Puppy Survival Thread Part 6

[Elphame]

As thread 5 is almost full!

[MuddyWellyNelly]

Very good to know, Duplo!

[karala]

I am in severe post-pup depression - have spent much of this weekend crying and shouting at DH because I feel that this pup might cry for ever. She will put herself into her crate, we've done all the crate games but the minute I go out of the room - if she's awake - then it's straight into yowl mode. I have a meeting on Thursday and need to go out for about 3 hours - my neighbour from a few doors down is popping in after an hour and a half but I'm worried that she'll yowl once she's been let out. My immediate neighbours are being very kind and patient with the noise but I don't want to push things. I'm also really worried that just leaving her to yowl is cruel. I am honestly feeling at my wits end so it's great to see that duplo is feeling more upbeat

[BirdyBedtime]

Great to hear things are on the up Duplo - as they go through the phases so quickly some days are literally completely different from others aren't they?

Stick in Kerala - when I think of some of the stupid things I said when things were bad and I was sleep deprived I cringe!

It really isn't cruel to leave her to yowl if you know she doesn't need to pee/poo, has eaten, has water and has toys. She will learn that you always come back and it will get better.

[karala]

thank you Birdy - that's good to hear.

[ouchyoubiteybugger]

Hi all, can someone tell me how to train the dh and dc ? I seem to be able to spot biteydogs hints to go for a wee or poo but 5 mins with dh or dc and there's cries of " she's wee'd oh no she didn't show signs " bloody useless the lot.
Sorry today has been a tough one and tomorrow is her fist day with dog sitter.

[MuddyWellyNelly]

Wrong person to ask on the toilet training. We had a few good days but today I was unwell and lounging on the sofa letting DS watch tv. I missed two pee's (to be fair the second had zero warning). Muddypup is 17 weeks and I'd say nowhere close to house trained.

[MuddyWellyNelly]

Oh I meant to say covering the crate at night does seem to be helping a little. Yesterday he woke at 5.30 and was let out for a poo, but did settle down again. Today was 6.10 which apparently is morning. DH went and lay on the sofa (pup still in crate) to avoid him waking DS and again he settled which is some progress.

[karala]

our pup is managing to go for 7 hours overnight now and can be resettled because the crate is still next to my bed. The main problem is her howling when she is left and I'm working on this slowly but not seeing much benefit yet. We have a behaviouralist coming tomorrow who can tell us what a mess we're making of it although I really do feel that we're following all the guidelines

[Luckystar1]

Hello all! We got our cocker spaniel dog puppy on Saturday and he is a darling. A really good boy (so far). I was wondering however if I could get your pointers please?

1. How much exercise are your pups getting and what sort of times?
   

1. Toilet training... not going well here as he only seems to poo over night or when I’m not in the house (the only times I leave him are for school run at 8.30 and 1pm) and only for 30 mins max at a time. I’m trying not to stress about it, but so far I’ve only ever caught him pooing outside once so did the who fanfare thing.
   

Pees are also in the house, but he seems to use the mats for these. I take him outside frequently but no matter how long we are out for we get nothing.

I have two young children (2 & 4) so I can’t wait outside indefinitely unfortunately.

1. Food - how often should I be feeding and roughly what times? We are up at around 6.30am and go to bed at 10pm. I read something recently from a very old thread to not feed after a certain time to prevent over night pooing. But I’m not sure if this is recommended.
   

Thank you!!!

[Luckystar1]

Here is a pic of him!

[Luckystar1]

Oh I should say, he’s 10 weeks old

[karala]

We are crate training the pup which is a massive help with the housetraining
When ours was 10 weeks old she was on 4 meals a day on a 12 hour cycle so I fed her at 6.30am, 11.30am, 4.00pm and 6.30pm - the last one was a very small feed. I split her daily allowance into a larger breakfast, 2 smaller meals and then a tiny supper. We moved her to 3 meals a day when she was 12 weeks
If you can make my pup stop crying when she is alone then I will housetrain your pup!

[Luckystar1]

Thank you that is helpful! As to crate training... what does that mean? We have a crate and the puppy will happily go into it to eat and drink and rest and play. He will go off and sleep in it, but I haven’t trained him, he just does...! I don’t close the door yet.

He doesn’t poo/pee in the crate, but on paper outside it. Which is good, but not ideal!

I don’t think I’m fit to train anything 😂😂

How is yours in the crate? I’m sure you are already doing it, but right from the start we had a blanket and soft toy that we had bought for him and left with the litter so they smelled of his mum/siblings. I have added 2 big teddies both wearing my t-shirts that I have worn to bed so they smell like me...

I also have a stuffed kong in there occasionally. But as I say, I haven’t a clue, he just goes there when he wants.

[Luckystar1]

Oh crap, I see you are taking about yours being alone..! Hmm yes, I have taken the view that it’s a bit like dropping children at nursery, the initial separation is the worst...! In saying that, we have no neighbours so I have no clue what he does when I leave!

I do leave the TV on, or LBC at night... he’s very up on current affairs 😂😂

[Fishypieandmash]

I’ve discovered a really good Facebook group ...
Dog Training Advice and Support.

Has some great advice and experts can address individual problems too.

[Luckystar1]

Oh thank you! I need something as I’m getting confused with a multitude of differing advice!

[karala]

crate training for house training is basically letting her sleep in there overnight with the door shut - I have the crate next to my bed and she makes a noise when she needs to go out and then we pop her out, no noise, play or discussion and pop her back in to her crate and she goes back to sleep. I cover the crate completely overnight. Last night she went through until 5.30 this morning. If you don't want the crate in your room then it's a bit more complicated because you'll have to set an alarm to keep getting up. And day time housetraining is just putting her out after food, play, sleep, anything you can think of. It's hard work doing that with young DCs and I'm lucky that I don't have that to worry about

[ouchyoubiteybugger]

Bitey dog goes in crate 10:30 - 5:30 am without fuss, we leave magic radio on over night ( she howls to smooth radio ) this took 3 days of howling and just coming down at 2:30am for pre breaks no talking or interaction.
5:30am she is up and straight outside for pee and poo, then play 15mins and then breakfast.
More play then outside for pre or poop then fuss and training on commands. Then into crate 8:15 - 11 am the 30 mins outside for play and pre and poop then back in crate till 3pm then out for lunch and play till dinner at 8pm play, training etc until 9pm when she takes herself to bed and we call her to go out for pre or poop at 10:15pm before bed.

She's 9 weeks and will now sit, give paw, speak and lay down on command she cries for 2-4 mins max going in the crate but has blankets, toys and water in there nd is happy.
No idea how to stop the persistent biting though !

[austech]

austechpuppy at 11 weeks is still at the bitey stage too. I yelp and whine which stops him in his tracks. I've enrolled him (by which I mean me) in puppy school, which is fab for all the socialising they can't do until the vax kick in. Also full of sound advice for the owners. The one I find hardest is the one to ignore the puppy when you come home/get up in the morning. Make that cup of tea, only hug and pat when they calm down. It works.

He knows sit and stay, and without any training on my part, sits patiently when I'm making his food up, and doesn't get up until I put the bowl on the floor. I took him to the sea last week, which he had never seen and he was :o for a few minutes, but a stick thrown in had him swimming for it immediately. Murrays are all working dogs who make good pets, They can't stop themselves.

He only poos outside now, though peeing is unreliable. I put him outside for a pee every morning when he gets up, and at night before his basket. Every hour in between.

I'm fortunate in that it's the Australian spring now, and I can put him in the front garden and keep an eye on him through the screen door. It's nice for him as he can lie close to the door, keep warm and not feel put outside. And I can hear any havoc being wreaked!!

He's had his second vax, and in a week's time can join the other dogs on the oval. Yippee. He has so much energy to burn I can'y wait to get him out for walks. I spent this morning fitting a baby gate to limit access to the back of the house and upstairs. He is nibbly as hell and I need to be able to keep doors open to air the house.

So good to hear updates on other puppies.

[austech]

He was , not :o

[marioncole]

Big feelings of puppy regret today, but this is because I have flu and he's being a pain in the arse.

17 weeks ish now and the toileting and biting is fairly under control but the jumping, oh the jumping! Particularly the jumping up at the kitchen worktops looking for food. Anyone have any tips?

Also, our doggy daycare asked us not to come back basically because he weed on her floor He's a puppy, he's bound to have an accident now and then. I think he's remarkably well house trained for a 4 month old. But this means I don't get a break anymore, that one day a week was lovely and meant I could get some proper work done.

[MuddyWellyNelly]

Oh god yes the jumping up. Muddypup is frequently counter surfing, will get up on the table if you leave the chair out a smidge, and today launched over my lap and stole toast off my plate . So we've got some serious work to do on that. One thing I read said you have to keep all surfaces clear because otherwise they get an inadvertent reward for their misdemeanours. Even if it's scoring the dish sponge. This is hard for us as our house has a tiny kitchen but I am working on it.

[GhostsToMonsoon]

Marioncole - that's awful! My dog sitter said toilet trained is preferable but she has lots of antibacterial wipes if not! Each time I've been one dog has weed on the floor but she's not known which one.

[Autumn2018]

Does anyone use a shock absorber lead for their strong pulling puppy? A dog walker today was telling me about hers and I've never heard of them before. Is it a gimmick or does it help?

[marioncole]

@Autumn2018 I've seen them but haven't used one. I've found a figure of eight collar is working really well. Pup hates it and will often hunker down to try and pull it off. It has made walking more pleasant though.