Puppy Survival thread part 4

[GooodMythicalMorning]

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

Hokey you are not alone. Sometimes I wonder why I didn't just stick at one!

It's starting to get better now, baddog is 6months old and seems to be maturing slightly and is 90% housetrained. I think we all need to just hang in there

Well he's flaked out. Group walks are exhausting. There were about 8 dogs of which he was by far the smallest and youngest. I was keeping an open mind about letting him off lead but took the plunge. He was a bit nervous and kept close for the first few minutes and then he joined the pack...

He had a fabulous time - even being trodden on by the Great Dane (who was quite apologetic about it) didn't faze him. He was incredibly good about recall too which surprised me. I guess we will have to do it again once I recover!

Sounds like you both had fun Elphame .

We went for a walk today but I hadn't anticipated how muddy it was, good job I had my wellies on as it came to the top of them at one point and BiteyDog had to be showered when we got back. He's now smelling of damp dog curdled up next to me.

We managed to find a mud free walk near Cheddar this morning!

Elfpup has taken a huge leap forward in behaviour today. Whether this is a result of the group walk yesterday I really don't know but he did some beautiful loose lead walking past the rambling groups and he even gave up chasing after a lab when given the recall command. It's still hard work having to be on the alert for distractions before he spots them but I got a glimpse of what he'll be like as a dog rather than a pup and enjoyable to walk.

Another first - he cocked his leg for the first time ever! I wasn't expecting that for a while yet.

Awww Elphame he's growing up .

Hmmm BiteyDog has never cocked his leg. Think he is always destined to pee like a girl

Think Bluepuppy will always pee like a girl too. He is very pretty. Maybe he needs a blue collar

I'm having the opposite problem to most of you in relation to weather and exercise. 35 degrees today and again tomorrow He usually goes to an outside daycare but he's going to an inside place tomorrow as I don't like the idea of him being outside all day, even with shade and water. Also being very careful with walks. He went for walk at 8pm last night on the beach

bitey it sound like Bitey dog is pretty much back to normal. Has he started putting weight back on? It's funny at my place because I'm always worried Bluepuppy is on the ribby side while I have the opposite problem

Elphame great about pup's behaviour. Love it when all the hardwork finally seems worth it What kind of dog is Elfpup again?

Oh blue I wish I could say things were great here but I think BiteyDog has some irritant in his eyes from sticking his head in lots of heathland shrubs on his walks so we are back at the vets later today to get them checked out as they were sticky over the weekend (more than I consider normal for him). Will also weigh him to see if he has put anything on and ummm yes same as you I am the opposite of BiteyDog

He was also barking this morning when DH left him so he is in that clingy mood which he does every few months.

Hope bluepup copes with the heat. BiteyDog really didn't like it and we ended up buying a paddling pool which he used to stand in to cool down.

Oh not again Bitey. At least it's a chance for a check up after the gastric nightmare.

bluetongue - he's the dreaded Welsh Terrier! They are no where near as bad as they are painted. You just need to be one step ahead of them at all times!

Elphame I really wanted a welsh terrier but was put off with everyone saying they were hard to train. I now laugh and look at how bloody difficult BiteyDog has been in the past

I am a bit down by all the illnesses that he keeps getting and wish I could just shrug my shoulders and see if this one passes but his eyes were particularly bad this morning and in the past they said they do not like to take chances with eye problems. I just feel like I am 'one of those owners always running to the vets' but keep telling myself if there wasn't anything wrong and it's just me worrying then they would tell me.

Bitey same here.
Back to vet for foot chewing again. Ongoing for a month. Redressing and another week of trying to keep it clean and dry and not letting her chew it. I'm so fed up.
And she's put weight on. I wish I could donate some!

I'll admit I had to google Welsh Terrier. Don't think there's many around in Aus. It feels like every second dog here is a poodle cross of some kind.

Hope all the poorly pups feel better soon

Oh no Wolfie it's rubbish isn't it

Hi everyone. Not posted for a while but been reading. ClayPup has been with us a month now and I think is settling ok.

She's enjoying her walks more and is getting better at walking next to the road. However, she hates having her harness on and will run away if she sees me hold it despite me giving her treats each time. She's also slowly improving in the house in that she doesn't bark as much at the TV or at her reflection. The cats are a different matter. They're still taking refuge upstairs and are terrified of her as she barks at them. It's excitement to meet them though as the couple of occasions she's caught up with my youngest cat, she's sat licking him and wagging her tail. She's the same about meeting other dogs in the park but I get the feeling other dog owners don't appreciate her barking at them which is understandable. I've found a socialisation class locally, supervised by trainers so will start taking her to that ASAP.

I feel quite stressed about training her vs not pushing her too soon. I've got her booked on to a training course but that doesn't start until January and it feels like a huge list of training issues that all interlink and I've no idea where to start or to just leave it until we have a structured class to attend. She can manage some basic commands but I don't where to take it from there.

For example, as she has been so reluctant to go on walks, often stopping dead and refusing to move, I've wanted to make walks a fun experience. But then she wants to go her own way and will pull or refuse to move or will come across a tasty pile of cat crap and will eat it. The only way I can get her away is to pull her but I feel mean doing that abd worry I am putting her off going for walks. I feel totally clueless about balancing her training needs with allowing her to get used to things in her own time.

She's also not that food motivated which makes things harder (although cat crap is obviously an exception!). Anyone else felt similar with this kind of conflict with a rescue puppy?

Would a toy work instead of food? What are you using for treats? Mine would sell her soul for dried liver!
Bitey I've gone beyond rubbish to unutterably shit. Had hoped to go Christmas shopping this weekend but don't see how I can leave her. Anyone want to Wolfie watch for a day?!

ClayPigeon try not to worry. I have often had to correct things I had inadvertently (badly) taught him in training later on and it was ok in the end. Mine was always more toy than treat motivated but you could try and up the treat value (find something she really really wants) or try and find a special toy. When I have had to pull mine away I just praise when he stops pulling to what he wanted.

Wolfie think we are so far away otherwise I would wolfsit yours if you would biteysit mine . I know it's not the same but I am Christmas shopping mainly online this year as juggling dog sitting is a pain.

Coincidentally, I've just received some dried liver sticks in the post today. She loved them but then she loves most of her chews and she's got a big variety. Treat wise, I've tried loads of different things like biscuits and cubes but the only things she seems to enjoy is cut up sausage, cheese and roast chicken but I'm wary of saving the high value treats for the difficult things like recall. She does like a couple of her toys, balls are a favourite but struggling to know how to use that effectively in training. I'm just clueless basically even after watching training videos as she doesn't respond like their dogs .

Do you cut the dried liver into cubes? I've just given a stick as a chew so far but it was gone in 10 minutes.

clay. Elfpup used to be like that - refuse to move! I dealt with it by waving a treat under his nose but not letting him have it until he was moving forward. Dragging doesn't help, Same with the pulling. Stop as soon as she starts to pull and reward when she lets the lead go slack. At one point I was shoving treats down him every couple of paces when he walked nicely. He's now pretty good and I do allow him to stop and sniff. It's a constant reinforcement though.

I think you need to start training classes asap. If she's settled well there is no need to delay and the earlier you start the better.

What treats are you using? You may need to up the ante with them if ordinary ones aren't tempting her. My top treats are dried lambs lung, slices of cocktail sausage and tiny crumbs of cheese.

x post!

I cut up most of the commercial treats if I can. Loose lead walking is actually one of the hardest skills to master so I'd use a high value treat.

If she isn't that foodie have you looked at clicker training her?

I've not found the videos to be much help either. The dogs already know what they should be doing and they never seem to demonstrate with a clueless newbie

Indys 6 months now and still pees like a girl. He still only has one testicle so looks like he'll have to be neutered even though I didnt really want him to be.

Created new thread 5 here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/3091923-Puppy-Survival-Thread-Part-5?watched=1

Just ordered the madam a trial box from Poppy's picnic. £10 with delivery. Will do her 6 days worth of food which is good price really.

Hoping she will like it.
Last night she had chicken mince, raw egg and chicken breast and wolfed it down