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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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Original poster
BiteyShark · 15/08/2017 13:48

blue try to put it down to one of those things and you are not a rubbish dog owner, just an owner with a bloody fast dog. A rubbish dog owner is one that doesn't give a damn about the dog and clearly we all do otherwise we would not be on here Smile.

Yeah I have been comfort eating on and off since getting BiteyDog as it seems to be one stress after another but hoping to ease off abit now he is bigger. We almost had a no go with the neutering this morning at the vets though as (outs myself to the vets but I don't care cause I like them) he had [cough] scrapped his testicles at some point in the last couple of days on a run. I hadn't noticed but fortunately they said the incision would be a bit further up so should not cause any infection. I don't pick him up until the end of the day but because I am such a softy I plan to cook him his favourite food (chicken) in case he feels like eating Grin

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SkeletonSkins · 15/08/2017 13:55

Bitey when we first got a dog a number of years ago now, she was a 5 yr old rescue. Took her out on an extendible lead (I didn't know how bad they were back then!) and the lead snapped and she ran out into the road, where she was hit by a car. Thankfully she was absolutely fine but the screech of tyres haunts me still. She also escaped from our garden in the first work and ended up half way across the town on her own!!!!

We all make mistakes and thankfully most of the time luck is on our side. Please try not to worry xxx

SkeletonSkins · 15/08/2017 13:55

Sorry didn't mean Bitey meant blue!

bluetongue · 15/08/2017 14:06

I shouldn't laugh at the grazed testicles Bitey but it's a bit funny Smile Hopefully Biteydog will appreciate your cooking. Bluepuppy was actually pretty ravenous when he came home from neutering!

Bluepuppy is bloody fast. Luckily I have a fully fenced, secure off lead dog park walking distance from my house where he can properly run and stretch his legs.

Original poster
BiteyShark · 15/08/2017 18:03

BiteyDog is home. Oh dear he is zonked. Would not lie down but clearly about to fall down. He's had a bit to eat and then finally we got him to lie on his bed Sad

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SkeletonSkins · 15/08/2017 20:32

Oh bless him Bitey, the anaesthetic does wipe them out. He'll be back to normal tomorrow!

GooodMythicalMorning · 15/08/2017 21:22

Hope he feels better soon bitey

Original poster
BiteyShark · 16/08/2017 04:09

That was a long night. We had intermittent crying, zombie like state stood in the garden looking confused and swaying because he could not stand but then would not come back in the house. I slept alongside him when we managed to walk him inside and every couple of hours I got a wet nose in my face wanting some reassurance.

I did manage to sort the medical shirt out in time for a poo which I was worried about but it does feel like I am back on toilet duty again having to be outside with him at all times. These next two weeks are going to be hard work and here's hoping we don't get any complications to make recovery longer.

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Soubriquet · 16/08/2017 08:21

Fingers crossed I should hopefully have a friend for Lexa to walk with to knacker her out a bit

bluetongue · 16/08/2017 09:02

Poor drugged up Bitey pup. I have the opposite problem Bluepuppy is going absolutely stir crazy. I've just come home from work and taken his cone of shame off and he's leaping about wildly and snorting like a horse Shock Can't wait for him to go back to day care ...

Original poster
BiteyShark · 16/08/2017 09:14

Soubriquet having another dog around always seems to tire them more.

blue it's so hard keeping them quiet. We had the medical shirt but he kept biting it this morning, he managed to get his nose down to the wound (fortunately still has a dressing covering it) and everytime I tucked it up for him to pee and poo he would make a move to the wound. I have ordered a blowup collar to arrive tomorrow and we are currently sulking in a hard collar of shame. I think the sedation is wearing off but he is whinging and crying lots.

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bluetongue · 16/08/2017 09:51

I'm here for a hand hold Bitey. Bluepuppy update is that he managed to lift the corner of my bedroom carpet up and chew up the underlay Shock Luckily it was well past it's best anyway and due to be ripped up. Still rather the dog didn't think give it a head start.

Hope you have some luck getting Lexa tired out Soubriquet.

DeepfriedPizza · 16/08/2017 10:26

First day for Pizzapup went well. She was terrified when she was dropped off and wouldn't leave the living room so ended up pooping on the living room floor.
I managed to coax her out the back door and she did 4 pees and a poo outside, she'd much rather be outside all day, that's because she had never been in a house before.

We left her crate door open and she was happy napping in her crate, she sees it as her safe space

We tried to leave her last night to go to bed and she was howling so we went down and she'd pooped on the floor again so DH slept on the sofa last night and she slept in her crate all night.

Dh had to drop DD off at school this morning ( I am at work) so DH had to leave her. He was away for 11 minutes and she broke the blind, ate the skirting board and pooped on the floor.

She needs time to adjust but I really need her to be ready to be left for a few hours in a few weeks time.

DH managed to get her to go for a walk this morning so that's good. I sometimes forget she is a puppy as she's so big. she's about the size of an adult labrador already.

Sorry for the essay

Original poster
BiteyShark · 16/08/2017 10:52

Thanks blue, feel an awful mum at the moment as he keeps standing in the kitchen, staring at me and crying. Doesn't help that DH keeps asking whether we have done the right thing (as if you can change anything now Sad).

Bluepup does rather like eating your house for you doesn't he Shock

Deepfried the early days can be so hard for pup and for you. Once you have a bit of routine then you can start to gauge how often she will need taking out at night etc.

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SkeletonSkins · 16/08/2017 12:41

Awwww poor Biteypup, honestly they do recover quickly so the next couple of days he'll be feeling much better. Lots of TLC until then.

Pizza I think separation anxiety can be quite common with rescue dogs. Can you maybe leave her with something like a kong to keep her occupied?

DeepfriedPizza · 16/08/2017 13:03

We have a kong but thought we wouldn't need it for short separations. We were obviously wrong but you learn as you go along.

I have a ball that dispenses treats so that might be good for shorter spells.

I hope BiteyPup recovers soon. wee soul

SkeletonSkins · 16/08/2017 15:30

Tbh in the end you probably won't but when you first leave, puppy has no idea whether you're leaving for 5 mins or forever. The kong distracts them until they learn that you do come back.

SkeletonSkins · 16/08/2017 19:35

Today has involved making some liver treats with a cheap silicone tray thing I got off eBay. It's fab! Makes the perfect size treats and only take about 5 mins to cook. Blending the liver though 🤢🤢

Does anyone fancy a puppy survival thread part 3
Does anyone fancy a puppy survival thread part 3
Abhorsen · 16/08/2017 21:42

hello, I've been lurking and finally managed to read the whole thread today.

I picked up my mini schnauzer puppy at the end of last week and kids and i are totally in love with him. Ive been getting a bit stressed as he seems to think dd is his personal chew toy but from the threads I've been reading that seems pretty normal (she's 9, ds is 11)? Think i just need to pick one thing for them to do consistently when he is biting or jumping at them trying to eat them.
Other than that I think i may have the only dog in the country who seems completely uninterested by Kongs and I'm getting a bit stressed as the dog next door barks if they're all in the garden at the same time, it isn't upsetting my dog but he's barking back and i really don't want to encourage that - and also the rest of the neighbours are going to get petty fed up of it i think Shock

CornflakeHomunculus · 16/08/2017 22:08

Pizza does the rescue have proper behaviourist back up in the UK? Separation anxiety can be quite difficult to deal with and I'd definitely take advantage of that if it's available.

The Dog Training Advice and Support FB group (which is well worth joining) has got some good articles on separation anxiety in their 'Files' section which may be of some help: Unhappy Alone/Separation Anxiety and Separation Anxiety Q & A.

I'd also recommend their crate training guide. It's aimed at puppies but obviously the methods work just fine for dogs of any age and it covers teaching them to be happy being left.

A few weeks isn't long for her to settle in and be completely comfortable being left, are you able to be flexible at all with that if she's not?

GooodMythicalMorning · 16/08/2017 22:08

Welcome Smile my dog too is completely uninterested in kongs. I bought one as was supposed to be amazing. Even with the food inside he licked it once!

Original poster
BiteyShark · 17/08/2017 05:09

Welcome Abhorsen. Mine used to love kongs but recently doesn't bother much with them anymore. They do change as they get older so he might take more interest in them later.

BiteyDog seems to have all his energy back but his poos are still diarrhoea so not sure how long his body will take to adjust. We have another checkup today so hoping when they remove the dressing it's ok as he has (despite shirt/cones etc) managed to get close to it to lick so it's a good job I am at home to keep an eye on him.

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Abhorsen · 17/08/2017 06:04

Thanks Bitey, I hope your pup is recovering ok from the op, that seems a long way away for us right now. How old is he? I'm getting conflicting opinions about 6 months and a year, or is it breed specific?

Did anyone else sleep downstairs with their pup? I've had six days on the sleeping bag close to the crate and it seems to be going ok but other people think I'm mad! Mainly concerned if I was upstairs I wouldn't hear him, and also would have to walk up and down the stairs in the middle of the night.

DeepfriedPizza · 17/08/2017 07:30

Last night was much better. We put her to bed then she whined for a bit at 11.30, went out for a pee then went back in and that was her until 6. This was all done with the crate door open

They charity has a behaviourist that we can email etc so we'll see how it goes.

I've got a treat ball ready for when I take DD to school today.

Original poster
BiteyShark · 17/08/2017 07:39

Abhorsen it tends to be breed specific so when they think they have fully grown. Ideally we would have waited until BiteyDog was 1 year old but he is 10.5 months because I needed to be at home with him so later in the year would have been harder to juggle work and holidays.

I didn't sleep with him when he was little but I do have a baby monitor so I could hear if he woke. He has been sleeping with me since the OP so I can keep an eye on him but he has a habit of shoving his nose in my face when I am asleep to tell me he wants a stroke Hmm so will be glad when he goes back in his crate Grin. Just do what you think it best for you and it sounds like sleeping close by is working so my advice is smile/nod and then ignore anyone who says otherwise Grin

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