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.

Urgh. I feel like it's been an utterly shit day. DoorbsPup has been a biting monster since lunchtime, I've got several areas of broken skin on my hands arms and calf to attest to it. Took him out earlier to the petshop/garden centre to see a bit of traffic and people, that went really well, but he's only had mini naps all day and gotten more and more over tired throughout the day. He finally fell asleep for what seemed like it'd be a decent nap this evening so I went through to spend some actual time with DD (and DS except he wanted to be on his Xbox Instead) and no sooner had I said to DS "don't go into the kitchen, pup's sleeping" then he went through and started rustling around getting a bloody packet of gum and woke him up again. So cross. So what should be been a quiet hour or so with the kids turned in to one of them being incredulously told off, and the other saying it wasn't worth it and to just sort out the dog. So now I'm sat in the kitchen, ignoring the whining pup (who has at least stopped biting maniacally) with a large gin and wondering WTAF. Also thinking I'll probably regret the large gin at 5am tomorrow morning.

@DoorbellsSleighbellsSchnitzel that sounds rotten! Hope he settles soon.

I must admit, I'm having a bit of a WTF? moment myself. Its Saturday night, the whole family is in the living room relaxing, and I'm in the dining room sitting on an uncomfy chair keeping puppy company. He gets bitey between 9 and 10, and is especially bad in the living room, so its worked out that it's just easier for one of us to be here with him in this hour before his bedtime. Pfft.

Ah that sounds so familiar @DoorbellsSleighbellsSchnitzel... Enjoy your gin at least.

We seem to have had a bit of a breakthrough today. The calmer-than-normal walk was followed by a good hour of my son sitting in the back room with me and pup rather than him hiding out elsewhere in the house, which has become the norm for the last few weeks. I've started putting pup's lead on when DS comes through to the back which means I've been able to stop him jumping up at DS or jumping up on the sofa whilst DS is up there. I've been doing this for a couple of days now, I don't know if that's helping or if it's just a coincidence. I don't particularly like doing it, but it's just madness otherwise.

Glad you had a good holiday @smilingthroughgrittedteeth. Good luck next week!

Am I the only one that finds this tread absolutely infuriating??

@GingerAndTheBiscuits you've had your rescue pup for 1 month and you're already planning to give them back? Shame on you!

You should be spending time training and bonding with your puppy - building up trust. Instead, you've decided you can't be arsed - you even send them for walks with someone else. How is your puppy supposed to feel safe with you, when you're making no effort.

Many posters on this thread sound like they did no research AT ALL before getting a puppy and now they've realised it takes a lot of time and effort to train a puppy, they're giving up.

There's no such thing as a bad dog, just bad owners!

@kubex13, I spent 2 years actively researching, and far longer than that figuring out if having a dog was the right thing to do for our family, so I take offence at your post. I'm quite sure that a lot of the posts on threads like these are just a bit of venting at the more frustrating parts of puppy ownership. I've not been surprised by any of the effort that I've had to put into the last few weeks/months, and don't resent it either, and know that there's plenty more if it to come, but occasionally, just occasionally, it all gets on top of me and a little vent on here, and hearing that others have the same frustrations is helpful. I'm sure that's the case for most, if not all, if the other posters on here too.

Well, that's us all told. 😂😂😂

Exactly @DoorbellsSleighbellsSchnitzel

I did my prep, research etc, we have no unexpected problems, have no intention of doing anything but love him!

But it's nice to be able to whinge when you've not had an unbroken night for weeks, you're exhausted, and the creature you love repays you by biting a hole in your hand...

I was on similar threads when I had newborns, not complaining about babies being babies, but sharing advice and experiences with others in the same position. Doesn't mean I shouldn't have had children!

I'm really enjoying our puppy, and where I do have worries or concerns it's good to share them here.

I don't know about the rest of you, but this thread has helped me stay sane. Thank you all x

@kubex13 You have no clue what work we have or have not put into our dog. If we didn’t give a shit about her, we’d have locked her in her crate on the first night and left her to scream herself to sleep, not slept with her on the sofa every night just so she feels secure. We spend time training every day, at all times of the day, as well as trying to work from home and keep two children safe. We are in contact with a trainer practically daily and have paid £££ to have her come out to work directly with us from week one because we realised what we had taken on - in the trainer’s own words “the hardest possible option” - an older puppy who has never lived in a house and is outside the socialisation window. A puppy who, again in the trainer’s own words, would likely benefit from living with another dog to show her the ropes of living in a house. But instead we keep trying, to find ways to make it work with her here. I have absolutely no shame in admitting we may turn out not be the right family for her, and I don’t think it “shameful” to consider whether she would be happier and more settled in another home. That is doing right by our dog, not doing wrong. And I won’t apologise for sending her out for a pack walk twice a week with two brilliant walkers and a happy gang of dogs where she gets to be off lead in the countryside, go swimming in ponds and meet more dogs than we could ever introduce her to.

Anyway, I came to write a lovely story about GingerPup’s meeting with a little boy with autism at the park today who wouldn’t stop sniffing her, but I won’t bother because clearly I hate my dog 🙄

Ah @GingerAndTheBiscuits that sounds like just the positive experience you (and all of us!) could do with at the moment - please share!

It's clear to most on here that you're trying everything you can for GingerPup. You're perfectly entitled to have a vent/express your concerns/upset on here when it's not working and you need to try something else.

The complaints will always outweigh the "oh we had a lovely time doing xyz..." on a thread like this, because it's the difficult bits you need support with and it can sometimes be difficult to voice your worries IRL.

@GingerAndTheBiscuits, you don't have to justify yourself to anyone on here. You're clearly doing all you can for GingerPup. I want to hear the full story of GingerPup and the little boy though!

@GingerAndTheBiscuits I stand by what I said.

If 1 month in you're already thinking about giving up your puppy, you shouldn't have got them in the first place.

Why are you not walking your dog in the countryside, off lead? Why are you not socialising your dog? How will you build a relationship with your dog if you outsource all of the bonding activities?

It actually sounds like your dog deserves a better home, with someone willing to put 100% into building a relationship with them.

People like you are the reason there are so many dogs in rescues in the first place.

And people not doing their research before getting a puppy are the reason rescues are expecting a huge intake of puppies bought during lockdown.

@kubex13 Where did I say we’re not walking her, socialising her or bonding with her? Just because she goes on a walk with someone else twice a week doesn’t mean she’s confined to the house the rest of the time, being ignored.

Anyway...

At risk of taking the thread on an inappropriate turn, DH and I are in bed together for the first time in a month 😬 After much persuasion (lifting her off the bed a million times) she has settled on the duvet-dogbed mountain I have constructed by the side of our bed. We are suffocating in a haze of Pet Remedy but I’ll take it. Guarantee I wake up to her between us or on our toes at some point but this is huuuuuuuuge!

As for the park story, there wasn’t much to it really but it made me smile. We took her out on the long line (it’s a dogs on lead park) so she could have a good explore and she caught the eye of a little boy with autism who had a fascination with putting his nose/mouth on her back, just for a second. I gave his dad fair warning that she is usually very good with children but is still learning the ropes of being out and about, and watched her like a hawk. But the little boy was so gentle with her and she didn’t show any of her usual signs of wariness with him at all (she did when his carer came over who was a big bloke - definitely has some large man issues). The boy would disappear for a bit then come back and repeat the same thing every now and then. I did apologise for her doggy smell, she needs a bath (tomorrow’s job)! I’m not sure if it was the smell or the fur against his face that attracted him. But I was super proud of her, she was so calm with him and the dad was admiring how good she was

That's lovely! Well done ginger pup!

Remember this is a thread for support. Ignore posts that aren't supportive.

There are still lots of us 'bad owners' about that were posting on threads like this years ago .

Hope you had a good night Ginger.

Thats a lovely story @GingerAndTheBiscuits, my DS age 5 is autistic when pup isnt being a doggy tornado he has a very calming affect on DS.

@kubex13 threads like these are designed for people to rant it means you can vent all the negative stuff and enjoy the positive in real life. I cant speak for everyone but personally ive had dogs my whole life as a child and an adult and researched cocker spaniels throughly before getting one as ive only ever had collies and beagles, pup wasnt a lockdown decision which we will get bored with which is what you seem to be implying he was planned way before coronavirus even existed.

@GingerAndTheBiscuits im considering putting pup into doggy daycare once a week purely for him to socialise, social distancing is making it hard to properly socialise him and none of the usual puppy parties and training classes are running and the ones that are can only take half the normal numbers so have long waiting lists. Im confident we can train him by ourselves but i am worried about him mixing with other dogs so a morning at daycare seems like a good way for him to meet others.

@muckandnettles we took a dog playpen and popped him in that when we needed him contained during the day because pup + 3 young children in a caravan = carnage and tears when pup gets tired he slept happily in his crate at night although we did have to leave the tv on to cover the noise of people or he couldnt settle to sleep and would bark. He loved being on holiday and it didnt feel as stressful as i thought it would be

Well done Ginger. I hope the night continued to go well.

We have reconfigured our downstairs (again!) yesterday and we now have a pen around the crate (and no dining table...) We did have a pen before but I think this one is better - especially if we need to put pup in to calm down when he gets too bitey as he’ll have access to her crate/food etc. Not Sure what he makes of it yet but I’m working on making it super attractive (ie placing random treats around it )

Toilet training is getting better so that’s good. Obviously still a long way to go but hey.

I’ve been sleeping on a foam mattress in with the puppy since last Saturday, but last night I slept in my own bed! I came down to check on pup at 2:30 (saw myself in the mirror as I went downstairs. God I looked shattered!). My alarm was set for 4am and at that time I decamped down to the front room (where I’d set up an emergency bed) and waited for pup to wake up for the loo which happened at 4:45ish. Pups currently very quiet so I was worried about not being able to hear him from our room. I’ll probably do this from now on (although I’ll skip the 2am check now I know he was sleeping fine without me next to him.

I just wanted to say that we arent getting our pup until November and have waited and researched for years. I find this thread really really useful as it helps understand the realities and day to day challenges. It doesnt put me off having a pup but has taught me so much. I love to hear all about what the pups are all up to and also how you are all finding it. I can do loads of research but hearing about the daily struggles is really helpful.
I need and want to know about sleeping and biting etc, even though I am already aware.
We have spent lots of time with dogs and pups and visited our breeder, read books, booked training etc but I can see it is like having another baby in that nothing quite prepared you for it. If I had read the mn threads on newborns before I would have thought no way but my two boys have brought me so much joy and challenges. I expect pup will be the same and I will feel like a complete amateur all over again.
Please please keep posting all the good times and the bad.
And Ginger pup I think you are doing great and can hear what a difficult situation you are in and how much you are doing. I hope in 6 months time if things can work out that when I am posting about bitey pups and sleepiness you all pop back like the other poster did and remind me of this thread and how things have worked out. That's the community of helpful dog owners that I see in the world and on this thread too.
Please keep posting all of you, people like me need to hear it and also love to see the little pup pics and how it is. Peace out pups

That's lovely @GingerAndTheBiscuits. We seem a long way away from calm interactions with children (or adults!) whilst out and about. How was GingerPup overnight? Did she stay off your bed?

Hope everyone has as relaxing a Sunday as is possible with a young pup. Ooh, speaking of relaxing, has anyone used the relaxation protocol?

@AmigoDog i think all of you who have slept on sofas are amazing, i dont do well on lack of sleep so have pup in a crate next to my bed, fortunately he only woke me for a 2am wee for a few days otherwise he has slept through till 6ish