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The doghouse

Puppy survival thread! July/August! Roll up!

949 replies

Juiceey · 28/07/2020 14:05

Here we go, hero puppy owners.

We've just got back from the vet where I was shocked to discover he now weights 4kg. Little lump! He's 19 weeks old tomorrow. Wonder how big he'll get? On a miniature poodle group I'm in the adults are anywhere between 6-12kg. I hope he's small as easier to carry about!

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OohMrDarcy · 01/09/2020 10:44

morning all

I did try to post yesterday but was on my phone and managed to back out by mistake - abandoned it in a huff in the end!

Well DarcyPup was fun last night... not ! I was up 5 times with him - mostly for wees though we did have a poo in the middle of the night which maybe was actually the cause of waking up so much as I got a good few hours after that.

Am currently hiding in the kitchen and leaving him to whinge in his pen for a bit - he just wants to be with / on me all the time, but then isn't getting enough sleep unless I'm chilling on the sofa so he can snooze with me. Back to work (from home) Friday so I need to be able to leave him for a nap for a bit sometimes!

Other than that he is doing well really - struggling to find chews he will actually... chew mind! Hasn't touched any carrots I've given him or the split antler. REALLY loves the toggle on my hoodie but that isn't a long term solution Grin Going to take him to my local raw food shop today or tomorrow to get some suggestions of things he can try. His teeth are obviously bothering him as whenever I allow access he will sit and chew my toggle for ages!

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Whatiswrongwithmykid · 01/09/2020 08:05

m0therofdragons - I am really congested since our puppy arrived too. I had a negative allergy test for dogs earlier this year so I’m a bit puzzled.

I’ve been scaring myself in the middle of the night reading about allergies causing asthma 😫

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Worriesandwobbles · 01/09/2020 07:41

Thought we had cracked the night times but puppy was up lots last night (luckily hubby got up so I got a decent sleep - he is working the next 2 nights and I know i will be tempted to take the puppy to my room !!) He seems to get upset almost straight away when left riverhouse so am thinking of going right back to 5 mins leaving then return but a few times a day so he knows i will come back before putting pressure on myself that I must get to an hour or i am failing ! Have sorted puppy care for the next month while I am at work anyway so going to give myself a break from stressing about it as my anxiety has already been really playing up since we got him. 2nd injections today. Cant wait until he can go out properly.

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FelicityBennett · 01/09/2020 07:36

sleeping def gets better , from memory with past puppy, I trying to remember when , but can remember feeling the despair first few weeks then he seemed to sleep 10-7 .

When we got the first pup I can remember the children moving into the lounge, door shut and I was stuck in kitchen with pup due to the biting , that gets easier as well.
They both wore wellies in the house and outside for first few months as if they didn’t they would both squeal when pup came over which made him more excited !

This puppy is a lot more bitey and chewy than I recall ( although could be like babies and you forget the bad bits)
We have chew toys , kongs and frozen carrots - any other good recommendations? When can buffalo horns be used? Yak chews are 3 months I think

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Riverhousepuppy · 01/09/2020 06:09

@Chocolateandamaretto how did the first walk go?
@whatiswrongwithmykid hope the school run goes ok and allergies settle down.
@Worriesandwobbles how long can pup be left without getting upset? We are very early days but I really worry about this too.

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Riverhousepuppy · 01/09/2020 06:03

Morning. How riverpup lulled us into a false sense of sleep worthiness.
Dozed a bit if the evening and then had great time playing with ds ( now wondering did this add to it). Then chilled for a bit, crate at 9 as she was out for the count then bed for me as a proud new puppy owner as I was tired from the 4.45am wake up. 10.16 ds woke me up to say she was crying so got up and out for a wee. Back to bed. 12.16 crying again so out for a poo but when all pooped out she was full of beans. Back to crate and chew and off I went. She started to cry few minutes later and I waited a bit then bit more ( like prob 3 minutes as I was conscious of her waking everyone up) then decided I cant do controlled crying and she sounded heartbroken so back downstairs. Sat quietly next to crate, no talking yippee she fell asleep, crept as quietly as possible away and she sprang back to life. Just didn't know what to do as was shattered by now so decided in the lounge it was lights off, me on sofa her next to me. Cracked it, she was straight to sleep, I however was not. So at 2am, yep 2am I decided that I needed my bed and that crate was going to come upstairs at night for next few weeks as if she settles better in our room so be it as can move it downstairs when she is going through. So here I am exhausted and huffing and puffing with a crate and pup up the stairs at 2am. DH says from our bed "Darling can you bring me a glass of water please", me "Ffs it is 2am and I am trying to get this crate upstairs". Radio silence from DH. I get crate in room at 2.10, riverpup falls straight to sleep, I get in bed and DH says, "did you get me a glass of water". Honestly marriages can be broken with these pups Angry. Obvs muttered under my breath and ignored him and went to sleep with dreams of tipping glass of water over him.
Pup then slept soundly til 4.53 so a whole 8 minutes later today than the day before.
Currently sat in the kitchen with her under my chair.
She is looking very cute though but oh my I really need her to start doing those 9-9 sleep shifts you hear about.
Ds 7 came in kitchen, also up at 5.30 and she jumped straight up at him all bitey so he has gone in the lounge and said he doesnt really like her today :-(
For all the seasoned pupsters, this is just a phase and she will grow out of it and sleep more wont she? I worked out if she keeps sleeping 10 minutes longer daily ( I know she only did 8 minutes longer last night but being generous) then she will get to 10am by 1st October with an interim goal of 6am next Tuesday. What are my chances?
How did all the other pups fare and how is everyone getting on?

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m0therofdragons · 31/08/2020 23:25

Dh is allergic to cats but we got two and he took piraton daily for about 3 months then moved to just when he felt the irritation. He’s now completely fine with our cat (only 1 now) but suffers at my parent’s house with their Super fluffy cat so takes piraton again. I’ve been quite snuffly since dpup arrived but might just be tired and run down. I’m always itchy and I have a latex allergy so Kong gets cleaned by dh. He said the peanut butter was a nightmare to clean so I’ll mention the toothbrush trick.

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Worriesandwobbles · 31/08/2020 19:46

Such a shame it hasn't gone smoothly with your daughter having a reaction - that's going to be a tough decision for you. Hope school goes ok. I cant wait to see the reception class on Monday !

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Whatiswrongwithmykid · 31/08/2020 18:01

She’s had three baths already due to smelling of wee or puking on herself. I’m not sure how long to give it to see if it calms down.

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BiteyShark · 31/08/2020 17:26

On the red eyes I get that with cats. It's important she washes her hands before touching her face.

I also had reactions to our dog when we got him all over my hands and arms. It was where he was licking me but it calmed down after a few weeks and I no longer react.

I normally would say wait a bit before introducing your puppy to being washed but it might be worth it to see if that helps. You can make it fun by giving your pup something very tasty as a treat.

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Whatiswrongwithmykid · 31/08/2020 17:19

Thanks for the toothbrush tip!
I’m going to need to leave our puppy for about 20 minutes on Thursday to do the school run. I know it’s too soon but it’s our daughters first day at school. I’m hoping she may sleep in the crate if I tire her out first?

I’m feeling quite emotional today. I think it’s a mixture of lack of sleep and my daughter still getting red eyes when she touches the puppy. We’ve discussed the possibility that having a dog might not work out if it doesn’t calm down and we’re all devastated at the thought.

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Worriesandwobbles · 31/08/2020 16:04

being really unsuccessful leaving our puppy home alone, i feel really guilty and he cries the whole time (have been building the time up really slowly but he doesn't settle)

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Worriesandwobbles · 31/08/2020 16:00

I have been using an old toothbrush to scrub out the kong and licking mat after soaking.

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LightDrizzle · 31/08/2020 15:42

Munkeyface
I’m not expert, but I understand you should not reprimand a dog for growling, as you risk being successful, and training a dog that bites without warning.
Your children should not be picking the puppy up, the designation “toy” is really unfortunate, but small dogs are as much dogs as their giant brethren and when you pick up a dog, it’s genitals and vulnerable soft underbelly are exposed and it has no means of defending them. Many dogs will react badly to it. Children are also unlikely to consistently warn and support the dog correctly when picking it up, so it is totally understandable that the puppy reacts badly.
Do ask a proper trainer for advice, but things I did with my then 5 year old when we got a puppy was to let her put his food bowl down after asking him to sit (he was very quickly trained to sit before he got his food and as an Old English Mastiff, he wasn’t generally the quickest). I involved her in his training and let her “walk“ him on the lead around the garden under supervision once I’d trained him not to pull.
She was never left alone with him and was not allowed to disturb him when he was sleeping or chilling in his bed.
A Chihuahua can do serious damage to a child’s face. Irrespective of breed or size, all dogs should be treated with respect and interactions with children should be managed with caution and forethought.
Some dogs unfortunately learn to dislike children, and you really want to avoid that.

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TriSkiRun99 · 31/08/2020 14:31

chocolate I posted a link further up from Zac George on loose lead walking may help as it’s something we are working on. Tripup had lulled us into false security trotting along nicely at first on the lead but turned 14wks started pulling like a freight train. However my DH let her off lead early on in open countryside she is very good returning to him if he whistles. He does “check in” every minute with her and she returns for a treat. She ignores me! She’s a lab/cocker spaniel cross so fast running sniffing working dog with energy to burn.

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Chocolateandamaretto · 31/08/2020 14:23

Also if you have a baby bottle brush they’re good for cleaning kongs!

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Chocolateandamaretto · 31/08/2020 14:21

I’d also be interested in hearing about routines. I’m coming to the end of 3 days just me and chocpup and I’m running out of steam a bit. I’ve been doing a lot of sitting on the floor with him whilst he chews a toy I’m holding and just chatting. He doesn’t seem that keen on proper tug (although perhaps he can’t get traction on our hard floor) and he’ll only chase a ball or frisbee maybe half to a third of the time. Need some ideas of things to do!

On the bright side, he can go out for a walk tomorrow! We live about a 5 minute walk from some woods so we’ll probably carry him there (have to cross a main road) then pootle around in the woods. There is a big meadow and I wondered about taking him to the middle and practising recall for a couple of minutes or would that be wildly foolish??

Also does anyone know any good training games for loose lead walking?

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TriSkiRun99 · 31/08/2020 14:17

I too made the mistake of peanut butter inside a kong then couldn’t get the bloomin stuff out! Switched to putting it on a likc mat instead much easier to clean but not the one with squares that too was a pig to clean but the licki Mat with just bristles.

I feel mildly guilty that day 3 away on hols from Tripup and I’m not missing her.. the break from the constant “on” feeling checking what’s she’s doing, what’s she chewing, eating, nicking... has she pooed where is it etc! Gosh it’s heaven, DH has sent me a few snuggly pictures of her but I’m meh... it was always going to be his dog and tbh I was starting to already resent the curtailment of my/our lives after only 8wks of puppy ownershipSad I’ll only admit that on here as she’s a wonderful dog and very much part of our family but I was so missing the tiny slivers if freedom I’d carved out between jobs, kids and life it’s like having a 3rd child at toddler stage. I’m hoping it will get better as she gets older and more adaptable to our lifestyles as DH really wants to train her to do trail running with us which will be fab if she takes to it.

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Greenmarmalade · 31/08/2020 13:58

@GingerAndTheBiscuits great link, thanks

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Greenmarmalade · 31/08/2020 13:55

@Whatiswrongwithmykid very good question... I soak it and wiggle it all out with my finger 😆 tried the dishwasher but it’s not great!

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Whatiswrongwithmykid · 31/08/2020 13:34

I stuffed peanut butter inside the Kong. Puppy didn’t get it out and I can’t either. What melts peanut butter?! 🤦‍♀️

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GingerAndTheBiscuits · 31/08/2020 10:30
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GingerAndTheBiscuits · 31/08/2020 10:27

I would say they absolutely should not be picking him up. They could sit on the floor and let him come onto their laps, but a growl is a warning and if they keep disregarding the warning then he may stop growling and then you have no indication he’s uncomfortable and he may bite “without warning” (when the warning signs were there). Also may be worth getting him checked over to be sure he’s not in pain when being picked up and that is why he’s growling?

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Munkeyface · 31/08/2020 10:13

@Riverhousepuppy

Morning pups and puppettes. So riverpup slept through the first night in her crate til 6.30 which was great, was super calm yesterday. This morning she slept through til 4.45am, eek. Then was like a totally different puppy to the calm girl we left downstairs last night. So excited and bouncy and bitey. She was so happy to see us and her tail was going mad. I think I need to stop playing or training with her all the time she is awake cos surely she will expect that?
My questions for the seasoned pupsters on here
What do you do with puppy all day, how much playing and training and how much down time does pup get?
She is very attached to me at the moment which is lovely but does this change with time? Will she bond more with all of us?
Do I stuff her kong full or just round the edges?
We have online puppy class tonight and then actual puppy class tomorrow. She just bites at her lead all the time so not expecting much. I imagine class will be a bit like when both my children are talking at me at the same time and I cant concentrate.

I would be interested in hearing everyone's routines.
We are now on week 4 of puppy ownership.
He is 13 weeks old now. I wouldn't say it has got particularly easier.
Biting still an issue and tugging at clothes.
One thing that is concerning is the growling.
He particularly growls with my 9 year old. Mainly when she picks him up but often when they are just playing. We have been teaching her to put him down straight away as the growl usually turns to a bark. I have read that this a precursor/warning to a bite?
Several other dog owners have said we should be firm with him when he does this and firmly say no and not to put him down as that is what he wants?
Other times he is perfectly happy to be picked up. I am trying to discourage the children from picking him up but he is a toy breed so tiny and at the end of the day a puppy so they want to cuddle him!

Suggestions please?
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