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.

@Coffeewithmyoxyg3n 3.5 weeks on and we are still on the sofa with our crate-hater. Others have set up camp next to the crate and gradually (or suddenly!) moved away. Or try the crate in your room, he may settle with you nearby

Hi everyone, havent caught up with the thread yet so hoping all puppies are behaving and humans arent too sleep deprived!

We have been on holiday since tuesday, looney pup has loved every minute of it, the first day coincided with the day he was allowed out to walk, he loved the beach where i let him off the lead and he came back everytime he was called which was impressive, he has only had one toileting accident since we arrived and has been asking to go out so hoping that lasts once we get home. He isnt doing to badly in the crate at night, at home he has a crate next to me in bed but here hes having to sleep in the lounge we are putting him in at 10pm and waiting till hes asleep then sneaking off to bed leaving the tv on low. Hes been waking about 3.30am for a wee then one of us sleeps on the sofa because he will bark and howl if we leave him.

He is scared of people and other dogs and will hide behind my legs

@m0therofdragons we don't have a huge house but it is detached so at least no one hears dh shouting about the 'fucking dog' on a regular basis! We could do with a bigger garden though as Muckypup has wrecked what little we have and I do look back fondly to the huge messy garden we had with the previous dog, where we had no idea what he was up to for long periods and it didn't matter.

@LBee2020 will have a look at ostrich bones - we've had their 'spaghetti' which went down well (though too quickly) More animal body parts for the cupboard!

@Coffeewithmyoxyg3n treats in the crate is the only suggestion I've got. I've been lucky overnight with OwlPup. But he'll only go happily into the crate because he knows he's going to get a treat once he's in there.

Glad the holiday is going well @smilingthroughgrittedteeth.

How's lead walking going for everyone? Any tips?! Treats have absolutely no effect on OwlPup when we're out and about and he just pulls his way around. He grew out of his harness before he was even allowed out for walks so currently using a collar. I picked him up a few times today mid-walk out of fear of him choking himself.

Ah @muckandnettles I'm jealous of your old garden. We're on a corner with a narrow side patio and then a back garden which run the length of a very narrow street with small terraces with no front gardens. No doubt 20+ households have all heard me swearing about the dog and/or the child. Pup gets brought in at the slightest hint of a bark. It's still not puppy proof yet as still can't get the fence panels due to covid so he's on a long line in the garden but still tries to get through the hedge. So it's all a bit stressful out there!

We purposefully put a hold on doing up our garden this year knowing BonBon Pup was coming. We're semi detached and very overlooked so neighbours see and hear everything. BonBon pup can do no wrong though, 2 neighbours have untrained yappy nightmare Chihuahuas so she looks like an angel compared to them, even at her worst.

@OwlInAnOakTree yes our old garden was great for just leaving pup to it, though it probably meant he just went his own way a little too much! Currently we have a small square garden on a new build estate so we have 3 neighbours bordering onto our garden and Muckypup is very aware of what they are doing if they are in their gardens and would be able to dig under the flimsy fence quite easily if left to it. So he is enclosed, but loves to bark so is often brought in for that. Stressful, certainly.

Lead walking is going okay here as long as I'm really concentrating and stop the pup whenever he pulls. So he is on a short lead (well I have a two handled one which I really like) and if he pulls I stop and say wait and once he has sat down for a few seconds I continue. He's used to it now and goes along quite well most of the time. We use a harness and it is one where you can attach to the front as well as the back, though I'm using the back attachment. Pup won't take treats when we are out on the lead usually, it just seems to be one of his little rules - too much going on. I sometimes give him a treat when he waits to cross the road nicely, but he's not bothered really.

@smilingthroughgrittedteeth glad you're having a good time. I can't wait to take my pup on the beach as I know he will love it. Unfortunately we live about as far from the sea in any direction as you can get! Have a lovely time.

Walking on the lead is hilarious here. Pup thinks he's supposed to carry the lead in his mouth, so trots along quite happily with it in his mouth, very pleased with himself. Not quite how it's supposed to work! We're working on it, and chucking him a treat when lead is loose, but it's not often! I've just ordered a doodlebone harness.

Our puppy has gone into his crate at 10 every night since we got him, no problems at all. No idea why, but last night he just wouldn't! I tried to settle him for an hour and a half, then DH got up to try. Ended up bringing him to lie at the foot of our bed, and he slept until 830 this morning!

Morning all
Aah - I long to take Oliverpup for a run along the beach! I am still having to carry him everywhere outside and not only is he getting pretty heavy (he's 3 months old today) but I can see people saying 'why is she carrying that dog?'
Last night I was trying to get some ironing done and DH was going to bed. I asked if he would look after the pup for 15 mins while I finished and he refused saying 'it's your dog'. I have put all his ironing back in the washing basket. I have been up since before 6am and everyone else in my house is still asleep. I feel like I never get a break.
On a more positive note, I made my own puppy food last night (turkey mince, some brown rice, butternut squash, peas, carrots and bone broth) and he wolfed it down for breakfast. Feel better that he's actually eating. I'll try raw food next time but just needed something as a stop gap.
I am going to take him to a groomer next week to get his nails trimmed (kudos if you can do this yourself - I haven't the nerve) as they are sharper than his teeth.
Have a lovely day!

@OliveButler sorry to hear about the dh issue, very annoying. Well done with the dog food cooking, that's very clever of you. Someone told me that 'liver cake' treats are easy to make and dogs love them, but I'm not sure I can face it. I have managed to do some nail clipping, though only one and a half paws. Need to have another go but I didn't want to push my luck as we were doing well on just those few. I found it quite nerve wracking but then he does have big paws as everyone in the world likes to point out to me on a daily basis!

@OliveButler I’m slightly concerned about this as initially dh said he’d be my dog but i made it clear that It needed to be a joint decision. I’m frustrated as dh is panicking about how week 1 will go yet doing no research. We’re seeing our boy this week and telling the dc so we will be able to talk more openly which I think will help.

My dh did no research either though likes to get involved in telling pup what to do, so I'd strongly suggest sorting that out before arrival of your pup because I didn't. Some annoying situations have arisen because dh thinks dogs should do what they are told and that really isn't the way it works at all.

All these DHs sound like they're as helpful as my 7 year old DS...

So, before spending on a new harness I thought I'd just double check the small one we have and it does still fit..,I imagine I got frustrated trying to put it on and blamed the size when it was likely a combination of me being useless and pup being bitey that made it difficult to get on. So we've been out for another little walk and, oh my goodness, what a difference! Still a bit of pull, but nothing like with just the collar. Which is odd, isn't it? I mean, I'd be far less likely to pull if I had something choking me every time I did it than a harness that, I guess(?), is uncomfortable around the chest? So that's good, will make walks less stressful which will make loose lead training a bit more of a relaxed experience for us both!

@m0therofdragons I thought it was a joint decision. We both agreed it would be good for DS's to be outside more and when we had a dog before DH did take him out for walks and stay at home when I was at work. Because I am self-employed now, the perception is that as I am at home all day anyway, I can do everything. Like @muckandnettles says, be on the same page with responsibilities and attitudes because I spend all day doing positive reinforcement for recall and then DS ruins it by shouting at him when he does something wrong. DH is very much a stay in your dog bed in the corner and eat pedigree chum dog person. I would never admit this anywhere else but I am starting to hate him for it. My situation is definitely a cautionary tale but it makes me more determined to be the best dog owner I can be. It's not a happy place to be though.

DH and I weren't on the same page at first but I dragged him along to a 1-1 lesson with a trainer and he listened to her rather than me.

Afterwards admitted he was wrong to encourage jumping etc

However I should say that trainer didn't mince her words and was very forthcoming so I think she might have been a bit scary but it did the trick

@OliveButler that sounds hard. I’ve set some ground rules and dh has agreed. I think it’s because it’s still 4 weeks away it feels a long way off. It’s the same as when the babies were born - I did all the reading and buying stuff early on but when the time came dh did nights etc.

@BiteyShark we did the same. 1:1 with a trainer and it set DP straight and got him on board with what I was trying to do from the beginning. He still complains about the cost though!

Can I ask how much a 1:1 trainer costs? Did they come to your house?

Ours came to us for £45. Session lasted 2 hours. Another locally was £25 But you go to them

We're back from our weekend away and just want to reassure everyone that it went a million times better than I expected.
Our pup is 15 weeks so we tried to stick as close as possible to routine at home which was fine as we just wanted to chill out in the cottage and have a few walks in the local area. She was shattered every day from all the excitement so actually slept better than she does at home! It made me keener to take her out more often when we are at home.

Just trying to settle puppy in his crate just now- not sure he'll be up for it after his night of luxury on our duvet! Wish me luck!

Good to know time away can go smoothly- we're off to a family holiday house tomorrow for three nights. Fingers crossed it goes well!

@PuppyBonBon thanks - I'm quite interested in that if some of our little 'behavioural' problems don't go soon! Price sounds reasonable for 2 hours. That must be intense!

@Imadreamer44 that gives me hope for our holiday, definitely. It's only 3 nights away but we aim to do plenty of walking and we have nothing in particular planned so we can play it by ear a bit.

BonBon pup's fear response to people was to sleep, so she slept through an hour and a half. But we talked through food, training approach, mental stimulation exercises to do like willingly dropping toys at our feet and snuffle/scent games to get her mind in the zone for training. We also covered recall techniques, house training approach, things to cover in socialization. But we did have this session as a start on the right foot, so it was probably more beneficial for us to talk through things over actively training her at this stage. Now she would be awake for it I'd expect it to be more of a split of demo the behaviour, how we manage, correct approach and practice, then when pups tired talk through other bits and issues for rest of session. I'll definitely be booking another 1:1 If she's still really scared of people after being able to get out and about more. Since people cant come up to us whilst she's in our arms in the current situation, we have had limited exposure to people she doesn't know.

Did he settle @marmite51?

That sounds like a good amount of input from the trainer @PuppyBonBon.

I emailed a trainer over a week ago about a 1-1 session and haven't heard back. Emailed a different one last night so hopefully he'll get back to me.

Have you finished Total Recall @muckandnettles? I can't find time to read it!