Puppy survival thread! July 2020

[Juiceey]

Roll up roll up... I'm a day late but here we are.

Latest update: Juiceypup is obsessed with DS's feet, who is now starting to get upset by it. He doesn't do it to anyone else, only him, and we don't know why. DS goes stock still as instructed but we have to prise his mouth open to get him off his toe. Has brought him to tears a few times.

Oh god we gave DPup her first bull pizzle today whilst at a pub to keep her occupied. I know you all warned of the smell but nothing quite prepared me definitely not envy!

It’s like actual death isn’t it?! DH and I were gagging.

Yeah @GingerAndTheBiscuits. It was a bit whiffy in the bag then as she chewed it, it got worse and worse. I had to use a poo bag to pick it up when we were leaving as I didn't want to touch it

That’s exactly what I did. She kept trying to bring it up on the sofa and we were daring each other to flick it back onto the floor. Never, ever again

Never again for us either, I don’t care how much he liked it!

Yes, the fish skin chews they smell fishy, a bit like when you walk past the fishmongers or the chippy. But the smell doesn't linger too much. So far BonBon pup has eaten it all in one go over an hour, so no finding half chewed sticks behind the sofa!

@Imadreamer44 I'm just in awe that you managed to go to a pub with the pup. If you can't handle the bull pizzle so to speak, then I recommend the cow's ears as they aren't too stinky at all and if you just imagine it's a great big chewy crisp it's not so bad to watch either! The fishy stuff I don't mind so much as it's just a normal fish sort of smell, not a really 'off' fish smell.

To be fair @muckandnettles we were sat outside after a very long (by her standards) walk so she was easy to placate. We had a very quick pint, congratulated ourselves and left lol.

Would you let them eat fish skin in the house? Or is it too stinky

@BarrelOfOtters BonBon pup has hers in her crate. We give them to her for alone time whilst we shower in the morning or prep food in the evening. The smell is gone as she finishes them. If smell is an issue, the baked or heat dried ones smell less. They're just not as nutritious as the air dried ones. If you join the fish4dogs puppy club there's a sample of the fish skin jerky in the pack so you can give it a wiff without buying a pack

@PuppyBonBon which fish skin product is it that lasts your pup an hour? I'm always on the look out for long lasting chews...

I fell over the bloody dog this morning. In the hallway, heading out for a walk, he ran through my legs and in an effort to not stand on him I fell over and hurt my wrist on one hand and little finger on the other. Still hurt now. He's constantly around my ankles when I'm going from one room to another. But he's completely incapable of staying anywhere near my ankles when out on a walk. Why is that??

@OwlInAnOakTree ouch, that sounds painful! Hope there's no lasting damage. It's amazing there haven't been slips like that here, especially as dh likes to chuck ice cubes on the floor for Muckypup which he usually crunches for a while then discards to form a puddle. Pup has started to dig the lawn tonight, right outside where you see it as you look out. The garden looks shit anyway tbh, but it really doesn't need a hole in the lawn.

Ouch Owl, that sounds sore! I'm always tripping over the puppy, he's so clingy and a little shadow.

Today he was wide awake at 530 as DH left for work. I normally just get up, but today I brought him into bed with me, and he slept for another two hours. As much as ive been against him on our bed, the cuddles were just lovely!

We got our puppy sample pack today, so much stuff! He had some fish skin jerky, but I made the mistake of giving it to him in the hall and then had to sweep up tiny bits of fish scales. Didn't want that in my Hoover!

He did love it though.

Ouch Owl! I tripped over the dog coming back from a walk today and stood on her foot :( she sat down dangling her paw in the air pathetically and tried to bite my offending leg, which was fair enough really! She eventually decided that she wasn’t mortally wounded after a lot of petting and decided she’d cross the road and go home after all. Quite the drama queen.

She has taken herself off to another chair to sleep twice today instead of sitting right next to us when she sleeps, which is good. Let’s see how tonight goes 😬

I’m loving this thread and can’t wait to join properly next month when this boy comes home with us (golden on the right with the brown nose). Although this thread does scare me somewhat

I'm so glad you lot are going through this as well. I met someone today whose pup is now 18 months and she is just about to have another pup. I said you must be mad and she agreed. As she said, it's not really the pup you want, it's the dog at the end of it. Puppies are awful!

@m0therofdragons how gorgeous! Having said how awful puppies are, they melt your heart as well... Mine is a golden as well and is now huge, so be prepared! I want a grown up golden, this pup is a lot of trouble!

I’ve had 3dc under 3 including twins (now 12 and 9) so I like a challenge I’ve always said when it comes to the twins that it’s a good thing they’re cute because it balances out the infuriating bits. I’m imagining a puppy will be similar.

@muckandnettles how old is yours? Is he a cocker spaniel too?

@m0therofdragons ah, I misunderstood (blame the drink - I need it tonight) I have a golden retriever puppy, not a golden coloured spaniel. Same thing applies anyway, I'm sure! If you've coped with twins I'm sure a puppy will be fine!

@OwlInAnOakTree Skipper's wolf fish skin twists www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07VFMVSJY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_tw1eFbP395AC7
We're giving 1 a day, cut in half (30 min per half) although she got an extra one today as she has developed a near constant itch so the vets said to treat her for fleas, ticks and mites. So she's had her first frontline. Typically, she became super adorable, clingy and wanting cuddles whilst it was wet. So we threw her extra chews to bribe her into her x pen happily. Still not sure when we are ok to touch her again. It breaks my heart and I hate risking her health with these products.

@m0therOdDragons adorable! I had a blue roan cocker growing up who was lovely. I love spaniels. I did realize this evening that 10 week old BonBon pup is already the same size as my last dog was full grown (granted she was a small cocker!)

@muckandnettles haha dh vetoed a golden retriever as too big. We have a 4 bed detached house with a medium garden so I still think it would have been fine but we negotiated a cocker. I’m still stunned he agreed!

We have a 19 week old lab who makes light work of most chews. Weve found the best, long lasting (and relatively low odour) chews are bulls tails and ostrich bone. Both are available from JR products (we have a local natural chew company that get them direct). The ostrich bone is MASSIVE and can last weeks.

Haven't come across ostrich bones before. They look fab. Thanks for the tip @LBee2020.

Anyone have any tips for getting them to settle in the crate at night ? Atm I'm letting him fall asleep near us and then popping him in asleep which lasts about 40 ish minutes in the day and about 90 at night but any attempts to go straight back in the night after his wee was met with cries and headbutting the crate. Eventually ended up snoozing on the end of the sofa from 4 ish till my dd came down just before 7. Aware he's so tiny but also don't want him to get into bad habits and want to get back to my bed at some point in the near future!