Puppy Survival Thread Part 5!

[GooodMythicalMorning]

Continuing Bitey's thread once more

The thread to be, where puppies grow and we meet new doggie parenting challenges every day.

Sorry, I meant like how long to ignore for, when to reward for stopping so they know reward is for stopping etc.

If that makes sense

Puppies chew. They do. You can't stop them. You just keep offering stuff you want them to chew.

Dont worry too much as you will eventually gauge how long to ignore or remove. Initially I would do it for maybe 20-30 seconds and then go back but if it continued I would repeat until it stops. As he got older it was probably around a minute or two although at his absolute worst I think it might have been up to 5 minutes. I didn't reward him for stopping as such but I guess the reward was me coming back into the room/other side of baby gate when he was calmer and played nicely rather than trying to hang off my trouser leg with his teeth

So do you did you do the Ian Dunbar soft mouth training type stuff?

I'm not bothered by puppy chewing btw . I was chewed/sucked today! I just don't want a bigger dog doing it.

Also some friends claim their dogs never bit but I wonder if that's just selective memory?

I had to look it up for a quick glance. No I didn't teach any 'method' other than bite me = no fun but biting a toy was fine.

I think it depends. If I was petting her or grooming, I would move my hand calmly away and say “not me” and then ignore her until she had calmed down. If we were playing, I would redirect with a toy, a nice long one! If it was the zoomies , then popped in crate, usually asleep in less than 10 seconds. To be fair Cocopup was not a particularly bitey pup, constantly on the go was more her style!

Hello. I've been following this thread for a few weeks now and it's been great. Picked up puppy last week, he is 9 weeks old today and I think I'm starting to get the hang of it.
The biggest problem has been resettling him in the middle of the night after a 3am wee. He spent the first few nights in our room but the last 2 down in the kitchen. We are using a crate which he will go in voluntarily during the day and happily settles in at the beginning night but cries when I go back up in the middle of the night.

The best advice would be to sleep next to him for a bit until he's settled.

Welcome kenny mine used to be taken out in the middle of the night. I used to keep it low key and if he didn't settle after a few mins and cried he got picked straight back up and outside for a couple of mins and then back again (without me saying anything to him or playing etc). At first I had to do this a few times but he eventually got the message it was sleep or pee (but no cuddles/play/talking etc) at night. I also used a camera so I could see whether he was settling himself without me being in the room.

Dreading tonight. Beanpup has basically slept all evening since 7.30pm. Bound to be a disturbed night.....

On the plus side only one poo and one wee inside today so that’s an improvement.

Bound to be a disturbed night..... Not necessarily. Elfpup still sleeps for 12hr+ at night.

Fingers crossed for you!

Coco Thanks for advice! Will sling potato his way and see how he does!

Fingers crossed for calmer nights. Hopefully the wind will not be as bad.

I'm interested in bite restriction too as mine is a little pest for it and DS hardly dares put his feet down on the floor when Dpup is awake! I'm going to try the total removal from play as suggested here. Making the help and stopping play doesn't seem to have achieved much.

I'm after suggestions for good games to play or toys worth getting. Also, any chews that have been a success with your pup. Thanks .

Yelp not help!!

KinkyDorito I found kong toys were the most robust but even then some of the softer ones got destroyed when the adult teeth arrived. When little he also loved the soft animals which have no stuffing in them that he could drag around.

My dog was bitey hence the username 😁. They don't call cockers 'cockerdiles' for nothing. Yelping was the worst thing to do so I quickly threw that out the window. Removal was also difficult as well when he launched himself at my clothes and hung on with very sharp teeth but that was so much more effective than anything else I did. As he got bigger it was easier to see the 'bitiness' coming so I could give him a timeout before it got really bad and more often than not he would calm down then go to sleep as a lot of it was over tiredness or over stimulation.

Anyway it isn't just you lot with young pups in the garden at this time of night. BiteyDog is refusing to pee in the day with his sock on and the cone on his head so I am just letting him dictate pee times when he can't hold it anymore hence posting at stupid'o'clock

My pup was very 'bitey' to begin with and my hands were covered in scabs from them! But every time she bit me I would yelp very loudly, let my hand go limp and she would stop immediately and lick me instead. Within a week the biteness stopped! My family did as I did too so she got to know not to do it. By yelping loudly and letting your arm and hand to go limp ( do not pull hand or they draw blood!) Tells them effectively they have gone too far. Also saying ' what have you done?' In a stern voice also helped.

Got to say she was very good as she has such powerful jaws! Got to go shopping this week though as toys are depleting at rapid rate and Kong toys will now have to be bought. She will chew and eat almost anything! Another tip for dogs that eat poo, lemon juice sprayed on it will deter it but you have to be quick apparently bitches do thus due to watching their mum clean up and is instinctive more in bitches I.e keeping the nest clean.

So I have myself a part cockerdile - and given the endless biting, I would say a big part!

Playing short games of tug with long wriggly things can help with bite inhibition and start teaching self control. As in, let the game be fun but intermittently stop tugging and when pup lets go, praise and get to sit before resuming game. I used to toss toy away behind the sofa to break her focus and she would pounce and bring back. Then we progressed to hiding the toy around the house for her to find. Very easy places to start with. Cocodog loves a game of tug but looks really martyred if I hide her toy now. In her eyes the game where I hide small bits of treat around the house or garden is far more sniffing fun.

When we started puppy classes, the trainer gave each pup a bulls pizzle stick (don’t think too closely about what it is) and from over excitable mayhem there was instant quiet and busy jaws whilst she talked us through what we were going to learn. Raw marrowbones when older, the filled bones you get from PAH give my dog the runs. The only thing I have found you can leave them unattended with though is a filled Kong.

As Coco said I only felt safe leaving stuffed Kongs with mine when unattended. Any other chews I would only give when I am with them as he has had choking incidents in the past with different things and although he cleared them himself I would not risk it.

Hi guys need some reassurance and advice please.

Recently got a long hair dachound, we've only had her for 4 days, she's 11 weeks old. We really did think about everything before we got her and thought that we could manage, however I've really struggled with her. Trying to house train her is so frustrating as I will put her on her matt every 30mins or if I see her sniffing around, after food etc but she just won't go in would prefer to just leave the matt and within seconds to in the living room/hallway. She is a very loving pup but really regreating it now. I'm also 36 weeks pregnant and have a 4 year old who keeps telling me he hates her and wants her to go back to the pet shop. My partner wants to give her time but he's at work during the day so majority of the training is on me.

Any advice at all? Feel like if I'm struggling already what's it going to me like when little one is born :( feel at a loss end and hate being home on my own at the moment. Everyone kept telling us how much we would struggle which is making me feel worse as wanted to prove them all wrong!

Sorry if post is all over the place, writing it as watching pup and DS.