Puppy survival thread! June 2020

[Juiceey]

Hello, anyone around to join me?

We've got our first puppy, a miniature poodle, yesterday. So far so good apart from the incessant humping!

He's VERY bitey, which doesn't hurt yet but no doubt will soon. He's massively attached to DW already and cries if she leaves the room. He loves DS but I think he played with him too much yesterday and overtired him, hence the humping?!

Crate training isn't easy and he cried for half an hour last night but then slept through til 5. Which is horribly early but I was ready for that!

It didn’t make the slightest bit of difference wether we sat next to the crate, laid next to it, slept next to it, slept on sofa, covered crate, uncovered crate, left to cry...

@Juiceey you have my sympathy - my pup is with me pretty much all day long but seems to really adore ds (24) and looks up to him and dh more than me. When they leave the room he really whines and sits by the door like he's heartbroken. I get the worst of the biting generally, though I have to say he has stopped humping me at the moment which is a big plus. It's just really really hard going and because I have a couple of really sore patches on my hands from bites I'm a bit nervous of him catching me again in the same spots.

Also, I can't moan too much about the pup because he was my idea!

Oh @juiceey, that sounds really tough, we also took down the crate yesterday as we couldn't get our pup to settle in it.

With regard to chewing the tv cabinet, I havent tried it but my friend put mustard on the furniture her pup was interested in and the horrible taste stopped him from chewing. It might be worth a try

Oh @Juiceey, sorry for your shit day. Can you take some time out - go have a bath, read a book for an hour, pour a large g&t?!

He will not be like this forever. And if he’s ever seeming really out of control I’d say there’s no harm in just putting him in the crate for 10 minutes and just going somewhere you can’t hear him, just so you can take a breath!

@Juiceey Sorry to hear about your awful time today. It’s so horrible when you’ve tried everything, you’re tired and the damn puppy is still a complete nightmare. We’ve had some success with bitter apple spray on things we don’t want pup to chew. He definitely steers clear when we spray it but you do need to top it up.

Well I've been in tears tnight, my pup jumped up on my back and grabbed my hair, it really bloody hurt. He seemed to be full of energy so I took him in the garden to play, but he just kept jumping up and either humping me or biting me. In the end i had to just put him in his pen and ignore him. I didn't want it to be a place for punishment but i needed to be away from him

We’ve had a fairly calm evening here thanks to a bull pizzle which acted on my puppy like it was catnip. Still got off a few nips but we managed to actually watch tv for the first time in a while.

My pup is obsessed with my hair so I never have it down around him now. And I try not to lie on the ground because he just grabs and pulls. Ouch.

My hair was in a bun, which he just grabbed hold of and wouldn't let go! the shock just made me burst into tears... Here's to a better day tomorrow

@Rowdythree you poor thing - that sounds so painful. My pup just bites hands though he does love ds's beard which is very cute when he chews on it but I worry about a proper bite at some point. They are learning, that's the problem and when you get in the way of a proper bite you really know it. It's also that horrible feeling of being hurt by a little creature you love, isn't it?

@thecapitalsunited a bull pizzle you say? Where would you get one of those? Or are you in the US? The US dog trainers I follow seem to use them but I've never seen them in the UK. I need as many ideas as possible for settling our pup. I have 4 Kongs of different sorts but it's difficult to find the time sometimes to fiddle around stuffing them for him. I usually freeze them so they keep but then that makes it more difficult for him and he wanders off. I also have a lickimat which he loves but again it's not always easy to prepare it - my freezer doesn't have much space!

We have had a mixed few days. The biting is still just as bad but can be redirected onto carrots/toys and helped with time in his crate. We are getting into a reliable routine with toileting and sleep which is awesome.

The barking is doing my nut in though, this morning I actually used the crate as a time out for excessive barking. He looked really surprised as that's when he usually has breakfast, so sat there looking puzzled and was completely silent trying to figure out what was going on. So I leapt on that and made a huge fuss and he has been less barky since.

Keeps humping the DCs which isn't ideal .... have told them they need to be assertive and tell him to get down or send him to his bed rather than me keep having to step in so will see if that helps.

It's been so rainy here the last few days. Making toilet training a barrel of laughs. He sodded off into a neighbours garden yesterday and came back with a half decayed dead bird which I had to wrestle off the furry bastard. And he has realised he can squeeze round the gate and get onto the lane. We have started whistle training for recall because I'm not playing chase the Dickhead again. So far seems to be 100% effective at making him come flying back. I've also put cheese and chicken strips in all my coat pockets 😂.

Sorry to hear about some of the shitty days everyone's having. I just keep thinking that it will get better, we just have to hang on in there.

for everyone having a tough time.

These dogs had BETTER be worth it!

@mucksandnettles I got the first one from Nutriment which is a local raw food store. That one had been worn down to a nubbin so I got some more from Amazon but I’ve also seen them stocked on Fetch which is Ocado’s pet store. Make sure you which ever you get is made in Europe or the US not in China. My littermate chat group say that pigs ears are also highly enjoyed.

He was like this for a good half an hour until I took the pizzle away. Just chilled on the floor chewing with no need for either of us to be on the floor with him. Normally one of us has to be actively playing with him and at that time of night he would be zooming around, jumping up at everything and biting harder and harder. I took it away because I don’t want him eating too much of it. I try not to give too many treat foods.

I'm just braced for the long game. Everyone keeps telling me that at about 4/5 months they're lovely for a bit and then at about 10 months they become teenage dickheads. I've been told when they are 2 they are finally nice dogs (for spaniels anyway, I'm not sure if it's a universal dog thing? I did read that the teenage bit varies in length from breed to breed?).
Maybe I just have mean friends who are trying to scare me?!

I'm wondering if my pup is starting teething, he seems a bit out of sorts and he hasn't eaten his breakfast this morning.

He was bitey again this morning so I took him in a long walk to tire him out and he's just lying down feeling a bit sorry for himself.

Also I think I've pulled a muscle in my chest from picking the huge hound up! Which is not helping

My pup refused to go on her walk today. I drove to the nature reserve we go to every day, got my wellies on, got her out of the car and nope. She did not want her pampered feet to touch the wet ground. 😭

This could mean it in for a day of zoomies. 😬

@thecapitalsunited thank you for that, I will go on the search for a pizzle or an ear. Vegetarians must find this very hard going, I think!

@ShadowsInTheDarkness I have heard the same about the dreadful teenage phase where you have to revise all the training you've done. Mind you, I'm not getting very far with training at the moment anyway as I'm just tired and can't focus on it. I'm trying to do the Total Recall whistle training but keep missing all the 'opportunities' to blow the damn whistle when I should...and pup likes the look of the whistle now so wants to go for it if it's dangling round my neck. Cheese and chicken strips sound good for treats - just need to get organised!

Good tip re bulls pizzle- anything to stop the biting! We have a stair gate in between our kitchen and utility room so I put him in there if he is in a bitey mad mood.

I have to be very on it with my face as he sometimes lunges at it for a bite and I'm concerned he's going to injure me properly !!

I've just found bull pizzles on Amazon. Tempted to buy a couple of ears there as well but just felt a bit squeamish!

I've also just put bull's pizzles in my amazon basket. And some of spray. Thanks for recommending.

I've just been and bought a kong which pup is enjoying in his pen! When he gets bitey and manic this is going to be my distraction tactic!

Antler horn (also on amazon) is great for chewing (and perhaps a little less squeamish-making than bull's pizzle!)

I’m struggling to get my pup interested in kongs but he does enjoy it when he brings himself to engage. He’s not that fond of kibble - we mostly feed raw - so its probably not tasty enough.

Hi All
Can I join in?
Got a male Cavachon 27th May so he's now 12 weeks old. He's called Marley.
I've just found this thread and have been laughing and crying along with you all in equal measure.
One minute he's adorable and the next I want to send him back.
Feeding and toilet training going well. Just one wee accident in the house per day now. He's found his corner in the garden which is great. Has never used the puppy pads unless he grabs them and runs away.
Sleeping in his crate at night from 11 through to 6am. Whined when downstairs on his own so went into daughters room. Now he's on the landing as we start to transition to downstairs. Have realised we are not leaving him alone very often as I'm wfh so plan to go out with out him every day now so he gets used to it.
Yesterday we discovered he prefers cheese as a trading treat. He's going to be a little fat puppy.
When he's bitey I distract him with an antler or a peanut butter lickey mat.
Zoomies at night are hilarious and he runs in and out the house, which is not so great with the wet weather but I'm trying hard to ignore the state of the floor.
It'll all be worth it !!

Meet Marley