Puppy Support Group 2

[DuchessDarty]

A continuation of this:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/3600375-Young-Puppy-Support-Group

All age of puppies (and owners ) welcome

@Girliefriendlikescake aww he is a sweetheart. Our puppy is a total angel in the morning. All sleepy and snuggly. I squeeze in so many kisses when he is like that. Around 7- 8pm full on nightmare. Should have called him Jaws . I feel sorry for dh because he never gets to see him when he is seriously chilled. By the time he gets back from work pup is fast approaching shark mode! Although I guess it wouldn’t hurt him to get up at the weekend at 6am instead of me for a change!

@BiteyMcBiteFace ignoring him does usually work, but I think at that time of night he is so hyper he doesn’t seem to register that I’m trying to ignore him. We try to ignore him on the floor, but usually have to retreat to the safety of the sofa!
Welcome to the group @smoresmores

Oh @Ridusofyourstupidity I know shes a little bugger but she's absolutely beautiful!

TokyoPup is 4.9kg and went on his first walk last night, he was amazing! He too is a bitey little devil, but we love him!

Rid she is beautiful, I'm glad you've fallen in love with her! She is going to be big though, reminds me of the dog from Beethoven 😬

Dpup has had a quiet day today which I think he needed to be honest, he slept pretty much all morning until 12.30, then had lunch and played before going back to bed at 2.30!

He has had a bad belly again, not sure what it is that plays him up 🤔 poss some of the chews or treats. I've given him rice and chicken for dinner which he wolfed down!

Am wondering at what point he could go to two feeds a day?

His favourite game at the min is 'empty the crate' 🙄 he quite happily pulls everything out and drags it round the house for a bit.

We had a rainy walk tonight but it was probably his best walk so far walking on the lead.

@smoresmores another whippet owner! Mantrapup is now 14 weeks and just had the craziest day. I've told him he's going back to the breeder about 10 times today and muttered FFS under my breath constantly. Now he's all curled up on my lap and is the sweetest thing that's ever existed

I’m not sure how many of the natural chews they’re allowed, I wouldn’t give more than one a day at the moment but it depends how quickly they get through them I think.
I just ordered a puppy sample pack of various chews (tendons 🤮 puzzles 🤮 rabbit legs 🤮 etc) from a company called Dragonfly. All smell gross but apparently all natural etc.

Mine keeps having soft poos too. Not sure if it’s an intolerance to something or just a bit too much to eat.

I used to feed 'natural treats' like tracheas, lung, pizzles etc but we found they upset his stomach and he had soft poos.

He did have a stomach condition diagnosed later which may have contributed as well but we found that completely cutting out those type of treats massively helped so just be aware that although they are natural sometimes they can be too much for their stomachs.

Oh this is hard! Gladys bit me hard enough to draw blood this morning, was I unreasonable to call her a little cow? Now she’s curled up asleep on my lap and is adorable. I know one thing, we’re never having another puppy.

Finally joining this thread...been following it (and its predecessors) for over a year since we put our name on the waiting list for our pup. We got her last Saturday and she is now 9 weeks old.
Having read so much I thought I was prepared for the worst but the lack of sleep (I've been on the sofa all week for the night time toilet trips) and constant need for eyes in the back of my head is so much more difficult than I realised. I have to keep reminding myself of the small wins we are having whenever she goes biting mad or wees in the house.
Hoping to leave her downstairs in her crate alone tonight...I miss my bed!
Good job they are cute

Not unreasonable at all also, dpup is often referred to as 'that little bugger' he bit dd earlier hard enough to draw blood! Seriously when does the biting get better?!!

Welcome springer gorgeous puppy! Yes I do not miss those first few sleep deprived weeks, it feels like forever at the time but generally improves by 12-14 weeks ish 😬

We're just back from a dark, rainy walk -dpup was not impressed!!

Ah @SpringerMonster I remember how happy I was to finally get back into my own bed! I had a week on the sofa and then a week on a mattress on the floor. Kept chickening out of leaving him but it was fine in the end. Good luck!!

Yes @BiteyShark I think they are a bit too rich for his tummy. I didn’t think he would eat it all in one go. I thought it would be something he would chew on over several days.

First night alone was mixed! Our alarm went off at 2.30am and we could hear her howling I have a camera set up and could see she was trying to get out the crate. Turned out she had done a poo and after that was cleared up she settled down again. Another alarm at 4.30am and she was fine so I think we just need to set the first alarm earlier.
She has also been suffering from soft poos - spoke to the vet who said that if shes fine otherwise (she is) to try chicken and rice. I assume we would boil the chicken but no idea how much to give her?
We also changed her from 3 meals a day as suggested by the breeder to 4 as our puppy book suggested she should be on 4. Thinking about bringing her back to 3 and stopping earlier in the day.

I cooked chicken thighs in the oven and then shredded it to give her.

I wake up when I hear her make a noise, but it's nearly always around 3am, if she wakes. But sometimes she sleeps through.

She doesn't seem to make a noise until after the poo, which is frustrating! She is currently chomping on a lambs ear, complete with fur...

How's everyone doing?

We're okay, dpup is almost 18 weeks and the last week or so it's felt more like owning a proper dog rather than a puppy- in a good way!!

Toilet training seems to have clicked and we've not had any accidents for nearly two weeks. He is still reluctant on the lead at times but generally will walk okay, recall is pretty good (not perfect) but generally he doesn't go far from us on walks.

We had a traumatic experience Ystd when walking him, he was on his lead when an off lead Alsatian appeared suddenly and lunged for him very aggressively. Dd was amazing and pinged him straight up and into her arms but I was so furious with the other dogs owners, who just seemed oblivious 🤬 what's the matter with people? One of my big fears with owning a small dog is him being attacked by a large breed, an Alsatian could easily kill him.

Anyway apart from that incident things seem to have settled and feel much easier which is nice.

Now just to wait for the teenager phase to kick in 😬

Morning all ,
Dpup woke up at 3:40am because he needed the toilet. He has had an upset tummy for just over a day after chomping on a pizzle. Such a shame because he absolutely loved chomping on it. He kept hiding the stinky thing, but within minutes he was going back to retrieve it! I did laugh when I saw it ‘hidden’ in his water bowl!

@Girliefriendlikescake good job your dd reacted quickly. Very annoying that the owner did not apologise for what happened. I’m really worried about this happening to dpup.

Oh dear, I've a shedder. Not a hair up until now and the past few days I've noticed loads. Little white hairs everywhere!

He has textbook jrt/fox terrier characteristics. A bit too clever and pretends he's stupid half the time, selective deafness, stubborn, extremely cheeky, so affectionate and a proper defender. He's keeping us well busy!

Very few toilet issues at the moment but I dare not hope. Nights are great as he sleeps all night on dd's bed. Little white hairs... I'm trying to train him to not just run up the stairs but he couldn't care less what I think. We have a fire guard and a coal bucket blocking the stairs. Only thing is, he now gets in through the bannister so I have cushions wedged to stop him. He chews the cushions.

I had to have a tetanus shot and a week of antibiotics after last week. At least it's done if I get chomped on again! Today alone from those jaws I have pulled:
One of the kid's snorkels.
A tulip bulb. Twice.
A red hot poker. The plant. I'd just dug it up.
Dd's sock.
My knickers.
Half a toasted cheese sandwich dd had left on her plate.
A little tube of throat lozenges.
A little pink rubber ball.
A Dorito's packet.

I mean that's just today. I'm sure a lot of you have similar tales to tell. You really need to watch them like a hawk. Speaking of which, on Friday we were strolling in a field near our house and a buzzard came down very low and circled above him, flew away and came back again. He was very interested! He wouldn't be long giving him back I tell ya! I'm up hiding in the bedroom now for a break!

I hope you're all doing ok. Some beautiful puppy pics, the little demons are irresistible!

Hi I'm looking for a bit of advice.
We have a 12 week old working cocker spaniel who has been with us for a month and 2 cats. The cats are understandably not the happiest. I have kept them separate and pup has run to be in and crate. They have seen each other and pup is v excited to see them, and the cats run away. The cats have been mainly upstairs and pup behind closed doors.
Tonight our very laid back cat wandered into the kitchen for his dinner and pup chased him and cornered him. Cat hissed but did not retaliate. I hauled pup away, but I am concerned what would have happened if I hadn't got there quickly enough.
I don't want to have to live with cats and dog seperated, and dont want the cat to be injured or worse. We've previously had cats that have ruled the roost and thought getting a puppy rather than rescue was the best way to introduce them into the house together.
Is this just early days or do I need to rehome???

It is just early days. You have to teach the leave command whenever you see the cat, but also let the cat assert itself. We have two indoor cats and we let them have their own protected areas (a room with a catflap) and go on high surfaces out of reach of dog, and upstairs (stairgate to separate which they can jump but dog cannot) but we also try and encourage them to be around the dog so that he doesn't find them too exciting. Also he was smaller than them to start with (although he is now just slightly larger) We found one of our cats seeks out the dog and doesn't mind him, but the other is still a bit wary 7 months in, possibly because it was the shy one who didn't mingle enough. I think we made a mistake not encouraging more contact with the shy one, possibly treating them or feeding them at the same time perhaps, or giving dog a special treats when cats present to distract.
A dog can do a lot of damage to a cat, but at the same time a cat has weapons and can be very scary to a puppy. I think you just have to discourage the chasing because that becomes increasingly exciting to a puppy and self fulfilling prophesy ( I was put on this earth to chase cats)
So leave command coupled with familiarity

I have a nearly 17-week working cocker puppy and I wish I’d found this thread when I was crying on the floor a few weeks ago! He’s lovely some of the time, but is frequently referred to as BiteyFuck in this house and is teething. He doesn’t like being left alone either - we were very keen on housetraining so basically followed him around/kept him in one room with one of us at all times and now have realised that probably made him think he has to stay with one of us! Started classes last week and trainer has advised tying a kong filled with something amazingly smelly outside the room and letting him go and find it and eat it, so he is choosing to be away from us. That made me realise we were being too cautious with letting him roam around as he never usually gets to go off on his own - because if he did he’d usually come back with a shoe/pants/my hairbrush and then play dodge when you tried to rescue it. Have done a blitz on removing things he can find and am now letting him wander more to try to foster independence. He ended up back in our bedroom in his crate at nights as we decided he was crying from being alone and not from needing out, and we were desperate for sleep. Once he’s calmer with being left we’ll try getting him to sleep in the kitchen again.
Plus side is that his toilet training isn’t bad (he went for a poo in front of me yesterday after being really good for weeks but I think because I was letting him wander about I hadn’t noticed his usual signs of circling near the door!), he is fine in the car, he can go off-lead in a big open space and will generally come back when called, and he’s very sweet. Just need to crack the biting and the crying when left!

BiteyFuck bounced up to my friend’s cat and got a good smack, so is wary though fascinated by them at present. He has met a pet rabbit though and the owner was persistent in saying they’d be fine and insisted in introducing them and they have been fine so far - much to my amazement as I thought it’d be rabbit pie for all. So maybe just continue to bring cats in but you carry them/let them get up on something and eventually yours will get used to it?

Thanks everyone, that makes me feel better that I should persevere. I was worried I had made a mistake and put my cats at risk.

I am so awed and impressed by anyone who has done this alone/with small kids/reluctant partner! DH has not cried (so far as he’s admitting, anyway) and doesn’t seem worried that the dog hates him when he growls/bites - why do I stress and he doesn’t?! - but has done half the work and we can ask the other for a break when we’re about to lose it!

Ziggy I think you have to (to a certain extent) let the cat and puppy sort themselves out, the puppy is more likely to just be fascinated rather than wanting to hurt a cat at this age. As long as the cat can jump up somewhere if it gets a bit much. My puppy has had a few smacks from our cat and although obviously I don't want him to be hurt I'm pleased the cat has some authority!

They are both now snoozing in the same room and in the last few days seem much more relaxed around each other (our pup is 18 weeks.) They don't need to be best buddies but some mutual respect is important! Although my cat just looks at the puppy with disgust and distain most of the time 🤣

I'm a single parent but my dd is 13 and has been generally a very good second puppy parent, can't imagine doing it with a younger child! Dd has done the bulk of the training bless her and he can now sit, lie down, roll over, stay, touch her hand on command and leave a treat in front of him 👏🏻

Hi all, we picked up dpup on Sunday and wow!! Despite reading everyone's posts, I still underestimated how difficult this would be!

Dpup won't play by herself or really sit by herself. She won't stay in her crate or pen with the door shut. First night she managed 11 til 4 which was great and filled us with false hope.... last night she howled continuously for 15 minutes we ended up letting her out as we couldn't take it. That was with us in the room so she could see us. DP eventually sat in the crate with her and soothed her until she fell asleep. She woke up 10 minutes later and again howled and howled. There was no pause in it at all for 20 minutes straight until we ended up taking her upstairs in her crate. She settled much better but we had to leave the door open.

She cries when someone leaves the room for a second, cries when she plays, cries when she eats... is this normal? We have the vet today for her first vaccination so will ask the vet also but I just need to put my mind at ease.

Has anyone Dpup been the same and you have come out the otherside? She needs to learn to love the crate/pen and to be alone but right now I can't ever imagine getting to that stage. I fear she will develop separation anxiety.

Sorry for the mammoth post. And I hope it makes sense, I've barely slept in the last 48 hours... and advice or similar stories will be very welcomed

I’d definitely ask your vet about the crying when she eats and plays. Crying at bedtime sounds pretty normal. What breed is she? One thing I realised in retrospect was how timid BiteyFuck actually was compared to his normal personality in the first week or two - he’d been friendly and happy to see us when we went to pick him up as we’d done the T-shirts with our smells on, but he was frightened of all strangers and of loud noises or sudden movements. Gradually he came out of his shell and he now loves all strangers. He was scared of dogs too when he was finally allowed out, and traffic, but now he loves dogs and ignores traffic. I think they are so nervous in the first few days and you don’t realise how scary it is. It took pup about a fortnight to really relax (which I didn’t understand until he had relaxed). If you’ve got a vocal breed maybe she’s just expressing her nerves and needs heaps of reassurance.
I read that having your puppy in crate/bed in your bedroom is fine while they’re so new and frightened so maybe do that for a couple of weeks and see how you get on?