Puppy survival thread! July/August! Roll up!

[Juiceey]

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!

Dont get me started on toilet training im ready to string smileypup up today after he pooed all over my lounge. Weve gone back to wee mats as hes gone from doing really well and barking at the door to go out to peeing everywhere. Its made worse by the fact his brother who is my mums hasnt had a single accident indoors since she bought him home.

I’m not having a good toilet training day, the weather doesn’t help.

You lot have got me panicking about how much I've been feeding my Imperial Shih Tzu (13 weeks). I've been feeding him 54g a day but now, based on these photos, I think it should be more like 85g. He is always desperate for his food- have I been under-feeding him? 😓

Leaving during the day is my problem atm. Managed 5 minutes without howling- basically the time that the kong took to finish

@JanetandJohn500

You lot have got me panicking about how much I've been feeding my Imperial Shih Tzu (13 weeks). I've been feeding him 54g a day but now, based on these photos, I think it should be more like 85g. He is always desperate for his food- have I been under-feeding him? 😓

I felt exactly the same!

Are you feeding to his adult weight, between 6 and 10kg?

I upped feeding and spread between 3 meals a day (4 times for mine as they are only 9 weeks)

I have been enjoying reading all these post but have not joined in until now. We got our sprocker spaniel puppy 10 days ago. Although we had been looking for months with no luck it all actually happened over night as we found a puppy 8 weeks old and ready to go and drove the 4 hrs to collect the next morning. I have never considered myself a dog person (I love my cats !) But i am actually besotted with him. We have been taking turns on the sofa while he sleeps in the crate. The first few days were absolutely exhausting but he is going through 12 to 6 now. 90% of poos outside but still little wee accidents everywhere ! The main issue is the biting. We have been reading lots of tips and watching videos and trying to be really consistent ! He is super gentle and calm then has a manic 10 mins before nap time. Am hoping he grows out of it ?? Also my cat is furious, she won't come in the lounge at all at the moment. Still waiting on 2nd vaccinations but did a no walk walk yesterday and carried him around the village.

Wishing everyone luck with their pups and will keep checking in (to make sure i am not the only one completely winging it)

@wastingtimeworrying we are all winging it!

My cats have been very angry, and lived outside pretty much for the first two weeks. This is us all together this morning, 5 weeks in!

And now it's posted I realise that you have to click on the picture to see the dog!

@wastingtimeworrying in my opinion they do grow out of it- our 'bitey bastard' very rarely bites anymore at 21 weeks. Just say NO firmly and move him away from you.

I’m not sure who’s more tired from the morning play sessions, dpup or dd? wees and poos have mostly been outside this morning (one tiny wee by the back door as he was caught out) but his pop has gone from solid to very soft... I thought I’d managed to stop him getting dcat’s food but now I’m wondering if he did eat some.

How do you all separate cat and dog food?

@Juiceey same here pretty much and Mucky has gone from us being worried he would always be biting us for the foreseeable future, to 'oh look my arm's healed up completely now! (All I'm left with is scars - hurray!) ' You can now give him a cuddle without fear of injury and although he sometimes still jumps up when you are sitting down, he doesn't try and bite you at the same time. He's still got a long way to go, but now the biting has stopped life is okay again. As soon as he lost the puppy teeth, things changed.

Polka pup was a disgrace at friend's last night. He'd had a walk which was way too long in hindsight- went out with friends who are big walkers and expected to do a little bimble but ended up walking an hour and I then cane back down the hill as pup was getting crazed. It was ok on the way back aside from sheep poo eating but that's a other thread , I guess easier walking then slept all afternoon but was awful at night. Chasing our friends' dog, barking really loudly. Just terrible and their mild mannered dog snapped at him - can't blame him. We shouted no at Polka pup and put him on his mat more in a naughty step than a "wondrous mat of treats" the trainer would hVe us do but the biting was insane and he was mental

Oh no @polkadotpjs ! We have tiredness induce meltdowns too. Fighty bitey o'clock is awful if you are somewhere you can't put them to bed....

Eeek

So picking up Puppy on Sunday.... anyone else get cold feet wondering if you've done the right thing???
I am sleep deprived at the moment due to daughters not sleeping so maybe I'm just having a wobble!
I think im just worried about the chaos and training etc... maybe im putting too much pressure on myself?!
🤦‍♀️
Hand hold please

Bungle - we pick ours up a week Thursday and I'm now panicking constantly. The house is ready, I've read everything there is to read so I'm taking it as last minute nerves... as no going back time is finally here!

@OohMrDarcy

Thank god im not on my own! Im exactly the same, house ready, books read just got to get the last few puppy bits and bobs to get now!

My mantra is... it will all be ok!

Good luck to you!

@Bunglemom Good luck for Sunday. I'm probably not the best person to reassure you as we're still in the "argh have we done the right thing" phase and we're 6 weeks in now. ;-) You can definitely have a hand hold though.

It's certainly life changing. But it's definitely easier now than it was at 2-3 weeks in, when I was in full on puppy regret. Things not that bad now although from talking to every dog owner I know I'm not really expecting life to be completely settled until about she's about 2 years old! What did we do?!?!?

It's not all bad - the cuddles are lovely and we're had some great walks. She's already part of the family - just a pretty needy member of the family, who's disrupted everything at the moment lol ;-). But am sure all will be fine in the end.

Good luck & keep reading the thread - has definitely kept me sane over the last few weeks.

@pistachioicecream
😊 Thanks for your reply!

Its reassuring to know that I'm not alone in all of this and its a perfectly normal feeling to have!

I know in the long run its going to be ace having a pooch (always grew up with dogs) and it means more family time with walks etc...

it will all be ok i guess lol! bit like having kids i suppose!

If you haven’t already, get on the list for some puppy training classes as waiting lists are loooong at the moment. And/or get some recommendations for a local trainer who does 1-1s so in those “aaargh what have I done!” moments you have some professional back up to rely on/rant at

I didnt sleep at all the night before picking puppy up thinking what have I done ! Its more work than I thought but I dont regret it. My fear now is that if something happens to him I will be devastated (as my name suggests I am a worrier - hubby says I am being a control freak but I really just want to do it all right and keep him safe)

I was worried but we’re almost a week in and it’s manageable/enjoyable. Dpup has just had first vaccines and vet check - all good. I honestly love him so much. I do let him play and entertain himself sometimes which he’s good at as I’ve heard his breed can be really needy but he seems really chilled apart from over tired, crazy eyed zoomies.
@muckandnettles at what age did the biting stop? I have a feeling it’ll get worse for us before it gets better

@wastingtimeworrying
I feel exactly the same! I am totally a control freak and scared im going to mess up this puppy... although im doing alright with the kids 😉!

@m0therofdragons
ah what bread do you have?
Its so nice to know im not on my own and everyone has these fears!

@m0therofdragons as soon as he lost his puppy teeth, (those razor sharp ones that grab your clothes and hang on, two at the top, two at the bottom) it was like magic. He was very sorry for himself with gummy sore mouth for a few days, but then no biting any more unless you really want him to. He will mouth on your hand or arm, but not catch the skin or hurt. He is now nearly 6 months and lost the last tooth yesterday. Such a difference now as that was the worst thing for ages and so painful!!

@Bunglemom dpup is a working cocker Spaniel. He’s so chilled. Vet said she’s previously had a field spaniel for 18 years and after 10 minutes with dpup she was contemplating getting a cocker. She said they need a good amount of exercise but If you can do that then they’re the absolute best.

@muckandnettles teeth aren’t too horrendous except backs of the ankles that’s painful! Dc are wearing wellies in the garden