Young Puppy Support Group

[DuchessDarty]

I’d been looking for one of these but the only puppy support thread currently running is for older puppies. I’ve seen a few threads recently from posters who have new puppies like me, and thought I’d start our own group as I’d love to compare notes. But all welcome!

To kick off -

My pup, DartyPup, is a female poodle cross who is nearly 11 weeks old. Very sweet, friendly, fairly calm, sleeps a good stretch at night in her crate no problem and is happy to play in the garden by herself if I’m in the kitchen/conservatory and we easily have eyes on each other. She has a lot of naps and is doing well with house training.

But- she has the usual puppy traits of being needy and nippy. She loves biting bare toes and has a witching hour in the evening (as another poster aptly describes it!).

I adore the bond we seem to have bit am finding it draining. My children are old enough to be hands on and are keen to be, but their periods of peak energy don’t always correspond with the Pup’s. And when it comes down to it, she often wants me and so will whine if left with them downstairs while I escape for a rest. If they mistakenly leave a door open giving her access to the stairs, she’ll leg it up to find me. A stair gate isn’t an option unfortunately due to the design of our stairs.

Both my kids have never been particularly early risers and I’ve always been secretly pleased about dodging 6am wake up calls ... until DartyPup.

Oh dear, puppy hasn’t had a good morning. Two wees and a poo on the kitchen floor then DS opened a door on her and she squealed a LOT. I’ve checked her paws and tail and she doesn’t seem hurt but she’s taken herself off to her crate for a massive “poor me” hour. DS was only trying to help by getting the enzyme spray to mop up another wee so he’s feeling pretty bad too. Everyone is going to have a quiet hour and then it will all be fine again.

Hi, so I’ve managed to find a doggy daycare for £15 a day five minutes from where I work.
Thing is, how do you tell if it’s ok or not.? He has a Facebook page but no website. I asked if he was insured and he didn’t reply to that.
He said pup will not be left by herself at all, she can run round in his garden and can have naps in his house.
What do I need to know before I leave our precious puppy with him?

...It says on his Facebook page he’s fully insured.

Putanother

Apart from the usual like insurance, number of dogs etc I go on gut feeling and how my dog reacts on drop off.

When mine was a puppy mine was left alone at daycare whilst she walked her other dogs as she was primarily a dog walker. That was ok with me as it was just over an hour and I wanted him to be left but not left all day. He was just left in her crate like he would have been at home during that time. She also asked about training commands etc for continuity.

Have you spoken to him face to face?

Thanks @BiteyShark I haven’t met him face to face yet ( but would do before leaving her with him).
Am asking about to see if anyone knows of him.

Also I had to sign a lot of forms to do with T&Cs. I also had to give details about my dog (likes and dislikes) as well as details of medical conditions and accepting costs if they had to rush my pet to the vets.

I am quite laid back concerning dog walkers/daycare than a lot of people on here as the main thing for me is that they care for my dog and I feel I can discuss things easily with them.

Again go by your gut feeling. If they aren't 'open' with you or you feel your puppy isn't happy then look elsewhere (I have had to do that once with a backup daycare because it just wasn't a good fit for my dog).

Keep I wait until he is sleepy or has just fallen asleep and then put him in the crate, I like the fact he's then contained and I can get on with a few jobs. Plus he needs to get used to being left in the crate during the day for an hour or so for when we need to go out and can't take him with us!

A dog walker lady was meant to pop over this afternoon but hasn't turned up 🙄 going to look at a doggy day care place tomorrow. She's come recommended by two work colleagues so feel fairly confident that she will be okay....

Evening all, sounds like things are going in the right direction for most of us....although I daren't speak too soon!

Had a busy couple of days for SunnyPup. Yesterday we had about 5 families over for a bbq, it was arranged months ago so I couldn’t cancel but the thoughts of tons of kids racing around and trying to keep an eye on the puppy, naps, wees and pops etc was worrying me. Especially in my sleep deprived state! But it went really well. He was sooooo good. Was prodded and poked and coaxed out of his quiet nap spots over and over again but was just so gentle and patient with all the kids. And then he slept 10-5am woohoo!
Today we took him on a car journey that should have been an hour but took three due to bank holiday traffic and again he was so good. He then had his first frolic in a lake and we let him off lead and he was great.

So hopefully the worst of the sleep issues are dying down. His new issue is he has found his voice. If he sees a dog or smells one he goes crazy barking. Luckily hasn’t happened many time yet and we start puppy training tomorrow so will ask out nipping that in the bud.

@SkeletonSkins did you join the canine enrichment group on Facebook? I’ve just seen a post by someone who gives their dog a lick mat in the evenings to calm them down. Thought of your little overtired pup. You just smear stuff on them like peanut butter or yogurt or a paste of kibble softened in water etc and freeze it and give it to them and licking it apparently calms them right down and keeps their brains occupied. One poster said they’re selling them in Aldi at the moment for £2.99 or try Ebay/amazon.

We took our pup out for a little walk this evening, it was only down the road to the co-op but he was brilliant, really friendly with everyone who stopped to say hello including other dogs.

He is completely knackered tonight though bless him!!

We're taking him to a local national trust place tomorrow which will be nice.

It’s so so lovely reading about you guys getting out and about and enjoying your puppies. I think being able to go on little walks really does help so much, even just in terms of being able to get out the house and tire them out a bit!

@SunnyUpNorth thank you so much for thinking of me and little SkeletonPup. I love that group and we do actually have likimats which I tried her with when we first got her and she wasn’t really interested but she’s really developed her ability to concentrate since then and is much more food motivated so I’m definitely going to try it again, thanks for the reminder!! I need to spend more time looking at that group as I definitely don’t do enough ‘brain stuff’ with her in the evenings. I’m tempted to start taking her to the field for some 1:1 training in the evening. I think it’ll be good for her and also me to have time set aside as I can find it really hard to motivate myself in the evenings but she seems much more awake and eager to learn then. Definitely going to have a look at some of the brain games too.

I feel like I talk about the negatives a lot with my little girl and there are lots of positives!! She’s so lovely and friendly and friends can’t believe she turns into a little demon at night ha! She’s also very clever, she’s learnt sit, down, to touch my hand with her nose, to ‘spin’ round in one direction and to ‘twirl’ in the other. She really loves to learn. She also went through a tunnel tonight and was so confident. Toilet training is really coming on, we’re three weeks in and she’s much more trustworthy. She also generally sleeps 10.30-7.30ish which is great. So she does have big positives and we’ll crack the crazy hopefully😂😂 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

@Keepsmiling1 good chews - stick to natural ones, avoid rawhide at all costs. If you’ve got a local indie pet shop they often stock some goodies like hooves, buffalo ears, tracheas which are natural and great for teeth. I’ve also heard people rate the yak cheese chew things so I want to try one of those. I’d be cautious of antlers with little puppy teeth as they can be very hard. We also stuff holllow bones with wet dog meat and freeze, great for teething mouths.

Can I also recommend scentwork training, if anyone is looking for something extra to do. Basically it’s a bit like what sniffer dogs do, but for fun. Dogs are trained to do searches and find a certain scent for a positive reward. Obviously some dogs this comes particularly naturally, like spaniels and their crosses, but our terrier x has LOVED having s go this weekend and there’s been all sorts of breeds doing brilliantly at it. Plus is tires them out!

@SunnyUpNorth SkeletonPup says thanks for reminding me about the likimat, she’s loving it. Got some natural yoghurt, mushed banana, a mushed strawberry, some of her puppy food, some salmon dog pate stuff and a tiny bit of primula cheese. Very happy puppy!!! (And obviously had to do SkeletongDog one so he wasn’t left out.

Ah glad she likes it, hope it helped for a while. She is so cute and sounds like such a lovely little girl.

Do you go to a scentwork group or is that something you just do at home? I WOuldnt have a clue where to start.

I’ve been having a look at the canine enrichment group for some ideas and now keep finding myself saving random shaped bits of cardboard. We got a new bin yesterday and it had a cardboard insert in the box which had loads of little dips and crevices in it, so breakfast as served in that today (puppy’s, not mine 😂) and then the big box has become a fun tunnel!

Ps I am so jealous of the 10.30-7.30 sleep!!!!

I'm jealous of that sleep as well! Was hoping for a goodnight as girliepup was so tired Ystd but no he woke at 4.40 for the loo and then at 6.20 for no obvious reason! Not hungry and didn't need the loo, intact went back to sleep with me on the sofa 🙄 if that's going to be a thing I'll have to start leaving him to cry at 6!

He suddenly seems much sturdier today, I've just seen him drag a huge (compared to him) door draft excluder across the floor!

Skeleton your pup sounds adorable and really clever! I'd like to get our pup into agility if possible as think it would be great for him but also a hobby for my dd.

@SkeletonSkins that lickimat looks great! We have got one but I'm not sure what can go in it or the Kong. Any recommendations? I did pick up some Primula cheese but wasn't sure how much he should have - I filled a puppy Kong with it but was worried that was too much?

Also, what types of things do you do when you play with your pup? How long do you spend actively playing with them? I don't want him to bored but equally don't want him to be used to someone entertaining him all the time. How much should they be sleeping at this stage?

Haha well might have been a bit adventurous with the likimat as poor SkeletonPup has a runny tummy today ha! I’ll stick to her wet food from now on.

Yeah primula cheese is good but it’s expensive and prob not great for them in vast quantities. Natural yoghurt is good, wet food of any sort really. We also use the JR pet product pates which are good for treats too.

Yeah we normally do agility but they have a scent taster on so I’ve signed up for a course with my other dog. I LOVE agility and would definitely recommend it, although dog need to be about a year before starting. Some places do puppy agility foundations from a bit younger, all flatwork and control activities. It would be a fab hobby for your daughter.

We probably spend a couple of hours a day playing with our pup but he is quite good at entertaining himself as well. One on his favourite toys is a bandage (I'm a nurse!) that has a ball attached to one end and the other end is attached to a door handle, it pulls itself back so he will play with it for ages!!

We've taken him on his first national trust visit today! He was brilliant, friendly with other dogs, kids and people, not phased by anything. He walks a bit on the lead and then we carry him. He is completely knackered now though, bit worried we're over exercising him 😕 he is currently passed out in his crate!!

Hi, I have a 10.5 week old cockapoo. He’s lovely and sleeps well. The main thing in finding really difficult is the constant nipping and gnawing at our hands, feet and clothes. It gets really ferocious and hurts. We’ve tried turning our backs and ignoring, always having a chew toy to hand and give him but nothing seems to work. Any ideas or advise please?

When we got our lab pup our breeder said if dog nips you whack it across the room!! If it doesn't squeal you haven't done it hard enough! I found shouting "ow" really loudly and leaving and ignoring and glaring at my pup worked pretty well. Now she's 5 she will mouth my husband hand really gently but will absolutely not mouth me even when I stick my fingers in her mouth. And really early I used to open her mouth and take things out of it because she ate everything. Worse thing I dragged out of her mouth- used condom in the park. Yuck!

@Whywhywhy1 no advice but we are the same at the moment. I try redirecting with another toy and if it carries on removing myself from the situation but sometimes he just carries on when I sit back down. It seems worse of an evening when I'm guessing he is overtired!

Why we're having the same with our 11 week old, def worse when he's tired or overexcited and he does it more with my dd. I've told her to say NO firmly, stand up and walk away which he def doesn't like. It's very normal at this age though I'd say.

If I saw someone smack a puppy across a room I'd call the police.

We went to look at the doggy day care place today, the lady seems nice but I was anxious about how she'd keep our pup safe from being accidentally hurt by the other dogs (he's tiny in comparison!) She's highly recommended and experienced though so think we will use her. It's £22 a day.

Thanks.
Keep smiling- tbh it’s making me really not enjoy having him as all the day consists of is him nipping and biting at us. If we don’t respond or say know he gets seemingly very aggressive, lowers down, growls and goes for us even more. I feel really sad about it.

I’m basically trying to redirect, distract, give her something to do which uses her mind or forcing a nap through the crate as crazy biting seems to mean she’s overtired. It’s hit and miss whether it helps. I also do say NO in a firm voice and stop whatever we’re doing eg if it’s when I’m walking I’ll say no and then try and redirect or use treats to get her to walk nicely. I do think it’s partly waiting for them to grow out of it.

CrazySkeletonPup update lol. We’ve had a better evening, certainly not perfect but better and it’s about small improvements right? She’s had a busy day at the last day of our training weekend to be fair so that’s probably helped but I also tried to do some training with her at about half 8 which is usually peak nightmare crazy and that went really well and she enjoyed it. Also managed to cut her nails and give her a brush fairly calmly which can be another battle but went okay. Then gave her a frozen trachea stuffed with some meat while I trained my older dog and she settled well with that for a while. Since then she’s been generally more settled, gone a bit crazy now (as the photo shows ha!) but we’re playing tug and at least bed time is in sight, I can manage the crazy when it’s closer to one hour compared to four hours!!!

In terms of playing with her, we play tug with various toys, she loves it when they’re dragged around the floor so she can pounce them. We also have a little ball she likes to chase and bring back. When we’re playing tug I ask her to do things like a sit or down to get the tuggy back so mix in a bit of training. Slowly slowly we go!!

She’s had a heat rash on her tum this weekend which is a worry. It’s a lot better today but might go to the vets tomorrow depending how it is. Don’t want to overreact but I do worry!!

I am booking on puppy classes and found some puppy socialisation sessions that I will start when he has had his second injections in a week.