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Puppy Survival thread part 4

997 replies

GooodMythicalMorning · 01/09/2017 08:56

Puppy's getting bigger!: continuation of Bitey's thread. If anyone wants to join feel free.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
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ownedbySWD · 06/10/2017 17:01

Hellooooo. We adopted a (now) five month old Spanish Water Dog last month, and she's lovely. Her training is coming on really well, we're transitioning her to a raw diet (tripe week, urgh!) and she's so well behaved with the baby, it's like magic - though I don't leave them alone of course. I've been studying dog training techniques and putting them into practice (I like a lot of what Cesar Millan has to say) but we're still working on the cat barking/chasing issue. We walk her a couple of times a day, but no off-lead trials yet.

She's mostly black, so hard to photograph! But I can't believe how much she's grown in the month since we've had her. Wow.

Puppy Survival thread part 4
Soubriquet · 06/10/2017 17:06

I like a lot of what Cesar Millan has to say

Please do not listen to Cesar Milan. He is a dog abuser and doesn't train the animal only subdue and terrifies it until the animal shuts down.

CornflakeHomunculus · 06/10/2017 17:22

What Soubriquet said about CM!

I'd highly recommend the Dog Training Advice and Support FB group which is run by professionals who advocate force free and up to date, scientifically based methods.

Kikopup on YouTube is great and does some really useful videos.

ownedbySWD · 06/10/2017 17:24

We are force free. That's why I said "some". I don't buy wholesale into what anyone says!

ownedbySWD · 06/10/2017 17:29

I appreciate the youtube recommendation; will check it out.

CornflakeHomunculus · 06/10/2017 17:41

Disregarding the abusive stuff, CM does actually recommend some sensible stuff but it's important to note that it doesn't work for the reasons he says it does!

He suggests getting a dog to sit and wait whilst you put their food down and that they shouldn't eat until you give them a release command. I do this with my dogs but not for the same reasons. CM thinks it's a way of asserting himself as "leader of the pack". In reality 1) it's a great little impulse control exercise, and 2) it's a damn sight easier to put four food bowls down when they're not diving into them as soon as they hit the floor Grin

Whilst some of his methods overlap with those of more up to date, force free trainers he's still basing his advice on an outdated and thoroughly debunked theory.

ownedbySWD · 06/10/2017 17:51

Fair enough. I haven't delved into his methods deeply, just been focussed on a couple of things and have found his advice on keeping a calm energy around our excitable puppy and bemused cats to be very helpful. Our puppy seems to be a happy, calm and eager to please sort of personality, and is learning quickly. I don't want her to be cowed or abused bit I do need to trust that she won't knock down the baby or four year old. I'm noticing that she is able to contain her boisterous responses quite well. (Eg, when I've been gone for a while and she's happy to see us!)

YoureAnArseholeDenise · 06/10/2017 17:57

Whenever CM says something that makes sense, it’s stuff that proper trainers have been saying for years.

Whenever he says something he’s genuinely come up with himself, it’s bullshit.

ownedbySWD · 06/10/2017 18:03

What a minefield. Not sure how to parse the difference between the two!

Fillybuster · 08/10/2017 00:17

Grooming....oh crikey, not got as far as thinking about that yet! We've washed & shampooed fillypup in the sink a few times now - he clearly hates it but is reasonably patient about the whole process, poor boy. Couldn't be faffed with using hairdryer so lots of towels. DS and I both brush him from head to toe every night, so he basically looks like a cloud on legs most of the time. No idea what I'll do when his adult coat comes through and he stops being so silky....cry, probably! What's stripping?

He's fab off the lead, even when we are out in the woods and there's other pups around - I always have a heart-in-my-mouth moment when I think he won't come, but so far he's been a star and comes bounding over at high speed when called. I have no doubt there will come a day when I eat my words tho...!!

Toilet training is still hit and miss quite a few misses but at least dh is warming to him slowly. And he's really improving at being left alone during the day, so we can leave him in his crate for up to 2 hours without him crying or getting distressed, which makes such a difference to being able to juggle looking after him. And after the first 2 weeks, he's now brilliant in his crate at bedtime, not a peep from around 11pm until 7am - and we even made it to 8am this morning without a whimper

Starting puppy training classes in 2 weeks and super excited. Not so much for Fillypup but I think it will help DS get to grips with managing the dog better on his own and give him more confidence. Hope so anyway :)

Sending lots of love to everyone dealing with crying pups at 2am: remember, this too shall pass!

GooodMythicalMorning · 08/10/2017 07:38

Aww well done Fillypup!

OP posts:
passmethewineplease · 08/10/2017 09:29

Ah well done fillypup!

We're still struggling with the crate at night. She has the sides covered, comfy bed and the radio on along with a bloody snugglepuppy and she still cries. I gave in again last night after she spent ages crying.

Elphame · 08/10/2017 09:59

Well done Fillypup!

Stripping is a grooming technique used on double coated dogs that don't shed particularly. Elfpup will have a soft thick undercoat covered by a rather wiry top coat. If I have him clipped then he'll lose his top coat (and his weatherproofing) and it can affect the colouring as you'll see the undercoat rather than the top coat.

It is done by stripping knife which pulls out the old dead hair (doesn't hurt the dog!) Not all groomers can, or are willing to do it, as it's more time consuming than a quick clip but it's much better for some of the terrier types like mine. I'll start when he's about 6 months as his adult coat will have started coming in then and like most things puppy related, the earlier he starts the quicker he'll get used to the process

BooToYouToo · 09/10/2017 09:06

Can I introduce Boopup? 14 weeks old cockapoo. There's nothing he loves more than eating wood when my back is turned!

So glad I found this forum. Before, as someone else said, I'd looked at "5 easy steps to stop chewing", none of which worked. Having read comments on here it feels like he's not unusual.

We did buy an antler chew yesterday. Thanks to the poster who recommended that. It meant we could have him in the living room in the evening for about half an hour before he moved on to eating the sofa.

I wondered what your puppies schedules are like?

Boopup is awake about 6.30 as the cat starts howling.
He then crashes back to sleep 7.30 until 9-9.30.
He gets a walk around 10 and goes in his crate for a few hours sleep 11.30-1.30 as I'm often out.
Lunch.
If I'm pottering around the kitchen early afternoon he's happy to lie and watch.
My 15 year old still likes walking him so he gets a walk with her about 5pm and his dinner.
Then starts his crazy time when he can bite and lunge a lot 6-10 pm. We try to distract with toys but he will spend time in his crate to calm down.

I'm hoping when he can have longer walks (only 15-20 minutes at the moment) he'll be more tired in the evening.

YoureAnArseholeDenise · 09/10/2017 09:38

Boo - you don’t mention training in there... do you do any? Apart from the obvious reasons to start Training as soon as possible, mental stimulation is far more effective at tiring puppies out than physical 😁

Elphame · 09/10/2017 09:52

We're still heavily into the socialisation process here so no set routine yet. He's a 12 week old terrier

Elfpup usually up with DP at 6.30 ad breakfast
I'm not an early riser so he's confined to the kitchen with some toys until I get up about 30 mins later.

Then we go out - either walk or planned trip or have friends in for coffee

12 he'll have a short nap before lunch

More free play and a walk or visitor

He starts to flag about 5 so has tea and another nap

7ish he's both raring to go and tired so chewy and will usually crash on my feet about 9ish and is out cold for the rest of the evening. We transfer him to his crate about midnight when we go to bed

He takes a lot of short naps during the day - either in the car or on my lap depending on what we are doing. I have to be constantly supervised though so he always knows if I try and sneak out of the room when he's dozing!

On average he gets two trips out or walks a day - one of which is off lead and if I have someone with me we'll play "puppy tennis" which guarantees a nap as soon as we get home!

BooToYouToo · 09/10/2017 11:19

Good point Denise re training. I do some in the day but daughter does most of it after tea. He's good at coming in from the garden when called and at sit and lie down when I have treats but I should really up my game and try sit and lie from afar during the day.

We do puppy ping ping on walks at weekends if there are 2 of us and I keep meaning to get a child to help me practice at home.

My next objective is to train him not to react to the door bell.

Any other suggestions for training at this stage gratefully received.

Fillybuster · 09/10/2017 15:21

Wow Boo - your schedule looks far more structured than ours!

19 week old (where does the time go??!) Cockapoo.

I feel like we are letting the side down:

Wake up 7am weekdays, 8am weekends. Breakfast followed by a short walk (10 mins) around the block. No other fixed routine except lunch around 1, dinner around 6pm, a slightly longer walk at 7, and a short leg stretch before bed around 11pm.

Everything else changes on a daily basis. Some days are super quiet "chill out at home" with au pair days (she won't walk him but happy to have him as company when she's doing chores and will put him in garden every couple of hours - he seems happy with it). Other days involve one or sometimes even 2 long walks with dog walker and other puppies. Once a week I try to work from home and we have a nice lunchtime walk. Sometimes the cleaner takes him out for 30 minutes if she has time. And weekends are completely unpredictable: on Saturday we had loads of guests and then a short visit to the park but Sunday was a 4 mile cross country walk followed by a much needed bath!!

Hopefully that's ok?

Do cockapoos need stripping?

So many questions!

BooToYouToo · 09/10/2017 17:26

Filly - your day sounds ideal. I wish the evenings weren't so dark then we might go for a later walk. We live on a busy lane with no pavement which is why we go out before sunset.

Having said that Boopup had a fab play with our neighbour's 3 year old cockapoo today and has been zonked for most of the afternoon so we will drive to the local common later for a brief walk.

Our vets were emphatic not to over exercise him and only do 5 minutes for every month but sometimes we stretch it as it takes nearly 10 minutes to walk to the park let alone have a run.

BeTheHokeyMan · 10/10/2017 00:52

Can I ask a quick q re.feeding ? Specifically how much/how often? I've my parents Herr to stay and they are insisting that the correct schedule is to feed her a handful of kibble mixed with a pouch of wet food at 12 and then again at 6 .This isn't sitting right with me if I'm completely honest but I'm new to all this and they are quite experienced dog people Confused I don't think she is getting enough food and also think that it would be better to feed her morning and evening ?

CornflakeHomunculus · 10/10/2017 01:03

How old is your puppy BeTheHokeyMan? Between eight and twelve weeks you should be feeding four times regularly through the day, then down to three meals a day until about six months when you can drop one and just feed twice a day.

Amounts will depend on the food you're feeding. Start off with what the feeding guide for that particular food suggests then either increase it or decrease it as necessary to maintain a healthy body condition.

BeTheHokeyMan · 10/10/2017 01:09

She is a 14 week old golden retriever.I feel very unhappy with the current schedule been implemented by my parents( overbearing and treat me like a clueless child should probably start a thread in relationships about them Blush ) they are going in a few days and I look forward to getting back to the routine I had .Will sneak extra food to pup tomorrow god I know I sound like a total wuss right now but my situation with my parents is a little complicated

TheAntiBoop · 10/10/2017 08:09

I was surprised at how small the portions are - which is probably why our dog got a bit tubby. We've been measuring out his daily rations now and he got back to a nice shape pretty quickly!!

passmethewineplease · 10/10/2017 10:02

I was too anti

We were definitely putting out too much for pup.

I've ordered a sample of millies wolfheart kibble. James wellbeloved is giving her horrendous wind. Envy

BiteyShark · 10/10/2017 10:16

passme we use Millie’s wolfheart kibble. Mine is a fussy sod so gets ‘bored’ of food but we have found mixing their different flavours of wet with their kibble keeps him interested and he has a shiny coat and is skinny but muscular so am very happy with it. Also great that you can get next day delivery and I love their dried dog treats.