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

[ClownsandCowboys]

Here is our lady having her microchip, first jab and final checks at the vet with the breeder. We pick her up tomorrow!

[Twinmama32]

Help!
My 16 week puppy has randomly started waking at 5am and refusing to go back into his crate and barking like a lunatic, it’s horrible!
Don’t know what’s happened or why?!
Up until now he’s done 11-7 why has this changed, do they regress?
I’m on my knees with exhaustion as my son has also been waking me from 2-3 so I’ve barely slept!
Does anyone have any advice?
Could it be his crate is now too small?

[Girliefriendlikescake]

How old is your puppy yodl? Our puppy woke at 5am from when we got him at 8 weeks until about 13 weeks as he needed the toilet then. He was in a crate though.

Clown so cute!

Twin has anything else changed routine wise? Does he need the toilet at that time?

[yodl]

@Girliefriendlikescake, he is 12 weeks.
I´m not sure if he wakes up because he needs the toilet or he wakes up because our neighbour leaves for work between 5 and 6 AM. But he sure does his business indoors right after waking up so in the end there´s no difference.
Except that if he wakes up because of our neighbour I´m afraid he´ll never sleep normally...

[TokyoSushi]

This weather is not good puppy weather 🙄 just cleaned up my approx 9th wee off the kitchen floor as he refuses to go outside, FFS

[SunnyUpNorth]

Mine has started waking early and refusing to go back to sleep. Anywhere from 5.30 🙄
I was supposed to see the trainer yesterday for a 1-2-1 and was going to ask her about it but she cancelled. So I asked her quickly on the phone. She said it could be that now they’re getting a bit older and confident, settled in our homes etc they’re testing boundaries and pushing their luck a bit to see what they can get away with.

If mine has slept through but wakes early I take him out for a wee but then put him back in his crate and he barks and howls. Annoyingly if he hasn’t done an evening poo he tends to wake in the night for a poo but still wakes early but then doesn’t need a wee even if I take him out. She said as long as it isn’t disturbing anyone (other than me!) to leave him til the time I am happy with, say 6.30, and gradually make it later.

Re the nipping - the trainer we did puppy classes with said to spray them with the stuff you spray on furniture to stop them chewing it. So decent some into a little spray bottle you can keep on you, then when they nip your ankles spray them in the face! Usually only need to do it a couple of times. The trainer I’m supposed to have the 1-2-1 with says to fill a small bottle E.g. a fruit shoot bottle with little pebbles and shake it when they do something you don’t like such as barking/jumping up/nipping. They hate the sound and it corrects them.

[Twinmama32]

Girliefriendlikescake no nothing has changed routine wise, he’s does go for a wee as we take him straight out, however not sure it’s the reason for waking!
I think he’s had a growth spurt and I’m wondering if I need to go up to the next size crate as he is perhaps not as comfortable and maybe that’s waking him.
What I can’t work out if that’s why he’s barking when he goes back in.
Since we’ve had him he’s gone 11-6/7 so now this is like going backwards!!

[ClownsandCowboys]

We collect her tomorrow and suddenly I'm terrified! How we'll cope, manage everything. We both work, but will be combining working from home and leave for a while. Then looking at daycare or dog walker.

Anyone else suddenly feel scared before they got their puppy?

[Snoopdogowner]

@clownsandcowboys yes definitely. Nearly told my OH let's not do it! Nervous tummy for sure

[Girliefriendlikescake]

Def had a last min panic clowns I can remember looking round my nice, fairly straight house thinking 'why are we doing this to ourselves?!' the night before getting him!!

I will say that despite the stress, the anxiety, the tiredness and the inconvenience I don't have any regrets. We've been extremely lucky with our puppy as he is what I wanted, he is so friendly with people and other dogs (def worth all the early socialisation we did!) He's eager to please and therefore not been too bad to train (housetraining is a work in progress but we are slowly getting there!)

But mostly he has been brilliant for dd and I, we are joint puppy parents and he is something we both have in common and love. With dd being a teenager we needed something to help us communicate and get dd off her phone!!

It's very similar to having a baby except that all the phases go much quicker!!

[ClownsandCowboys]

She's home! She was a bit panty in the car, but it is an hour's drive.

We took her out straight away, she did a wee. A bit later she pawed the back door to go out and did a poo! Lulling us into a false sense of security I'm sure!

She's very chilled out and curre rly snoozing between the dc on the sofa.

[Bayby]

I’m struggling a bit. She’s not really bitey, sleeps a lot, goes out in the garden and does wees and poos. She’s beautiful.

She’s growled at me twice today. I know that’s ok, she was just letting me know she didn’t like me touching her but I didn’t really factor in that being a problem. My boy never growled at me and he would always come and sit with me whereas she prefers to sleep over the other side of the room. She’s very standoffish and unaffectionate. I’m just a bit upset really and not sure how to build a bond with her when she doesn’t even like being with me.

[BiteyShark]

I’m just a bit upset really and not sure how to build a bond with her when she doesn’t even like being with me.

I found that it just seemed relentless at the beginning when you get told you must being doing all these things (socialisation, training etc) that I forgot to actually do 'fun' things together.

Maybe just sit on the floor with her as lots of puppies can't resist climbing all over you. Find a toy and play with it yourself and see if she joins in. Mimic a play bow (my dog used to go crazy with excitement when I did that) and have a noisy toy as hand to engage her with.

[ClownsandCowboys]

You will build a bond, they all have their own personalities and like humans, some like more space than others. We have 3 cats (we're mad!) and they all show us affection differently.

What I have learned from raising very timid cats, is that if you respect their boundaries and just hang out enough around them, with no pressure they will come to you when they are ready.

Clownpup did well in her first night, I had to sit with arm in crate until she settled, but she slept well. Woke at 1am and 4am for the toilet, no mess in crate and then up at 6am (she would have gone back to sleep but dc were up)

[Bayby]

I hope so. I suppose I just feel really flat that she felt she had to growl at me. I had this amazing instant bond with my boy and I’m worried I won’t have that again. I’ve spent all my time on the floor with her, we’ve played, she’s had treats. It just feels like harder work for her to bond with me.

[Girliefriendlikescake]

Bayby it's really early days and you're going to have mixed emotions after what happened with your other puppy. Give her some time, she's probably feeling all muddled as well after leaving her mum and litter mates. Have you booked in a vet appointment just to rule out any physical reason for her feeling grumpy? Just for your peace of mind more than anything!

[Bayby]

Next week for the vets, she seems well, eats, plays, wees and poops all fine.

Guess it’s just me. I wanted her so much, and still do. I’m just really worried I’ve committed to years with a dog that I won’t have a bond with.

I’m giving her space at the moment.

[ClownsandCowboys]

In some ways though I find my bond with my previously timid cat much more rewarding, because it wasn't instant. You will be all over the place because of what happened to your boy, she might pick up on that.

[Bayby]

Sadly I think we be returning her to the breeders. She snarled and snapped at my face when I carried her in from the garden. Our family is not set up for dealing with whatever is causing this right now. Maybe we were spoilt but my boy fitted in right away and never showed a hint of a growl or snarl. I know I shouldn’t compare them but I have all the time in the world for training obedience, but I have no idea where to start if even picking her up to come in from the garden is going to potentially result in snarling. She’s just not the right fit for my family and so sadly I think I will have to ask them to take her back and find her a more suitable home.

[ClownsandCowboys]

Could she be in pain? That's quite a common reaction for dogs when in pain.

[Ridusofyourstupidity]

I honestly can’t see how. She’s doing everything normally, no signs of pain or anything being physically wrong and I had been carrying her for 10 seconds or more before she snarled, so not a shock reaction. She’s not allowed to go up/down steps so a lot of carrying her is going to be needed. She growled at my partner too when he had to take something away from her last night. It just seems a lot in a short space of time and I don’t feel as a family we’re equipped to handle whatever the cause of it is (ruling out anything medical).

[Ridusofyourstupidity]

Sorry, I name changed!

[Girliefriendlikescake]

I would do a vet check first, it might be joint, hip pain? She is a larger breed I think? But yes I wouldn't keep a dog who was already showing signs of aggression when so young 😕

Such a shame for you all.

We've been into town with dpup and he did really well, walked on the lead fine and coped well with all the people, traffic etc. He was a bugger when we got home though, zoomies set in and he went mad barking at the poor cat. We've put him in the crate for enforced rest and he moaned for about 10 mins then passed out asleep!!

[BiteyShark]

I think most dogs don't like being picked up. They may tolerate it but it's why they say try and lure them in with toys or treats rather than picking them up.

Bayby would getting in a 1-1 trainer help as then they can give you a plan for training based on how you and pup interact together?

[Ridusofyourstupidity]

I feel absolutely wretched. We’ve doted on her since we got her and we so want a dog and feel we’d be great owners, but I just wasn’t prepared for this. She can’t be happy if she feels that threatened she had to warn us off. I honestly cannot think of what we’ve done to make her feel so unsettled. 😔 we’ve fussed her, started gentle training with treats, given her space to take herself off to nap. I don’t want to give up on her but she’s going to get big quick and I really don’t feel equipped to deal with this on top of normal training. I just wanted to give the love I felt for my boy to another puppy.