Puppy Survival thread part 4

[GooodMythicalMorning]

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

Thank goodness. A passing bout of hound tummy you can deal with. At least there's no surgery on the cards. Get well soon pup!

Well that's good news!

Well we thought we’d got a good routine last week as a Boo pup finally started settling down in the evenings from 7.30 pm and slept until a quick wee before bed around 10.15. We could finally all spend the evening together without someone on puppy watch.

However we are now getting early rising. He’s usually barking around 3.30-4 am but when we go down to let him out he’s not too interested in going to the loo although will wee if we carry him onto the lawn. He then barks again around 5am but goes off again until just before 6 am when we give in and get up. He gets 2 walks a day plus plenty of play inside & out and training. Frustrating as he used to go around 6.30 am without a sound.

He’s fed at 6pm and we’ve tried giving wet food at 6 and dry at 7. Also giving a handful of biscuits at 9pm. One forum suggested feeding lunch at 3.30 and dinner at 10 but I’m sure he’d need a poo at night then.

His crate is in the kitchen so we might try bringing it up to the bedroom as a last resort.

We have a very wobbly dog who is going to be spoilt with lots of cuddles (can only feed very small amounts at the moment) . I am so happy he's home. For all those with puppy blues I honestly felt like I had made a massive mistake with mine at first but now I can't imagine life without him. It does get better (even if they do still give you anxiety ).

Boo mine has always woken early and even now he settles around 7ish and will be up around 5 (6 at a push). We let him out for the toilet but then got him used to going back to sleep for another hour before getting up for good. Have you checked light, noises and temperature aren't helping to wake him?

Boo is the heating coming on or a neighbour leaving for work? If he's sleeping all evening maybe he's just had enough sleep!
Bitey I'm sooooo glad he's home. For all the puppy regret I would be bereft without my big baby!

Thanks Bitey and Wolfie, I think as you say he may have had enough sleep. The heating doesn’t come on until 6 so I don’t think it’s the noise. He’s in a crate with a blanket but maybe he’s getting cold early hours of the morning. Our cat has a hot water bottle, might try that under his bed cushion & hope he doesn’t find it and shred it!

On a good day I think how lovely it is to be outside early and getting things done but on a bad day it’s grim. Good to hear that the puppy blues will pass. At least now he’s stopped biting us we can be affectionate with him and get cuddles back.

Another idea! Blackout curtains. Don't knock them! Wolfie slept until I woke at 8:30 this am. EIGHT THIRTY!!! YAY!!!!!

I have a nice thick fleece that covers Elfpup's crate. Keeps out both light, sounds and drafts. He has a fleecy bed too so I know he's nice and warm. Our kitchen has a hard cold quarry tiled floor so I worry that he'll get cold. He sleeps the sleep of a righteous pup at the moment so it seems to be working

Hope biteydog is better today!

Life in the Elfpup household can only get better. I could really have done without him eating a whole dead mouse this morning - thanks elfcat! I'm still grossed out. He is fine - I was hoping he'd vomit it up but nope, not a chance. I'm not looking forward to the poo though.

I guess I need to knock this off his daily food allowance! Anyone know how many calories in a fieldmouse?

Ha ha Elphame they are gross aren't they I would say just view it as one of his treats for the day .

BiteyDog is much better now he is doped up with anti sickness stuff but has the bad case of the runs and is sporting an unusual hair cut with all his fur on his belly shaved (presumably for one of the scans). I have a bad mum confession. He was dopey yesterday but perked up so I let him on the bed but then he must have gone dopey again and tried to scratch himself at the edge of the bed and fell off . Fortunately no injuries but can you imagine the conversation at the vets if I had to have taken him back

Just caught up. Glad Biteydog is ok

We've spent most of the day creating a fenced off dog proof square in the garden after wild puppy decided to dig a 5 foot hole under the fence and try and squeeze out

She won't be happy now she is only allowed out in puppy prison but at least she can't escape!

On a brighter note- no poo last night!

Oh no, poor puppy in puppy prison My boy digs buts it's more 're-landscaping' than trying to escape.

Glad to hear all the poorly puppies are feeling better.

I have a bit of a confession to make. As much as I love Bluepuppy, if I had a chance to go back in time and re-do things I would probably go for getting another cat instead of a dog. Hopefully once Bluepuppy is out of his teenage phase and has some more training under his belt my feelings will change. It doesn't help that with all his anxiety issues he's ended up costing much more money than I expected. Not his fault of course but my poor bank balance is looking very sad at the moment I used to own horses so I'm not new to the world of expensive pets!

At the moment he's still not much fun to walk but that's more my fault than his. Still, it doesn't help that he responds to heel, grabs a treat then goes back to pulling again straight away. Cheeky little fucker

Less than a week until out trainer home visit and it can't come soon enough.

blue for me the puppy phase was shit, the teenage phase was hell and it's only now that I have 'still daft but much more mature' BiteyDog that I can honestly say I don't regret him. Before that then yes I used to question what the hell had I been thinking getting a dog despite wanting one for over 20 years.

I dare not total up how much I have spent on him either, new furniture, dog boarding, vets, day care etc etc. I just tell myself he is still cheaper than having a child .

Yes Bitey, I've wanted a dog since childhood too!. The truth is that no matter how much research you do there is still so much 'learning on the job' that comes with dog ownership.

I do tend to overthink everything which means issues that would be shrugged off by some owners become blown out of proportion. Stupid anxiety and depression

Pretty sure that at least I got the breed that's right for me. Even then no breed is without some negatives and whippets are no exception.

They really do change once they have got through the crazy teenage phase. I hated taking him for a walk then and now it's a pleasure. He used to run off and want to play or chase anything he could see and now he ignores any approaching dogs and just wants to play with me. He is the complete opposite of what he was at 8 months old.

Hopefully bluepup will soon get over his wayward behaviour and things will become much easier.

So glad to hear it was nothing too serious for BiteyDog.

Blue, I'm very much feeling the same. It's been such a roller coaster of highs and crashing lows that I regularly find myself thinking 'WTF have I done?!'. I'm really really sleep deprived (on top of chronic illness) which isn't helping. I'm snapping at the kids. Please someone tell me it's worth it in the end?

Things continue to be mixed. ClayPup has voluntarily gone in her crate at times but still isn't sleeping in it overnight and I'm staying with her downstairs to help her settle. She wakes a lot when sleeping (day and night) as she seems so on edge from household noises. I've now had to cover all reflective surfaces with towels just to stop the constant barking. She does seem calmer as a result. However, she's managed to chase the cats a couple of times (opened the back door to let her out and he was just there) so I'm nervous now she's discovered that fun.

I'm doing short training sessions with her but she seems to lose interest quickly and is eating less of her food as a result of all the treats. There just seems to be so much training I need to do that I don't know where to prioritise or just do a little of everything in short bursts throughout the day. Can anyone recommend a good manual?

You've only just got her haven't you Clay? It's such early days. Try not and get overwhelmed. Training is important but try not to get caught up in doing everything at once.

If you can, get her booked into some training classes. Having expert help is great and it also helps to hear that other dog owners have their own issues.

Clay training is constant I find and even now BiteyDog has a long way to go. You can't do everything and even if you could pup would be overwhelmed.

Things in hindsight I have found the most useful we're sitting, staying, not jumping, recall to a whistle and being able to settle. Other things that I didn't do straight away but realised how important they were later was making sure dog sits even after I have taken his lead off until I give a command to go. Obviously all these things take quite a period of time to master and at a young age training can only be for a few mins at a time anyway so I just used to do a few each day and mixed them up a bit.

I should also say I didn't bother with any tricks such as paw, roll over etc. Whilst they would have been nice to teach I found that with my dog there was other pressing 'issues' to concentrate on so I just focused on the basics like sit/stay etc.

Doh! should finish before hitting post :)

Don't forget even things such as getting them used to being brushed, looking at their teeth, paws etc is all 'training' which you will be doing as part of their general looking after.

Try not to worry too much about whether you are doing enough, it's very early days.

Brilliant advice - thank you.

Yes, it's only been a week but I go back to work soon and she'll be going to my mum's so feeling the pressure to get things moving. My anxiety isn't helping.

She's already mastered sit, fetch and drop it (no treats for these, just during ball games in the garden which she loves) so I'm clicker training on an attention signal (video from kikopup) and reconditioning for reflections/cats/animals on TV. Also toilet training outside which she's doing well with, just a few wees in the house now. I'm leaving other commands until we've mastered these and will be attending puppy classes as soon as she's more settled. Does this sound ok or too much at the moment?

I've considered getting something like adaptil to help. Has anyone else used this and found it effective?

Clay it's sounds like you are doing just fine right now. And don't worry things can be taught later on if you don't do them now. The number of times I have gone to a training session and thought damn I need to start working on that .

Haven't used adaptil so cant comment.

That's really good for a week Clay

I tried Adaptil for my boy's anxiety issues. It didn't really help for him but apparently it can be pretty effective for some dogs so it may be worth a try.

She sounds like she's doing really well Clay ( as are you!). Elfpup has sit, wait, down, to me ( his recall) and "give paw" down pat. I did teach the last because my previous dog hated anyone touching his paws which made foot inspections at the vet or groomer a trial for all concerned. I don't want that to happen again.

Stay, leave, fetch and drop are all works in progress. He does know what he's meant to do but whether he does it depends on whether he is feeling inclined to! I do 5 minute sessions with him several times a day with the new ones he's learning mixed in with the ones he knows. Hi5 is the next on the "fun" list. He enjoys the sessions and we play.

For "down" yesterday I had him chasing me around the garden with a down command at each end and then at random. He had a great time, we both got some exercise and the command got used and obeyed in an exciting environment rather than in a nice quiet and distraction free room.

Could you use part of her food allowance as rewards rather than treats? You'll know then that she is getting what she needs.

Elfpup is glorying in his new diet. The switch to wet food is really paying off. The poos ( despite the mouse!) have returned to normal and the "full tummy" feeling that he didn't get with the kibble means he takes a proper nap after a meal and settles well in the evening without all the overtired biteyness.