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!

@Wagsandclaws

We've got a mini Goldendoodle, I don't know of any others around us! He's black bridle, 9 months old now.

It's interesting to read about the young ones. At the time I thought the biting and disturbed nights would never end but they seem so far away now!

@Lovelylurcher, I do remember days when I thought there must be actually something wrong with him, that he actually might just be EVIL.

Hang on in there, this too will pass. Tomorrow is another day....

Hiya @Lovelylurcher not the best morning here. Been up since 4.30 and feeling pretty miserable! Yesterday not too great here either - like you, several accidents in the house andanic behaviour. How is it going today so far?

*and manic behaviour

That's good to know @MuseumOfYou. Do you find he's calmer now too?

Just so bitey...my hands are scarred I think and my arms are bruised. He keeps on so much. I'm not at the point of crying at the moment as ds has some time off work so is able to help which makes a huge difference. He is 12 weeks, so still very little. Hoping another month and I'll see an improvement maybe?

Thanks @JudasHisCarrot. This morning hasn’t been the best for us either I have to say - she did a poo inside, the first since day one! Admittedly I don’t think DH was watching her closely enough, so hoping it’s a one off rather than a complete regression! Plus the usual mouthing mania. Saying that she did just go and sit in her little bed and fall asleep, so that’s something. Anyone else love their puppies most when they’re asleep?!

@MuseumOfYou - that’s so good to hear, there have been moments I’ve wondered if something is ‘wrong’ too and she’s overly aggressive! But I guess I’ve just got to hang on in there. Her mother was such a sweet calm dog which hopefully bodes well. Your dog is gorgeous by the way! Xx

@totallydevoidofideas - the biting is dementing isn’t it? And everything I read says ‘make a loud noise/give a different toy/ignore etc’ - this might work for a second but then she keeps coming back for more! I sometimes put her in crate for timeout if it gets too much. Also often the biting seems to tie in with tiredness, so she often falls asleep after a manic time...

@Lovelylurcher some days are def better than others. The biting is def the worst part for me at the moment. On Thurs I had so many scrapes on my arm that I had to cover my arms as I work in a psychiatric ward and I was worried patients would think I was self-harming. He is like a whirling mad savage at certain parts of the day- I have to take him for a 15 min walk at these points as he is destroying our clothes and skin. We have done the whole loud yipping, screaming, clapping too and it works the first three times then stops!

@MuseumOfYou that's so good to know. We are enjoying him apart from the biting so looking forward to it ending.

@totallydevoidofideas our pup is 12 weeks too.

This def reads like a postnatal newborn thread - all up at the crack of dawn asking if it will ever end!

@Lovelylurcher, yes it's the biting that is driving me really mad. My hands are her favourite things to play with and it's good to let a pup get used to your hands so I'm grooming him a bit, giving him treats when he does something good, playing with toys with him, but then he just bites - sometimes immediately, sometimes after quite a nice gentle time. I've watched and read so much about puppy biting that I think I'm probably a world authority now, but still the damn puppy gets me and hurts me. I think the answer is that it gets better, that's all you can hold onto and in the meantime you have all the other stuff to do. I am so grateful for this thread as it makes me feel less of a failure!

@MuseumOfYou I know, evil is how they seem sometimes!

My fitness tracker shows that I'm not doing many steps a day, but I'm active for about 18 hours! Usually it's the opposite.

@Peachypips78 we keep saying that it's like having a baby, only this time the baby can run fast and carries sharp weapons!

@Lovelylurcher God yes - he's the most wonderful puppy in the world when he's asleep

I really wouldn't worry about the poo inside - sounds very much like a one off. We've had a wee inside today already.

I'm sure we'll look back on this time and laugh hyperventilates

And yes, the CONSTANT FUCKING BITING. Considering getting his teeth removed ~only half joking~

Strikethrough fail

Constant fucking biting indeed

How long will it go on? I’ve heard that once adult teeth come through when they’re around 4 months it does calm down. Though lots of older dog owners have told me that age 6-12 months - when the pups are effectively teenagers - is also a nightmare! Not sure I can take a whole year of this ☹️

Glad it's not just us with the biting! Good grief, nothing seems to work once he's in a bitey mood apart from to stuff a toy in his mouth when he loosens his grip! His jaws are so strong! we say leave when he starts biting but may as well be talking to the wall!

4.30am start this morning, 5am yesterday, we definitely feel like parents of a newborn. Exactly like @muckandnettles says this one runs and carries sharp weapons!

I'm looking forward to puppy training starting tomorrow

I don't know how long it'll take . I feel guilty for wishing his life away but I can't wait for him to be grown up! Unfortunately the puppy stage is what you have to go through to get the lovely adult dog you want. Doesn't help us at the moment though obviously! But let's stay on here and support each other - we'll get through it

Yes, keep thinking about the lovely dog you want to end up with. I don't remember my last dog being this hard work, but I know she was, and she was such an amazing family pet. We just need to get through this stage to get to the fun bit. Hang in there everyone

@Rowdythree, I will keep thinking of what he will turn into, that's a good idea. Our last dog wasn't half as bright as this one and he was a lot easier to distract or calm down. This pup often seems one step ahead of me, but maybe I'm just moving a lot slower than usual because I'm so tired. If I go back to bed and someone else has him, I'm so aware of him barking and running around I can't sleep anyway.

Oh the bloody biting. I’m glad it’s not just me. My poor feet. She is such a sweet girl when she’s not acting like a crazed shark.

The biting is just annoying, he's only tiny so it doesn't hurt yet but it's a pain in the ass.

We're feeding Lily's Kitchen kibble, but switching to Butternut Box when this bag runs out. We've heard great things about it so decided to make the switch.

I keep focusing on the adult dog we'll have too. Dpup is really frustrating with toilet training, he will pee outside then as soon as we come inside he poos. Why dog why?!

How are we all doing? I’m knackered but not as full of puppy regret as I was yesterday thank goodness....

Quick question. Anyone know if it’s ok for a puppy to ‘socialise with’ another puppy before they’ve had their second set of injections? My friend thinks not, but I can’t see what diseases they’d pass to each other - I thought unvaccinated older dogs were the issue? Anyone know? X

@MuseumOfYou can I ask what area of the uk your pup is from?