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.

Elfpup was fond of slugs too.

Unfortunately they can carry lungworm so if he is eating them it would be worth checking that the wormer you use is effective against them as not all are.

PerfectlyChaotic you need your mud blindness glasses on . I honestly have stopped worrying about the kitchen floor ages ago but then we don't get many visitors so I can safely ignore it

Elphame thank you, I didn't know this. I've just checked and the one I've given him does treat it. Thanks again.

You're welcome- I had no idea either with my own little slug eater until someone warned me.

Indy has the advocate but am considering changing as it seems to make him itch like mad for the first 30 mins of application! I really don't want to use it on him again.

Sorry guys me again. We've had our puppy for 4 days now and every night she's been in our bed As DP and mother in law cannot handle the crying. Tonight we have locked her in the kitchein as I've expressed that she cannot keep sleeping with us as we have a 4 year old who creeps in our bed at night and we are due our 2nd in 4 weeks. She has her bed and some toys and a t-shirt that smells like us. She's been whinning and scratching at the door for 30mins now. Any advice on what we can do? Do we just wait her out? Doesn't help that mother in law is very soppy when it comes to pets/babies crying and I just know she's going to cave and bring Ddog upstairs :(

Goood advocate used to make BiteyDog hyper for about 24 hours. I think it was the smell that he hated so ran about and wouldn't sleep. I have switched to Nexgard Spectra which google seems to suggest has recently been granted a licence for lungworm but I need to look at the box to find out if that's true but I was under the impression it had the same active ingredient in it. It also does ticks which we have a lot of here and I much prefer the tablet form as I can wash him whenever we need to.

Tricky one Bumchin because I know my dog wouldn't have settled in the kitchen at night if he had free run if it. We used a crate in the kitchen which was his den and initially when he woke up and cried I used to pop him outside for a toilet break and then back again and repeat so he got used to the idea of sleep or pee only at night. You may find that as he isn't with you and has free reign of the kitchen accidents may occur overnight as he is more active and has space other than his bed to pee on especially if he wakes and tries to get to you.

Some people sleep downstairs for a bit with their pup and gradually withdraw so they get used to sleeping downstairs. Is that possible? Maybe look at crate training as well as that might help you.

Jumping on here now, as we get our baby in March! Will RTFT at work tomorrow.

@Bumchin we also use a crate. And I slept downstairs for 2 nights. We then had about 4 nights where we would go down everytime he got upset (not every whimper though) and take him out for a wee. No other interaction. He’s now pretty consistently sleeping through until 6ish which is fine for us. He’s 11 weeks tomorrow.
Housetraining still hit and miss. Have just caught him mid poo and bought him out but now he just wants to play!

AllRoads if you have time on your hands you might want to skim through the older survival threads as well to give you an idea of what challenges people have faced and also how our older pups have progressed (there is light at the end of the tunnel )

We have a vet visit later today. Hoping his paw has healed so the staples can come out and we can ditch the cone and I can go back to sleeping in my bed again.

Will do!

I'm SO excited!

I'm halfway through "puppies for dummies".

I have in my Amazon basket:

Crate
Training leash
Harness
Clicker
Kong thingy
Two bowls
Bed/pad thingy
Odour spray, and the one which encorages dogs to pee/poop in a certain place.

Oh, and I've booked two weeks off work so that I can settle him

I found baby gates very handy and still have them up.

Baby monitor/camera if you want to check on them whilst you aren't in the room.

Playpen if you want to give them freedom but can't have them rampaging everywhere.

Lots of kitchen rolls for accidents.

Head torch for those late night visits to the garden.

Lots of poo bags. I used to get cheap ones but find them false economy so now spend a bit more and find I don't need to double bag anymore.

Training treats as you start early on especially with 'sit'

Investigate vets and pet insurance.

Oops, forgot to mention the safety gate. That's in the basket too.

I've already researched pet insurance. We have a vet fhat I'm a little bit in love with (we have cats) since he managed to calm down my batshit cat for long enough to chip her!

Do you have a plan on going back to work. I took 1 month at home and had planned for someone to do puppy visits twice a day but when we got him it was obvious that wasn't going to be enough so ended up sending him to day care for half the day which was great as they continued the socialization and toilet training.

Luckily I only WOTH for two days a week. One of those days, DH gets home early, and my lovely cleaner, who comes on the same day, has said she'll take him for a wee etc.

It's the Mondays I'm a little worried about. The house is empty for ten hours. I'm already looking at local dog walkers.

I probably sound like an obsessive! The way I see it, it's like bringing a newborn home, no? I wouldn't just bring home a baby without planning. I have ten weeks to prepare for the new arrival. I'm aware I can't "plan" everything, things may go wrong, etc- but I've never had a puppy before, and I want to be prepared for anything.

Can someone please give me a brief "schedule", please? Different websites are telling me different things. She will have her first shots, and be chipped and checked over before she comes to me. Am I right in thinking that the second lot of injections are four weeks after that? And after them, I can start walking her outside?

Sorry about all the questions.

What are people's views on BorrowMyDoggy?

I would see if there are dog walkers that do daycare to see if they could take the pup on that day although they will probably want all vaccinations done and some won't take them until they are a certain age.

The vaccination schedule depends on what type the puppy was vaccinated with prior to going home with you. What I did was book a vets appointment 2 days after he arrived so my own vet could check him over for any conditions and also to discuss the vaccinations and worming schedule when they could see exactly what brand he had been given.

Fab- and thank you for not flaming me because I'm inexperienced.

I'll make an appointment with the vets for two days after we are due to collect him.

I personally would not use BorrowMyDoggy as I wanted someone whose job was looking after dogs so I could be sure they were 'professional' (insurance, crb checked, cared about turning up and reputation etc). I am sure it is fine for some but it's a big responsibility on their side and a lot of trust on yours so I personally would not be happy.

I found a lovely dog walker who has looked after BiteyDog in her home since a puppy and also cares for him when we go away on holiday so there is continuity and he absolutely loves going.

No flaming on this thread . We are or were all beginners at some point and just here for support.

My vets recommended a couple of days after he came to me so he had a short time to settle but still early enough to spot any issues.

Thank you SO much.

How long do you think it will be before I can stop using a dog walker?

Mine is now 14 months of age and I still have him going to daycare because he gets walks and other doggy company which he just doesn't get with me. He is then not as bouncy on my work at home days as he had full on days at day care.

What breed is your puppy? Mine is a working cocker spaniel and despite what the internet says doesn't require HUGE amounts of exercise but he certainly would be bored and destructive if I left him for long periods alone. I can't see me not having a dog walker until he is very old and doesn't want to walk on my office days.

I do know people who don't have a dog walker and they work but for me it's peace of mind when I am working knowing he is having a great time. Another benefit is he doesn't need any walks when I get home which after a full day at work is great.

The walking is the thing I'm looking forward to most, I think!

She's a staffie/husky cross. So I predict lots of batshitness 😃😃