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

No biting now except a bad habit snatching balls ,at one year

"Bitey" thankyou, forest pup is a rescue and no idea of his breed but he definitely looks like a little yellow lab, more working type looking than show. I think hes going to end up looking like a little mini labrador

For me getting a puppy is def a once in a lifetime event!! If our puppy lives a good 15 years, dd will be grown up and in I'm assuming off doing her own thing. I'll be mid 50s and free for the first time since my 20s 🙃

Not saying I wouldn't get another dog, I probably would but I'd probably go for an older rescue next time.

I'm glad we've done it the way we have this time and I've enjoyed having a young puppy but flipping heck it's been a lot of work! And to be fair my puppy has been a lot easier than some of the other puppies on this thread!! Feels like it's finally getting easier now he's 6 months and we can properly enjoy him.

I’m really struggling with our puppy at the moment. All she’s doing is biting me and growling at me. Every time I put her away she’s screaming. I’m at my wits end and just don’t know what to do. We have got puppy classes booked and her first one is on Wednesday. I’m honestly at the point of not keeping her.

Hang in there everybody, it's really really hard, but unlike a baby, it's over much quicker!

Tokyopup was a bitey nightmare but at 20 weeks has really settled down, still fond of a wee on the doormat though 🙄

How old is yours, @CockerShark?

Tokyo, that is good to know.

CockerShark presumably by your name you have a cocker? I used to called BiteyDog a cockerdile as he used to do the crocodile snapping when worked up.

Assuming your MN name is right for your breed is she working or show? I ask because we didn't have much luck with puppy classes and I was at my wits end until I went to a gun dog trainer who totally understood what drove him.

Girliefriendlikespuppies I am in exactly the position you describe of yourself in 15 years time! And what do we have, a puppy!
Forgot what it was like 20 years ago. And really when children were small we were restricted anyway.
It has probably been worse this time as for a few months all the freedom went completely.
Don’t hold your breath that you won’t get one again

She is a cocker, show line apparently but I’m not so sure. It’s so hard at the moment, I don’t know what to do for the best.

CockerShark nothing worked for us with the biting except timeouts (crate or behind baby gate). I found the puppy months awful hence why I jump in on these type of threads to say it can be shit but it does get better because all I ever heard in RL was that people found the puppy stage wonderful which doesn't help when you are overwhelmed, tired, stressed, being bitten and not bonded with your pup. BiteyDog is three now and I love him so much but I still think he was a little shit as a puppy

I wasted money on group classes and it was only when I paid for 1-1 sessions with gun dog trainers and later 1-1 sessions with good general trainers that adjusted their guidance based on my puppies personality did it click. Just mentioning this because if you come away from puppy classes feeling downhearted (not uncommon having seen other threads) I would recommend that route (mine was not food motivated one little bit so the classes were just a nightmare with me trying to get his attention and failing).

@BiteyShark that’s reassuring to hear. We’ll give the group puppy classes a go for socialisation and then go from there. I do know a trainer that does scent work and gun dog training so that’s an option when she’s bigger. This puppy stage is making me miserable at the moment!

Scentwork for a cocker is really good to exercise their noses. I wish we had done it earlier as BiteyDog loves it.

The only good thing I think with the puppy stage is that it does pass quickly even if it doesn't feel it at the time.

@cockershark I have a springer and she was very similar (must be a spaniel thing!). I can honestly say this week is the first time I've actually enjoyed her - we are about 18 weeks now (I think, lost count.) I also remember reading this thread was she was 9 weeks old and seeing other people saying it gets better at 18/20 weeks and think I would never make it to there. But I have, so hang in there!

Can I ask what your pup's are eating please.
I have been using what the breeder was which was pedigree chin puppy wet food mixed with dry but I want to change to a decent one now and have no clue where to start.
She's 4 months now and still small as is a small mixed breed. She does stinky farts so I wondered about wheat free and what is raw feeding ?

Chum not chin 😜

Have you looked at allaboutdogfood.co.uk to compare quality with price? You can filter based on type e.g. wheat free, raw etc.

Oh and pedigree chum gets a very low rating on that site.

Thanks bitey.
Yes I will do that.
What is raw? I assumed it was actual raw meat but then saw it as a dried version

Haven't ever fed raw but there are companies that provide raw complete meals so you don't have to worry about getting the quantities right for your growing puppy. I think you can freeze them and just defrost what you need but hopefully someone who has done that can advise.

Mine is on Barking Heads large breed puppy dry. The breeder was feeding him it and I’m happy to keep him on it as it is a good quality food .

I’d move yours off chum ASAP, @Ledkr, if I were you. It isn’t great. Most of the supermarket foods are poor quality (low meat content, lots of fillers).

We mix between millies wolf heart and barking heads
Sometimes w bit of Lilly’s kitchen or barking heads wet food
She’s not super food motivated and has no interest in any of them really
So don’t know if that’s a good review...

Would definitely leave pedigree behind asap though

BiteyFuck is a cocker too and you can tell by his name that we had/have the same problem. If I yelped he got excited and bit more, if I turned my back he bit my legs, if I took him outside he ran in circles snapping and launching himself teeth-first at me. I used to tie him to the washing line so I could walk away from him for a time-out! Time-outs did work, and having a range of new toys to attract his attention, but as he lost his baby teeth he improved and at nearly 6 months he is much better. He still bites when he gets tired or overexcited but not as much and I can stop him by getting him to do tricks for food.

Oh, and if you know anyone else with a goodnatured dog then beg them to come and play with the puppy - they get told off by other dogs so start to learn boundaries and playing with the dog will wear them out.

Our pup is now 19 weeks old and the biting has really calmed down. Only does it when really tired and stops when we tell him to. He used to be a nightmare. If I turned my back to ignore him, he would jump up to bite me. He was really bad with my husband. The dog would bite him all the time. To the point I thought they wouldn’t bond. They are the best of buddies now 😂
I’m having problems at the moment with our pup pulling on the lead. Thought we were making progress, but it has got worse the last few days. He pulls like he hasn’t been out of the house for days and lunges excitedly at other dogs. Tried standing still when he pulls and rewarding him if he looks up at me. Don’t know where I’m going wrong. Everyone I meet tell me cockapoos are bonkers and don’t calm down until they’re three. I swear owners get perverse pleasure out of telling me this with their now calm adult dog sat at their feet 🙄 Perhaps this will be me in a few years 😂
I’m hoping we can now put the gross roundworm incident behind us. The vet practice admitted they sold me the wrong wormer dose for him! I now have to reworm him again in 2 weeks time and then back to every 4 weeks.