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.

@Ken1976 oh I'd love my pup to take himself off for a nap!

@OwlInAnOakTree well I'm trying to follow all the different stages and I'm not doing badly, but it's just remembering to do it a certain way that's sometimes hard. You have to be able to let them off leash with no distraction so there are only certain places that works. I'm at the part of the training where you call them by whistle in the house and pup has been brilliant at that. We are getting through a lot of treats though! Outdoors Muckypup is still not bothered about treats though, so that makes the 'proofing' of the recall quite hard. It's left to me making a complete fool of myself running around and waving various toys in the air. I think it will be worth it in the end.

Keep us posted of how it goes @muckandnettles. I bought whistles but they've just been sat in the cupboard for weeks. I think I might feel more confident with them than just my voice though in some of the places we'll be walking. DS too.

Re treats. Honestly, I've been so frustrated with OwlPup this evening. I'm trying to get him to stay off the sofa. I don't mind him being on the sofa, except that him and my DS can't be on the sofa calmly together and DS has been usurped somewhat as he'll take himself off to the other room to watch his tablet in peace or whatever rather than sit with us. So, I'm now backtracking, which is difficult, and using his bed, which I've put next to the sofa, as an alternative and encouraging him on there. When I've got a pot of sausages next to me, he just sits there and looks up at me waiting for a bit of sausage. If he starts playing with something on his bed, I'll throw down a bit of sausage to treat him for good behaviour. Then he instantly stops playing and just sits and looks up at me waiting for more sausage. And, just generally, if I say 'good boy' he stops, sits, and looks at me expectantly waiting for a treat. So my treats are now stopping good behaviour?! Aghghgh. So frustrating when you're dog doesn't behave the way the dogs do in, say, the kikopup videos. I've told him no more sausages from now on. Although, one thing that does work well is if I call 'Owlpup Sausage!'. He drops whatever he's doing and comes running at that.

Here's OwlPup on his bed looking up at me on the sofa. That face. Poor boy. 😆 (He's a bit damp from the rain, just to add to his forlorn look.)

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@OwlInAnOakTree yes we get this. Give a treat and he sits there beseeching me for more and same with good boy but our trainer says no problem. Keep offering as when they're sitting or being good it's worth a reward. What magical sausage have you used? I feel like he's bored of my treats now!
I also need some more cheap toys or ideas for cheap toys. I've spent a fricking fortune and trainer says have 2 boxes of 15 toys and switch them around. 30!! Can't afford that. I'm eyeing up the youngest's less played with teddies!!

Oh blooming Kikopup and her clicker! I bought a bunch of clickers but then decided I just couldn't coordinate myself and they were too loud anyway, they deafened me. I like the whistle as I just wear it all the time like a mad old dog lady. I have ro admit @OwlInAnOakTree that our pup hasn't even been allowed in the sitting room yet, and the longer we leave it the bigger a 'thing' it's building up to be. He occasionally scoots in there and jumps on the sofa and goes crazy. I'll report back on Total Recall, though we have a long way to go still. Pup ran off to another dog in the park today and dh was yelling at me 'blow your whistle!!' But I said no, we aren't on that chapter yet! What I wanted to say was - if you want to blow the bloody whistle, read the book yourself! Which he hasn't of course...

@polkadotpjs toys my pup likes are old shampoo bottles (Head and Shoulders has lasted very well) and for a while his favourite chew was some plastic strapping from an Amazon package, tied in a knot. He loves a cardboard box to rip up and old yoghurt pots or plastic milk containers. He also has a body butter jar that rolls across the floor and loves scooting around with that. He also has many others we've actually bought, obviously, but lots of things he just takes a liking to and keeps in his box. My big worry at the moment is that we have lost a pizzle stick somewhere in the kitchen. Urgh.

@OwlInAnOakTree yes we get this. Give a treat and he sits there beseeching me for more and same with good boy but our trainer says no problem. Keep offering as when they're sitting or being good it's worth a reward. What magical sausage have you used? I feel like he's bored of my treats now!
I also need some more cheap toys or ideas for cheap toys. I've spent a fricking fortune and trainer says have 2 boxes of 15 toys and switch them around. 30!! Can't afford that. I'm eyeing up the youngest's less played with teddies!!

Hello! We can join today, as we picked up our lab puppy today! He's been an absolute love so far, a few hectic games, eating well, and sleeping a lot! Managed to do poos and weed outside, and when he didn't it was a good learning point for us! Now we know what to look for...

Not looking forward to the no sleep. But we do love him already...

Thank you @Polkadotpjs for passing that on from your trainer! Makes me feel much better. I shall plough on then. The magic sausages are Tesco cocktail sausages that we have in the house for snacks for DS anyway. I cut each one up into about 20 little pieces, and pup will do anything for it. Tiny bits of cooked chicken and cheese also work for him. Also thanks for mentioning about switching toys. I was going to ask about that, I want to do it, so it's good to know recommended numbers! I got a set of about 12 toys from Amazon, mainly rope toys, for a much better value price (maybe around £15) than buying individually. And there are some quite cheap unstuffed plush toys on there, around the £5 mark. He likes those. But yes, I know what you mean, I've spent a fortune too...and still keep thinking of things we need. Despite his favourite thing at the moment being an empty milk carton. Actually, don't buy toys! Empty plastic milk bottle, small plant pot (the softer crinkly kind of plastic rather than the hard plastic), plastic watering can when we're outside, small diet coke bottle...all firm favourites in this house.

@muckandnettles I assume your DH has taken himself off to bed with the Total Recall book, has he? Just to understand what you're doing? We're still living in two rooms here too...the kitchen and the adjoining back room. All wooden floors and patio doors into the garden from the back room. He tries to escape into the hallway and then the front room as soon as the back room door is open. And like yours, gets VERY excited charging about the front room. I've been thinking about asking on here where people's pups live and at what point whole houses are opened up to them? I don't think OwlPup will ever be allowed upstairs, but I'm looking forward to just being able to leave all the downstairs open for him once he's calmed down a bit. And yes, definite no to clickers here too. That's just one too many thing for my brain to think about.

@Emrysmcdogface, hope he settles well and you have a good first night tonight.

We baby sat next doors three dogs tonight, thought I was gunna die.

@OwlInAnOakTree DPup lives downstairs during the day as it is completely open plan down there so no way to just put her in the kitchen/lounge.
At night we carry her up to bed in our room where she sleeps on her bed in a pen.
We desperately need a stair gate though as every chance she gets she charges upstairs to try and steal socks!

Thanks @OwlInAnOakTree !

Woke him at 4 am, he did a massive wee in the garden. He went straight back to sleep and I can't!

Up at 5:30. We are both settling down for a nap. He gets v bites when tired! Just going to have to get better at getting him to settle at that point...

Well polkapup woke 6.15 after taking himself to bed at 9.45 but he's in a stinker. He's bitten me so much that when DH got up he found me begging him to let go of my rubber gloved hand! He's been out back to bed and I'm watching sewing bee with a brew (=cup of tea for anyone from the south!) and I'm having a little sulk. Of course when DH arrived he did his cute rollover trick where he lies on his back looking adoringly at DH 😡

@SimonJT

We baby sat next doors three dogs tonight, thought I was gunna die.

@SimonJT I'm afraid we are going to need more detail than that!

@OwlInAnOakTree magic sausage is going on the next Tesco's order - thanks for that. Muckypup does like a new treat. I raided the packup ham yesterday for the whistling from room to room, then the remains of the posh Italian cheese - I don't care as long as he learns this recall business as our last dog humiliated us on a regular basis by ignoring us.

@Emrysmcdogface sounds like a reasonable start for your pup - hope it continues.

We keep our pup in the kitchen, which is also the dining room and goes onto the garden, but I'd love to be able to have him in the Other Room in the evenings, mainly so that I too could join the rest of the family to sit on comfortable furnishing. I'm working up to it. He is never going to be allowed upstairs as we just don't have the room for a dog upstairs anywhere unless he has a bedroom of his own.

Sounds like a good first night @Emrysmcdogface!

Do you mean die in a good way @SimonJT, as in 'I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven'? Or, die in a bad way?? Muckandnettles is right, we need more information...

Ouch @Polkadotpjs, not a good way to start the day.

So I've taken drastic measures and moved the crate in front of the sofa to stop OwlPup from jumping up onto the sofa. It obviously can't stay there forever, but hopefully if I leave it there for a few days (weeks? months?) it'll stop him 'rehearsing' jumping up on the sofa and getting attention whilst I get him off again.

I'm very proud of him this morning (sofa jumping aside). I asked 'where's your pizzle?' and off he went to find it. I've never really been around dogs and I'm just amazed by their intelligence and their ability to learn (when they choose to).

Open plan (well living and dining in one) is proving an annoyance for me too! My kitchen is a galley so no plan to put in there unless I stand - I think polka pup would like that- to put me in my place 😅. He's now fast asleep legs in the air without a care!
I'm off to buy some sausages....!!

@muckandnettles It won’t let me quote a quote.

There dogs are a french bulldog and two basset hounds, bassets lovely and calm and mainly laid on the sofa. French bulldog nuts, we go on walkies together most days as he is brilliant on walks, but in our flat he was a right naughty bugger. Jumping all over his brothers, launching himself from the back of the sofa, Link obviously love it and joined in, so much so that he did a wee mid wrestle The cat sat on one of her shelves and glared at them.

Their Dads get home to pick them up and they all trot out like angels, they’re going to be having Link for a few hours today, I said I hoped they were just as nutty.

Yes to no to upstairs @muckandnettles. I was pretty sure about that before getting him and now I'm even more sure, mainly because of the mess and smell he creates! I'd really like to keep that all downstairs. Weirdly, the only room I've noticed his shed hair is in the bathroom, where he's only been twice for a quick shower. I guess it just drops off us and then shows up better on the white tiles. At the moment, he hasn't tried to go upstairs, although DS has now taken to going up the first few when pup gets a bit bitey and chasey, just to get away from him. Think I need to nip this in the bud, otherwise I imagine I'll find him all the way upstairs one day. It's interesting that yours charges upstairs already @Imadreamer44, wonder why mine is so reluctant? I'm trying to avoid a stair gate, it should be possible to train him to just never go up, right? Right?!!! (Yes, I'm laughing hysterically to myself at the thought of ever achieving that.)

We have a stair gate as within two days she was bounding up there and clattering back down and we thought she’d do herself an injury!

We had our first middle of the night wake up for weeks. I could hear him making a noise I can only describe as panicked screaming at 230, so rushed down to let him out. Poor thing had diarrhoea all over the grass, and it was too dark for me to clean it up. Boak. Then half an hour of sad cuddles and back to sleep.

We think it must have been the working tablet he had yesterday, will look out for the same next time he has it.

Glad to hear recall going well. I'm starting to worry we're missing training and socialisation windows, whole days go by where we've not done much except enjoy him! Still need to give him a bath in the bathroom, that's on the list for today.

He's going to a puppy socialisation class next week, which basically seems to be a bunch of pups running about mad together. I think he'll love it!

We have stair gates too, after a week of Shadowpup charging upstairs several times a day and eating used tissues, socks and stealing the DCs beloved teddies for head shaking ripping games

He is only allowed in the kitchen and dining room. There is a gate across the living room too as it's carpeted. We have rejigged the dining room and picked up a cheap battered old small sofa for sitting in the evenings and moved the tv from our bedroom down there. We are pretty much living in those two rooms, I walk through the living room to open the curtains each morning and don't go in there for the rest of the day!

We are also working on the sofa jumping, as yesterday pup gave DS a nose bleed jumping all over him! I've ordered a large mat bed and some more chews and we are going to try and teach him to lay on the mat with his chew rather than climbing on the sofa. I doubt this will work during zoomie time but hopefully we reduce the sofa jumping enough that the DC are less scared.

Also a fan of whistles, I wear mine all the time too 😂 Favourite treats here are cucumber and cheese. I use carrots to get him into his crate for enforced nap times. Sausage had an unfortunate effect on his tummy and after hosing they grass down I decided it was best to avoid sausages from now on.

Simon that sounds exhausting but eventful! Nice to have doggy neighbours though, our immediate neighbours are all cat people sadly.

I'm so pleased to have this thread where we can all vent and discuss these pups - IRL I have to pretend all is going brilliantly which it kind of is, but not fast enough. I thought we would have a week or two of chaos and then it would sort of settle down but it's been two months now and there is only some element of settling down going on.

@SimonJT that does sound like a mad evening. What an interesting bundle of dogs that was - I love Bassets. Hope you videoed it all to show the owners!

Muckypup has made a break for the stairs only once, so I'm hoping he will just be so well trained soon he won't do that. Ha. Our last dog (it's not good to compare, I know, but it's inevitable) was too dim to ever work out what stairs were or what they did until he was quite middle aged so it was never a problem. Muckypup seems a bit brighter and really takes everything in. We live near a building site and when we walk past there in the morning he wants to just sit and watch everyone working. I was quite pleased this morning when he was being a pain wanting attention because when I got his harness out he seemed keen to put it on as he knows what it means. Maybe!