Puppy Survival Thread Part 6

[Elphame]

As thread 5 is almost full!

[newme175]

I already had a mishap and really should have know better :( puppy ate some cat food :( had the runs, I’m keeping an eye he doesn’t become dehydrated... can’t believe I’ve not been vigilant enough and on his first day!

[Collywobbles1984]

Well, we've had 3 poos and countless wees all over the floor. It's day one, it'll get better, right?!😩

[ThisIsThe]

The only way is up!

[Collywobbles1984]

I hope so! He's only 8 weeks, so I'm hoping it's just a combination of being tiny still and nerves, and toiletting on the pads will come along over the next few weeks!

[newme175]

How was your first night Collywobbles?

[Cath2907]

The toilet training is a long road and filled with frustration. Our pup is now 14 weeks and will go days at a time without an accident now and then bam - poo on the doormat. It is always due to my being in a rush but you can't spend 15 mins every hour of your life standing in the garden hoping the dog will have a crap! Wees are mostly fine now though. It is more annoying now when he has an accident than it was on the first week as I now "expect" him to be fine and blame myself.
We got there through a LOT of standing in the garden. I mean for 10 mins every half hour all day for bloody weeks.

As for my great plan to leave him alone in his crate last night to go out for my training.... FAILED! I stuffed him in and he started to howl. I stood in the hall for 5 mins waiting for him to quiet down and nothing - if anything he got more upset. Decided to be late for training and let him out and sit with him until hubby got home. Epic dog fail - more practice needed!

[ThisIsThe]

Just had to de-mud the fluff monster. I’ve m been calmer. First tried the utility sink but she’s grown so much so then had to carry muddy dripping cross dog upstairs to the bath.

Such fun

[BooToYouToo]

Collywobbles, it's so hard isn't it? This thread was a life saver for me as other training sites seemed to make it all sound so easy and I felt a failure when he didn't respond.

I only grew fond of my puppy when he started settling in the evenings and stopped chewing the furniture, around 7 months. However he's going through a teenage streak which is testing my patience as he barks a lot to go out and when he's out in the garden and recall has taken a step back. My husband has to keep reminding me what he was like a month before to appreciate we are getting there slowly.

[MrsBobDylan]

Hello newme and Colly!

Cath when I put bobpup in his crate to go out I leave him with a Kong filled with Dairylea which he views as adequate compensation for being left on his own!

Like others we have had toileting ups and downs. Bobpup is 4 months now and still has accidents each day but getting fewer. We have taken the pup pads away because he was getting confused and peeing on anything that resembled one (think doormat, piles of washing, bottom of my long curtains).

Good job he's a cutie!

[ThisIsThe]

Another good nights sleep from the fluff monster. Still some early morning yapping but getting better.

She still doesn’t like being left. Kong filled with cream cheese helps but if I freeze it she never tries it and if I don’t freeze it she finishes too quickly.

I’ve got some frozen duck necks or lamb spine that I think will do the job but i don’t know if I can leave her unsupervised with them.

[newme175]

I definitely have a yapper! Doing my best to try and discourage it ;) I’m also trying to leave the puppy every now and then for few mins and carry on as normal, ie pop upstairs for a bit when I need to. But he yelps and cries so much!
But at least he is eating very well now and his poop is normal :)

[Elphame]

He's very cute!

Very worried about Elfpup at the moment. He's drinking gallons and weeing gallons. Vet has run blood tests which are showing something is very not right. She's going to refer us to a specialist next week.

Actually worried is an understatement. I love my little wretch to pieces. I can;t bear the thought that there might be something very seriously wrong with him.

[BiteyShark]

Oh Elphame so sorry to hear about Elfpup.

Hope it isn't serious and it's horrible when they aren't well.

[newme175]

Sorry to hear about Elfpup, thinking of you

[Elphame]

Thanks Bitey - I know you're going through the mill yourself at the moment

Thank you also newme.

We probably won't know for sure what's going on until he gets the hi tech ultrasound. There is an outside chance of it just being an occult kidney infection - they will do a needle aspiration on Monday . Never have I wished for a positive urine infection result but there's always a first time

[BiteyShark]

Paws crossed for him and you. Do you know how long it will be before you get the results? I find the waiting and not knowing the worst

[Elphame]

I’m going to push for the referral without waiting for the urine cultures otherwise it’ll be after Easter. You’re absolutely right. Not knowing is so hard

[BiteyShark]

Sounds like a good plan to push for the referral anyway. Good luck for Monday.

[BollySBK]

@Elphame - BiteyShark has advised me to pop in here and say hello as I'd find it helpful - not 'done' the dog boards before and from reading all the posts I'm much happier that I'm not the only one in certain situations! Two sprockers aged four months, and have started a thread called 'Wee machine', where I've been massively helped. Thank goodness for MN!! Have a lovely day everyone.

[newme175]

Hi BollySBK, I’m a new owner of nearly 9 week old pup, also a boy.
Do you find your puppies did a tiny little wees, even after one big wee once awake?
I don’t know if I’m explaining it right, but it seems to me that he’s marking his territory, which I would have thought it’s way too young? I put him on the pad when I see him circling, but not sure if he’s peeing because he needs it or marking?? Obviously doesn’t matter as I don’t want him to do either..... but just curious of others experience.

He is a tiny Pom, so I’m going with the pads for now (I know it’s not 100% recommended)

[Elphame]

Hi Bolly - welcome aboard!

[ThisIsThe]

Hello all. Fingers crossed for Elfpup.

[BollySBK]

@newme175 - yes, almost like a middle-aged 'ooh I let a little bit of wee go' - probably through excitement! I think boys do mark their territory even at a young age, and even if they don't know they're doing it. I might be wrong, but that's what it appears to be. Bless the Pom, bet he's gorgeous!

[newme175]

Oh yes could be excitement, very annoying as he would have literally just did a massive wee on his pad. Then a few mins later tries to sneak a tiny one somewhere he’s not supposed to!

Unfortunately we have carpet in the living room (came with the house and it’s nit too bad so we not changed it!). I will get it professionally shampooed once the pup is proper trained. Meantime soggy socks....... good thing he’s so darn cute :)

[OldEnglishSheepDog]

Hello - some of you have been enormously helpful on my (many) threads preparing for our puppy. And now he's here! He is a little bundle of fluffy cuteness but I am utterly out of my depth. We've had him for just over a week; he's eleven weeks old. We've mastered "sit". That's it. Poos are mostly happening outside but wees can appear out of nowhere (his best trick is to do one outside to lull us into a false sense of security then do another in the living room five minutes later).

But the killer is the sleep. He likes his crate and will be shut in reasonably happily but he is waking up to four times a night. I spent last week on the sofa so I was close by to take him out. There is an average of one wee each night regardless of wakings. I am contemplating ignoring him apart from his 4.30am wake-up (which is when the wee generally happens) but I don't want to miss a wee and make him dirty his crate.

Our routine isn't really established either so I'm going to try to create one this week.

We are booked into a puppy class starting in a couple of weeks time but I'd like to get some basics down before that. We can do "sit" but I'd like to master "stay" and "let go". None of my books explain how to do these particularly clearly so if anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!