this morning though, as he was really calm and good on our morning walk, despite meeting two dogs on leash.

Also, he has started barking in our garden at the neighbours and at the builders who put up our new fence earlier this week, as well as at certain visitors. I really don't want him to disturb and annoy people, so I hope that we will be able to change this. I try to remove him from the garden as soon as he starts barking and then take him back out when he is calm and look at whatever he was barking at, rewarding him for being quiet. Not sure yet whether it is having any effect.

Otherwise, one of the main challenges at the moment is loose lead walking. I try to stand still every time he pulls at the lead, but this really requires patience! A 5 minute walk can take half an hour, not ideal on the school run for example, but I try to remember that it will be worth it in the long run.

Also, it is completely impossible to get him to stand still and to keep him from biting the brush and our hands when we try to brush him. I have absolutely no idea of how to get him to stand still more than for a few seconds at a time. He is going to the groomer for the first time on Monday, so I am hoping that he will magically be a bit calmer for that...

I sometimes feel overwhelmed by all the things that he/we need to practice and learn, but try to remind myself that he is only a baby and these are early days. We are starting a puppy class next week, looking forward to that.

[BiteyShark]

vikjul what a cutey. Mine hated being brushed but we got through it be doing it at night when he was sleepy but going to the groomers frequently (which I suspect you will do as well being a schnauzer) helped.

The sun is out here which is so nice compared to yesterday

[totallyliterally]

We made it home!

She was such a good girl in the car. Was sick and did a poo but she made a real fuss before the poor (I didn't realise and thought just normal
Squeaking!) but then slept.

Waited till we got out and then did a wee on the grass.

She is super confident and been running up to some visitors. Her tail hasn't stopped wagging.

She's just crashed out on me here. Will let her sleep for a bit then spend a few hours having all the fun to tired her out for tonight.

It's bloody pouring again here

She has picked at her food a bit but everything is too exciting still.

Cats have investigated and seeing as they're bigger think she was more worried than them.

Guinea pig came over to say hi!

Now to get through the first night.