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Original poster

Does anyone fancy a puppy survival thread part 3

975 replies

BiteyShark · 14/07/2017 10:28

Continuation of the support thread.... anyone is welcome whether they have new or older puppies, just want a chat or are battling with ongoing puppy problems.

I thought I would start this thread off as I am hoping it might be the last one I need support from as BiteyPup is now 9.5 months old and we have survived the early puppy months and his teenage antics seem to be subsiding. Still working on our relationship and recall but it's getting better and can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel (fingers crossed) Wine

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CornflakeHomunculus · 05/08/2017 22:21

Bitey if they're really helping with his recall out and about then I'd keep the balls for walks only so they stay interesting and special for him. If he has access to them all the time they may eventually lose some of their appeal on walks.

Really loving balls is great when you're channeling that into something (like recall training) but you definitely don't want a genuine ball obsession on your hands, it's a nightmare to deal with and can potentially cause issues with their teeth and/or bite if they're playing with them too obsessively.

DDog2 has a proper ball obsession and it's been a pain to deal with. She literally cannot have anything other than very carefully controlled access to tennis (or similar type) balls because she absolutely cannot leave them alone even though she's clearly not enjoying it.

Original poster
BiteyShark · 05/08/2017 22:35

Fortunately CornflakeHomunculus it hasn't got as far as it sounds with your DD2 yet. It's more that he won't come inside as he just sits and waits (even in the rain) with the balls hoping one of us will come back and play. If you make a move outside he goes to the balls and if we make him come inside he will find one and just pick it up and drop it constantly at our feet hoping we will play ball. It's as if the only game he wants to play is ball and we have to limit the time as he would just keep playing as he doesn't seem to have a stop button.

At the moment he does eventually settle and realise that no we won't be going outside again but it really is a battle to get him to come inside hence wondering whether to collect all the balls up or not in between play. So it sounds like that might be worth trying. I might make him 'find them' tomorrow to help collect them up because he has scattered them everywhere (I bought a lot of them Grin).

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CornflakeHomunculus · 05/08/2017 22:43

To be fair DDog2 is just generally a bit on the peculiar side, we often joke that she does absolutely everything with terminal intensity Grin

bluetongue · 06/08/2017 08:56

Sounds a bit like my whippet Cornflake Smile

Here's Bluepuppy and his friends keeping dry on a cold and wet day Grin

GooodMythicalMorning · 06/08/2017 09:04

Shame we cant 'like' posts as that picture is just too cute!

bluetongue · 06/08/2017 09:13

Thanks morning Smile I did straighten the pig up for the photo but the rest was all his doing.

SkeletonSkins · 06/08/2017 10:30

Awwww blue a very cute pic!

GooodMythicalMorning · 06/08/2017 11:23

My little bud is having the full works at the groom room later. Hope he likes it Confused

towelpintpeanuts · 06/08/2017 13:27

Cute picture blue :-)

Having a hard day today - having been soooo much better lately, pup was really barky going to the car, and then in the first bit of his walk today. There were lots of his usual triggers stacking up (barky dogs/people coming straight at him out of nowhere etc) but I still felt like a failure apologising to people for my barky monster Sad. Off to email my behaviouralist to see if I can get another session booked in to boost my confidence up a bit as I know he feeds off my nervousness when he gets barky.

towelpintpeanuts · 06/08/2017 13:29

PS Sorry - too self absorbed! Glad BBQ went well, Skeleton, and good luck with the ball obsession, bitey! Towelpup is very take it or leave it with balls, which is lucky as a couple of times he's gone to nick someone else's ball and a sharp leave it has averted a disaster!

TheAntiBoop · 06/08/2017 13:44

Had a great morning with pup with him going outside to do all his business of his own accord. Since lunch he's been stealth weeing inside! Is there another way of training? I'm obviously not reading his cues properly

Original poster
BiteyShark · 06/08/2017 14:01

Keep going AntiBoop, I thought at times it would not ever happen but they do get it eventually. Mine took weeks but once it clicked we have never looked back. The thing that was crucial for me was that he would not bark and only made half hearted gestures at the door so if my back was turned I never saw him. Eventually I tried a training bell hung from the door which took 2 days to train him to bash it if he wanted to go out (yes he uses it to ask to go out generally and not just for the toilet).

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Original poster
BiteyShark · 06/08/2017 14:05

towelpintpeanuts it's so hard when they seem to go backwards but yes having some real life support even just to say it will get better really helps.

Cute pic blue and all the best at the groomers Goood.

We have just had to solder some wires back together. BiteyDog doesn't ever chew wires but they were hanging over his ball which he was biting at the time Sad

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Montague57 · 06/08/2017 14:06

Hi,

I'm a bit late to the party, since my pup has just turned 8 months but as I've just hit the adolescence stage I could do with some moral support.

So a little bit about my Luka. He is very dog friendly (maybe too friendly) but human shy - hates random hands trying to touch him and will back away. Loves being outside, jumping through tall grass and is ball obsessed. Follows me and my partner around the house and sometimes whines when we go upstairs - though sometime doesnt so still trying to work that one out!

All in all he's a great dog and so much fun but i can't seem to shift this feeling that he's unhappy and that im doing a bad job looking after/training him. Anyone else struggle with this feeling of responsibility?

55hosting · 06/08/2017 14:09

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Original poster
BiteyShark · 06/08/2017 14:21

Welcome Montague57. Mine is now 10 months old so we are just over the adolescent hump.

As a pup mine used to be very dog friendly and still is but everytime we saw one I used to put him on the lead and get him to sit as they passed. Now I don't bother but he looks to check he is ok to approach and then follows me when I call him after a little play with the other dog.

Mine sometimes whines when he is frustrated if behind the baby gate ( when he thinks we are doing something exciting) but I just ignore him. And yes it seems a lot of responsibility all the time.

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SkeletonSkins · 06/08/2017 15:20

Hiya Montague our pup is quite similar in that he likes other dogs but fairly human shy. He's not aggressive but will back off if leant over etc. I've found the best approach to be asking others just to ignore him and gradually pup has built his confidence in approaching people. To be honest I don't mind too much as I'd rather that than have a dog that runs up to people and bounces all over them! Dogwise I take treats with me and if the other dog is on a lead I always put him on. Tbh he's getting less interested as he's growing out of puppydom!

towel you've done so well with him, make sure you're focusing on that. We all have bumps along the way but I see at as how frequently do those things happen and the fact you're upset about it shows it's a rare occurance these days which weirdly shows how much progress he's made! My other dog is not good around other dogs and to begin with when he was younger it felt like I'd never get anywhere and we were making no progress but as times gone on, over time the overall pattern is he's much more tolerant and I'm noticing things we are able to do now that we'd never have been able to do in the past e.g. Walks in busy places, taking him to dog friendly pubs etc. It's a case of looking at whether you're going in the right general direction and you definitely are so please don't be disheartened as you will get there. They don't stay the same forever if you are working hard on an issue! It just takes time.

We've just had a lovely walk where puppy was a dresm (it was older dog who was the issue, see issues mentioned above!!! He has never hurt another dog and xompletely ignores them unless it's an overly friendly dog bouncing all of him and then he'll have a bit of a growl/bark etc. He's of course on a lead and gets on great with pup). Then we took them to a dog friendly pub and they were SO good. Honestly I was so pleased as pup can be a little nervous and I was worried how he'd cope in a busy pub with waitress bringing food etc but he was great. Now snoozing by the fire as the rain has started!

Original poster
BiteyShark · 06/08/2017 15:32

I dream of going to a pub and having lunch with my dog snoozing at my feet but he is still too much of a crazy hyper spaniel in a confined busy space so super jealous of you Skeleton.

We had a good training session this week but I must remember all the things we have to concentrate on as I tend to focus on one or two things and then forget to practice the rest.

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BestIsWest · 06/08/2017 16:17

First walk on the beach yesterday. Pup was really good. The beach is huge and virtually empty do we let him off the lead. He was great. He wasn't happy when big dog was too far away and stayed quite close to us.
We met a local dog walker with a troupe of about 6 dogs do he got to socialise with them.
Been out today as well to let them have a run around a local field.

I think he's going to be a barker though. He was making a lot of noise when the neighbours children were in the garden earlier. Any tips on discouraging this?

GooodMythicalMorning · 06/08/2017 16:36

The boy was brilliant at the groomers. So one clean boy now and got him a new lead and coller as the nylon one rubbed his neck, so we got a lovely soft leather one. It looks much more grown up than the old one. He's conked out in his play pen now Smile

GooodMythicalMorning · 06/08/2017 16:38

Best I think ignoring the barking or distraction is the best ideas, so you dont make it into a big thing and hopefully calm? Hopefully someone else might know but that's what I'd try.

towelpintpeanuts · 06/08/2017 21:36

Thanks for your kind words bitey and skeleton - DH was out all day, but said something similar to you skeleton when he got back: the whole of the rest of the walk pup was angelic - greeting dogs beautifully; no hassle with people, coming when called - and 6 weeks ago I would have been over the moon with that ... I've just raised my standards ;-)

Skeleton - your pup lunch sounds lovely - we've managed coffee shops and a couple of outdoor cafe for lunch with pup, but not quite braved a pub yet ... but sometime soon!

GMM - great that the groomers went well - towel pup is back at the groomers tomorrow for a little trim so hoping that will go well again too :-)

Best - not sure I'm the person to advise on barking ;-) but the advice we were given is that is there is a trigger, you try and catch them before the trigger is strong enough for them to bark, and reward then. We have three under 5 years next door, and pup was initially conscious of them - I gave him his lunch outside a couple of times when they were out and noisy, giving him a bit of kibble everytime they squeaked before he could react ;-) He pretty much ignores them now.

roundtable · 07/08/2017 13:05

Taking the puppy to a pub sounds great!

I'm feeling a bit weary of the teenage years. Selective hearing, over confident with other dogs, intermittent barking/whining. All of which we are trying to improve but it feels slow going. I think it's the mix with dc -they're not sleeping well and I'm shattered.

Sorry, I'm terrible at replying to everyone individually, my phone is going slowly. It's nice to read the things going well and it's reassuring to know I'm not alone!

Original poster
BiteyShark · 07/08/2017 13:24

roundtable I was fully aware of the teenage stage but even so I could have cried at times. It explains why dogs around that age are rehomed or end up in rescues as they really test you.

There is light at the end of the tunnel but whilst you're in the thick of it I must admit it is pretty shit.

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roundtable · 07/08/2017 13:35

Thank you Bitey- today is dragging and dc2 is on the wind up. I'm on the thin edge of my patience!

I took round pup out at 9am for an hour so she's had a good run around. It's hard with the dc as they always complain about going! It has to be done though.

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