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

Helenluvsrob, no advice to offer, but our pup is also 21 weeks old and has started to really pester us when we are eating. Has also been jumping up at people a lot more lately. He ran and jumped at a person walking with their dog the other day after he managed to give me the slip on his long line! Jumps up at at me when I’m washing up, tidying etc. I ignore him but it makes no difference.

When we were eating I would usually give the dog something the distract her. When she was a older I would feed her while we were eating. However it was summer and the kitchen/diner opened onto the garden so she could take herself off out for a wee after she had eaten.

I would give her her antler or a kong. Then we would ignore her. If she behaved well she would get a treat as soon as we got up from the table.

I got divorced and moved to a smaller home. At first she would go in the crate as we have no dinning room. But now she is 3, she just sits down on the floor sometimes gives it a try, but a firm 'no' and she wanders off again.

Its really hard cause I dont know if we were just lucky or did it right.

I do remember her trying to pull a feta and so can pie off the table and when she got old enough to get on the chair at the table she would the eat the kids left over ceral if they didnt put their bowl in the sink.

I think they do start to jump at people etc when they get older. Mine certainly did. We just tried to keep reinforcing the no jumping no fussing rule.

We never fed ours from the table. Any leftovers that we could give him were kept to the side and fed away later on. He now associates us eating with boring time and takes himself off into the garden for a sniff. We do sometimes get a 'bump' from him under the table if we are eating chicken or sausage as if to say I know what you have up there

How are your puppies at settling themselves?
We’re 12 weeks now and still not mastered it.
She can sleep on us
And after a bit of whimpering and circling she will sleep in the car

She also goes to bed herself at night no problem

But during the day she only seems to be able to nap on us.
I’m really forcing her to nap in her crate more.

I let her get sleepy then pop her in the crate and stroke her
Or I’ve also tried just sitting there and ignoring her
Or just popping her in the pen (Crates in the pen) with no toys and just a chew when she’s due a nap

But it takes about another hour to get her to sleep
Though if she was on me it would take 10 seconds

I think it’s making her really struggle to be by herself as well because she can’t just settle and have a snooze like I imagine other puppies do

Ours is ok at settling, he’s 15 weeks now and at 12 weeks was napping on us but I started putting him in his pen when he was asleep or almost asleep and it did click. Sounds like you’re doing the right things.

I’ve had a total breakdown this morning. 5 weeks into puppy life and I’m so overwhelmed. I don’t think Xmas is helping.

Spoke to the lady who runs the training class he’ll be going to re.the growling/barking at cars etc. She was really lovely and had lots of advice but listening to advice and putting it into practice are 2 very different things.

I don’t understand how you see all these people with well behaved dogs. We had a rescue dog who for 5 years had been passed from pillar to post, no issues what so ever and yet our I feel like I’m making an absolute mess of looking after our pup. Do they all start out so awful?! I’m just worried I’m not up to the job.

We’re meant to be going to the in laws for Boxing Day. I had visions of pup playing with all the children, a little after dinner walk etc. the reality is a hyper, mouthing puppy who will terrorise the kids and bark and growl at everything on the walk. I’ve cancelled the whole thing. I’ve said we’ll leave him here for an hour (which he’s fine he’s to do) we’ll come and eat and then come home and I’ll walk him 5 mins up the road whilst trying to put all the training tips into practice. Just feels like a total fuck up 😞

Mine settles really well by himself (11 weeks old on Monday). He actually doesn’t sleep on us. He occasionally sleeps next to us on the sofa or footstool but prefers to sleep without being touched. I don’t think it’s anything we’ve done in particular, I think we’ve just been very lucky in that respect, @Spotty528

We’ve deliberately scaled back Christmas and New Year this year. The house is usually really busy at Christmas but he’s already been super giddy at DS2 coming home so we’ve toned it down. I would like him to be bomb proof in later years but I don’t want to overwhelm him when he’s still only a few months old and settling in to a routine.

I see the well behaved dogs everywhere and worry about the same thing, @Spotty528 then I talk to other dog owners and read dog threads on here and it makes me realise that puppies are all the same but they seem to eventually grow out of it if you follow the basics and remain consistent. Take heart

Thankyou Death, I really appreciate the kind words, they mean a lot.

I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing or not with keeping him at home. I really do want him to become a welcome member of the family and I suppose I’ve got to give him the opportunity to learn.

I think this thread is a bloody godsend when you’re having a “What the actual FUCK have I done?” moment, @Spotty528

Sorry, the settling bit was for @Snufflesdog, I tagged incorrectly.

Definitely! And I daren’t say any of this in real life, who the hell can’t cope with a puppy?! DH knows how I’m feeling but no one else, they all coo over pup and I nod and smile along!

I think lots of people feel the same way we do, it’s just a bit of a taboo to talk about it, it seems. They either don’t talk about it because, a bit like labour, once it’s over you forget about how truly effing grim it was. Or given that the UK is such a pet loving country, I think people worry that they’ll be thought of as heartless monsters if they voice any ‘my cute little baby animal is a total arsehole’ type thoughts.

I’m sure you’re right, it does leave you feeling like everyone else has perfect puppies doesn’t it. I do remember the days after DS was born and I’d happily have put him back in given the chance! In fact for the first 18 months I wondered why on earth we ever wanted to have a baby in the first place!

Can I join? Our pup is 9 weeks old and been with us about 4 hours! So far so good, all but 1 wee outside and currently asleep in her crate. I’m under no illusions that this won’t last But we lover her and she’s a fab little pup

Yep, @Spotty528

Welcome @OrchidFlakes . What breed is she?

She’s a miniature labradoodle - total fluff ball

I think the problem in RL is you get people that forget what an arse their puppy was or was just lucky and had an easy time.

At the other end of the scale when you look online there are lots of puppies and young dogs that are advertised as 'circumstances have changed' which for me is code for a puppy or adolescent dog is more hard work than I wanted.

If you saw BiteyDog outside you would think what a great dog with perfect recall. But he was an absolute bastard for months running off (I posted lots on previous puppy survival threads at that time as it was awful). He isn't perfect now but a million miles away from the terror he was when young. never getting a puppy again though

Agreed, I’m definitely never getting a puppy again although I suppose it depends on how good things turn out but at the minute I can’t even imagine a dream dog being worth all this. Gosh I sound awful! Poor pup, he is lovely and he is very much loved I’m just faking it at the minute! We do take great care of him though and we’re all 100% committed to him.

Congratulations Orchid on your new arrival!

We had puppy class yday and they gave us an aggression ladder
Growling and barking is one step below biting
They said hopefully we ‘never’ get up that high on the aggression ladder, and ideally never get on the ladder at all (step one is locking nose, avoiding eye contact etc)

So that’s good to know for my darling pup who goes straight in as step one growling. We are working our way down the ladder and she’s getting better and less reactive
But it just made me feel terrible that we’re doing our best but day one out the house and our dog was supposedly already in ‘red zone’ according to them.

They’ve also suggested strokes and fuss instead of always treats. I snorted out loud at the thought of trying to give puppy a stroke instead of a treat and expecting her to think that was a reward.

Snuffles-what are you doing to get off the ladder cause we’ve jumped straight up to that growling/barking rung too!

We’ve been advised to arrange side my side walks with bomb proof dogs (I don’t know anyone to ask so we’ve got to wait until jan for an organised walk) and then a treat for any non reactive behaviour around dogs/humans/the wind blowing 🤦🏼‍♀️ Oh and the advice for pulling like a train was a longer lead and keep it slack 🙄 he just pulls to the length of the longer lead!

Well I’ve been treating any non reactive behaviour
Or at least lower level reactions
And trying to work down. Most of the time now we get avoidance / tail between legs and moments of just playing instead when it comes to other dogs
And some occasions of no reactions
Which I thought was an amazing jump from barking and growling every single time

But apparently no, I should be pre empting all these situations and distracting her before they happen at all, so that we don’t risk any reaction at all.

Felt like a terrible owner anyway, everyone else seemed like they were miles ahead of us.

Our rescue pup is home!

Snufflesdog, try not to worry. Every puppy is different, and they all have their own issues/quirks. My puppy loves everyone and everything. This sounds great, but he really pisses adult dogs off with his explosive enthusiasm. He pulls like a train when he sees a potential buddy. I worry that he will get hurt one day because he doesn’t seem to take any notice when they growl at him.

When he was little he growled at me a few times. It was when I tried to physically move him off the bed, stairs or sofa. I was really worried he was going to be an aggressive dog, but it was a case of poor communication on my behalf. I now use commands and try not to physically move him. It’s a case of doing your best to make them feel comfortable with a situation. You will get there in the end.

Welcome to the den @OrchidFlakes and @Scarsthelot. Your pup is a cutie, Scars.

God mine is a pain tonight. Dd2 who she's obsessed with, has been in the kitchen colouring and chatting to her mate on face time and the pup just can't settle despite being really tired. She sits with me in lounge for a few ins then gets back up and wanders back out to dd. Dh has been on lates over the weekend and dd1 is at her boyfriends so it's been a long long Weeknd on poo watch. I'll actually be so relieved to go to work in the same way as it was when the kids were babies. To actually have a wee or a meal in peace.

Sorry you’ve had a toughie, *@Ledkr. How is she today?

She was better today. I was at work so had a break and the kids wore her out so she was back to her snoozy self tonight.
I have to say I'm not looking forward to having to get up.early over the hols. We normally sleep really late over Xmas. I've told the kids they need to take turns.

Hurrah to her being less manic, @Ledkr.

Good plan re getting the kids involved. Mine are older but I’ve got zero chance of that, so DH & I take it in turns to have a ‘lie in’ (9am rather than 7:30). We’re still doing two nightly wakes (1:30 & 5:30), he does one, I do the other. Whoever does the 5:30 gets the lie in, so we alternate. It works for us.

We plan to move his nightly wees back, as he often doesn’t want to get out of bed when we get up to take him out, even though he does actually do a wee (often a poo too). So he definitely does still need to go out at night, just perhaps not as frequently. Hopefully we can knock it down to one waking overnight. Plan to do it after Christmas, as his routine is disturbed enough as it is.

I’ve also been playing firework sounds through the Alexa to prepare him for New Year. He was born early Oct, so was around for Bonfire Night but was bred by a breeder in the arse-end of nowhere, so I don’t know if he heard fireworks. Trying to negate any fear by playing short bursts of firework sounds as background noise whilst I’m busy and we’re together in the kitchen.

Merry Christmas Team Puppy Support