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

Well my clever girl has finally started to pee and poo in the garden.
We both worked today but dd was here till 11 and wore her out before she left and then dh popped in as he was passing and then my Dil came for a visit.
She was so pleased when we got back but defo prefers the children to us. she goes mad when they come in and then whines when they go to bed
She just climbed in my lap in the end as if I was the consolation prize .

Look at the cuteness

@MaryLennoxsScowl thanks for the reply. Fortifiedpup ate lunch and tea but is being a bugger and not eating her supper tonight.

Today she has definitely been more confident and has been pushing the boundaries .

@FanFckingTastic she is absolutely adorable! Love her little Christmas jumper.

@Keepsmiling1 we had a 1-2-1 with a trainer for pulling which was totally useless. Only realised after that the trainer uses aversive techniques which are a no-no these days, no positive praise at all. He isn’t perfect all the time but he is soooo much better. I think there are probably several approaches you can take it’s just a case of picking one or two to use and being consistent. This is what I have done which seems to have helped, also probably that he is 6 months now and learning a bit that pulling doesn’t feel very nice. I should also say that he does often walk ahead of me and sometimes the lead is taut but he isn’t necessarily pulling, more walking at the same pace but ahead. I can live with that, again it’s not all the time. So, what I did.....

1. If he is pulling a lot I do stop-start. Ie stop when he pulls and then walk again once he stops/turns/shuffled back and makes the lead loosen.

1. If he isn’t being too bad but is pulling a bit I do the odd light couple of tugs on the lead with an ‘ah ah’ to remind him. I say ‘no pulling’ too but not sure if pays any attention to that!

1. I took him for a walk at lunchtime with all his kibble in my pocket - I kept him on a short lead near me and gave him kibble when he walked nicely next to me or just behind and also when he ‘checked in’ with me even if walking a bit in front. I’ve also been working on a positive interuptor noise. I use a sort of kiss kiss noise, so when he walks a bit ahead I do that noise and he turns to look at me and I give him a piece of kibble then too. This step seems to have had the most success for me. I had been trying the stop start and turning and walking back a bit when he pulled and neither were giving me much success before this.

I did this for a few lunchtimes in a row and it really helped. I spaced out the food so at first it was very often and then maybe when he did two or three steps next to me, then 5 etc and now it’s just a treat the odd time on a walk.

1. When walking on a narrow pavement I was automatically holding the lead short on the side furthest from the road and walking just in front of him so naturally ended up in a perfect heel position. So I now do that sometimes where I hold him on a short lead near the wall/hedge side and walk near him so he can’t overtake. Then I praise him and say ‘heel’ lots (I’m not exactly sure how to introduce the word so I just throw it out there now and again!) and this really helps too.

1. I don’t look for perfection, he always pulls at the beginning of a walk from excitement so I just let him and then after a couple of minutes when he calms down I give him the odd reminder. I let him walk away from me on the grass verge or in front as long as it is safe and he isn’t pulling much, I don’t need him to be in a perfect heel position all the time.

Think that’s all the bits I did, hope that helps.

@SunnyUpNorth thank you so much for that reply. You sound like you have the same approach that I do - I don't need him to walk to heel all the time. I'm not even that bothered if he walks in front of me as long as he isn't pulling. DPup usually pulls the most when he first goes out and then strain he lay at the end of the walk - I wondered if it was because he was tired and wanting to go back home. I will definitely try some of the things you suggested. Thanks again!

I bet no ones got a oil as clever as mine. I left the amazon fire stick controller on the sofa and then returned to the room and found lazypup chewing it. Removed it and got on with watching the crown happy that it still worked.
When I checked my emails lazypup had ordered the YouTube app via the fire stick!! Luckily it’s free.

‘A oil’ should read ‘a pup’

😆

Today forest pup decided chasing chickens was the most fun thing to ever exist. Any tips on stopping that before my neighbours hate me to much
Despite the chicken chaos this morning we've had an an ok day he was as good as gold on his walk this evening, came when called everytime as is really starting to get sitting and staying.

Well yesterday one (or both) of the cats has decided to wee in the hallway and garage. They’d both been doing really well with pup, they’ve got separate parts of the house but both have been coming and going as usual and putting him in his place if he gets too bouncy. I understand why it’s happened but I desperately hope it doesn’t become a regular thing! I think if it carried on long term pup would have to go back (he’s from family friends who would have kept him anyway if we didn’t take him) but everyone would be heartbroken. I’m not sure there’s anything I can do other than hope the cats settle into their new territories.

Hi. Can I join?

I’m KNACKERED. We picked our lovely 8week old lab boy up last Sunday. Since then I’ve pretty much done everything with him as I’m the one at home. I’m bloody exhausted. It is way more tiring than I remember having a newborn being. At least they didn’t chew stuff up if you left them on their own for 5mins.

I want to get him sleeping happily in the crate overnight in the kitchen without me in there. He’s happiest on the kitchen sofa but can’t have free roam of the kitchen because he chews the table and chair legs. He’s happy in the crate during the day (he eats meals in there and has the odd nap in there with the door open) but freaks out at night and screams. I don’t want to make him terrified of the crate but I need him to be safe and contained overnight. After 4 nights on the kitchen sofa, I’m ready to go back to bed and start his proper sleeping routine now we’ve got the initial first few days over with. What should I do? I’ve read the books and watched the tv programmes but I feel like it’s so much harder with permanent sleep deprivation and an actual real life puppy with a mind of his own.

On the plus side, his toilet business is going well.

I wonder what age we get kicked out of the puppy support group and migrate over to the dog chat We have just hit 7 months old! I'm not sure where that time has gone, but I'm bloody glad to be past the pissy, poopy, super growly bitey puppy stage

We are still at the mouthy stroppy puppy stage though I laugh at her sometimes, as I'm sure I can hear Harry Enfield's Kevin the Teenager voice coming from her when I ask her to do something She will literally fling herself into a sit (or whatever I've asked her to do) and glare at me like it's so unfair!

This was a photo I took this morning. Butter wouldn't melt eh?!

Oh, this is the little tyrant.

Dpup has found her voice today
Non stop barking. Great.

We’re also getting a bit cabin fevery.

I think back to before we got her I used to see little puppies in their owners arms, Being out and about socialising, looking all cute.

Then I think about every time we take her out and she screeches her head off, nips and struggles to get down and not be held and generally looks so miserable.
Even though shes desperate to be held when I’m busy and trying to carry other things at home.
Sigh

Cute! Though I have decided everyone else's puppy is cute, but the reality of having your own is something else!

Our last lab was a boy and he was soooo much easier than this girl. He was as thick as mince, but the most fabulous gentle boy. She is far too clever for her own good and a bit sparky for good measure

@DeathByPuppy
I couldn’t take it anymore
I put her in the crate one night with some treats and slept on the floor next to her. I set a timer on my phone. It felt like she cried forever but then I checked and it was about 3 minutes. She settled down and was fine
Within 2 days she didn’t bother crying at all. Then I went to my bed. She cried for a (timed) minute that first night.
No problem since.

I know some people disagree but she couldn’t be out, it wasn’t safe so we had to make a judgement call.

I feel like I’m reaching that point, tbh, @Snufflesdog

@BiteyMcBiteFace, I thought I was prepared. I’d been looking and planning for over a year. I’ve read endless books, blogs and forums. I’ve got stairgates, hot water bottle, crates, kongs, lickimats, tug toys, squeaky toys, you name it. Nope. Still feel wayyyy out of my depth and wondering wtf the point of all this was.

I’ve got a year of this? Having an adult dog had better be fucking amazing

Sorry, I know it sounds aggressive. He’s lovely and it’s not his fault he’s so needy, he’s a tiny baby after all, but it already feels relentless and we’re only a week in. Hopefully it’ll be easier when he’s had all his jabs and we can start getting out and about. I think this stir crazy phase doesn’t help. I feel like a knackered prisoner.

DeathByPuppy We'd had a pupply previously, albeit 12 years ago, so we'd should've been prepared, but you forget how much hard work they are It will get easier, I promise

You've just got to get through the peeing, pooping, crying, biting, etc., to get there. Biteypup is by no means perfect, but she's a million times better than she was several months ago

I still have days where I wonder what the hell we've done, but I also felt like that 12 years ago with the last pup and he turned into an amazing dog that I still struggle to get through life without

Oh, I’m sorry Bitey

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/3748691-When-do-the-health-benefits-of-owning-a-dog-kick-in-cause-right-now-I-feel-like-I-m-heading-for-a-breakdown

Thought my thread from the other week might help DeathByPuppy

I can’t help but laugh at my naivety. I had actually planned on taking our pup to the garden centre, all wrapped up in a blanket, before his injections. I thought we could....wait for it......sit in the cafe and have tea and cake 😆😆😆😆😆

For those of you struggling to take your puppy out before injections, have you tried using something to put them in? We used an old (huge) handbag to put our monster in to socialise. Even zipped her in a bit so her head was poking out she couldn't really go anywhere. I took her out every day somewhere different and most of the time it was fine. We even did coffee and cake a few times. I just made sure I had something for her to chew and lots of treats. Obviously this wont work if you have a big breed puppy!
I feel like we have really turned a corner the past week or so. Nothing specific just that I am (finally) enjoying spending time with her. She is 4 months old now and definitely still hard work but it is getting easier!

@DeathByPuppy it gets much easier when you can get out and about. I found myself feeling very wobbly and anxious stuck in all day with a bitey puppy. There was no flipping way I could have carried the wriggly beast around outside.

TMI info alert 🚨 I have to get this off my chest...I found a dead roundworm in my puppy’s poo today, despite being wormed regularly 🤮 I gave him new worming medication yesterday and am obviously pleased with the results, but I’m a bit concerned that the other product hadn’t killed it. Both products we have used are by prescription only. The only reason his medication changed is because I decided to sign up to a pet healthcare plan with our vet and the medication we usually get isn’t available on this plan...
Poor Pup woke me up at 4am this morning busting to get outside for a #2. Felt worried that this was the start of his early morning toilet breaks again. Then when I made the grim discovery later on it made sense. I guess it upset his stomach a bit.
Made a massive batch of Chinese noodle soup yesterday - very poor timing. I can’t stand the sight of it in the fridge 😖

@DeathByPuppy such a cute puppy! It gets better - just do what works for you and the puppy. I slept downstairs for a few weeks (I know, ridiculous!) but not right next to him. I also put a playpen around the crate so he can't do any damage but can get out of the crate and that seemed to work. He does like a cuddle before bed and then settles. 5mths old now and mostly sleeps through the night....

@heatseeker14 that's horrible! Hope pup is ok now. What worming medication is he now on? Just wormed my puppy but now worrying about how effective it is. Maybe freeze the soup?!