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!

Morning all! May I join? We pick up our puppy in a few hours! Is there anything that anyone would recommend purchasing now that they are a little further down the line? We have the usual bits and pieces, as well as an adaptil calming collar/kong etc

Morning, I finally get to join in as we’re collecting our pup tomorrow! Have found previous months threads very insightful!

@BiteyShark that is essentially our routine. Some play/training, including dinner usually sniffed out in the grass to get her brain working. We were recommended by the vet nurse to do a late walk, which we don’t always do when it’s just me home, but had to yesterday anyway because of the heat. But generally our routine is once I’ve put the kids to bed, we switch to low lights and all toys go in the basket. She gets a filled bone or similar, and the Kalmaid recommended by the vet, on her bed and she generally occupies herself (except the night before last when she was just crazy lunging and biting despite all attempts at distraction and settle). Last night she had been good as gold downstairs, all day really. I put her lead on to go for a last wee but instead of heading to the back door she went to the stairs as she knows the routine now (she has her lead on so she doesn’t go bounding into other rooms upstairs). So presumably was ready for bed! She always has her lead on in the garden at night as otherwise we’d never find her in the dark 😆 and it’s always wee, and straight back in. The second we were in our room, she was loopy. It doesn’t even feel like “play” - she’s panting, tongue out, eyes wide. Rolling around making grumbly/growly noises, and always, always with the teeth 😫 We had wondered if she was hungry the day before which is why she had a funny few hours, but really made sure to her plenty of food and water into her yesterday to mitigate against it happening again.

It’s cooled down a bit today so hopefully she’ll have a better day and night.

Sounds like you are doing all the right things. Maybe if bitey, lead on, off the bed, behind a gate to calm down. As soon as calm back on bed and repeat.

This type of 'rinse and repeat' type behaviour worked for BiteyDogs frenzy mood as a puppy but it took weeks and constantly up and down.

she’s panting, tongue out, eyes wide. Rolling around making grumbly/growly noises, and always, always with the teeth 😫**

That was always the really tired, over stimulated behaviour for us.

As an adult if he gets like that (no teeth anymore) he goes into another room and rolls about on the rug grumbling to himself and comes back in calm. It's like he now knows he needs to calm down before he comes and settles with us.

@BiteyShark I would usually put it down to over tiredness/stimulation too but yesterday she barely moved because she hated the heat. So maybe it was under tiredness? The second guessing is exhausting. I do appreciate your advice though, it’s good to hear from someone who is through the other side!

The heat is awful isn't it. We ended up getting an air con unit for the bedroom because he was just panting all through the night and asking to go out to the garden to lie down.

We had another manic episode last night at our friends' house. He went nuts chasing their lovely placid dog, racing round and barking like mad which set their dog barking too. I had to keep removing him and calming (or trying as he kept biting). He calmed down after about 6 or 7 time outs but it was embarrassing and exhausting. He fell asleep on my knee and was then angelic. Typical

Welcome @MrsElijahMikaelson1 and @Yawningyawning! What pups are you getting? Best of luck!

Thank you We are getting a dachshund/ sausage dog. Yes I feel my eyes have been opened for the best on these threads!

@OwlInAnOakTree DP is home tomorrow night about 9pm.

Smileypup was an angel last night the room eventually cooled down and he settled to sleep with his head on his cooling mat and bum where the fan was blowing, he slept till 8.15am.

DS didnt go to sleep until 4am then DD2 woke at 4.15am needing a drink and was awake until 6am then DD1 got up for the day at 6.30am although she thankfully seems better today. Smileypup once again is being a sweetheart and just occupying himself although he is taken advantage of me being too tired to keep chasing him off the sofa and is currently curled up next to me with his head on my lap.

Tried him with some dog peanut butter in his kong tyre this morning and hes been carrying it around with him ever since in the hope it magically refills he was so happy whilst licking it that he was crying 🤣

@GingerAndTheBiscuits that sounds tough, could last night be that she just felt more lively once it had cooled down?

Hi, hope I can join in! I am hand rearing 8 lab puppies after their Mum got very ill. Very tiring but genuinely absolutely in love. We are keeping one of the pups. They are 5 weeks tomorrow.

Ooh that's so cute about the peanut butter! I think I need some. Mind you polka pup is loving the yak chew that just arrived !

Well, she’s here! She’s a cockapoo-not what I had EVER thought I would get but there you go-life sometimes throws you a curve ball you have to catch!

She was a little nervous to start and just kept getting back into my lap but had a wee play and has now fallen asleep at my feet. I will not imagine this lovely behaviour will continue for long!

We have an elderly Labrador who we can’t walk far anymore due to her arthritis. She didn’t seem to fazed-not that impressed but not hating either-the real test will be the psycho cat, who I watched chase a fox out of the garden yesterday!🤦‍♀️

@GingerAndTheBiscuits that sounds really tough and a little how our lab behaved as a puppy-we even had a behaviourist in, in the end as I was just sobbing all the time. He described her as rambunctious! I described her as a bloody nightmare and had a support thread at the time for my devil dog! Bizarrely, what worked in the end for us, was that we had a summer holiday booked no approximately 10 weeks after we had her and the breeder had agreed to look after her during that time. So she went back to mummy and her brother-by the time we picked her back up she was literally a different dog, having been taught how to behave & e never looked back!

So many typos there but you get the drift!

Ooh she's as cute as a button!

@MrsElijahMikaelson1 funny you should say that as my mum suggested that would probably help us too. Unfortunately no breeder option here and I don’t think the rescue will be keen to offer such a service, as I’m probably doing their head in!

Super cute pup btw!

Hi everyone. We picked up our pup on Monday and he is 9 weeks old today. Since picking him up I have been having anxiety / panic attacks and feel we have done the wrong thing in getting him. I have wanted a dog for years but just feel completely overwhelmed and don't know what to do. DP is being great but every time I am on my own with him I just feel so anxious and panicky and overwhelmed. I am trying to pinpoint the problem but I just feel I can't cope with him. He isn't doing anything a 9 week old shouldn't be doing but I don't know what to do. I just feel that I can't do this. I do have a history over a few years of anxiety but it had been so much better. Just don't know what to do.

@Makemedoit

Hi everyone. We picked up our pup on Monday and he is 9 weeks old today. Since picking him up I have been having anxiety / panic attacks and feel we have done the wrong thing in getting him. I have wanted a dog for years but just feel completely overwhelmed and don't know what to do. DP is being great but every time I am on my own with him I just feel so anxious and panicky and overwhelmed. I am trying to pinpoint the problem but I just feel I can't cope with him. He isn't doing anything a 9 week old shouldn't be doing but I don't know what to do. I just feel that I can't do this. I do have a history over a few years of anxiety but it had been so much better. Just don't know what to do.

Puppy regret is a real thing. Don't worry lots of us have felt like that.

I wanted my dog for over 20 years. Still didn't stop me thinking WTF have I done for several weeks. I think it's the fact that this living furry thing is completely dependent on you but all other people see is this bundle of cute fur and can't understand why you are anxious and overwhelmed.

Honestly keep at it, use these threads for support and eventually you realise you have a calm dog who you adore and things feel much easier.

@BiteyShark I do hope so as I am sitting here crying.

I do hope so as I am sitting here crying.

I wonder if it's the pressure to get everything right because all you read about it you must do this and that within a short time.

Btw we didn't do a lot of things and it's turned out just fine. And all my dog owner friends are the same.

It's also such an upheaval initially but eventually they settle into your routine.

Thankyou. You are very kind. I don't know whats wrong with me. I just wanted it all to be perfect

@Makemedoit I have probably said it here a thousand times but I have cried more over our pup than I ever have over anything my kids threw at me! And I am not generally prone to anxiety but have definitely had a fair few sobbing sessions in the past few weeks. Vent here, it’s a very supportive place 👍🏻

I've really struggled today and also been in tears so you are not alone @Makemedoit. And I'm like Ginger, not prone to anxiety or crying but here we are... Nine weeks in and OwlPup is relatively pretty easy by all accounts. But DS's behaviour is really challenging at the moment and he needs far more attention than he's getting, just scraps here and there whilst pup is asleep. Housework piling up because I can't get much done with pup awake and then am so desperate for a bit of time away from pup that I don't want to wake him whilst he's napping by doing housework. And I still feel like things are far from being back to normal life which is draining in itself. But it does get easier though, those first few weeks are a definite shock to the system. Hope things start to feel easier for you soon.