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The doghouse

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Original poster

Puppy survival thread! June 2020

693 replies

Juiceey · 31/05/2020 11:37

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!

OP posts:
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Lovelylurcher · 16/06/2020 10:44

@OwlInAnOakTree - your pup sounds like mine with the being able to go overnight without needing to wee etc. On the times she has needed to go she's woken up and let us know about it. I absolutely wouldn't be waking her up in the night to go if she doesn't need to - you could be training her into something that, longterm, you don't want her to do! Grin

@muckandnettles - we had a crap evening yesterday too. Puppy growled at me and bit very hard. She's definitely seemed to up the ante with this over the past week - though I would say she seems calmer most of the time than she was, it's just that the bitey times are WORSE, if that makes sense. Remind me how old your pup is? Can you go for walks yet? Flowers

muckandnettles · 16/06/2020 11:49

@Lovelylurcher I know exactly what you mean! My pup is more cuddly when he wants to be, but then more wild at other times. He's 13 weeks so we can go on walks from this thursday though it's supposed to be only 15 minutes for this age, so that's quite limiting unless we go in the car and that's not always possible. Anyway, I'm feeling more optimistic about it today - mainly because he is asleep...

Original poster
Juiceey · 16/06/2020 15:17

@muckandnettles and everyone else struggling with the biting... it's horrible isn't it. Ours is only little (he's a mini poodle) so not too and yet but when he goes for me it really hurts. Sorry that you got ripped open, again, it must have been really upsetting for you.

I 'yelp' loudly and crossly say no, then leave the room when he does it.

OP posts:
muckandnettles · 16/06/2020 15:56

@Juiceey thank you! Today I've given no warnings, just stood up and walked in the other room as soon as he starts being bitey. I did it 3 or 4 times until he seemed to get it, but then he moved on to another member of the family!

OwlInAnOakTree · 16/06/2020 17:48

Our pup played frantically and non-stop in the garden with a friend's puppy for 90 this lunchtime. I wonder if that's why he's been So Much Calmer this afternoon...

OwlInAnOakTree · 16/06/2020 19:56

Sorry, me again, but oh my...yak chews... If you haven't got one, buy one now.

GingerAndTheBiscuits · 16/06/2020 23:55

Funnily enough I just got a free month of Tails food and they suggested adding Yakers to the order. Then I saw your post and decided it was fate! Got them cheaper on Pets at Home. Ready for pup arriving next week 😬

GherkinsOnToast · 17/06/2020 08:24

Can I join in? Our puppy comes home on the 27th! We've all been so excited, now I'm panicking! We were supposed to have moved into our new house by the time he arrived but but to plain stupidity errors by our seller it has been delayed until early July! So he's coming home and then moving in a few week, which isn't ideal as hoped to introduce him to the chickens etc. from day one.

muckandnettles · 17/06/2020 08:45

@OwlInAnOakTree thanks for the yak chew recommendation - just bought some. Anything that will occupy the little biter. At least they sound a lot less disgusting than the bully sticks!

OwlInAnOakTree · 17/06/2020 10:07

@muckandnettles he had a good 30 minutes with it last night. I'm waiting for bully sticks to arrive. Will compare and contrast when they do!

muckandnettles · 17/06/2020 10:42

@OwlInAnOakTree the worst thing about the bully sticks is the smell. See what you think!

marmite51 · 17/06/2020 11:12

We're five days in now, and all seems to be going well for our wee guy. He seems very calm and has slept well every night- last night from 12 until 7. He doesn't seem upset about his crate at all.

Most pees have been outside, but he seems to think our slate hearth in the living room is his personal toilet for poos. That's the only place he's soiled inside. We've sprayed it with odour neutraliser, but its not made any difference. He's now banned from being in there at all.

Peachypips78 · 17/06/2020 12:31

Went for a walk yesterday and as my OH walked behind me he said that I had blood trickling down the back of my leg. DPup had bitten me at some point and I'd got so used to being bitten I hadn't even noticed he'd broken the skin again. 😂 Unfortunately he can now get on the sofa so we can't escape any more! I'm going to buy some yak chews.

Had an off lead walk for the first time too this morning- went really well and was so great to see his little body flying ahead of me on the path. Recalled well. Felt a bit scary but we had worked hard in the garden with recall and I was certain he'd come back.

@muckandnettles I work in an acute psych unit and I was thinking exactly the same thing- that the clients would think I had been self-harming.

Our mini schnauzer has also grown loads- he's 14 weeks today and so much bigger, although he'll never be that big. I'm in love with him- it's like having the third baby I always wanted Smile

Imadreamer44 · 17/06/2020 12:35

We sat in the garden for 30mins this AM and yesterday and left pup in her pen. She cried the whole time :(
Pleeeease tell me it gets easier!
I also agree with PPs that now shes 10.5 weeks we arent getting as many bites but the ones we do get bloody hurt! Several cuts and bruises on our hands/forearms.

dontdisturbmenow · 17/06/2020 14:35

He's USELESS on walks! He either sits refusing to move
Haha, we have that. Quite often at the start of the walk! I pick him up and carry him until he sees another dog then wants to walk.....for over an hour! He too goes to everyone and every dog. People always comment on how cute he is, which is great but it does get tiresome. The usual walk that took us 45 mns pre dog now takes us 90 mns! It took about 2 weeks to get used to walking in pavements and avoiding the road and is now good 80% of the time at 15 weeks. He nowsits and wait until told to go 100% when crossing roads. We got him off the lead from the start where possible and fell be good unless there is too many people and dogs to go to and it gets harder to recall. If there's food, he goes into complete selective hearing!

And her new favourite thing is to dig up our flowerbeds
Oh yes! We resorted to having a minimalist garden this year! We've covered the rosebushes with rocks and that has done the tricks. The sunflowers have avoided the carnage. The geraniums too, but the rest is digging land! Sadly so is the lawn. We resorted to sprinkling black pepper which does the trick but other holes make appearances!

Peachypips78 · 17/06/2020 16:24

Can someone tell me which is the right Yak chew? There's loads on amazon and I'm not sure which to get.

OwlInAnOakTree · 17/06/2020 17:32

@Peachypips78, this is the one I got. I got a medium for my border collie pup.

Yak chew

Lovelylurcher · 17/06/2020 17:36

Re being useless on walks... I imagine we have this ahead of us!

Our pup only 11 weeks so can't walk her properly yet. Have been practising in the garden by harness and lead and giving her treats as encouragement to walk along. But every few seconds she'll go ahead and bite the lead and collapse trying to roll about with it Confused

I'm hoping that once we're outside she'll be more interested in what's around her than pissing about...anyone want to tell me that's always the case?! Grin

smilingthroughgrittedteeth · 17/06/2020 20:04

Can I join please?

Were picking up our cocker spaniel puppy on saturday, my mum is having one of his brothers so we will have 2 puppys in the family.

I grew up with dogs so know what to expect but am starting to get a bit nervous as to how im going to manage a puppy and 2, 3 and 5yr olds Shock this is a well thought out plan but when it was planned the children were at school fulltime and preschool 3 days a week Hmm we have a crate for him to escape to and a doggy toilet area in the garden which im hoping to train him to use. Worst case ill rehome the children Grin

dontdisturbmenow · 17/06/2020 20:04

@Lovelylurcher, we took our puppy on walks putting him on a pouch so he got used to being outside. By the time he was 12 weeks old, he was desperate to hit the ground!

There was a bit of messing about how you describe, but the smells and excitement of people and dogs made him forget about the lead!

We continued to take the pouch so we can go on long walks, he lets me know when he needs a rest and hops back for a few minutes until he is desperate to go again!

OwlInAnOakTree · 17/06/2020 20:37

@smilingthroughgrittedteeth I'm very tempted to rehome my DS7. He is definitely the most stressful part of having a puppy... Grin

Lovelylurcher · 18/06/2020 08:02

@dontdisturbmenow - thanks! Envy you with the pouch - our lurcher greyhound/collie so already a whopper. I think we’d struggle to carry her any significant distance....xx

muckandnettles · 18/06/2020 10:51

We have been taking our puppy on walks in a country park this week and have found a long line really invaluable - he can go off and sniff and whatever, but then comes back to us when called (incredibly, he does!) and if really necessary he can be hauled back by the line. So far we have done very little walking on the lead. Pre vaccinations we had a buggy to put him in which we were fortunate enough to borrow from a friend as I don't think it's worth buying one really unless you really need to walk a long way with them before you can let them off.

@smilingthroughgrittedteeth 3 dc plus a puppy! Glad you have a crate for the puppy and good luck for Saturday...

I just keep thinking 'It will get easier, it will get easier...' but I really want it to be soon. He's 13 weeks, so another month maybe? I went and sat down in the lounge last night for the first time in over a month, while he had a nap and honestly it was like this amazing luxury room I hadn't seen for years - I'm spending my time with the pup in the kitchen endlessly with all the hard surfaces! The football was on, but I happily watched it anyway, just happy to be on a sofa and with carpet. I hope pup will feel like that as well when he finally makes it in there.

smilingthroughgrittedteeth · 18/06/2020 11:46

@muckandnettles fortunately my partner is still not back at work so he will be around as well. We have a crate in the lounge, another upstairs and a bed in the kitchen which has a babygate to stop the kids getting in so the puppy has plenty of places to escape the children equally theres a gate on the playroom door so the kids have somewhere to escape to.

Peachypips78 · 18/06/2020 11:55

Thanks @OwlInAnOakTree.

@smilingthroughgrittedteeth it will be chaos but worth it. I am working three days a week in a hospital, my husband and I are home schooling two kids and we now have the puppy. My take is that life is so stressful that we may as well add a bit of extra stress while we are at it.

With walking, don't let them get away with messing around. My OH (has had lots of dogs) said to me that we are the boss of the walk not the dog and that they need a tug on the lead when they flop down or chew. I know that's not always easy though.

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