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Original poster

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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BiteyShark · 05/08/2020 18:13

Anyone got any tips for the barking and chewing

I always try distractions for barking. As a puppy I would try and get him to sit or call him into another room.

GingerAndTheBiscuits · 05/08/2020 18:20

@SweetestThing Have a look on YouTube for kikopup positive interrupter. GingerPup barks like mad at cats and at other dogs she hears barking in the garden (though only certain ones - usually those that sound bigger than she is) and I try to distract her. Sometimes the only solution is to bring her inside. She barks at us when we’re eating if she is hungry so am trying to make sure she has something to occupy her mouth as she is INCREDIBLY loud for a medium sized dog and it makes DH jump out of his skin!

SweetestThing · 05/08/2020 18:39

Thank you for the suggestions. We're starting puppy training classes in a fortnight so I'm hoping I'll pick up some other tips there too. Shrill barking is not conducive to working from home 🐶😀

muckandnettles · 05/08/2020 20:28

When all else fails and the pup is biting chair legs or kitchen units, the bitter apple spray is very useful.

polkadotpjs · 06/08/2020 00:02

We use the spray too though he tries to grab and chew the bottle. The irony

ShadowsInTheDarkness · 06/08/2020 08:16

sweetestthing ahhh a springer! We have a sprocker so he is half springy and half cocker. You just wait til the jumping starts .... it's like having tigger on steroids Grin

I dropped off the thread as hadn't clicked we were onto a new one. ShadowPup is 19 weeks now and in many ways we have seen lots of improvements. He will now at least tell us he needs to go out, by sitting by the front door and staring at us from round the corner, utterly silent. I'm always suspicious when he goes quiet so usually notice. Would be good if he made some sort of noise though!!

The biting has really reduced and I can now actually cuddle him which we couldn't do at all from about 10 weeks due to the nipping. We have taught "4 paws" where he has to have 4 paws on the floor for a fuss as he was almost knocking DS over leaping all over him.

We are braced for an interesting week next week, as the in-laws come to stay with their angry dog. She's a big dog and she resource guards although they just say "she can be a bit grumpy". Last time they came for a weekend and she spent the whole time growling at ShadowPup and guarding his toys, his sofa from him. MILs way of dealing with this was to keep pulling ShadowPup out the way by his collar and whilst being a super friendly dog the one and only thing he is sensitive about is his collar so it always lead to him snapping at her and making horrid dog even more growly. We have installed an extra gate so horrid dog can be in the living room away from ShadowPup. It wasn't too bad last time because he couldn't get up on the sofa and was still small. He is now a lot bigger, bouncier and can get up on the sofa in the dining room and will be in her face because well ... he's a puppy and it's his house!

I think it's going to be a very rocky week but I'm not crating him the whole time, it's his space and if she has issues I'm going to try and be assertive and suggest she stay in the lounge. I'll probably be on here complaining about it all on Monday when they arrive. Gah!

petalpower · 06/08/2020 08:43

Can I join too? I’ve also got a sprocker @ShadowsInTheDarkness. 12 weeks old yesterday and full of beans!

OwlInAnOakTree · 06/08/2020 09:29

That sounds like a potentially very stressful week shadows...good luck!

We had the trainer round yesterday, booked for two hours but he was here for nearly 3! Lots of work on DS keeping calm and me managing pup in his presence. He suggested having pup on the lead the whole time, which I started doing a week or so ago anyway, but with his tips I can see how I can do that better.

There's a dog groomers 3 doors down from me. As we were walking past with OwlPup yesterday the groomer shouted from her door that I was getting better. I was half-mortified (that anyone's seen me being pulled around by OwlPup) and half-pleased that we're improving. Grin

grannycake · 06/08/2020 09:33

Grannypup had a big day yesterday. OK on own in back of car with harness on the way to visit MIL until the last 5 miles when she managed to slip out of harness. Called in to see a friend briefly for a pee stop and she was great. Best behaviour in retirement home and was a real hit with both MIL and staff.

BUT real failure on our part as poor grannypup had a poo explosion in back of car on way home.

In the evening DD brought her 6 month old bulldog pup for a playdate and again she was lovely and they had a great time despite the vast difference in their sizes. Slept most of the evening and didn't wake up this am until 5:30

muckandnettles · 06/08/2020 10:39

Puppy school last night at 6.30, just the wrong time for Mucky so this week I tried to do things differently and walked him beforehand so he was in theory 'calm' but it didn't work. I think the low point was when he was humping me in front of everyone and wouldn't get off, something he hasn't done for weeks. He also yipped loudly when the trainer was talking and wouldn't sit on his mat. At one point he backed away from me as if to tell everyone I was about to hit him or something! Honestly, it was awful and we both came home exhausted again.

GingerAndTheBiscuits · 06/08/2020 10:59

So sorry @muckandnettles that sounds exhausting! Yet another bad night here :(

Original poster
Juiceey · 06/08/2020 11:25

Aw Muck I'm sorry! It's so embarrassing isn't it!

We've got puppy classes round 2 starting Sunday. Round 1 was an epic fail so hoping for better this time! The classes are focused on recall, which we desperately need since he has precisely NONE.

Just picked up a poo so huge I got a bit on my thumb Envy nearly vommed!

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muckandnettles · 06/08/2020 12:57

@Juiceey I thought we had recall all sorted but today he just refused to come back to us and stood and looked as if he was considering it, then decided nah. Needs to go back a step now but it's such a slog isn't it? Funnily enough, it was just about the only thing he did at Puppy School that he did well. Then today, nah.

muckandnettles · 06/08/2020 13:51

@GingerAndTheBiscuits sorry to hear you've had another bad night. Lack of sleep can just drive you insane so quickly, it's incredible.

OwlInAnOakTree · 06/08/2020 15:54

OwlPup went in his crate at 12pm, he's been napping for nearly 4 hours. DS is out, so it's perfectly quiet in the house (except for radio 4 on in pup's room), he would have probably been awake 2.5 hours ago if DS were home clattering about. How lovely life would be if we could guarantee this every day!

Original poster
Juiceey · 06/08/2020 19:02

The photo shoot was a success!!

Puppy survival thread! July/August! Roll up!
OP posts:
GingerAndTheBiscuits · 06/08/2020 19:03

He’s beautiful @Juiceey

Original poster
Juiceey · 06/08/2020 19:03

And another...

Puppy survival thread! July/August! Roll up!
OP posts:
muckandnettles · 06/08/2020 19:08

Great photos, @Juiceey! What a gorgeous pup!

smilingthroughgrittedteeth · 06/08/2020 19:16

@Juiceey hes gorgeous 😍

We took smileypup to a local countrypark this morning and he had a great time playing with another Cocker spaniel, a dog walker approached with 5 big dogs and he was happy to say hello to them but it got a bit much so he gently pawed my leg asking to be picked up.

Hes still not sure about people but hes getting better and not barking at them now he just refuses to walk past them.

BiteyShark · 06/08/2020 19:18

Lovely pictures Grin

MrsElijahMikaelson1 · 07/08/2020 08:42

Fantastic photos-what type of dog is he @Juiceey?

Had a poor day for everything yesterday. Had so much to do I was really stressed. The children weren’t watching MEM enough so we had several accidents of both types due to them not watching her closely. Then they were lifting her in the sofa which I don’t want them to do, because when she’s manic she keep launching herself at you on the sofa. Combining that with them winding her up and lavishing attention means that she whines ALL the freaking time if you’re not playing with her. As I work from home and they “hopefully” will be back in school in three weeks, she needs to learn to entertain herself a bit. Grumpy old lady dog still hates her😢

pupstersdream · 07/08/2020 09:19

@Juiceey Oh what lovely photos!

@MrsElijahMikaelson1 I know the feeling. I also wfh and dc play with and wind pup up all the time. They were both out all day yesterday so we had a sense of what it's going to be like once they are back at school. I have an office upstairs but had to bring my laptop down to be near him. We don't allow him upstairs, but I'm considering allowing him to sit in my office when I work - it might make things a bit easier

grannycake · 07/08/2020 10:36

@Juiceey What a gorgeous dog!

grannycake · 07/08/2020 10:38

@pupstersdream I WFH and have put a small bed by my desk - grannypup is asleep in it at the moment

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